OF  THE 
UNIVERSITY 
OP 


PUBLIC, 


Being  esjfiTnlished  permanently  in  the  business  of  circu-      t 
latiiig  Books  by  Tf-nVeting  Agents  solely,   I  have  adopted 
these  \is  my  rules:     \  .'  »;•; 

1st.    To    dispose    of    my 'Books   only    through    iiiy     own 
Agents,    and    not    through    Booksellers    or    Peddlers,    a* 

thereby  I  Mccure  uniformity  of  pric-eM.  »          .-  '    '.L 

«  *      t        \*     •  / 

3d.  To  obligate  my  Agents  by  a  written   contract-n^f  fo-N  ( 

sell  any  of  my    publications   for  less  than  thcup  regular     . 
prices.  | 

3d.    To  furnish  to  Subscribers,   Books    in  every  respect    ' 
fully  equal  to  the  sample  copies. 

4th.  Not  to  reduce  the  price  of  my  Books  after  their  fifst 
issue  £     : 

It  is  my  desire  that  whomsoever   may  read  this,  oj>.  any 
of   my    publications,    should     recollect    the    name,  of  the 

*    f '  •       »;     • 

.publisher,   as  it  is   my   intention   that   it  BhaJLJI   tteyejf*  M|/ 
attached  to  any  work  that  ivill  not  be  generally  .Val 
far  beyond  its  mere  money  cost,  by  such   ~        """ "  * 


possess  it.     That   I  have  thiiX  far  succeeded  in 

»•   I        '.''  jjF  '* 

is  evinced  by  the  greatly  increased  sales  of  m>v 
in  those  communities  where  the  reputation "of-^jjie 
lishcr  has  been  e'  ablishcd  by  former  purchases!''"  • 

It  shalI9p£^uiy  t-ndeavor  to  continue  the  publication  of 
none    birk*Bvl>Sts    of  decided    merit*,-  and    to.   conduct    my 

-  ->.  -~f-'zr-\-     "    .-  '    ' "  *•  , 

^4>nsiu«ss    inr'~"a,-    syslematic,     honorable     manner  ;    all    of      , 
..'whi«h,  uiidt?  from   the  pleasure   it   is   certain    to  confer, 
wil*  result  in  the  generous  patronage  of  an  appreciating 
pub  ic. 

HENRY  1 
Author  and  ^H!^ 
Cincinnati,  0.,A111  Main  St.  (upsta|j«;.^  ~Sf 


ADVENTURES 


AND 


ACHIEVEMENTS 


OP 


AMERICANS; 


SERIES     OF    NARRATIVES 


ILLUSTRATING   THEIR 


HEROISM,  SELF-RELIANCE,  GENIUS  AND  iRfllPUSI, 


BY    HENRY    HOWE, 

C.'CTnOR  OF  HISTORIES  OF  VIRGINIA,  OHIO,  AND  THE  GREAT  WEST;  TRAVELS  OP 
CELEBRATED  TRAVELERS  ;   LIFE  AND  DEATH  ON  THE  OCEAN.  ETC. 


anij 


GIN  CIX.N  ATI. 
HENRY    HOWE,   PUBLISHER 

NO.   Ill    MAIN    STREET. 
1861. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1858, 

BY    HENRY    HOWE, 

In  the  Clerk's  office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States,  for  the  Southern 
District  of  Ohio. 


E.  MORGAN  &  SONS, 

BTEREOTYPERS,  PRINTERS,   AND  BINDERS, 

111  Main  Street. 


1 


. 


Entered  recording  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1638, 
BY    HENRY    HOWE, 

In  the  Clerk's  office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States,  for  the  Southern 
District  of  Ohio. 


E.  MORGAN  A  SONS, 

STEREOTYPER3,  PRINTERS,   AND  BINDERS, 

111  Main  Stroor. 


PREFACE. 


SINCE  when,  by  the  right  of  birth  and  the  lapse  of  years,  we  were  privi 
leged  to  walk  up,  take  the  freeman's  oath,  and  drop  a  ballot  in  the  littlo 
box,  so  potent  in  this  government  of  "  the  people,"  we  have  been  almost 
wholly  engaged  in  the  preparation  and  in  the  publication  of  books  for  cir 
culation  by  traveling  agents  exclusively. 

In  the  meanwhile,  we  have  attained  to  a  point  where  it  has  become 
"  past  meridian"  with  us,  and  we  now  pen  the  preface  to  our  sixth  octavo. 
All  of  these,  derived  from  varied  sources,  original  or  published,  in  our  own 
or  in  the  language  of  others,  have  been  constructed  with  an  especial  ref 
erence  to  the  wants  of  that  class,  who,  either  from  habit  or  their  isolation, 
rarely  or  never  enter  a  bookstore,  and  who  would,  in  a  measure,  be  desti 
tute  of  the  information  imparted  by  books,  were  they  not  brought  for  pur 
chase  to  their  very  doors.  We  have  the  gratifying  evidence  that  among 
these  our  publications  have  been  widely  popular;  anJ  have  proved  the 
means,  as  wo  believe,  of  lasting  pleasure  and  instruction  to  the  inmates  of 
many  a  humble  cabin-that  dots  the  prairies  or  skirts  the  forests  of  the  more 
remote  West 

The  title  of  this  book  was  made  before  the  book  itself  was  begun.  We 
have  endeavored  to  adapt  the  contents  to  the  name,  in  a  collection  of  arti 
cles  exhibiting  national  character,  and  mainly  by  individual  examples. 
Such  as  are  already  sufficiently  familiar  to  the  public  are,  in  general,  not  in 
serted,  from  a  desire  to  render  the  work  moro  attractive  to  our  readers  by 
its  novelty.  We  have  further  aimed  to  gratify  a  variety  of  tastes,  and  to 
make  this  such,  that  it  will  be  a  favorite  volume  with  every  American 
family  that  may  possess  it. 

This  work,  in  its  variety,  is  adapted  to  all  classes  ;  both  male  and  female, 
young  and  old,  the  Christian,  the  philanthropist,  those  who  read  simply  for 
excitement  and  those  who  read  solely  for  information,  will  nil  find  it  a 
source  of  pleasure.  We  believe  there  is  no  work  of  our  day  that  tends  so 
greatly  to  gratify  one's  patriotism — to  make  one  glad  that  he  is  an  Ameri 
can  citizen  —  as  this;  which  shows  so  well  the  Heroism,  Self-reliance, 
Genius  and  Enterprise  of  our  Countrymen,  in  the  Olden  Time  and  in  Our 
Time— in  Peace  and  in  War— on  Land  and  on  Sea — at  Home  and  Abroad. 
Those  who  obtain  it  will  bo  proud  of  the  facts  it  contains,  for  there  is  much, 
very  much  in  it  to  Bend  a  thrill  of  exultant  joy  to  the  heart  of  every 
American. 

(Hi) 


iv  PREFACE. 

We  terminate  the  book  in  the  twenty-third  article,  by  a  choice  collection 
of  about  one  hundred  specimens  of  American  Poetry,  selected  with  refer 
ence  to  diversified  tastes  and  mental  conditions.  Contrary  to  general 
opinion,  we  believe  that  Poetry — giving  that  word  a  broad  definition — is 
universally  liked  ;  that  is,  some  ideas  expressed  by  versification  please  all, 
better  than  the  same  given  in  prose,  though  we  do  think  that  Poetry,  usu 
ally,  relishes  and  digests  easier,  if,  like  sweetmeats,  it  is  taken  in  small  quan 
tities  at  a  single  sitting. 

Our  engravings,  in  the  highest  style  of  art,  are  by  eminent  American 
artists,  and  were  designed  expressly  for  the  book.  We  add,  for  the  informa 
tion  of  certain  of  our  readers,  a  fact  which,  as  a  publisher,  it  becomes  us  to 
state,  that  the  expense  of  these  alone,  in  cash,  was  to  us  more  than  the  cost, 
at  government  price,  of  a  square  mile  of  our  national  domain  ;  yet,  to 
many,  this  will  be  considered  a  useless  expenditure,  in  view  of  the  general 
want  of  appreciation  of  the  excellent  in  Art,  especially  with  the  very  largo 
mass  who  judge  of  bulk,  and  not  quality,  in  their  guago  of  the  cost  of 
books,  and  who  would  be  content  with  crude  and  cheap  illustrations.  But 
the  "  will  do  "  is  not  our  standard.  We  trust  there  is  a  vein  of  common 
sense,  running  through  the  great  public,  that  in  its  final  judgment  duly  ap 
preciates  those  generous  in  their  endeavors  to  render  their  offerings  every 
•way  excellent. 

But,  not  resting  satisfied  with  even  these,  we  have,  at  an  additional  ex 
pense  of  some  four  hundred  dollars,  had  designed,  expressly  for  the  sub 
scribers  of  this  work,  by  that  Artist  of  surpassing  skill,  Mr.  F.  0.  C.  Barley, 
and  engraved  in  the  mezzotint  style,  one  of  the  most  sublime  and  tragic 
scenes  in  American  History,  entitled,  "The  Last  Words  of  Captain  Nathan 
Hale,  the  Hero-Martyr  of  the  American  Revolution — 

'My  only  reyret  is,  that  I  hare  but  one  life  to  lose  for  my  country.'  " 

On  the  left  in  this  beautiful  steel  engraving,  is  shown  the  fatal  Tree, 
with  the  Ladder,  Rope,  Coffin,  and  Negro  Executioner.  In  front  stands  the 
majestic  figure  of  the  young  Patriot,  and  that  of  the  brutal  Provost  Marshal, 
the  infamous  Major  Cunningham  ;  who,  true  to  his  character,  had  denied 
Hale  his  dying  request  for  the  Bible,  and  had  also  destroyed  his  letters  to 
his  friends  ;  giving  as  reason  for  so  doing,  "  that  the  Rebels  might  not  know 
they  had  a  man  who  could  die  with  such  firmness." 

The  Engraving  is  a  "cabinet"  picture.  It  is  the  first  time  that  this  sub 
ject  has  been  delineated  by  Art,  ai»d  we  can  but  feel  grateful  that  we  have 
been  the  means  of  thus  having  it  perpetuated  for  all  coming  time,  and  in  a 
design,  too,  which  so  greatly  honors  American  genius.  Each  subscriber  is 
given  a  copy,  which  is  separate  from  the  work,  that  he  may  frame  it,  and 
adorn  his  walls  with  a  scene  so  elevating  in  its  tendency,  as  an  example  of 

lofty  Patriotism,  and  heroic  Self-sacrifice. 

U.   H. 
CINCINNATI,  OHIO,  No.  Ill  Main-Strert 


CONTENTS, 


THE  HERO  MARTYR. 

PAGE. 

CAPTAIN  NATHAN  HALE,  the  Hero  Martyr  of  the  American  Revolu 
tion.    15 


EARLY  AMERICAN  ARTISTS. 

Achievements  of  some  of  the  Early  American  Artists.        -        -        -25 
Benjamin  West.         .-.---..-27 

Charles  Gilbert  Stuart. 37 

John  Trumbull. 43 


BAND  OF  HEROES. 

An  accurate  and  interesting  account  of  the  hardships  and  sufferings  of 
that  Band  of  Heroes,  who  traversed  the  wilderness  in  the  Campaign 
against  Quebec,  in  1775.  --------51 


EMINENT  AMERICAN  TRAVELER. 

The  wanderings  of  that  Eminent  American  Traveler,  John  Ledyard, 
in  various  parts  of  tho  world.        _....-.     85 


RESCUE  OF  GENERAL  LAFAYETTE. 

The  heroic  adventure  of  Francis  Huger,  a  young  man  of  South  Caro 
lina,  and  of  his  companion,  Dr.  Bellman,  in  their  attempted  Rescue 
of  General  Lafayette  from  an  Austrian  Prison,  at  Olmutz.  -  -  109 

(v) 


VI  CONTENTS. 

EMINENT  AMERICAN  INVENTORS. 

PAOE. 

The  triumphs  of  some  of  the  most  Eminent  American  Inventors.         -  123 
Eli  Whitney,  inventor  of  the  Cotton-Gin.  124 

Robert  Fulton,  the  Steamboat  Inventor.          -  132 

Samuel  F.  B.  Morse,  and  the  Magnetic  Telegraph.    -  137 

George  Steers,  the  American  Ship  Architect. 140 

Charles  Goodyear,  the  inventor  of  Vulcanized  India-Rubber.       -         14G 
Samuel  Colt,  inventor  of  the  Repeating  Fire- Arm.  ...  149 

Cyrus  II.  M'Cormick,  inventor  of  the  Reaping  Machine.     -         -         153 
Isaac  M.  Singer,  and  the  Sewing  Machine.      -----  157 


ADVENTURES  OF  A  REVOLUTIONARY  SOLDIER. 

Remarkable  Adventures  of  Israel  R.  Potter,  who  was  a  soldier  in  the 
American  Revolution,  and  took  a  distinguished  part  in  the  Battle  of 
Bunker  Hill,  in  which  he  received  three  woinids  ;  after  which  he 
was  taken  prisoner  by  the  British  and  conveyed  to  England,  AN  here 
for  thirty  years  he  obtained  a  livelihood,  for  himself  and  family,  by 
crying,  "  Old  chairs  to  mend,"  through  the  streets  of  London.  Ho 
did  not  succeed  in  obtaining  a  passage  to  his  native  country  until  the 
year  1822,  when  he  was  in  the  seventy-ninth  year  of  his  age,  and 
after  an  absence  of  forty-eight  years.  -  -  163 


THE  TWO  ORATORS. 

The  Two  Orators  of  our  Revolutionary  Era.       -         -         ...  189 
James  Otis,  of  Massachusetts.  .-...-         189 

Patrick  Henry,  of  Virginia.  -  ...  200 


AMERICAN  TEMPERANCE  REFORMERS. 

The  Achievements  of  the  American  Temperance  Reformers,  a  histori 
cal  sketch. 213 


DESERTION  OF  JOHN  CHAMPE. 

The  pretended  desertion  of  John  Champe  to  the  British,  in  the  War 
of  the  American  Revolution,  for  the  purpose  of  Capturing  the  Traitor, 
Benedict  Arnold. 251 


CONTENTS.  VU 

LAND  AND  SEA  PERILS. 

PAGE. 

Narrative  of  the  Land  and  Sea  Perils  of  Andrew  Sherburnc,  in  the  War 
of  the  American  Revolution,  including  his  sufferings  in  the  Old  Mill 
Prison,  England,  and  afterward  in  the  Old  Jersey  Prison  Ship,  at  the 
AVallabout,  Brooklyn,  New  York. 261 


CRUISE  OF  THE  ESSEX. 

Narrative  of  the  Cruise  of  the  Essex,  a  United  States  frigate,  under  the 
command  of  Captain  David  Porter,  made  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  in  the 
years  1812,  '13  and  'H,  the  period  of  the  last  war  with  England.  -  299 


AMERICAN  COLONY  OF  LIBERIA. 

The  wise  and  heroic  conduct  of  Jehudi  Ashman,  as  shown  in  saving 
from  destruction  and  in  establishing  on  a  firm  basis  the  American 
Colony  of  Liberia. 357 


MIER  EXPEDITION. 

Narrative  of  the  Mier  Expedition,  with  the  particulars  of  the  decima 
tion  of  the  prisoners,  and  a  history  of  the  survivors,  who  were  im 
prisoned  in  the  Castle  of  Perote,  in  Mexico. 383 


AMOS  LAWRENCE,  THE  PHILANTHROPIST. 

Incidents  in  the  life  of  Amos  Lawrence,  the  Model  Merchant,  and  the 
Christian  Philanthropist,  who  from  an  humble  beginning  became  one 
of  the  wealthiest  men  in  America,  and  remarkable  for  his  enlarged 
benevolence — he  having  given  away,  in  the  course  of  his  life,  more 
than  seven  hundred  thousand  dollars  for  the  benefit  of  mankind.  -  411 


FIVE  YEARS  IN  THE  U.  S.  ARMY. 

Five  Years  an  American  Soldier,  comprising  adventures  at  Palo  Alto, 
Rcsaca  de  la  Palma,  Monterey,  Vera  Cruz,  Cerro  Gordo,  and  in  the 
battles  in  the  Valley  of  Mexico,  interspersed  with  anecdotes  of  mili 
tary  life  in  peace  and  in  war. 


Viii  CONTENTS. 

AMERICAN  ARCTIC  EXPEDITION. 

PAGE. 

Narrative  of  the  American  Arctic  Expedition,  in  search  of  Sir  John 
Franklin,  under  the  command  of  Dr.  Elisha  Kent  Kane,  U.  S.  N.    -  485 

EMINENT  AMERICAN  MISSIONARY. 

The  Achievements  of  that  Eminent  American  Missionary,  Adoniram 
Judson. 51) 


DIFFICULTIES  WITH  AUSTRIA. 

The  Conduct  of  our  Country  and  Countrymen  in  their  difficulties  with 
Austria  and  the  Austrians.     --------  541 

Arrest  and  Imprisonment  of  a  young  American  in  Hungary.       -         542 

The  Correspondence  of  Daniel  Webster,  the  American  Secretary  of 
State,  with  Chevalier  Hiilseman,  the  Austrian  Minister.  -  -  564 

American  Intervention  in  behalf  of,  and  Hospitality  to,  the  Hunga 
rian  Exiles,  including  an  account  of  Kossuth's  visit  to  the  U.  S.  565 

Heroism  of  Captain  Ingraham  in  the  Kosta  affair.  -  568 


PHILANTHROPIC  ENTERPRISES. 

Narrative  of  some  of  the  Philanthropic  Enterprises  in  the  Great  Me 
tropolis,  New  York,  for  the  benefit  of  miserable,  degraded  classes.   -  5" 


THE  WORLD'S  FAIR. 

America  at  the  World's  Fair,  held  in  the  Crystal  Palace,  London,  in 
1851 ;  together  with  a  description  of  the  great  Yacht  Race  off  the 
Isle  of  Wight,  in  which  the  New  York  Yacht  America  gained  a 
signal  triumph. 599 


ACHIEVEMENTS  OF  AMERICANS  ABROAD. 
Adventures  and  Achievements  of  Americans  Abroad  ;  a  collection  of 
interesting  miscellanies.         --------  623 

Adventures  of  the  eccentric  arid  patriotic  Female  Artist,  Patience 

Wright. 623 

Adventures  of  Elkanah  Watson. 628 

Americans  in  Russia.       --------         639 

American  National  Courtesy.         -------  642 

Americans  in  Australia.  --------        646 

American  Enterprise.     ---•---•-  649 


INDEX  TO  THE  COLLECTION  OF  AMERICAN  POETRY. 


In  those  instances  in  which  the  poetry  is  prefaced  with  a  notice  of  the  author,  his  or 
her  lirst  name  i:<  given  in  full  below. 


TITLE  OF  POEMS. 


AUTHOR. 


I  r' 


Young  America  Taking  his  First  Steps Cora  M.  Ka^er ;653 

f«c  Death  of  Captain  Nathan  Hale JF.  M.  Finch I  « 

The  Convict  to  his  Mother j Anonymous 654 

Footsteps  of  Angels Henry  W.  Longfellow 655 

A  Castfe  in  the  Air Levi  Frtfbie " 

Stanzas .Kichard  H.  Wilde 656 

The  An  erican  Flag iJoseph  R.  Drake " 

Family  Meeting Charles  Surajrue |  " 

Sparkling  and  Bright Chas.  F.  Hoffman 657 

Song  of  tte  Drunkards Win.  B.  Tannau 

1  I  I  •    I  !    -  .    ,  *     *• 


A  Whaling  Song 

The  Wifc: 

The  Wants  of  Man .". 

Bl««ed  arc  They  that  Mourn 

The  Day  is  Done 

The  Choice. . . 


Wood  man,  Spire  that  Tree 

The  Snow  Storm 

The  Life  Voyajre— A  Ballad '. 

On  the  Death  of  J.  R.  Drake. 

Old  Songs 

A  Marriage 


The  Yankee's  Return  from  Camp 

Little  Marv's  Good  Moraine.. 

•*w     ••     f,     i       *    .   .  


Hail  Columbia 

The  Battle  Field '.'.'.'.'.'.'. 


John  Osboru 1658 

Anna  1'.  Dcnnies |  " 

John(^.  Adams (559 

W.  C.  Bryant 661 

H.  W.  Longfellow 

Susanna  Rowsou. . 


Geo.  1*.  Morris. 


Seba  Smith 

Frances  S.  Osgood 

Fit/-Greene  Halleck 664 

Willis  Gay  lord  Clark 

Jas.  W.  Ward 

Anonymous 665 

Anonymous '666 

Francis  Hopkiusou j  " 

W.  C  Bryant..  J667 


(J62 


H.  W.  Ixmgtellow. 
Oliver  W.  Holmes. 
Albert  G.  Greene.. 


668 
669 


Resignation. 

The  La*t  I*af. 

Old  Grimes  .  .  , 

Pictures  of  Memory  ..................  ...........  !  Alice  C.  Carey 

When  other  Friends  are  round  Thee  ................  |G.  P.  Morris.'.  . 

The  Lapse  of  Time  ..............................  'W.  C.  Bryant.  . 

The  Coral  Grove  ................................  Jas.  G.  1'ercival.  .........  670 

A  Psalm  of  Life  ................................  ,H.  WT.  Longfellow  .......  j   " 

The  Little  Orator  ................................  Thaddens  Harris  .......  '671 

You'd  fccarre  expect  One  of  ray  Age  ................  David  Everett  ____ 

A  Life  on  the  Ocean  Wave  ........................  Epes  Sargeant  ____ 

The  Settler  .....................................  .Alfred  B.  Street.  . 

The  Fire  of  Driftwood  ...........................  H.  W.  Longfellow  .......  '672 

Marco  Boz/.aris  .................................  K.  G.  Halleck  ...........  673 

Song  of  Marion's  Men  ...........................  W.  C.  Bryant  ...........  674 

Tin-  Song  of  Steam  .............................  Geo.  W.  Cutter  ..........  j   " 

Rhyme  of  the  Rail  ..............................  John  G.  Saxe  ......  _____  f>7:> 

(«>»c  .........................................  John  G.  Whittier  ........  |676 

*>""*  ........................................  Ralph  Hoyt  ............  I  " 


(ix) 


IN1>EX   TO    POETRY. 


TITLE  OF   POEMS. 


.     .  

Kuiilv  JiuUon 


An  Incident  in  a  Railroad  Car Jas.  W.  Lowell.. 

Woman G.  P.  Morris 

My  Bird 

The  Country  Lovers Thomas  G.  Fesseudeu. . .  . 

The  Flight  of  Time J.  G.  Percival 

A  Song  of  the  Western  Pioneers William  D.  Gallagher. . . , 

Unseen  Spirits N.  P.  Willis 

Annabel  Lee E.  A.  Poe , 

In  Blessing  Thou  a:i  Blessed William  W.  Fosdick 

The  Heritage J.  R.  Lowell 

On  Listening  to  a  Cricket Andrews  Norton , 

Ballad Emma  C.  Embury 

The  Parting A.  Norton , 

The  Babe  and  the  Lily J.  W.  Ward 

The  Village  Blacksm'ith . .  H.  W.  Longfellow 

The  Little  Girl  under  the  Snow Mary  Louisa  Chitwood .  . 

The  Wayside  Spring Thomas  Buchanan  Read. 

Heaven" W.  B.  Tappan 

Extracts  from  "  The  Song  of  Hiawatha." ;H.  W.  Longfellow 

The  Farmer  Sat  in  his  Easy  Chair 'Charles  G.  Eastman 

Ella ! !  J.  W.  Ward 

My  Native  Land I  Anonymous 

Your  Purse  and  Heart W.  D.  Gallagher 

Poetry I  J.  G.  Percival 

The  Fall  of  Niagara i John  G.  C.  Brainard 

Home James  C.  Percival 

Will  the  New- Year  Come  To-Nitiht,  Mamma  S C.  M.  Eager 

The  Old  Oaken  Bucket Samuel  Woodworth 

Ix>ok  Aloft Jonathan  Lawrence , 

Thanatop-jis William  C.  Bryant 

It  Snows Sarah  J.  Hale/ 

Blessings  on  Children Win.  Gilmore  Sinms 

The  Death  of  the  Flowers W.  C.  Hryant 

Seasons  of  Prayer Henry  Ware 

The  Star-Spangled  Banner iThos."  Scott  Key 

An  Evening  Rtvery W.  C.   Bryant 

The  Independent  Farmer Susanna  Rowson 

O.  W.  Holme* 

John  Howard  Payne. 

Catharine  H.  Esling  .... 

W.  C.  Brvaiit.. 


p. 

677 

678 


679 
681 

682 
683 

684 


GS6 

688 

ii 

689 


1 690 
691 

'Kite 
I  " 
694 
695 
696 
697 
!698 


The  Ballad  of  the  Oysterinau 

Sweet  Home .* 

Brother.  Come  Home 

The  Gladness  of  Nature 

Room,  Boys,  Room 'Cha-.  Feiiiu  Hoffman 

Indian  Death  Song I  Philip  Frenean 

The  Raven Kdgnr  A  linn  P«>e 

Paper 'Benjamin  Franklin.  . 

What  is  that,  Mother's <;,.<>.  W.  Donne 


The  Frost. 

Consolation  of  Religion  to  the  Poor 

Absalom 

The  West 

Forest  Hymn 

The  American  Hero 

Losing  All — The  Ruined  Merchant 

Lexington 

One  Hour  with  Thee,. . 


It  is  great  for  our  Country  to  Die 


Hannah  F.  Gould 

J.  G.  Pnrival 

Nathaniel  1'.  Willis 

G.  P.  Morris 

W.  C   Bryant 

Nathaniel  Niles 

C.  M.  Eager 

O.  W.  Holmes 

Sti-phi-n  Griffith  Gassaway 
J.  G.  Percival.. 


|700 
1701 

71  '2 

703 

704 
!?05 

7(17 
70S 
709 

710 
712 
713 
715 
717 
718 
.719 
72U 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


SUBJECT. 

PRAWN  BY. 

ENGRAVED  BY. 

p. 

1 

2 

109 
213 
293 

363 
429 
511 
571 
599 
653 

7* 

Yiornette  Title  

Robert  O'Brien... 
Felix  0.  C.  Barley. 

F.  0.  C.  Barley.. 
F.  0.  C.  Darley... 
Jamea  Hamilton  .  . 

F  O   C   Darlev 

A.  II.  Ritchie. 
Eli  D.  Haves   . 

Captain  Ingraham  promising  Kosta  the  Pro- 

1'iancU  Huper  aiding  Lafayette  to  escape 
fruui  the  Austrians.      .    . 

Elias  J.  Whitney.. 
E.  J.  Whitney.  .  .  . 
E   D    Haves  .  . 

Si'iiin01  away  bis  Liberty 

The    Mier   Prisoners   drawing   the   Fatal 
13cau8  

E   D  Hayes 

The  Thirsty  Soldiers  at  the  Salt  Water.  .  . 
Seizure  of  Judsou,  the  Missionary  
The  Heathen  of  the  Five  Points  

F.  O.  C.  Darley... 
F.  0.  C.  Darley... 
E.J.Whitney  .... 
F.  O.  C.  Darley  .  . 
F.  0.  C.  Darley... 

F.  0.  C.  Darley. 
'  is  an  engraving 

E.J.Whitney.... 
E.  J.  Whitney  
—  Feltcr  
E.  J.  Whitney  
E.  D.Hayes  

A.  II.  Ritchie. 
011   steel,  101.  .£  by 

A  ictorv  of  the  Yacht  America  

Vouug  America  Taking  bis  First  Steps.  .  . 

Last  Words  of  Cnptain  Nathan  Halo,  the 
Hero  Martyr  of  the  American  Revolu 
tion  

"Last  Words  of  Captain  Nathan  Hale 

i 'aches,  and  accompanies  the  book  for  the  subscribers  to  frame. 


(xi) 


CAPTAIN   NATHAN    HALE, 

THE    HERO    MARTYR 

OF   THE 

AMERICAN    REVOLUTION. 


"Thus,  while  fond  Virtue  wished  to  save, 
HALK,  bright  and  generous,  found  a  hopeless  grate: 
With  Genius'  living  flame  his  bosom  plowed, 
And  Science  lured  him  to  her  sweet  abode  ; 
In  Worth's  fair  path  his  feet  adventured  far, 
The  pride  of  Peace,  the  rising  star  of  War; 
In  Duty  firm,  in  Danger  calm  as  even — 
To  friends  unchangiug,  aud  sincere  to  Heaven. 
How  short  his  course  !    the  prize  how  early  won  ! 
While  weeping  Friendship  mourns  her  favorite  son." 

THE  period  of  the  American  Revolution  was  the  heroic  era  in  the  history 
of  our  country.  With  its  great  events  we  are  all  familiar;  but  of  the  stem 
virtues  of  our  ancestors,  their  patient  self-denial,  their  enduring  fortitude, 
and  their  trustful  hope  in  that  time  of  trouble,  the  half  can  never  bo 
known. 

In  that  charming  little  book,  the  "  Fast  Meridian,"  by  Mrs.  Sigourney,  is 
a  simple  narrative  to  this  point,  so  touching  that  the  memory  of  it  should 
be  impressed  upon  the  heart  of  every  youth  in  the  land,  as  an  elevating 
picture  of  patriotic  virtue,  worth  more  than  the  record  of  a  score  of  battles. 
It  was  told  to  the  writer  by  a  good  and  hoary -headed  man,  the  Rev.  Dr. 
David  Smith,  of  Durham,  Connecticut,  who,  with  unimpaired  intellect  and 
cheerful  piety,  had  passed  many  years  beyond  the  allotted  age  of  man. 

11  My  father  was  in  the  army  during  the  whole  eight  years  of  the  Revolu 
tionary  war,  at  first  as  a  common  soldier,  afterward  as  an  officer.  Mv  mother 
had  the  sole  charge  of  us,  four  little  ones.  Our  house  was  a  poor  one,  and 
far  from  neighbors.  I  have  a  keen  remembrance  of  the  terrible  cold  of  somo 
of  those  winters.  The  snow  lay  so  deep  and  long,  that  it  was  difficult  to 
cut  or  draw  fuel  from  the  woods,  or  to  get  our  corn  to  the  mill,  when  we 
had  any.  My  mother  was  the  possessor  of  a  coffee-mill.  In  that  she 
ground  wheat,  and  made  coarse  brjad  which  we  ate  and  were  thankful.  It 
was  not  always  that  we  could  be  allowed  as  much  even  of  this  as  our  keen 
appetites  craved.  Many  is  the  time  that  we  have  gone  to  bed  with  only  a 
drink  of  water  for  our  supper,  in  which  a  little  molasses  had  been  mingled. 
We  patiently  received  it,  for  we  knew  our  mother  did  as  well  for  us  as  she 
could,  and  hoped  to  have  something  better  in  the  morning.  She  was  never 

(15) 


1C  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

heard  to  repine,  and  young  as  we  were,  we  tried  to  make  her  lovely  spirit 
ami  heavenly  trust  our  example.  When  my  father  was  permitted  to  romo 
home,  his  stay  was  short,  and  ho  had  not  much  to  leave  us,  for  the  pay  of 
those  who  had  achieved  our  liberties  was  slight  and  irregularly  rendered. 
Yet,  when  he  went,  my  mother  ever  bade  him  farewell  with  a  cheerful  face, 
and  not  to  be  anxious  about  his  children,  for  she  would  watch  over  them 
night  and  day,  and  God  would  take  care  of  the  families  of  those  who  went 
forth  to  defend  the  righteous  cause  of  their  country.  Sometimes  we  won 
dered  that  she  did  not  mention  the  cold  weather,  or  our  short  meals,  or  her 
hard  work,  that  we  little  ones  might  be  clothed,  and  fed,  and  taught ;  but 
she  would  not  weaken  his  hands  or  sadden  his  heart,  for.  she  said,  a  sol 
dier's  lot  is  harder  than  all.  \Ve  saw  that  she  never  complained,  but  always 
kept  in  her  heart  a  sweet  hope,  like  a  well  of  living  water.  Every  night 
ere  we  slept,  and  every  morning  when  we  arose,  we  lifted  our  little  hands 
for  God's  blessing  on  our  absent  father  and  our  endangered  country." 

The  story  we  have  to  relate  is  alike  interesting  and  ennobling,  but  yet 
of  a  melancholy  nature  —  leing  the  most  sad  of  all  the  episodes  of  the 
American  Revolution.  It  is  contained  in  the  history  of  the  young  and 
gifted  NATHAN  HALE.  Of  that  long  roll  of  patriotic  men  who  died  that 
we  might  be  free,  his  last  moments,  beyond  those  of  any  other,  were  charac 
terized  by  a  sentiment  so  heroic,  expressed  under  such  circumstances,  as  to 
render  it  one  of  the  most  sublime  and  touching  utterances  that  ever  fell 
from  human  lips. 

Nathan  Hale  was  born  in  Coventry,  Connecticut,  June  C,  1755.  He  v.f.d 
the  son  of  Richard  Hale,  a  substantial  farmer  of  that  town,  and  a  man  of 
note  among  his  neighbors,  being  a  justice  of  the  peace,  a  deacon  of  the 
church,  and  a  member  of  the  legislature.  Young  Hale  was  bred  in  that 
strict  morality  characteristic  of  the  Puritans.  Early  showing  a  fondness  for 
book?,  he  was  prepared  for  college  under  the  tuition  of  the  venerable  Rev. 
Dr.  Huntington,  with  the  design  of  entering  the  ministry.  Six  years  before 
the  Revolutionary  war,  he  became  a  student  in  Yale.  Little  has  been  pre 
served  of  his  life  there.  He  was  noted,  however,  among  his  companions 
for  extraordinary  personal  activity.  He  accomplished  a  feat  in  leaping  on 
the  New  Haven  Green,  which  so  far  surpassed  everything  of  the  kind  before 
known,  that  the  distance  was  long  preserved  by  appropriate  marks.  On  an 
other  occasion,  he  exhibited  his  activity  by  springing  out  from  one  hogshead 
into  another,  alternately. 

He  graduated  with  honor  in  1773,  and  for  a  short  season  taught  school  at 
East  Haddam,  where,  it  is  said,  "everybody  loved  him,  he  was  so  sprightly, 
intelligent,  and  kind."  Next  he  took  charge  of  a  high  school  in  New  Lon 
don,  where  "he  soon  had  as  many  friends  as  there  were  individuals  in  the 
town."  His  leisure  was  partly  given  to  reading  and  study,  and  partly  to 
society,  for  which  he  had  great  fondness.  The  charms  of  the  gentler  sex 
were  not  lost  upon  him.  He  became  ardently  attached  to  Miss  Hannah 
Adams  of  his  native  town,  whom,  doubtless,  he  would  have  married,  had 
not  his  tragic  fate  intervened. 

In  person  Hale  was  rather  tall,  being  five  feet  ten  inches  in  height,  and 
though  slender  was  gracefully  formed  ;  his  frame  was  elastic  and  wiry,  as 
was  shown  by  his  extraordinary  feats  of  agility ;  his  chest  was  broad,  his 


OF  AMERICANS.  17 

face  full,  with  blue  eyes,  light  complexion,  and  brown  hair.  To  these  phys 
ical  qualities  was  added  an  amiable  winning  address. 

Intense  excitement  was  produced  one  evening  in  the  latter  part  of  April, 
1775,  in  the  usually  quiet  town  of  New  London,  on  the  arrival  of  a  mes 
senger,  with  the  startling  news  that  the  "regulars"  had  fired  upon  our  peo- 
'ple  on  the  green  at  Lexington.  "  Let  us  march  immediately,  and  never  lay 
down  our  arms  until  we  gain  our  independence  !"  rang  out  the  clear  stern 
voice  of  Nathan  Hale,  to  the  excited  assemblage  that  had  gathered  on  the 
occasion. 

It  was  no  difficult  matter  to  infuse  the  sentiment  into  the  minds  of  all 
present.  It  was  resolved  to  send  Captain  Cqit's  company  into  the  fiekl,  and 
Hale  volunteered  to  go  with  it.  The  next  day,  he  went  to  his  school  for 
the  last  time,  to  bid  his  pupils  farewell.  He  addressed  them  in  an  appro 
priate  little  speech,  and  closed  with  an  earnest  prayer  to  the  Almighty  for 
his  blessings  on  them  and  on  their  country. 

A  letter  which  he  wrote  at  this  period  to  the  managers  of  the  school,  is 
preserved  in  Stuart's  Life  of  Hale,  from  which  we  extract  it : 

"  Gentlemen — Having  received  information  that  a  place  is  allotted  me  in 
the  army,  and  being  inclined,  as  I  hope,  for  good  reasons,  to  accept  it,  I  am 
constrained  to  ask  as  a  favor,  that  which  scarce  anything  else  would  have 
induced  me  to,  which  is  to  be  excused  from  keeping  your  school  any  longer. 
For  the  purpose  of  conversing  upon  this  subject,  and  of  procuring  another 
master,  some  of  your  immbar  think  it  best  there  should  be  a  general  meet 
ing  of  the  proprietors.  The  time  talked  of  for  holding  it  is  six  o'clock  this 
afternoon,  at  the  school-house.  The  year  for  which  I  engaged  will  expire 
within  a  fortnight,  so  that  my  quitting  a  few  days  sooner,  I  hope,  Avill  sub 
ject  you  to  no  great  inconvenience.  School-keeping  is  a  business  of  which 
I  was  always  fond,  but  since  my  residence  in  this  town,  everything  has  con 
spired  to  make  it  more  agreeable.  I  have  thought  much  of  never  quitting 
it  but  with  life,  but  at  present  there  seems  to  be  an  opportunity  for  more  ex 
tended  public  service.  The  kindness  expressed  to  me  by  the  people  of  the 
place,  but  especially  the  proprietors  of  the  school,  will  always  be  very  grate 
fully  remembered." 

This  letter  shows  the  patriotism  of  Hale,  his  nice  sense  of  honor,  and 
modest,  unassuming  nature.  He  also  wrote  to  his  father,  whose  designs  for 
him  in  the  ministry  were  now  frustrated,  "A  sense  of  duty  urges  me  to 
sacrifice  everything  for  rny  country." 

Hale  was  commissioned  as  a  lieutenant  in  Webb's  Connecticut  regiment. 
This  corps  was  first  employed  in  guarding  the  seacoast,  in  the  vicinity  of 
New  London,  the  appearance  of  the  British  in  the  Sound  having  alarmed 
the  country.  Early  in  the  ensuing  autumn,  it  marched  to  join  the  main 
army  under  Washington,  in  the  vicinity  of  Boston.  In  December,  Hale 
started  "on  foot,  through  snow  ankle  deep,  to  visit  his  friends  in  Connecti 
cut."  About  this  period  he  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  captain. 

During  the  winter  spent  in  the  siege  of  Boston,  Hale  became  known,  and 
he  "was,  among  all  the  younger  officers,  the  one  preferred  for  those  duties 
requiring  vigilance,  activity,  and  skill.  "I  see,"  said  a  friend,  in  a  letter 
written  to  him  at  this  time,  "you  are  stationed  in  the  mouth  of  danger.  I 
rook  upon  your  position  as  more  perilous  than  that  of  any  other  officer  in 


18  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

the  camp."  When  not  engaged  in  military  duties,  Hale  devoted  much  of 
his  time  to  reading,  especially  works  on  the  science  of  war.  Feeling  the 
importance  of  discipline,  he  gave  such  untiring  attention  to  his  men,  that 
his  company  soon  became  one  of  the  most  thoroughly  drilled  and  orderly 
in  the  service.  When  the  American  army  was  nearly  annihilated  by  the 
defeat  of  Long  Island,  and  the  expiration  of  the  terms  for  which  the  sol 
diers  had  enlisted,  Hale  generously  relinquished  his  own  pay  to  induce  the 
men  of  his  company  to  remain. 

Hale's  fondness  for  athletic  sports  suffered  no  abatement  in  consequence 
of  his  military  pursuits,  for  we  find  him,  when  at  leisure,  engaging  with  his 
brother  officers  in  wrestling,  running,  jumping,  and  in  other  amusements  of 
that  nature.  He  was  also  scrupulously  observant  of  his  religious  duties, 
being  a  regular  attendant  at  camp  worship,  when  such  a  privilege  was  not 
denied  by  some  professional  duty. 

In  the  succeeding  spring  (1776),  the  regiment  to  which  Hale  was  at 
tached  proceeded,  with  others  under  the  command  of  General  Heath,  to 
the  vicinity  of  New  York.  He  there  became  the  principal  in  a  brilliant 
little  affair,  from  which  he  gained  considerable  eclat.  In  the  East  Rivet 
lay  a  British  Vessel  filled  with  supplies  for  the  army.  Although  not 
armed,  it  was  protected  by  a  sixty-four  gunship  anchored  only  a  few  rods  . 
distant.  Hale  formed  the  project  of  capturing  and  taking  her  into  the 
harbor  of  New  York. 

Under  cover  of  night,  he  embarked  with  a  small  party  in  a  rowboat,  and 
dropped  down  near  their  intended  prize,  and  then  pulled  in  their  cars  to 
wait  until  the  moon  should  go  down.  When  it  was  entirely  dark,  the  little 
party  resuming  their  oars,  silently  rowed  toward  the  doomed  vessel.  As 
they  approached  her,  the  figure  of  a  solitary  sentinel  was  dimly  seen  pacing 
the  deck  of  the  man-of-war  by  which  the  supply  vessel  was  guarded.  The 
sentinel  suddenly  paused — then  gazed  out  upon  the  water.  The  approach 
ing  rowboat  rested  a  moment,  and  its  crew  with  beating  hearts  waited  to  see 
if  they  were  discovered.  In  a  brief  time,  "All's  well,"  was  heard  from 
the  lips  of  the  lookout,  as  he  turned  and  disappeared  in  the  gloom.  A 
few  more  pulls  with  the  oars  and  the  patriots  were  alongside.  Not  a  soul 
was  on  deck — all  were  below  and  asleep.  They  took  possession  of  the  ves 
sel,  fastened  the  sleeping  sailors  in  the  hold,  and  in  a  short  time,  without 
alarming  the  guard  of  the  neighboring  man-of-war,  noiselessly  sailed  away, 
and  succeeded  in  gaining  a  wharf  with  their  fine  prize,  where  an  expectant 
crowd  greeted  them  with  loud  huzzas  and  the  waving  of  hats.  The  vessel 
was  laden  with  stores  of  provisions  and  clothing,  which  were  a  valuable  ac 
quisition  to  the  army. 

,It  was  at  a  most  gloomy  period  of  the  war  of  independence  when  Hale 
departed  from  the  American  camp,  on  a  secret  mission  that  sent  a  thrill  of 
terror  through  those  who  were  aware  of  its  nature.  The  disastrous  defeat 
of  Long  Island  had  just  passed — Harlem  Heights  had  been  deserted,  and 
White  Plains  had -witnessed  defeat.  Shattered  and  depressed,  the  Ameri 
can  army,  like  a  crowd  of  fugitives,  hovered  around  King's  Bridge.  The 
victorious  Howe,  flushed  Avith  success,  was  pursuing  an  enlarged  system  of 
operations,  and  it  became  evident  that  the  concentrated  forces  of  the  in 
vaders  were  to  be  let  loose  upon  the  rebellious  colonists.  But  where  the 


OF  AMERICANS.  19 

blow  was  to  fall,  no  human  sagacity  could  foresee.  Whether  they  were  to 
take  possession  of  New  York,  cut  off  the  communication  of  the  American 
army,  and  claim  the  country  by  conquest,  or  proceed  southward  and  make 
a  descent  where  no  preparation  would  present  a  barrier,  were  questions  of 
anxious  import  to  the  American  commander,  and  the  solution  of  which  was 
of  vital  importance.  With  all  his  vigilance,  he  could  not  unravel  the  de 
signs  of  the  enemy,  whose  movements  were  purposely  contradictory.  Never 
during  that  war,  copious  as  are  its  records  of  difficulty,  was  Washington 
more  perplexed  or  more  filled  with  anxiety.  Finally,  he  concluded  that 
gome  one  must  enter  the  British  lines  and  gain  the  requisite  information,  or 
he  feared  that  all  would  be  lost. 

In  this  emergency,  he  applied  to  the  brave  Colonel  Knowlton,  of  the 
Connecticut  line,  for  him  to  endeavor  to  obtain  an  officer  for  this  service  pos 
sessing  the  rare  union  of  qualities  necessary  to  success.  Knowlton  assem 
bled  his  officers,  and  made  known  to  them  the  request  of  Washington,  stat 
ing  the  exigency  of  the  case,  and  appealing  to  their  patriotism,  in  the  hope 
that  some  one  would  volunteer  for  the  service.  No  one  responded.  He 
then'  addressed  himself  individually  to  each  of  those  present,  but  with  no 
better  success.  Indeed,  many  of  them  seemed  offended  that  such  a  request 
should  be  made,  in  view  of  the  danger  of  the  mission  and  the  ignominious 
death  that  would  result  on  detection.  One  of  these,  an  officer  remarkable 
for  a  spirit  of  hazardous  adventure,  replied,  "  No,  no  !  I  am  willing  at  any 
time,  and  on  any  terms,  to  fight  the  British  ;  but  I  wont  go  among  them  to 
be  hung  like  a  dog." 

Knowlton  was  about  despairing  of  success,  when  from  the  assembled 
group  came  the  slow,  firm  words,  "  I  will  undertake  it  I"  The  speaker  had 
just  recovered  from  a  severe  illness,  and  was  late  in  joining  the  council,  or 
"I  will  undertake  it,"  would  have  been  heard  sooner. 

All  eyes  turned  toward  the  speaker,  and  a  thrill  of  anguish  pervaded  the 
throng  as  they  looked  upon  the  pale,  determined  face  of  the  universal  fa 
vorite,  the  young  and  noble  NATHAN  HALE  !  They  at  once  closed  around 
him,  and  remonstrated  by  every  appeal  which  consideration  and  friendship 
could  dictate,  to  abandon  his  purpose — the  love  of  home,  the  ties  of  kin 
dred,  future  fame,  and  a  felon's  death,  were  all  in  vain  urged  to  dissuade 
him.  Among  those  most  importunate  was  Lieutenant,  afterward  General, 
Hull,  his  old  classmate  at  Yale,  who  plead  with  him  almost  with  tears  to 
abandon  the  project.  Hale  listened  to  the  appeals,  and  replied  in  these 
memorable  words : 

"I  think  I  owe  to  my  country  the  accomplishment  of  an  object  so  impor 
tant,  and  so  much  desired  by  the  commander  of  her  armies — and  I  know  of 
no  other  mode  of  obtaining  the  information,  than  by  assuming  a  disguise 
and  passing  into  the  enemy's  camp.  I  am  fully  sensible  of  the  conse 
quences  of  discovery  and  capture  in  such  a  situation,  but  for  a  year  I  have 
been  attached  to  the  army,  and  have  not  rendered  any  material  service, 
while  receiving  compensation  for  which  I  make  no  return  ;  yet  I  am  not 
influenced  by  the  expectation  of  promotion  or  pecuniary  reward.  I  WISH 

TO   BE    USEFUL,  AND    EVEEY   KIND    OF    SEEVICE   NECESSARY   FOR    THE    PUBLIC 
GOOD,  BECOMES  HONORABLE   BY  BEING  NECESSARY.      If  the    exigencies   of  IQy 

2 


20  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

country  demand  a  peculiar  service,  its  claims  to  the  performance  of  that 
service  are  imperious." 

This  was  spoken  with  that  air  of  lofty  heroism  wh'ch  showed  that  he 
was  ready  to  sacrifice  himself  if  need  be,  in  any  way,  for  the  good  of  his 
country,  even  by  an  ignominious  death.  Words  embodying  more  truly  the 
soul  of  patriotism  were  never  expressed. 

Hale  received  instructions  from  Washington  in  person,  upon  the  points 
on  which  he  was  to  obtain  information.  The  plan  was  for  him  to  cross  over 
the  Sound  and  land  on  Long  Island,  of  which  the  enemy  had  then  full  pos 
session.  Numerous.,  difficulties  -were  to  be  overcome  at  the  very  outset. 
The  Sound  was  filled  with  British  cruisers,  while  the  adjacent  shores  were 
scoured  by  their  foraging  parties,  so  that  he  was  liable  to  be  apprehended  at 
'  any  moment.  If  he  succeeded,  great  benefit  was  to  accrue  to  his  country ; 
if  he  failed,  death  on  the  gallows  was  to  be  his  certain  fate.  He  proceeded 
to  Nonvalk,  a  distance  of  fifty  miles,  and  made  arrangements  there  with 
Captain  Pond  to  have  him  carried  in  his  sloop  across  the  Sound  to  the  Long 
Island  shore,  some  twenty  miles  distant.  He  assumed  the  disguise  of  a 
school-teacher,  wearing  on  the  occasion  a  suit  of  brown  cloth  and  a  broad- 
brimmed  hat.  At  Norwalk,  he  dismissed  his  faithful  friend  Stephen  Hemp- 
stead,  and  embarking  on  board  the  sloop  was  safely  landed  on  the  oppo 
site  shore,  at  "  The  Cedars,"  near  Huntington  Bay. 

In  this  vicinity  lived  the  Widow  Chichester,  called  "Mother  Chick"  by 
the  tories,  who  made  her  house  a  sort  of  roost  during  their  predatory  incur- 
fcions.  Quite  a  flock  of  them  might  usually  have  been  seen  hovering  around 
in  the  vicinity  eager  to  enjoy  the  bounty  of  loyal  Mother  Chick.  Hale 
passed  this  tory  haunt  without  difficulty,  and  proceeded  toward  the  settle 
ments.  His  first  pause  was  at  the  house  of  William  Johnson,  whose  hospi 
tality  and  confidence  he  for  a  few  hours  enjoyed. 

His  exact  route  from  thence  is  not  known.  The  difficulties  he  encoun 
tered — the  narrow  escapes  he  ran — the  strategems  he  practiced,  we  can  only 
conjecture.  We  do  know  that  he  succeeded  in  reaching  the  British  camp, 
and  in  accomplishing  the  main  object  of  his  mission,  from  the  drawings  dis 
covered  in  his  possession  when  taken  by  the  enemy.  Doubtless  his  peace 
ful  demeanor  and  unpretending  attire  as  a  village  school-master,  subjected 
him  to  the  "jibes  and  jokes"  of  many  a  British  red-coat,  as  he  made  his 
way  into  their  camps  ;  but  it  facilitated  his  means  of  acquiring  information. 

In  the  course  of  his  investigations,  it  is  supposed,  he  entered  the  city  of 
New  York,  then  overrun  with  British  soldiers,  where  he  was  every  instant 
exposed  to  arrest,  as  indeed  was  every  citizen  who  went  abroad  without  a 
royal  protection  in  his  pocket.  In  such  an  event,  he  was  very  certain  to 
have  been  confined  in  the  old  "  Sugar  House,"  from  whose  fearful  gateway 
the  "dead-cart"  daily  bore  away  its  victims,  who  had  died  by  starvation  or 
poison  at  the  hands  of  the  infamous  wretches  in  charge. 

After  spending  a  week  or  more  among  the  enemy,  Hale  had  accomplished 
the  main  objects  of  his  enterprise.  He  then  retraced  his  steps  the  way  he 
came,  encountered  the  same  difficulties  in  passing  through  a  country  in  the 
possession  of  the  enemy,  and  arrived  in  safety  at  "  The  Cedars,"  where  he 
had  arranged  to  meet  a  boat  which  was  to  convey  him  back  to  the  Connec 
ticut  shore. 


OF  AMERICANS.  21 

It  was  early  morning,  and  the  bay  doubtless  presented  to  him  a  friendly 
appearance.  He  could  plainly  discern  the  shores  of  his  native  State,  rising 
in  beauty  beyond  the  blue  waters  of  the  Sound.  His  perils  seemed  ended, 
and  his  heart  must  have  swelled  with  emotions  of  pleasure,  as  h'3  thought 
that  in  a  few  hours  more  his  feet  would  again  press  friendly  soil,  and  he 
should  be  enabled  to  render  a  great  service  to  his  country. 

At  length  he  saw,  as  he  supposed,  his  boat  approaching.  Ho  hastened  to 
the  waters'  edge  to  meet  it  and  get  on  board.  It  neared  the  shore — and,  0  ! 
how  cold  must  have  grown  the  blood  around  that  gallant  young  heart,  when, 
springing  to  their  feet,  he  saw  a  dozen  men  with  muskets  cocked  and  aimed 
at  his  breast,  and  the  summons  to  surrender  fell  upon  his  ears.  '  The  boat 
was  a  barge  belonging  to  the  Halifax,  a  British  man-of-war  anchored  near 
by,  but  concealed  by  the  projection  of  Lloyd's  Neck. 

His  captors  took  him  on  board  the  Halifax,  Captain  Quarme.  He  was 
searched,  and  between  the  soles  of  his  shoes  were  found  drawings  of  mili 
tary  works,  with  descriptions  in  Latin.  What  had  he,  a  plain  school 
master,  to  do  with  laborious  profiles  of  intrenchments,  forts,  and  batteries ; 
and  these  the  exact  counterpart  of  those  occupied  by  the  royal  army  ?  It 
was  evident  he  was  a  spy  !  As  such  Captain  Quarme  treated  him,  though 
with  kindness,  won  by  his  noble  bearing,  and  regretting,  as  he  afterward 
said,  "  that  so  fine  a  fellow  had  fallen  into  his  power." 

His  subsequent  history  is  soon  told.  He  was  conveyed  to  New  York, 
which  he  reached  on  the  same  day  that  nearly  one  half  of  it  had  been  laid 
in  ruins  by  a  dreadful  conflagration. 

He  was  taken  into  the  presence  of  the  relentless  Howe.  The  notes  found 
in  his  possession,  the  drawings  of  the  British  works,  and  other  information 
collected  for  the  use  of  the  American  commander,  were  proofs  conclusive 
of  his  guilt.  Before  his  judge  he  practiced  no  duplicity,  resorted  to  no  sub 
terfuge  ;  his  garb  of  a  achool-teacher  made  no  screen  behind  which  he 
longer  aimed  to  conceal  himself  from  the  British  general.  The  case  was 
soon  made  out  and  judgment  rendered — such  a  one  as  might  have  been  ex 
pected — signed  by  Howe,  in  the  name  of  his  royal  majesty,  George  III. 
He  was  condemned  as  a  spy,  and  sentenced  to  be  hung  the  next  morning  at 
daybreak. 

He  was  then  conducted  to  prison,  to  reflect  during  the  remaining  few 
hours  upon  his  melancholy  doom.  Young,  full  of  life  and  hope,  he  was 
soon  to  be  executed  like  a  common  felon,  and  sent  into  the  presence  of  that 
God  whose  unsearchable  riches  he  had  one  day  hoped  to  have  proclaimed 
to  his  fellow-men.  What  memories  must  have  crowded  upon  him  during 
the  short  interval  before  his  execution  !  How  through  the  dim  past  must 
his  thoughts  have  rolled  back  along  the  vista  of  his  brief  life,  even  to  the 
scenes  of  his  boyhood!  How' the  image  of  his  dear  mother  must  have 
presented  itself  to  him,  as  .he  thought  of  the  shock  to  her  when  she  re 
ceived  the  tidings,  in  her  quiet  New  England  home,  that  her  son  had  been 
hung  I  Then  too,  the  image  of  his  beautiful  betrothed  would  appear  lov 
ingly  before  him,  to  remind  him  of  the  pure  young  heart  his  fate  would 
make  desolate  !  But  the  die  was  cast.  To-morrow,  at  daybreak,  he  was  to 
be  executed.  No  power  could  avert  it.  Yet  he  was  to  perish  in  the  service 
of  h;3  country,  and  he  resolved  to  meet  death  as  became  a  Christian  patriot. 


22  ADVENTUBES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS. 

Major  Cunningham,  a  brutal  Irishman,  whose  infamous  cruelties  upon 
American  prisoners  were  so  notorious,  was  then  provost  marshal  of  the  city. 
He  declared,  with  an  oath,  that  the  harshest  treatment  was  too  good  for 
such  "  traitors  to  undergo."  He  even  murdered  the  prisoners  by  poisoning 
their  food,  that  he  might  appropriate  their  rations  to  his  own  benefit.  Such 
was  the  vile  wretch  into  whose  custody  Hale  was  given. 

Their  first  interview  was  characteristic.  Hale  requested  writing  materials, 
that  he  might  write  to  his  parents  and  friends.  This  was  refused.  He  then 
asked  for  the  Bible,  that  he  at  least  might  have  the  benefit  of  religious  con 
solation.  With  an  oath,  this  also  was  denied.  A  lieutenant  of  the  royal 
army,  then  present,  here  interposed  with  entreaty,  and  his  requests  were 
finally  complied  with.  There,  on  the  verge  of  eternity,  Hale  for  the  last 
time  communed  with  his  loved  ones.  It  is  thought  he  wrote  three  letters  ; 
one  to  his  parents,  one  to  his  brother,  and  the  other  to  his  betrothed.  They 
were  handed  over  to  Cunningham  for  delivery.  His  eye  ran  eagerly  over 
their  contents,  which  so  incensed  him  that  he  tore  them  to  atoms,  swearing, 
"  that  tlie  rebels  should  never  "know  tliey  had  a  man  who  could  die  with  such 
firmness !" 

A  few  hours  more,  and  the  fatal  morning  dawned — a  beautiful  Sabbath 
morning,  in  early  autumn,  1776.  The  gray  tint  that  streaked  the  eastern 
sky  told  Hale  his  hour  had  come.  On  many  just  such  mornings,  he  had 
looked  out  upon  the  scenery  of  his  New  England  home,  and  felt  a  thrill  of 
delight ;  on  many  such  had  his  father  gathered  the  little  flock  around  his 
hearth  for  family  worship,  to  prepare  them  for  that  eternity  upon  whose 
awful  threshold  he  now  stood.  It  was  his  last  morning.  The  sun  would 
rise  again,  but  its  rays  would  fall  upon  his  grave. 

The  provost  marshal  ordered  the  march  to  the  place  of  execution  to  com 
mence.  With  his  hands  tied  behind  him  ; — a  convict's  cap  on  his  head  ;— 
wrapped  in  the  habiliments  of  the  tomb ; — beside  the  cart  with  his  coffin  ; — 
before  and  behind  him,  files  of  soldiers  for  his  guard ; — close  by,  the  mu 
latto  hangman  of  Cunningham,  with  rope  and  ladder ; — and  behind,  Cun 
ningham  himself; — to  the  cadence  of  the  "Dead  March,"  Hale  proceeded 
to  the  fatal  spot. 

They  reached  the  place  just  as  the  sun  was  rising.  A  large  crowd  had 
assembled  to  witness  the  death  of  the  spy.  The  limb  of  a  tree  was  used 
for  the  gallows.  Hale  manifested  no  fear  as  the  rope  was  adjusted  around 
his  neck.  Though  he  was  cheered  by  no  friendly  voice,  the  fire  of  freedom 
animated  his  bosom  with  holy  inspiration.  He  mounted  firmly  upon  the 
ladder  on  that  still  Sabbath  morning,  and  looked  calmly  over  the  large  as 
semblage.  Nowhere  did  he  meet  a  glance  of  recognition,  but  on  all  sides 
he  saw  sympathizing  hearts.  The  men  were  sad,  and  here  and  there  the 
tear  rolled  down  the  cheek,  expressive  of  the  keenest  compassion  ;  while 
the  women,  as  they  gazed  upon  the  face  of  one  so  young  and  noble,  gave 
vent  to  their  overcharged  feelings  in  sobs  and  lamentations. 

The  arrangements  being  completed,  Cunningham,  in  coarsest  tones  of 
fiend-like  triumph,  demanded  of  "  the  rebel "  his  "  dying  speech  and  con 
fession  ;"— evidently  in  the  hope  that  the  young  man  would  make  some 
remark  that  he  would  be  able  to  turn  into  ridicule  for  the  amusement  of  the 
depraved  among  the  by-standers.  Bitter,  however,  was  his  disappointment 


OF  AMERICANS.  23 

At  the  thought  of  instant  death,  the  face  of  Hale  lit  up  with  an  expression 
of  holy  patriotism,  and,  in  a  clear,  manly  voice,  he  spake  these  heroic 
words  : — 

"MY  ONLY  REGRET  IS,  THAT  I  HAVE  BUT  ONE  LIFE  TO  LOSE  FOR 
MY  COUNTRY !" 

Stung  by  this  unexpected  speech,  the  enraged  Cunningham  exclaimed  : 
"  Swing  tJie  rebel  up — Swing  tlie  rebel  up  /" — and,  in  a  moment  more,  the 
spirit  of  Nathan  Hale  had  passed  from  earth. 

The  circumstances  of  this  tragedy  were  officially  conveyed  to  the  Ameri 
can  head-quarters  by  Colonel  Mantaznar,  of  the  British  army,  and  as  much 
publicitv  as  possible  given  to  it  by  the  royal  officers,  so  as  to  intimidate  such 
hardy  spirits  in  the  future.  The  address  with  which  Hale  penetrated  their 
garrisons  and  camps,  and  the  heroic  manner  in  which  he  met  his  fate,  in 
spired  the  enemy  with  admiration,  and  made  them  feel  that  the  subjugation 
of  an  army  of  such  men  was  not  an  easy  task.  Even  the  brutal  Cunning 
ham,  in  his  drunken  bestiality,  when  with  his  boon  companions,  alluded  to 
his  conduct  on  the  gallows  in  warm  terms  of  commendation. 

Among  those  present  at  the  execution,  was  Tunis  Bogart,  an  honest 
farmer  of  Long  Island,  who  had  been  impressed  as  a  wagoner  in  the  British 
service.  In  1784,  on  being  asked  to  witness  a  public  execution,  then  about 
to  take  place,  this  man  replied,  "  No  !  I  have  .seen  one  man  hung  as  a  spy," 
alluding  to  Hale,  "and  that  was  enough  for  me.  I  have  never  been  able  to 
efface  the  scene  of  horror  from  my  mind — it  rises  up  to  my  imagination 
always.  That  old  devil-catcher,  Cunningham,  was  so  brutal,  and  hung  him 
up  as  a  butcher  would  a  calf !  The  women  sobbed  aloud,  and  Cunningham 
swore  at  them  for  it,  and  told  them  they  likely  enough  themselves  would 
come  to  the  same  fate." 

Washington  knew  Hale  well,  and  when  he  responded  to  the  appeal  of 
Knowlton,  he  expressed  a  regret  that  it  had  not  fallen  to  the  lot  of  one  less 
gifted.  His  death  deeply  pained  him,  and  he  felt  that  an  irreparable  loss 
had  been  sustained.  Nor  to  him  alone  were  these  feelings  confined.  Hale 
was  well  known  in  the  army — a  brother  among  the  officers,  beloved  by  all. 
A  thrill  of  anguish  went  through  the  lines  as  his  fate  was  told,  and  every 
brow  was  sad.  But  what  must  have  been  the  agony  produced  in  that  home 
circle,  where  he  was  an  object  of  so  much  affection !  In  the  simple  words 
of  one  who  knew  them  well,  "It  almost  killed  his  parents."  Though  they 
approved  of  the  spirit  which  induced  their  son  to  enter  the  army,  they 
looked  forward,  with  hopeful  pride,  to  the  time  when  the  banner  of  liberty 
would  be  triumphant,  and  he  would  enlist  under  that  of  the  Cross.  But 
the  blow  had  fallen.  Nathan  was  dead  ! — and  such  a  death  ! — the  death  of 
a  spy  !  The  betrothed  of  Hale,  Miss  Hannah  Adams,  remarkable  for  her 
bea'Hty  and  accomplishments,  lived  to  old  age,  and  died  exclaiming,  "  Write 
to  Nathan  !"  Thus  his  youthful  image  was  blended  with  her  latest  recol 
lections. 

Nor,  in  this  connection,  must  be  forgotten  Hale's  faithful  camp  attendant, 
Asher  Wright.  He  mourned  his  fate  with  more  than  a  brother's  sorrow. 
Although  he  lived  seventy  years  after  the  sad  occurrence,  he  never  lost  its 
vivid  recollection,  and  wept  as  a  very  child  whenever  it  was  alluded  to— 


24:  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

having  oecome  partially  insane,  in  consequence  of  his  continual  brooding 
over  the  melancholy  tragedy. 

A  lofty  monument  of  granite  rises  to  the  memory  of  Nathan  Hale  in  the 
burial-place  of  his  native  town.  There,  among  the  graves  of  a  simple- 
hearted  rural  people,  overlooking  a  beautiful  lake,  stands  this  memorial  of  a 
young  man,  whose  short  life  of  twenty-one  years  ended  in  so  much  of  sor- 
sow ;  and  who,  dying  the  ignominious  death  of  a  spy,  was  rudely  thrust 
into  an.  unknown  and  an  unhonored  grave  ! 

The  death  of  Andre  and  that  of  Hale  have  often  been  compared.  Each 
was  young,  in  the  morning  of  life,  full  of  hope,  ardent,  accomplished,  and 
possessed  of  those  qualities  that  won  all  hearts.  Each  died  bravely,  and 
each  was  executed  as  a  spy;  but  there  terminates  all  similitude  between  them. 
The  first  was  treated  by  his  enemies  with  the  greatest  consideration  and 
sympathy  compatible  with  his  offense  :  the  latter,  with  the  greatest  barbar 
ity,  denied  even  the  consolation  of  the  Bible,  and  then  hung  "  as  a  butcher 
Avould  hang  a  calf."  Andre  entered  on  his  mission  without  the  expectation, 
if  arrested,  of  being  treated  as  a  spy  :  Hale  entered  on  his  mission  under  a 
full  sense  of  his  awful  peril.  At  his  place  of  execution,  the  thoughts  of  the 
Englishman  were  upon  himself,  for  he  wished  them  "  to  bear  witness  that  he 
died  like  a  brave  man :"  at  his  place  of  execution,  the  thoughts  of  the  Amer 
ican  were  upon  his  country,  for  which  he  "  regretted  he  had  only  one  life  to 
lose !"  The  one  showed  the  heroism  of  the  chivalrous  soldier,  who  shrank 
only  at  the  disgraceful  mode  of  his  death  :  the  other  showed  the  heroism 
of  the  Christian  patriot,  willing  to  die  even  an  ignominious  death  for  the 
good  of  his  country.  The  name  of  Andre  is  known  wherever  the  English 
language  is  spoken  :  but  that  of  Hale,  the  greater  hero,  is  scarcely  know  a 
even  to  his  own  countrymen  ! 

This  sketch  is  prefaced  with  lines  written  by  one  who  knew  Hale  well, 
and  loved  him  with  ardent  affection — the  celebrated  Dr.  Dwight,  President 
of  Yale  College.  On  the  first  page  of  our  collection  of  poetry,  at  the  latter 
part  of  this  work,  are  "  Lines  on  the  Death  of  Hale,"  from  the  pen  of 
Francis  Miles  Finch,  a  graduate  of  Yale.  They  from  part  of  a  poem  de 
livered  by  him  before  the  Linonian  Society  of  Yale,  at  its  centennial 
anniversary,  A.  D.  1853.  Nathan  Hale,  when  a  student,  was  a  mem 
ber  of  this  society  ;  and  among  the  eminent  names  found  on  its  rolls,  there 
is  none,  in  all  coming  time,  that  will  probably  be  more  revered  than  that  of 
the  young  "  Hero  Martyr  of  the  American  Revolution." 


THE  ACHIEVEMENTS 

OF    SOM  EOF    THE 

EARLY  AMERICAN  ARTISTS 

WEST  — STUAKT  — TKUMBU^L 


WE  outline  three  incidents  as  an  introduction  to  this  article.  The  first 
occurred  in  a  Western  State,  on  an  autumnal  evening.  A  gentleman,  having 
finished  his  office  labors  for  the  day,  strolled  into  the  garden  with  his 
young  wife,  when  her  attention  was  attracted  by  a  huge  mass  of  clouds, 
lit  up  by  the  last  rays  of  the  sun,  in  hues  of  crimson  and  gold  ;  save  in  one 
spot,  where  an  opening  in  the  parted  rifts  caught  the  eye,  and  led  the  vision 
to  such  an  apparently  iirirnense  distance  beyond,  that  it  seemed  like  a 
glance  into  eternity. 

"  Look  !  pray  do  look  at  that  sky  ! "  exclaimed  the  admiring  lady  to  her 
companion,  who  happened  that  moment  to  be  in  a  bent  attitude,  his  tall 
form  arrayed  in  gown  and  slippers,  and  his  fingers  busy  poking  in  the 
ground.  "  Pooh  !  pooh  !  never  mind  the  sky,"  he  replied,  "  here,  just  look 
at  my  roota-bagas  ;  I  shall  get  at  least  twenty  bushels  out  of  this  patch  ! " 

The  scene  changes ;  and  to  the  heart  of  New  England,  in  the  first  days 
of  June.  "  Nature  uncorks  her  champaign  only  twice  a  day,"  says  a  popu 
lar  writer,  "  morning  and  evening."  It  was  early  morning  and  the  cork 
had  "  pop't."  A  young  man  was  sitting  in  the  door  of  a  quaint  old  farm 
house,  looking  upon  the  valley  of  the  smooth  gliding  Connecticut.  The 
shadows  were  long  upon  the  landscape,  then  in  the  freshness  of  the  new 
born  spring.  The  foreground  was  occupied  by  a  massive  group  of  ancient 
trees,  laughing  in  their  green  old  age,  in  robes  of  luxuriant  foliage  ;  while 
beyond,  the  grass-covered  fields  sloped  away  in  picturesque  curves  down 
to  the  margin  of  the  river,  which  lay  bright  and  sparkling  in  its  winding 
course.  On  the  opposite  side  of  the  valley,  arose  the  fine  hills  of  old 
Hampshire,  here  in  light  and  there  in  shadow,  at  the  caprice  of  a  bank  of 
whi-te,  woolly  clouds,  that,  floating  grandly  in  the  heavens,  seemed  soft  and 
inviting  to  the  nap  of  a  summer's  afternoon. 

As  the  eye  of  the  young  man  took  in  the  glories  of  the  panorama,  valley, 
river,  mountain,  and  sky,  a  sensation  of  pleasure  stole  over  him  ;  the  first  of 
the  kind — for  so  he  told  us — he  had  ever  experienced  ;  it  was  the  emotion 
created  by  the  beautiful  in  Nature. 

The  opening  incident  was  in  the  history  of  a  lawyer,  and  a  graduate  of 
Harvard ;  this,  in  that  of  a  clergyman,  and  a  graduate  of  Yale ;  both  im 
press  us  as  to  the  esthetical  culture  of  those  renowned  American  uni 
versities. 

(25) 


26  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

"  I  care  nothing  for  pictures,"  said  a  farmer  to  a  young  man  who  was  endea 
voring  to  entice  him  into  the  purchase  of  a  book,  "  illustrated  by  many  pic 
tures,"  "pointing  morals  and  adorning  tales."  He  spake  the  truth,  for  as 
he  said  so,  his  nostrils  sniveled  in  a  sneer,  and  his  head  jerked  in  a  dis 
dainful  toss.  He  despised  them  as  puerile  ;  yet,  as  he  had  never  wandered  far 
beyond  the  sight  of  his  chimney  smoke,  his  brain  held  many  good  ideas 
solely  derived  from  pictures ;  including  the  idea  of  the  great  wall  in  China, 
that  in  his  boyhood  he  had  from  his  school  geography,  to  the  idea  of  a 
newly  invented  plow  he  had  seen  in  his  newspaper,  and  that  was  then 
doing  good  service  for  him  in  his  manly  occupation  as  a  tiller  of  the  soil. 

These  incidents  are  true ;  and  yet,  among  persons  of  equal  intelligence, 
unlikely  to  occur  in  any  country  save  our  own.  Americans  have  less  fond 
ness  for  the  beautiful  in  Nature,  and  less  appreciation  of  the  excellent  in 
Art,  than  any  other  civilized  people.  In  the  summer,  when  Young  America 
takes  his  holiday,  he  will  be  found  in  the  finest  apparel,  his  feet  pinched  in 
patent  leather,  lounging  under  some  piazza  at  a  crowded  watering-place ; 
or  if  he  does  ruralize,  it  is  in  the  utter  forgetfulness  of  legs  ;  for  he  is  whirl 
ing,  in  a  slender  cariole,  over  a  straight  hard  road,  amid  clouds  of  dust,  and 
behind  a  2:40  nag,  out  of  whom  he  is  straining  to  get  his  mile  within  2:39. 

At  the  same  time,  in  England,  multitudes  will  be  seen,  all  over  the  coun 
try,  from  the  nobleman  to  the  shop-keeper's  clerk  on  his  vacation,  dressed 
in  coarse  checked  suits  and  stout  shoes,  with  their  knapsacks,  traveling  on 
foot,  and  carrying  opera-glasses ;  seeking  out  fine  points  of  view,  from 
whence  to  enjoy  the  ever-varying,  never-repeating  combinations  of  scenery, 
created  expressly  for  our  gratification,  by  a  common  Father.  On  the  con 
tinent,  poverty  may  deny  to  the  humble  peasant  the  many  comforts  we 
possess,  but  it  cannot  deprive  him  of  the  visible  glories  of  Nature,  or  of  the 
great  in  Art,  that  he  sees  in  the  cathedral  where  he  worships,  and  in  tho 
galleries  around  him,  free  and  open  to  all.  He  thus  becomes  familiar  with 
the  names  of  artists  ;  he  is  taught  by  their  representations,  and  as  he  looks 
at  Art,  he  is  educated  to  look  at  Nature  and  then  again  at  Art,  until  by  re 
ciprocation,  from  one  to  the  other,  a  new  sense  is  developed,  and  he  grows 
appreciative  alike  in  the  works  of  God  and  in  those  of  man. 

The  life  of  the  American  has  been  hard  and  dry.  He  commenced  in 
poverty,  and  what  with  the  felling  of  the  forest,  and  the  elbowing  away  of 
the  Indian  to  give  him  room,  he  has  thought  of  little  else.  He  has  not 
tarried  to  take  a  lesson  of  patience  from  his  ox,  that  calmly  chewed  the 
cud  under  the  yoke  ;  nor  one  of  enjoyment  from  the  little  robin,  that  cheerily 
sang  all  the  day  long  in  the  tree  near  where  he  labored.  Ever  hurrying  on, 
restless  and  nervous,  applying  to  work  with  a  never  before  known  intensity, 
he  brings  up  at  length  at  the  end  of  his  days,  without  scarcely  a  single 
pause  by  the  way,  to  inquire  for  what  he  has  lived.  He  "  has  eyes,  but  he 
Bees  not ; "  he  "  has  ears,  but  hears  not ; "  seeing  nothing  nor  hearing 
nothing,  but  bending  all  his  energies,  body  and  soul,  to  the  one  great  end— 
"  the  main  chance." 

This  is  wrong.  "Man  was  not  made  to  live  by  bread  alone."  Those 
finer  faculties,  our  tastes,  the  love  of  Nature,  Art,  Poetry,  and  Music,  were 
given  to  be  cultivated,  and  the  pauses  to  administer  to  them,  are  the  rest 
ing-places  in  this  not  altogether  work- day- world. 


OF  AMERICANS.  27 

Art  is  so  little  appreciated  among  us,  that  scarcely  a  name  of  a  successful 
American  artist  has  impressed  the  American  people  at  large,  save  perhaps 
one,  a  sculptor,  and  he  only  because  he  is  said  to  have  excelled  all  European 
cotemporaries  in  the  carving  of  a  nude  female  figure.  A  change  is  to  ensue, 
The  flush  of  a  new  dawn  is  shooting  upward.  And  we  trust  the  day  will 
soon  arrive,  when  the  walls  of  even  the  cottages  of  the  land  will  generally 
be  attractive,  from  pleasant  pictures  of  landscapes,  of  instructive  scenes  in 
history,  and  heart-improving  delineations  of  domestic  life. 

America  has  produced  some  artists  of  note ;  enough  to  show  that  this 
kind  of  talent,  when  required  among  us,  will  be  forthcoming,  and  in  no 
stinted  measure.  Possibly,  at  this  moment,  somewhere  in  the  dark  pine  for 
ests  of  Minnesota,  or  by  the  shores  of  the  rolling  Atlantic,  or  on  the  sunny 
slopes  of  the  Alleghanies,  is  a  white-headed,  hatless,  and  bare-footed  lit 
tle  urchin,  playing  in  the  sand  before  the  door  of  a  rude  cabin,  who  is 
marked  for  a  great  career  in  Art ;  to  bless  the  future  of  our  people  by  a 
matchless  genius  in  illustrating  the  heroic  in  American  annals,  or  by  touch 
ing  pictures  of  American  life,  that  shall  sweetly  influence  to  a  more  vivid 
appreciation  and  love  of  home. 

So  little  at  an  early  day  was  Art  cultivated  in  our  country,  that  our  men 
of  genius  in  this  line  were  obliged  to  seek  a  field  for  their  efforts  mainly  in 
Europe.  We  introduce  the  histories  of  a  few  of  these. 

BENJAMIN    WEST. 

Something  more  than  a  century  since,  the  screams  of  a  cat  in  sore  distress 
issued  from  the  farm-house  of  a  Quaker,  in  Springfield,  Chester  county,  Penn 
sylvania  ;  and  she  had  cause,  for  little  "Benny"  West  held  her  in  his  grip, 
and  was  pulling  out  her  fur  by  the  roots,  to  make  his  paint  brushes  from ; 
genius  was  working  in  him,  and  poor  puss  had  to  suffer.  When  her  hair 
was  drawn  through  a  goose  quill,  it  answered  his  purpose  very  well.  His 
resources  for  paints  were  the  wandering  Indians,  who  supplied  him  with 
the  red  and  yellow  earths  with  which  they  daubed  their  skins,  and  his 
mother's  indigo  pot,  from  which  he  got  his  blue  color. 

He  early  showed  a  fondness  for  Art.  In  1745,  when  he  was  but  seven 
years  old,  he  was  placed  with  a  fly-brush  to  watch  the  sleeping  infant  of 
his  eldest  sister.  As  he  sat  there  the  child  smiled  in  sleep.  Struck  by  its 
beauty  he  attempted  to  draw  its  portrait  in  red  and  black  ink.  His  sober 
parents  encouraged  this  new  taste,  and  in  a  little  while,  the  quiet  Quaker 
home  was  filled  with  his  pictorial  efforts. 

A  Mr.  Pennington,  a  merchant  of  Philadelphia,  made  a  visit  to  Chester 
county,  where  he  saw  some  of  these  sketches  of  the  boy-artist,  and  when 
he  returned  home  he  sent  him  a  present  worth  more  to  him  than  a  king 
dom — "a  box  of  paints  and  brushes,  and  several  pieces  of  canvas  prepared, 
and  six  engravings  by  Greveling."  These  were  the  first  works  or  imple 
ments  of  Art  the  boy  had  ever  seen.  "  West  placed  the  box  on  a  chair  by 
Bis  bedside,  and  he  was  unable  to  sleep.  He  rose  with  the  dawn,  carried 
his  canvas  and  colors  to  the  garret,  hung  up  the  engravings,  prepared  a 
palette,  and  commenced  copying.  So  completely  was  he  under  the  control 


23  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

of  this  species  of  enchantment,  that  he  absented  himself  from  school, 
labored  secretly  and  incessantly  for  several  days,  when  the  anxious  inqui 
ries  of  the  schoolmaster  introduced  his  mother  to  his  studio  with  no  pleasure 
in  l^er  looks,  but  her  anger  vanished  as  she  looked  upon  his  performance. 
He  had  avoided  copyism,  and  made  a  picture  composed  from  two  of  the  en 
gravings,  telling  a  new  story,  and  colored  with  a  skill  and  effect  that  was  in 
her  sight  surprising.  "  She  kissed  him,"  says  Gait,  who  had  the  story 
from  the  artist,  "  with  transports  of  affection,  and  assured  him  that  she 
would  not  only  intercede  with  his  father  to  pardon  him  for  having  absented 
himself  from  school,  but  would  go  herself  to  the  master  and  beg  that  ha 
might  not  be  punished." 

When  West  was  nine  years  of  age,  Peunington  took  him  to  Philadelphia, 
and  introduced  him  to  Williams,  a  portrait  painter,  who  was  so  much  de 
lighted  with  a  landscape  that  he  had  painted,  that  he  warmlj  encouraged 
him  to  prosecute  his  studies.  He  gave  him  a  couple  of  Ix/ukr .  and  an  in 
vitation  to  call  whenever  he  pleased  and  see  his  pictures. 

The  books  and  the  pictures  made  the  love  of  Art  overcome  all  other 
feelings,  and  he  returned  home  resolved  to  become  t»  painter.  Williams' 
pictures,  which  were  "the  first  specimens  of  true  i/c  the  boy  had  seen, 
affected  West  so  much  that  he  burst  into  tears." 

A  story  well  authenticated  is  told  by  all  his  biog.-.aphers,  which  goes  to 
show  that  Benjamin  was  quite  an  ambitious  littlw  fellow  for  a  Quaker. 
"  One  of  his  school-fellows  allured  him  on  a  hall -holiday  from  trap  and 
ball,  by  promising  him  a  rule  to  a  neighboring  p.antatiori.  '  Here  is  tho 
horse,  bridled  and  saddled,'  said  his  friend,  'so  come,  get  up  behind  me.' 
'Behind  you,'  said  Benjamin;  'I  will  ride  behind  nobody.'  'Oh!  very 
\vell,'  replied  the  other,  '  I  will  ride  behind  you  ;  so  mount.'  He  mounted 
accordingly  and  away  they  rode.  '  This  is  the  last  ride  I  shall  have,'  said 
his  companion,  '  for  some  time.  To-morrow  I  am  to  be  appenticed  to  a 
tailor.'  'A  tailor!'  exclaimed  West;  'you  will  surely  never  be  a  tailor.' 
'Indeed,  but  I  shall,'  replied  the  other ;  'it  is  a  good  trade.  What  do  you 
intend  to  be,  Benjamin?'  'A  painter.'  'A  painter!  What  sort  of  a  trade 
is  a  painter?  I  never  heard  of  it  before.'  'A  painter,'  said  this  humble  son 
of  a  Pennsylvania  Quaker, '  is  the  companion  of  kings  and  emperors.'  '  You 
are  surely  mad,'  said  the  embryo  tailor,  '  there  are  neither  kings  nor  emperors 
in  America.'  'Aye,  but  there  are  plenty  in  other  parts  of  the  world.  And 
do  you  really  intend  to  be  a  tailor? '  *  Indeed  I  do — nothing  surer.'  '  Then 
you  may  ride  alone,'  said  the  future  companion  of  kings  and  emperors, 
leaping  down  ;  '  I  will  not  ride  with  one  willing  to  be  a  tailor  !' " 

A  gentleman  by  the  name  of  Flower,  who  lived  in  a  neighboring  town, 
«saw  some  of  West's  first  pictures,  and  was  so  well  pleased  with  the  boy 
that  he  invited  him  to  visit  his  house.  There  he  met  a  young  Eng 
lish  lady,  who  was  governess  to  his  daughter.  She  was  well  acquainted 
with  Art,  and  also  intimate  with  Greek  and  Latin  Poets,  and  loved  to  point 
out  to  the  young  artist  the  most  picturesque  passages.  He  had  never  before 
heard  of  Greece  or  of  Eome,  or  of  the  heroes,  philosophers,  poets,  painters, 
and  historians,  whom  they  had  produced,  and  he  listened  while  the  lady 
spoke  of  them,  with  an  enthusiasm  which,  after  an  experience  of  nearly 
seventy  years  in  the  world  he  loved  to  live  over  again. 


OF  AMERICANS.  29 

His  fame  spread  to  Lancaster,  where  he  was  soon  employed  to  paint  por 
traits.  A  Lancaster  gunsmith,  Mr.  Joseph  Henry,  commissioned  him  to 
paint  the  Death  of  Socrates.  The  artist  knew  none  too  much  about  tha 
personage  he  was  going  to  paint,  and  the  gunsmith  read  to  him  a  few  pas 
sages  which  spoke  about  hemlock  and  the  philosopher.  Once  possessed  of 
the  idea,  he  began  to  work  it  out  on  canvas.  The  gunsmith  gave  him  one 
of  his  men  to  stand  for  a  model,  and  in  due  time  this  first  historical  picture 
of  Benjamin  West  was  finished. 

When  West  was  fifteen  years  of  age,  Dr.  Smith,  Provost  of  the  College 
of  Philadelphia,  proposed  to  his  father  to  send  his  son  to  that  city  where  he 
kindly  offered  to  direct  his  studies.  But  before  this  Quaker  father  gave  up 
his  boy  to  the  "worldly  occupation  of  painting,"  he  felt  it  to  be  his  duty 
to  lay  the  matter  before  the  society  of  which  he  was  a  member.  The  soci 
ety  assembled  and  waited  for  the  moving  of  the  spirit.  It  was  a  serious 
question  with  those  serious  men  and  women,  whether  they  could  give 
their  consent  that  one  of  their  own  members  should  wander  from  the  fold, 
to  pursue  an  art  which  "  had  hitherto  been  employed  to  embellish  life,  to 
preserve  voluptuous  images,  and  add  to  the  sensual  gratifications  of  man." 

"  The  spirit  of  speech  first  descended  on  one  John  Williamson — '  To 
John  West  and  Sarah  Persons,'  said  this  Western  Luminary,  « a  man-child 
hath  been  born,  on  whom  God  hath  conferred  some  remarkable  gifts  of 
mind  and  you  have  all  heard  that,  by  something  amounting  to  inspiration, 
the  youth  has  been  induced  to  study  the  Art  of  Painting.  It  is  true  that 
our  tenets  refuse  to  own  the  utility  of  that  art  to  mankind  ;  but  it  seemeth 
to  me  that  we  have  considered  the  matter  too  nicely.  God  has  bestowed 
on  this  youth  a  genius  for  Art — shall  we  question  His  wisdom?  Can  we 
believe  that  He  gives  such  rare  gifts  but  for  a  wise  and  good  purpose?  I  see 
the  Divine  hand  in  this ;  we  shall  do  well  to  sanction  the  art  and  eilcourage 
this  youth.' " 

The  assembly  seems  to  have  felt  the  force  of  these  words,  and  the  young 
painter  was  called  in.  He  entered  and  took  his  station  in  the  middle  of  the 
room,  his  father  on  his  right  hand  and  his  mother  on  the  left,  surrounded 
by  a  company  of  simple-hearted  worshipers.  A  female  spoke — for  in  the 
Society  of  Friends  the  pride  of  man  has  fastened  no  badge  of  servitude 
upon  woman.  *  There  seemed  to  be  but  one  opinion.  If  painting  had  been 
employed  hitherto  only  "to  preserve  voluptuous  images,  in  wise  and  pure 
hands  it  may  rise  in  the  scale  of  moral  excellence,  and  display  a  loftiness 
of  sentiment,  and  a  devout  dignity  worthy  of  the  contemplation  of  Christians. 
Genius  is  given  by  God  for  some  high  purpose — what  that  purpose  is  let  us 
not  inquire — it  will  be  manifest  in  His  own  good  time  and  way.  He  hath 
in  this  remote  wilderness  endowed  with  the  rich  gifts  of  a  superior  spirit 
this  youth,  who  has  now  our  consent  to  cultivate  his  talents  for  Art.  May 
it  be  demonstrated  in  his  life  and  works,  that  the  gifts  of  God  have  not  been 
bestowed  in  vain  nor  the  motives  of  the  beneficent  inspiration,  which  induces 
us  to  suspend  the  strict  operation  of  our  tenets,  prove  barren  of  religious  and 
moral  effect."  "At  the  conclusion  of  this  address,  the  women  rose  and  kissed 
the  young  artist  and  the  men  one  by  one  laid  their  hands  on  his  head." 

West  pursued  his  studies  at  Philadelphia  with  an  untiring  devotion  until 
summoned  to  the  bedside  of  his  dying  mother.  He  arrived  just  in  tima 


30  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

to  receive  the  welcome  of  her  eyes,  and  her  mute  blessing.  His  affection 
and  veneration  for  his  mother  was  undying.  When  he  was  old  and  gray, 
he  recalled  her  looks  and  dwelt  on  her  expressions  of  fondness  and  of  hope, 
with  a  sadness  which  he  neither  wished  to  subdue  nor  conceal.  While  the 
companion  of  princes  and  noblemen,  he  used  to  go  from  scenes  of  splendor 
and  gayety,  and  around  his  fireside  talk  to  some  kind  friend  about  his 
mother. 

The  tie  that  held  him  to  home  was  now  broken,  an.d  he  left  it  to  go  out 
into  the  great  world,  to  win  fame  and  court  fortune  among  strangers.  Ha 
was  eighteen  years  of  age  when  he  returned  to  Philadelphia  to  establish 
himself  as  a  portrait  painter.  His  merit  was  great  and  he  had  abundant 
employment ;  first  in  that  city,  and  then  in  New  York,  where  he  remained 
nearly  a  year. 

His  extreme  youth,  the  peculiar  circumstances  of  his  history,  and  his  un 
doubted  merit  brought  him  many  sitters.  Young  as  he  was,  he  had  the 
sagacity  to  see  that  travel  influenced  the  public  opinion,  and  that  study, 
and  long  study,  was  necessary  for  him  if  he  really  wished  to  excel.  He 
knew  that  the  master- works  of  art  were  in  other  lands,  and  on  Rome  es 
pecially  he  had  already  set  his  heart. 

The  Italian  harvest  having  failed,  a  consignment  of  wheat  and  flour 
was  sent  from  Philadelphia  to  Italy,  and  put  under  the  charge  of  one  of  the 
Aliens,  who  offered  West  a  passage  to  Leghorn.  It  happened  that  a  New 
York  merchant,  of  the  name  of  Kelly,  was  at  that  time  sitting  to  West  for 
his  portrait,  and  to  this  gentleman  the  artist  spoke  of  his  intended  journey, 
and  represented  how  much  he  expected  a  year  or  two  of  study  in  Rome 
would  improve  his  skill  and  taste.  Kelly  paid  him  for  his  portrait,  gave 
him  a  letter  to  his  agents  in  Philadelphia,  shook  him  by  the  hand,  and 
wished  him  a  good  voyage.  Ere  he  reached  his  native,  place,  after  an  ab 
sence  of  eleven  months,  all  the  arrangements  for  his  departure  had  been 
completed  by  Smith  ;  and  when  he  presented  the  letter  of  Kelly,  he  found 
that  it  contained  an  order  from  that  generous  merchant  to  his  agent  to  pay 
him  fifty  guineas — "a  present  to  aid  in  his  equipment  for  Italy."  Thus  all 
things  seemed  to  conspire  for  the  furtherance  of  the  youth's  advancement 
in  the  road  to  wealth  and  honor,  for  he  found  friends  eager  to  assist  him 
at  every  step. 

West,  like  most  men  of  any  imagination  wno  visit  Rome,  was  always 
fond  of  describing  his  first  impressions.  He  had  walked  on  while  his  trav 
eling  companion  was  baiting  the  horses,  and  had  reached  a  rising  ground, 
which  offered  him  a  view  far  and  wide.  The  sun  was  newly  risen,  all  was 
calm  and  clear,  and  he  saw  before  him  a  spacious  champaign  bounded  by 
green  hills,  and  in  the  rnidst  a  wilderness  of  noble  ruins,  over  which  tow 
ered  the  nobler  dome  of  St.  Peters.  A  broken  column  at  his  feet,  which 
served  as  a  mile-stone,  informed  him  that  he  was  within  eight  thousand 
paces  of  the  ancient  mistress  of  the  world,  and  a  sluggish  boor,  clad  in 
rough  goat-skins,  driving  his  flocks  to  pasture  amid  the  ruins  of  a  temple, 
told  him  how  far  she  had  fallen.  In  the  midst  of  a  revery,  in  which  he 
was  comparing  the  treacherous  peasants  of  the  Campagna  with  the  painted 
barbarians  of  North  America,  he  entered  Rome.  This  was  on  the  10th  of 
July,  1760,  and  in  the  twenty-second  year  of  his  age. 


OF  AMERICANS.  31 

When  it  was  known  that  a  young  American  had  come  to  Rome  to  study 
Raphael  and  Michael  Angelo,  some  curiosity  was  excited  among  the  Roman 
virtuosi. 

Many  seemed  to  consider  the  young  American  as  at  most  a  better  kind 
of  savage ;  and,  accordingly,  were  curious  to  watch  him.  They  wished 
to  try  what  effect  the  Apollo,  the  Venus,  and  the  works  of  Raphael  would 
have  upon  -him,  and  "  thirty  of  the  most  magnificent  equipages  in  the 
capital  of  Christendom,  and  filled  with  some  of  the  most  erudite  characters 
in  Europe/'  says  Gait,  "  conducted  the  young  Quaker  to  view  the  master 
pieces  of  Art.  It  was  agreed  that  the  Apollo  should  first  be  submitted  to 
his  view;  the  statute  was  inclosed  in  a  case,  and  when  the  keeper  thiew 
open  the  doors,  West  unconsciously  exclaimed,  "My  God — a  young  Mo 
hawk  warrior  ! "  The  Italians  were  surprised  and  mortified  with  the  com 
parison  of  their  noblest  statute  to  a  wild  savage  ;  and  West,  perceiving  the 
unfavorable  impression,  proceeded  to  remove  it.  He  described  the  Mo 
hawks — the  natural  elegance  and  admirable  symmetry  of  their  persons — the 
elasticity  of  their  limbs,  and  their  motions  free  and  unconstrained.  "  I  have 
seen  them  often,"  he  continued,  "standing  in  the  very  attitude  of  this 
Apollo,  and  pursuing  with  an  intense  eye  the  arrow  which  they  had  just 
discharged  from  the  bow."  The  Italians  cleared  their  moody  brows,  and 
allowed  that  a  better  criticism  had  rarely  been  pronounced.  West  was  no 
(onger  a  barbarian. 

Of  his  claim  to  mix  with  men  of  genius,  however,  he  had  as  yet  sub 
mitted  no  proof;  he  had  indeed  shown  his  drawings  to  Mengs  and  to 
Hamilton,  but  they  were,  as  he  confessed,  destitute  of  original  merit ;  nor, 
indeed,  could  they  be  commended  for  either  neatness  or  accuracy.  He 
waited  on  Lord  Grantham — "  I  cannot,"  said  he,  "  produce  a  finished  sketch, 
like  the  other  students,  because  I  have  never  been  instructed  in  drawing  ; 
but  I  can  paint  a  little,  and  if  you  will  do  me  the  honor  to  sit  for  your  por 
trait,  that  I  may  show  it  to  Mengs,  you  will  do  me  a  great  kindness."  His 
lordship  consented  ;  the  portrait  was  painted  ;  and,  the  name  of  the  artist 
being  kept  secret,  the  picture  was  placed  in  the  gallery  of  Crespigni, 
where  amateurs  and  artists  were  invited  to  see  it.  It  was  known  that 
Lord  Grantham  was  sitting  to  Mengs,  and  to  him  some  ascribed  the  portrait, 
though  they  thought  the  coloring  surpassed  his  other  compositions.  Dance, 
an  Englishman  of  sense  and  acuteness,  looked  at  it  closely ;  "  the  coloring 
surpasses  that  of  Mengs,"  he  observed,  "but  the  drawing  is  neither  so  fine 
nor  so  good."  The  company  engaged  eagerly  in  the  discussion  ;  Crespigni 
seized  the  proper  moment,  and  sa,id,  "It  is  not  painted  by  Mengs."  "By 
whom  then?  "  they  exclaimed,  "  for  there  is  no  other  painter  in  Rome  capa 
ble  of  doing  anything  so  good."  "By  that  young  gentleman,"  said  the 
other,  turning  to  West,  who  sat  uneasy  and  agitated.  The  English  held 
out  their  hands ;  the  Italians  ran  and  embraced  him. 

Mengs  himself  soon  arrived ;  he  looked  at  the  picture,  and  spoke  with 
great  kindness.  "  Young  man,  you  have  no  occasion  to  come  to  Rome  to 
learn  to  paint." 

One  day  West  was  conversing  in  the  British  Coffee-House,  when  an  old 
man  with  a  guitar  suspended  from,  his  shoulders,  offered  his  services  as  an 
improvisator  bard.  "  Here  is  an  American,"  said  the  companion  of  West, 


32  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

"  come  to  study  the  Fine  Arts  in  Rome  ;  take  him  for  your  theme,  and  it  ia 
a,  magnificent  one."  The  old  man  burst  into  a  song.  "  I  behold,"  he  sung, 
"  in  this  youth  an  instrument  chosen  by  Heaven  to  create  in  his  native 
country  a  taste  for  those  Arts  which  have  elevated  the  nature  of  man — an 
assurance  that  his  land  will  be  the  refuge  of  science  and  knowledge,  when 
in  the  old  age  of  Europe,  they  shall  have  forsaken  her  shores.  All  things 
of  heavenly  origin  move  westward,  and  Truth  and  Art  have  their  periods 
of  light  and  darkness.  Rejoice,  0  Rome,  for  thy  spirit  immortal  and  uncle- 
caved,  now  spreads  toward  a  new  world,  where,  like  the  soul  of  man  in  Par 
adise,  it  will  be  perfected  more  and  more." 

West  visited  Florence,  Bologna,  and  Venice,  carefully  studying  all  the 
works  of  the  great  masters  those  beautiful  cities  contain.  At  Parma  he 
was  elected  a  Member  of  the  Academy — he  painted  for  the  Academy  a. 
copy  of  the  St.  Jerome  of  Corregio,  "  of  such  excellence,  that  the  reigning 
prince  desired  to  see  the  artist.  He  went  to  court,  and,  to  the  utter  confu 
sion  of  the  attendants,  appeared  with  his  hat  on.  The  prince  was  a  lover 
of  William  Penn,  and  received  the  young  artist  with  complacency,  and 
dismissed  him  with  many  expressions  of  regard.  During  his  visits  to 
Florence  and  Bologna  he  had  also  received  the  honors  of  their  Academies. 

When  he  returned  to  Rome,  he  painted  a  picture  of  "  Cimon  and  Iphige- 
nia,"  and  another  of  "Angelica  and  Medora."  These  works  established  his 
reputation  in  Italy.  He  had  no  rival  in  Italy  but  Mengs  and  Pornpeo  Bafc- 
toni,  and  he  soon  left  those  painters  for  behind  him.  After  four  years  of 
study  and  triumph  in  that  unfortunate  but  beautiful  land,  he  turned  his 
face  toward  the  Alps,  with  a  determination  to  visit  England  and  then  return 
to  his  native  country — but  he  little  knew  how  brilliant  a  career  he  was  to 
run. 

He  arrived  in  London,  June  20,  1763,  and  at  a  most  auspicious  period; 
for  there  was  hardly  an  historical  painter  of  genius  then  engaged  in  his  Art 
in  Great  Britain.  But  before  he  could  succeed  he  had  to  create  a  new  taste. 
Such  was  the  prejudice  against  everything  modern,  that  no  Englishman 
would  have  dared  to  have  hung  up  any  modern  picture  in  his  house,  unless 
it  was  a  portrait. 

A  successful  beginning,  and  the  promise  of  full  employment  induced 
him  to  resolve  on  remaining  in  the  Old  Country.  But  he  was  attached  to  a 
young  lady  in  his  native  land — absence  had  augmented  his  regard,  and  he 
wished  to  return  to  Philadelphia,  marry  her,  and  bring  her  to  England. 
He  disclosed  the  state  of  his  affections  to  his  friends,  who  took  a  less  ro 
mantic  view  of  the  matter,  advised  the  artist  to  stick  to  his  easel,  and 
arranged  the  whole  so  prudently,  that  the  lady  came  to  London  accompanied 
bv  a  relation  whose  time  was  not  so  valuable  as  West's,  and  they  were  mar 
ried. 

Dr.  Drummond,  the  Archbishop  of  York,  a  dignified  and  liberal  prelate, 
and  an  admirer  of  painting,  invited  West  to  his  table,  conversed  with  him 
on  the  influence  of  Art,  and  on  the  honor  which  the  patronage  of  genius 
reflected  on  the  rich,  and  opening  Tacitus,  pointed  out  that  fine  passage 
where  Agrippina  lands  with  the  ashes  of  Germanicus.  He  caused  his  soa 
to  read  it  again  and  again,  commented  upon  it  with  taste  and  feeling,  and 
requested  West  to  make  him  a  painting  of  that  subject. 


OF  AMERICANS.  33 

When  the  work  was  being  proceeded  with,  the  archbishop  sought  and  ob 
tained  an  audience  of  his  majesty,  then  young  and  unacquainted  with  care* 
— informed  him  that  a  devout  American  and  Quaker  had  painted,  at  his  re 
quest,  such  a  noble  picture  that  he  was  desirous  to  secure  his  talents  for  the 
throne  and  the  country.  The  king  was  much  interested  with  the  story,  and 
said,  "  Let  me  see  this  ycung  painter  of  yours  with  his  Agrippina  as  soon  as 
you  please." 

A  gentleman  was  sent  from  the  palace  to  request  West's  attendance  with 
the  picture  of  Agrippina.  "His  majesty,"  said  the  messenger,  "is  a  young 
man  of  great  simplicity  and  candor ;  sedate  in  his  affections,  scrupulous  in 
forming  private  friendships,  good  from  principle,  and  pure  from  a  sense  of 
the  beauty  of  virtue."  Forty  years'  intercourse,  we  might  almost  say  friend 
ship,  confirmed  to  the  painter  the  accuracy  of  these  words. 

The  king  received  West  with  easy  frankness,  assisted  him  to  place  the 
Agrippina  in  a  favorable  light,  removed  the  attendants,  and  brought  in  the 
queen,  to  whom  he  presented  our  Quaker.  He  related  to  her  majesty  the 
history  of  the  picture,  and  bade  her  notice  the  simplicity  of  the  design  and 
the  beauty  of  the  coloring.  "  There  is  another  noble  Roman  subject,"  ob 
served  his  majesty,  "the  departure  of  Regulus  from  Rome — would  it  not 
make  a  fine  picture?"  "It  is  a  magnificent  subject,"  said  the  painter. 
"Then,"  said  the  king,  "you  shall  paint  it  forme."  He  turned  with  a 
smile  to  the  queen,  and  said,  "  The  archbishop  made  one  of  his  sons  read 
Tacitus  to  Mr.  West,  but  I  will  read  Livy  to  him  myself^-that  part  where 
he  describes  the  departure  of  Regulus."  So  saying,  he  read  the  passage 
very  gracefully,  and  then  repeated  his  command  that  the  picture  should  be 
painted. 

West  was  too  prudent  not  to  wish  to  retain  the  sovereign's  good  opinion — 
and  his  modesty  and  his  merit  deserved  it.  The  palace  doors  now  seemed 
to  open  of  their  own  accord,  and  the  domestics  attended  with  an  obedient 
start  to  the  wishes  of  him  whom  the  king  delighted  to  honor.  There  are 
minor  matters  which  sometimes  help  a  man  on  to  fame  ;  and  in  these  too 
he  had  his  share.  West  was  a  skillful  skater,  and  in  America  had  formed 
an  acquaintance  on  the  ice  with  Colonel,  afterward  too  well  known  in  the 
colonial  war  as  General,  Howe;  this  friendship  had  dissolved  with  the 
thaw,  and  was  forgotten,  till  one  day  the  painter,  having  tied  on  his  skates 
at  the  Serpentine,  was  astonishing  the  timid  practitioners  of  London  by  the 
rapidity  of  his  motions,  and  the  graceful  figure  which  he  cut.  Some  one 
cried,  "  West !  West ! "  it  was  Colonel  Howe.  "  I  am  glad  to  see  you,'- 
said  he,  "  and  not  the  less  so  that  you  come  in  good  time  to  vindicate  my 
praises  of  American  skating."  He  called  to  him  Lord  Spencer  Hamilton 
and  some  of  the  Cavendishes,  to  whom  he  introduced  West  as  one  of  the 
Philadelphia  prodigies,  and  requested  him  to  show  them  what  was  called 
"  The  Salute."  He  performed  this  feat  so  much  to  their  satisfaction,  that 
they  went  away  spreading  the  praises  of  the  American  skater  over  London. 
Nor  was  the  considerate  Quaker  insensible  to  the  value  of  such  commenda 
tions  ;  he  continued  to  frequent  the  Serpentine,  and  to  gratify  large  crowds 
by  cutting  the  Philadelphia  Salute.  Many  to  their  praise  of  his  skating 
added  panegyrics  on  his  professional  skill,  and  not  a  few,  to  vindicate  theii 
applause,  followed  him  to  his  easel,  and  sat  for  their  portraits. 


34  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

While  West  was  painting  the  Departure  of  Regulus,  the  present  Roya. 
Academy  was  planned,  and  in  its  first  exhibition  appeared  the  Regulus.  A 
change  was  now  to  be  effected  in  the  character  of  British  Art ;  hitherto 
historical  painting  had  appeared  in  a  masking  habit;  the  actions  of  English 
men  seemed  all  to  have  been  performed,  if  costume  were  to  be  believed,  by 
Greeks  or  by  Romans.  West  dismissed  at  once  this  pedantry,  and  restored 
nature  and  propriety  in  his  noble  work  of  "The  Death  of  Wolfe."  The 
multitude  acknowledged  its  excellence  at  once.  The  lovers  of  old  art,  the 
manufacturers  of  compositions  called  by  courtesy  classical,  complained  of 
the  barbarism  of  boots,  and  buttons,  and  blunderbusses,  and  cried  out  for 
naked  warriors,  with  bows,  bucklers,  and  battering-rams.  Lord  Grovenor, 
disregarding  the  frowns  of  the  amateurs,  and  the,  at  best,  cold  approbation 
of  the  Academy,  purchased  this  work,  which,  in  spite  of  laced  coats  and 
cocked  hats,  is  one  of  the  best  of  our  historical  pictures.  The  Indian  war 
rior  watching  the  dying  hero,  to  see  if  he  equaled  in  fortitude  the  children 
of  the  deserts,  is  a  fine  stroke  of  nature  and  poetry. 

West  had  now  obtained  the  personal  confidence  of  the  king,  and  the 
favor  of  the  public.  His  majesty  employed  him  to  paint  a  series  of  his 
torical  pictures  for  the  palace,  and  when  the  king  grew  weary  of  these  sub 
jects,  he  took  new  ground  and  appealed  to  the  religious  feelings  of  the 
royal  patron. 

He  suggested  to  the  king  a  series  of  pictures  on  the  Progress  of  Revealed 
Religion.  He  selected  eighteen  subjects  from  the  Old,  and  eighteen  from 
the  New  Testament.  They  were  all  sketched,  and  twenty-eight  executed, 
for  which  in  all  West  received  upward  of  twenty-one  thousand  pounds. 
A  work  so  varied,  and  so  noble  in  its  nature,  was  never  before  undertaken 
by  any  painter. 

When  the  war  broke  out  between  England  and  her  colonies,  the  feelings 
of  West  were  sorely  tried.  His  early  friends  and  present  patrons  were  in 
volved  in  the  bloody  controversy.  He  was  too  much  in  the  palace  and 
alone  with  his  majesty,  to  avoid  some  allusion  to  the  strife.  It  is  to  the 
credit  of  that  monarch  that  he  never  allowed  the  political  opinions  of  West 
to  interfere  with  his  admiration  of  him  as  an  artist,  or  his  friendship  for  him 
as  a  man. 

Professor  Morse  relates  an  interesting  anecdote  about  West  and  George 
III.  The  professor  found  West  copying  a  portrait  of  the  king.  "  This  pic 
ture,"  said  the  old  painter,  "  is  remarkable  for  one  circumstance  :  the  king 
was  sitting  to  me  for  it  when  a  messenger  brought  him  the  '  Declaration  of 
Independence.'  "  It  may  be  supposed  that  the  question,  "  How  did  he  re 
ceive  the  news?"  was  asked.  "  He  was  agitated  at  first,"  said  AVest ;  "then 
sat  silent  and  thoughtful.  At  length,  he  said,  '  Well,  if  they  cannot  bo 
happy  under  my  government,  I  hope  they  may  not  change  it  for  a  worse. 
I  wish  them  no  ill.' "  If  such  was  George  III,  wo  find  no  difficulty  in  re 
conciling  his  attachment  to  Benjamin  West,  with  the  American's  honest 
love  of  his  native  land. 

When  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds  diect,  the  choice  of  the  Royal  Academy  fell 
on  West,  and  he  was  elected  president  with  the  "ready  assent  of  the  king." 
British  writers  seem  to  have  had  but  one  opinion  on  the  propriety  of  this 
choice — there  was  no  man  in  Great  Britain  whose  title  to  the  honor  was  so 


OF  AMERICANS.  35 

clear.  The  king  offered  him  on  this  occasion  the  honor  of  knighthood. 
Every  American  will  rejoice  that  he  rejected  the  nick-name.  It  had  been 
the  custom  to  confer  this  honor  on  the  most  distinguished  painter  in  Eng 
land.  West  was  the  only  man  who  declined  the  title.  Englishmen  still 
call  this  American  "Sir  Benjamin."  Well,  as  long  as  they  do  not  know 
how  such  a  "  nick-name  "  belittles  a  man  like  West,  we  must  overlook  it. 

The  new  president  delivered  many  discourses,  all  more  or  less  distin 
guished  for  plain  practical  sense.  He  pressed  upon  the  students  the  value 
of  knowledge  and  the  necessity  of  study,  and  the  uselessness  of  both  with 
out  a  corresponding  aptitude  of  mind  and  buoyancy  of  imagination — in 
other  words,  genius.  He  advised  them  to  give  heart  and  soul  wholly  to  art, 
to  turn  aside  neither  to  the  right  nor  to  the  left,  but  consider  that  hour  lost 
in  which  a  line  had  not  been  drawn,  nor  a  masterpiece  studied.  "  Observe," 
he  said,  "  with  the  same  contemplative  eye,  the  landscape,  the  appearance 
of  trees,  figures  dispersed  around,  and  their  aerial  distance  as  well  as  lineal 
forms.  Omit  not  to  observe  the  light  and  shade  in  consequence  of  the  sun's 
rays  being  intercepted  by  clouds  or  other  accidents.  Let  your  mind  be 
familiar  with  the  characteristics  of  the  ocean ;  mark  its  calm  dignity  when 
undisturbed  by  the  winds,  and  all  its  various  states  between  that  and  its 
terrible  sublimity  when  agitated  by  the  tempest.  Sketch  with  attention  its 
foaming  and  winding  coasts,  and  that  awful  line  which  separates  it  from  the 
heavens.  Replenished  with  these  stores,  your  imagination  will  then  come 
forth,  as  a  river  collected  from  little  springs  spreads  into  might  and  majesty. 
If  you  aspire  to  excellence  in  your  profession,  you  must,  like  the  industrious 
bee,  survey  the  whole  face  of  nature  and  sip  the  sweet  from  every  flower. 
When  thus  enriched,  lay  up  your  acquisitions  for  future  use,  and  examine 
the  great  works  of  art  to  animate  your  feelings  and  to  excite  your  emula 
tion.  When  you  are  thus  mentally  enriched,  and  your  hand  practiced  to 
obey  the  powers  of  your  will,  you  will  then  find  your  pencils  or  your 
chisels  as  magic  wands,  calling  into  view  creations  of  your  own,  to  adorn 
your  name  and  country." 

So  regular  were  West's  hours  of  labor,  and  so  carefully  did  he  calculate 
his  time,  that  to  describe  one  day  of  his  life  is  to  describe  years.  He  rose 
early—studied  before  breakfast — began  to  work  on  one  of  his  largo  pictures 
about  ten — painted  with  little  intermission  till  four — washed,  dressed,  saw 
visitors,  and  having  dined,  recommenced  his  studies  anew.  His  works  were 
chiefly  historical ;  he  dealt  with  the  dead ;  and  the  solitude  of  his  gallery 
was  seldom  invaded  by  the  rich  or  the  great  clamoring  for  their  portraits. 
Visitors  sometimes  found  their  way  to  his  inner  study  while  he  had  the 
pencil  in  his  hand ;  he  had  no  wish  to  show  off  his  skill  to  the  idle,  and 
generally  sat  as  silent  and  motionless  on  such  occasions  as  one  of  his  own 
apostles.  His  words  were  few,  his  manner  easy ;  his  Quaker-like  sobriety 
seemed  little  elevated  by  intercourse  with  nobles  and  waiting  gentlewomen. 
On  the  Windsor  pictures  he  expended  much  study,  and  to  render  them 
worthy  of  their  place,  he  "  trimmed,"  as  he  told  the  king,  "  his  midnight 
lamp."  So  closely  was  he  imprisoned  by  their  composition,  that  his  attend 
ance  at  the  burial  of  so  eminent  a  brother  artist  as  Gainsborough  was  men- 
tioned  as  something  extraordinary. 

West  lived  to  a  great  age.     Elizabeth  Shewell — for  more  than  fifty  yewf 
3 


36  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

his  kind  and  tender  companion — died  on  the  6th  of  December,  1817,  and 
West,  seventy -nine  years  old,  felt  that  he  was  soon  to  follow.  His  wife 
and  he  had  loved  each  other  some  sixty  years — had  seen  their  children's 
children — and  the  world  had  no  compensation  to  offer.  He  began  to  sink, 
and  though  still  to  be  found  at  his  easel,  his  hand  had  lost  its  early  alacrity. 
It  was  evident  that  all  this  was  to  cease  soon  ;  that  he  was  suffering  a  slow, 
and  a  general,  and  easy  decay.  The  venerable  old  man  sat  in  hii  study 
among  his  favorite  pictures,  a  breathing  image  of  piety  and  contentment, 
awaiting  calmly  the  hour  of  his  dissolution.  Without  any  fixed  complaint, 
his  mental  faculties  unimpaired,  his  cheerfulness  uneclipsed,  and  with  looks 
serene  and  benevolent,  he  expired  llth  March,  1820,  in  the  eighty-second 
year  of  his  age.  He  was  buried  beside  Reynolds,  Opie,  and  Barry,  in  St. 
Paul's  Cathedral.  The  pall  was  borne  by  noblemen,  ambassadors,  and 
academicians;  his  two  sons  and  grandson  were  chief  mourners;  and  sixty 
coaches  brought  up  the  splendid  procession. 

West  was  the  pioneer  and  father  of  American  artists.  Cunningham  in 
his  lives  of  eminent  artists,  thus  gives  the  character  of  West,  and  his  judg 
ment  upon  his  merits  as  a  painter.  How  true  or  just  this  criticism,  it  is  be 
yond  our  knowledge  or  province  to  decide  ;  but  the  late  Sir  Martin  Archer 
Snee,  President  of  the  Royal  Academy  of  England,  certainly  a  competent 
judge,  said  of  him,  that  in  his  department — historical  painting — he  was 
"the  most  distinguished  artist  of  the  age  in  which  he  lived."  Sir  Thomas 
Lawrence  also  gave  commendations  equally  strong.  Says  Cunningham  : 

"Benjamin  West  was  in  person  above  the  middle  size,  of  a  fair  complex 
ion,  and  firmly  and  compactly  built.  His  serene  brow  betokened  command 
of  temper,  while  his  eyes,  sparkling  and  vivacious,  promised  lively  remarks 
and  pointed  sayings,  in  which  he  by  no  means  abounded.  Intercourse  with 
courts  and  with  the  world,  which  changes  so  many,  made  no  change  in 
his  sedate  sobriety  of  sentiment  and  happy  propriety  of  manner,  the  re 
sults  of  a  devout  domestic  education.  His  kindness  to  young  artists  was 
great — his  liberality  seriously  impaired  his  income — he  never  seemed  weary 
of  giving  advice — intrusion  never  disturbed  his  temper — nor  could  tho 
tediousness  of  the  dull  ever  render  him  either  impatient  or  peevish, 
Whatever  he  knew  in  art  he  readily  imparted — he  was  always  happy  to 
think  that  art  was  advancing,  and  no  mean  jealousy  of  other  men's  good 
fortune  ever  invaded  his  repose." 

"As  his  life  was  long  and  laborious,  his  productions  are  very  numerous. 
He  painted  and  sketched  in  oil,  upward  of  four  hundred  pictures,  mostly  of 
an  historical  and  religious  nature,  and  he  left  more  than  two  hundred  original 
drawings  in  his  portfolio.  His  works  were  supposed  by  himself,  and  for  a 
time  by  others,  to  be  in  the  true  spirit  of  the  great  masters,  and  he  com 
posed  them  with  the  serious  ambition  and  hope  of  illustrating  Scripture, 
and  rendering  Gospel  truth  more  impressive.  No  subject  seemed  to  him 
too  lofty  for  his  pencil ;  he  considered  himself  worthy  to  follow  the  sub- 
limest  flights  of  the  prophets,  and  dared  to  limn  the  effulgence  of  God's 
glory,  and  the  terrors  of  the  day  of  Judgment.  The  mere  list  of  his  works 
makes  us  shudder  at  human  presumption — Moses  receiving  the  Law  on 
Sinai — the  Descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost  on  the  Saviour  in  the  Jordan — the 
Opening  of  the  Seventh  Seal  in  the  Revelations — Saint  Michael  and  his 


OP  AMERICANS.  37 

Angels  casting  out  the  Great  Dragon — the  mighty  Angel  with  one  foot  on 
Sea  and  the  other  on  Earth — the  Resurrection — and  there  are  many  others 
of  the  same  class  !  With  such  magnificence  and  sublimity  who  but  a 
Michael  Angelo  could  cope? 

In  all  his  works  the  human  form  was  exhibited  in  conformity  to  academic 
precepts — his  figures  were  arranged  with  skill — the  coloring  was  varied  and 
harmonious — the  eye  rested  pleased  on  the  performance,  and  the  artist 
seemed,  to  the  ordinary  spectator,  to  have  done  his  task  like  one  of  the 
highest  of  the  sons  of  genius.  But  below  all  this  splendor,  there  was  littlo 
cf  the  true  vitality — there  was  a  monotony,  too,  of  human  character — tho 
groupings  were  unlike  the  happy  and  careless  combinations  of  nature,  and 
the  figures  seemed  distributed  over  the  canvas  by  line  and  measure,  like 
trees  in  a  plantation.  He  wanted  fire  and  imagination,  to  be  the  restorer  oi 
that  grand  style,  which  bewildered  Barry  and  was  talked  of  by  Reynolds. 
Most  of  his  works — cold,  formal,  bloodless,  and  passionless — may  remind 
the  spectator  of  the  sublime  vision  of  the  valley  of  dry  bones,  when  the 
flesh  and  skin  had  come  upon  the  skeletons,  and  before  the  breath  of  God 
had  infused  them  with  life  and  feeling. 

Though  such  is  the  general  impression  which  the  works  of  West  make, 
it  cannot  be  denied  that  many  are  distinguished  by  great  excellence.  In  his 
Death  on  the  Pale  Horse,  and  more  particularly  in  his  sketch  of  that  pic 
ture,  he  has  more  than  approached  the  masters  and  princes  of  the  calling. 
It  is,  indeed,  irresistibly  fearful  to  see  the  triumphant  march  of  the  terrific 
phantom,  and  the  dissolution  of  all  that  earth  is  proud  of  beneath  his 
tread.  War  and  peace,  sorrow  and  joy,  youth  and  age,  all  who  love  and 
all  who  hate,  seem  planet-struck.  The  Death  of  Wolfe,  too,  is  natural  and 
noble,  and  the  Indian  chief,  like  the  Oneida  warrior  of  Campbell, 

"A  stoic  of  the  woods,  a  man  without  a  tear," 

was  a  happy  thought.  The  Battle  of  La  Hogue,  I  have  heard  praised  as 
the  best  historic  picture  of  the  British  school,  by  one  not  likely  to  be  mis 
taken,  and  who  would  not  say  what  he  did  not  feel.  Many  of  his  single 
figures,  also,  are  of  a  high  order.  There  is  a  natural  grace  in  tho  looks  of 
some  of  his  women,  which  few  painters  have  ever  excelled. 

West  was  injured  by  early  success ;  he  obtained  his  fame  too  easily — it 
was  not  purchased  by  long  study  and  many  trials — and  he  rashly  imagined 
himself  capable  of  anything.  But  the  coldness  of  his  imagination  nipped 
the  blossoms  of  history.  It  is  the  province  of  art  to  elevate  the  subject, 
in  the  spirit  of  its  nature,  and  brooding  over  the  whole,  with  the  feelin^  of 
a  poet,  awaken  the  scene  into  vivid  life,  and  heroic  beauty  ^  but  such 
mastery  rarely  waited  upon  the  ambition  of  this  amiable  and  upright  man." 

GILBERT  CHARLES  STUABT. 

That  most  eminent  of  American  portrait  painters,  the  eccentric  GILBERT 
CHARLES  STUART,  was  once  asked  at  an  English  inn,  in  "what  part  of  Eng 
land  he  was  born?"  "I  was  not  born  in  England,  Scotland,  Wales,  or 
Ireland."  "Where  then?"  "I  was  born  at  Narraganset."  "Where's 
that?"  "Six  miles  from  Pottawoone,  and  ten  miles  from  Poppasquash, 
and  about  four  miles  west  of  Connonicut,  and  not  far  from  the  spot  whero 


38  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

the  famous  battle  with  the  warlike  Pequots  was  fought."  "  In  what  part 
of  the  East  Indies  is  that,  sir? "  "  East  Indies,  my  dear  sir !  it  is  in  the 
State  of  Rhode  Island,  between  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut  river."  Thia 
was  all  Greek  to  his  companions,  and  he  left  them  to  study  a  new  lesson  in 
geography. 

An  anecdote  of  Stuart  is  given,  in  which  he  pretends  to  describe  the  kind 
cf  building  in  which  he  was  born.  As  it  is  related  in  his  characteristic 
style  as  a  story  teller,  we  give  it. 

A  few  years  before  his  death,  two  artists  of  Philadelphia  visited  Mr. 
Stuart^  at  his  residence  in  Boston.  These  gentlemen,  Messrs.  Longacre  and 
Neagle,  had  made  the  journey  for  the  sole  purpose  of  seeing  and  deriving 
instruction  from  the  veteran.  While  sitting  with  him  on  one  occasion,  Mr. 
Neagle  asked  him  for  a  pinch  of  snuff  from  his  ample  box,  out  of  which  he 
was  profusely  supplying  his  own  nostrils.  "  I  will  give  it  to  you,"  said  Stuart, 
"  but  I  advise  you  not  to  take  it.  Snuff-taking  is  a  pernicious,  vile,  dirty 
habit,  and,  like  all  bad  habits,  to  be  carefully  avoided."  "  Your  practice 
contradicts  your  precept,  Mr.  Stuart."  '*  Sir,  /  can't  help  it.  Shall  I  tell 
you  a  story?  You  were  neither  of  you  ever  in  England — so  I  must  describe 
an  English  stage-coach  of  my  time.  It  was  a  large  vehicle  of  the  coach 
kind,  with  a  railing  around  the  top  to  secure  outside  passengers,  and  a  bas 
ket  behind  for  baggage,  and  such  travelers  as  could  not  be  elsewhere  ac 
commodated.  In  such  a  carriage,  full  within,  loaded  on  top,  and  an  addi 
tional  unfortunate  stowed  with  the  stuff  in  the  basket,  I  happened  to  be 
traveling  in  a  dark  night,  when  coachee  contrived  to  overturn  us  all — or, 
as  they  say  in  New  York,  dump  us — in  a  ditch.  We  scrambled  up,  felt  our 
legs  and  arms  to  be  convinced  that  they  were  not  broken,  and  finding,  on 
•examination,  that  inside  and  outside  passengers  were  tolerably  whole  (on 
the  whole),  some  one  thought  of  the  poor  devil  who  was  shut  up  with  the 
baggage  in  the  basket.  He  was  found  apparently  senseless,  and  his  neck 
twisted  awry.  One  of  the  passengers,  who  had  heard  that  any  disloca 
tion  might  be  remedied,  if  promptly  attended  to,  seized  the  corpse,  with 
a  determination  to  untwist  the  man's  neck,  and  set  his  head  straight  on  his 
shoulders.  Accordingly,  with  an  iron  grasp,  he  clutched  him  by  the  head, 
and  began  pulling  and  twisting  by  main  force.  He  appeared  to  have  suc 
ceeded  miraculously  in  restoring  life ;  for  the  lead  man  no  sooner  experi 
enced  the  first  wrench,  than  he  roared  vociferously,  '  Let  me  alone  !  ,let  me 
alone!  I'm  not  hurt — I  was  born  so!'  Gentlemen,"  added  Stuart,  "I 
was  born  so ; "  and,  taking  an  enormous  pinch  of  snuff,  "  I  was  born  in  a 
snuff-mill." 

This  was  partly  true.  His  father,  Gilbert  Stuart,  was  a  Scotchman,  and 
erected  a  snuff-mill  on  the  Narraganset,  which  was  the  first  built  in  New 
England.  He  married  a  very  handsome  daughter  of  a  Rhode  Island  farmer, 
by  name  Anthony ;  and  the  year  1754,  their  son,  Gilbert  Charles,  was  born. 

He  was  a  very  capable,  self-willed,  and  over-indulged  lad.  At  thirteen 
years  of  age,  he  began  to  copy  pictures,  and  soon  after  succeeded  in  making 
likenesses  in  black  lead.  When  he  was  about  eighteen  years  of  age,  a 
wandering  Scotch  artist,  by  the  name  of  Alexander,  came  to  Rhode  Island, 
and  being  pleased  with  the  talents  of  the  lad,  instructed  him  in  tyis  art,  and 
finally  took  him  with  him  to  Scotland.  Alexander  died  soon  after,  leaving 


OF  AMERICANS.  39 

young  Stuart  in  a  land  of  strangers.  He  went  aboard  of  a  collier  bound  to 
Nova  Scotia,  and  worked  his  passage  home,  having  been  absent  about  a 
year. 

He  washed  off  the  coal  dust,  put  on  a  new  suit  of  clothes,  and  went  to 
painting.  Fully  conscious  of  the  great  importance  of  drawing  with  ana 
tomical  exactness,  he  took  vast  pains  to  attain  it,  and  hired  a  strong-muscled 
blacksmith  to  sit  for  him  as  a  model.  His  mother  died  when  he  was  in  his 
eleventh  year,  and  yet  he,  at  this  time,  from  recollection  produced  so 
striking  a  likeness  that  his  uncle\from  Philadelphia  recognized  it  the 
moment  he  entered  the  room.  He  -soon  had  as  much  business  in  the  por 
trait  line  as  he  could  attend  to. 

Stuart's  love  of  painting  wras  enthusiastic,  and  the  same  with  music,  for 
he  learned  to  play  on  a  variety  of  instruments,  and  he  also  composed  pieces 
himself.  Lester  says  of  him,  in  his  biography,  "  He  seems  to  have  been 
gifted  with  the  loftiest  and  best  impulses  of  genius — who.le  days  he  passed 
in  reading  to  his  sister,  in  walking  with  her  in  the  fields ;  whole  nights  iu 
playing  the  flute  under  her  window — he  never  came  home  from  his  rambles 
in  the  country  without  bringing  her  wild  flowers.  He  had  a  kind  of  wild 
wayward  life,  made  up  of  gleams  of  light  and  thick  clouds,  of  shadows  and 
sunshine  ;  and  yet  he  loved  music,  and  it  soothed  him  when  he  was  sad — 
and  when  he  was  half  forsaken  he  used  to  think  and  talk  of  that  sister ; 
and  when  all  was  bright  around  him,  for  he  was  sometimes  as  happy  as 
we  ever  can  be  in  a  '  naughty  world,'  he  took  up  his  pencil  and  dashed 
away  '  like  Jehu  ; '  and  when  such  men  as  Reynolds  looked  at  his  pictures 
painted  in  this  mood,  they  said  the  lines  were  'gleams  of  sunshine,  all 
light,  in  the  midst  of  deep  shadows.' " 

Stuart  was  bent  on  seeking  his  fortune  in  London.  So  one  day,  in  the 
winter  of  1776,  he  found  himself  wandering  in  the  streets  of  that  great  city, 
without  a  friend  in  the  place  or  a  pound  in  his  pocket.  Waterhouse,  a 
school  companion  of  his,  whom  he  expected  to  meet  there,  was  absent  at 
Edinburgh  studying  medicine. 

He  went  by  a  church  door  in  Foster  Lane,  where  he  heard  an  organ  play 
ing.  He  stepped  upon  the  threshold,  and  the  "pew- woman"  told  him,  in 
answer  to  a  question  what  was  going  on,  that  the  vestry  were  together  test 
ing  the  candidates  for  the  post  of  organist.  He  went  in  boldly — asked  if  he 
might  try.  He  was  told  he  could — he  did — he  succeeded — got  the  place,  and 
a  salary  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  a  year !  So  much  for  the  musical 
genius  he  had  cultivated  in  America,  when  wise  people  were  telling  him  he 
had  better  leave  off  serenading  girls  at  night,  playing  the  flute,  and  go  to 
work.  It  gave  him  bread  now,  .in  the  swarming  wilderness  of  London, 
where  he  needed  nothing  else. 

Stuart's  proficiency  in  the  theory  and  practice  of  music,  was  an  additional 
evidence  of  the  vigorous  intellect  and  varied  talents  which  constitute  genius. 
He  had  that  peculiar  aptitude  of  mind,  which  would  have  made  him  excel 
in  anything  to  which  he  chose  to  direct  his  strong  faculties. 

Stuart  was  thougthless  and  improvident.  His  friends  had  to  hunt  for  him 
occasionally  in  the  sponging-house.  He  had  been  in  London  nearly  two 
years  before  he  made  the  acquaintance  of  West.  Stuart  says,  "  On  appli 
cation  to  West  to  receive  me  as  a  pupil,  I  was  welcomed  with  true  benev- 


4-0  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

olence,  encouraged,  and  taken  into  the  family,  and  nothing  could  exceed 
the  attentions  of  the  artist  to  me — they  were  paternal." 

There  are  a  hundred  fine  stories  told  of  this  eccentric,  witty,  improvident, 
but  noble  Stuart.  He  was  full  of  genius,  but  he  would  not  brook  the 
requisite  toil,  or  he  would  have  made  himself  one  of  the  first  painters  of 
any  age.  One  day  the  blunt  Dr.  Johnson  came  into  West's  studio  and  ad 
dressed  something  to  Stuart — "Why!  you  speak  very  good  English,  sir," 
Baid  the  lexicographer,  "  where  did  you  learn  it?  "  "  Sir,"  replied  Stuart, 
"  I  can  better  tell  you  where  I  did  not  learn  it — it  was  not  from  your  dic 
tionary."  Dr.  Johnson  had  too  much  sense  to  be  offended. 

He  was,  at  one  time,  traveling  in  an  English  stage-coach,  when  his  com 
panions  manifested  a  great  curiosity  to  ascertain  his  business,  and  questioned 
him  rather  closely.  He  answered  with  a  grave  face  and  serious  tone,  that 
he  sometimes  dressed  gentlemen's  and  ladies'  hair  (at  that  time  the  high 
craped  pomatumed  hair  was  all  the  fashion) — "  You  are  a  hair-dresser, 
then?  "  "  What ! "  said  he,  "  do  you  take  me  for  a  barber?  "  "  I  beg  your 
pardon,  sir,  but  I  inferred  it  from  what  you  said.  If  I  mistook  you,  may  I 
take  the  liberty  to  ask  what  you  are,  then?"  "  Why,  I  sometimes  brush  a 
gentleman's  coat,  or  hat,  and  sometimes  adjust  a  cravat."  "0,  you  are  a 
valet,  then,  to  some  nobleman?"  "A  valet!  indeed,  sir,  I  am  not.  I  am 
not  a  servant — to  be  sure  I  make  coats  and  waistcoats  for  gentlemen."  "  0  ! 
you  are  a  tailor!"  "Tailor!  do  I  look  like  a  tailor?  I'll  assure  you,  I 
never  handled  a  goose,  other  than  a  roasted  one."  By  this  time  they  were 
all  in  a  roar.  "What  the  devil  are  you,  then?"  said  one.  "I'll  tell  you," 
said  Stuart.  "Be  assured  all  I  have  said  is  literally  true.  I  dress  hair, 
brush  hats  and  coats,  adjust  a  cravat,  and  make  coats,  waistcoats,  and 
breeches,  and  likewise  boots  and  shoes,  at  your  service."  "  0  ho  !  a  boot  and 
shoemaker,  after  all ! "  "  Guess  again,  gentlemen  ;  I  never  handled  boot  or 
shoe  but  for  my  own  feet  and  legs  ;  yet  all  I  have  told  you  is  true."  "  We 
may  as  well  give  up  guessing."  After  checking  his  laughter,  and  pumping 
up  a  fresh  flow  of  spirits  by  a  large  pinch  of  snuff,  he  said  to  them  very 
gravely,  "Now,  gentlemen,  I  will  not  play  the  fool  with  you  any  longer, 
but  will  tell  you,  upon  my  honor  as  a  gentleman,  my  bona  fide  profession. 
I  get  my  bread  by  making  faces."  He  then  screwed  his  countenance,  and 
twisted  the  lineaments  of  his  visage,  in  a  manner  such  as  Samuel  Foote 
or  Charles  Matthews  might  have  envied.  When  his  companions,  after  loud 
peals  of  laughter,  had  composed  themselves,  each  took  credit  to  himself  for 
having  "  all  the  while  suspected  the  gentleman  belonged  to  the  theater,"  and 
they  all  knew  that  he  must  be  a  comedian  by  profession ;  when,  to  their 
utter  surprise,  he  assured  them  that  he  never  was  on  the  stage,  and  very 
rarely  saw  the  inside  of  a  play-house,  or  any  similar  place  of  Amusement. 
They  now  all  looked  at  each  other  with  astonishment. 

Before  parting,  Stuart  said  to  his  companions,  "  Gentlemen,  you  will  find 
that  all  I  have  said  of  my  various  employments,  is  comprised  in  these  few 
words  :  I  am  a  portrait  painter.  If  you  will  call  at  John  Palmer's,  York 
Buildings,  London,  where  I  shall  be  ready  and  willing  to  brush  you  a  coat 
or  hat,  dress  your  hair  a  la  mode,  supply  you,  if  in  need,  with  a  wig  of  any 
fashion  or  dimensions,  accommodate  you  with  boots  or  shoes,  give  you 
ruffles  or  cravats,  and  make  faces  for  you." 


OF  AMERICANS.  41 

All  who  have  written  about  Stuart,  speak  of  his  wonderful  powers  of 
conversation.  "  In  this  respect,"  says  Waterhouse,  "  he  was  inferior  to  no 
man  among  us.  He  made  it  a  point  to  keep  those  talking  who  wero 
sitting  to  him  for  their  portraits,  each  in  their  own  way,  free  and  easy.  This 
called  up  all  his  resources  of  judgment.  To  military  men  he  spoke  of 
battles  by  sea  and  land  ;  with  the  statesman  on  Hume's  and  Gibbon's  His 
tory  ;  with  the  lawyer  on  jurisprudence  or  remarkable  criminal  trials  ;  with 
the  merchant,  in  his  way  ;  with  the  man  of  leisure,  in  his  way,  and  with 
the  ladies  in  all  ways.  When  putting  the  rich  farmer  on  the  canvas,  he 
would  go  along  from  seed-time  to  harvest-time — he  would  descant  on  the 
nice  points  of  the  horse,  ox,  cow,  sheep,  or  pig,  and  surprise  him  with  his 
just  remarks  in  the  process  of  making  cheese  and  butter,  or  astonish  him 
with  his  profound  knowledge  of  manures,  or  the  food  of  plants.  As  to 
national  and  individual  character,  few  men  could  say  more  to  the  purpose, 
as  far  as  history  and  acute  personal  observation  would  carry  him.  He  had 
wit  at  will — always  ample,  sometimes  redundant." 

Stuart  read  men's  characters  as  easily  as  he  read  newspapers.  Lord 
Mulgrave  employed  him  to  paint  his  brother,  General  Phipps,  who  was 
going  out  to  India.  When  the  picture  was  done,  and  the  general  had 
sailed,  the  earl  came  for  the  piece.  "  This  picture  looks  strange,  sir,"  said 
the  disturbed  nobleman,  "  How  is  it?  I  see — I  think  I  see  insanity  in  that 
face."  "It  may  be  so,"  replied  Stuart,  "but  I  painted  your  brother  as  I 
saw  him."  The  first  account  Lord  Mulgrave  had  from  his  brother,  was  that 
his  insanity,  unknown  and  ur.apprehended  by  any  of  his  friends,  had  driven 
him  into  suicide ! 

Stuart  generally  produced  a  likeness  on  the  pannel  or  canvas,  before 
painting  in  the  eyes,  his  theory  being,  that  on  the  nose,  more  than  any 
other  feature,  likeness  depended.  On  one  occasion  when  a  pert  coxcomb 
had  been  sitting  to  him,  the  painter  gave  notice  that  the  sitting  was  ended, 
the  dandy  exclaimed  on  looking  at  the  canvas,  "  Why — it  has  no  eyes  ! " 
Stuart  replied,  "  It  is  not  nine  days  old  yet."  We  presume  our  readers  need 
not  be  reminded  that  nine  days  must  elapse  from  the  birth  of  a  puppy, 
before  he  opens  his  eyes. 

Stuart  had  now  become  a  fashionable  and  leading  artist  in  London.  But 
he  lived  in  splendor  and  was  the  gayest  of  the  gay ;  his  indulgencies  and 
his  improvidences  wearied  his  friends.  He  was  poor  on  money  that  would 
have  enriched  any  other  man.  One  day  he  was  drinking  with  earls,  dukes, 
and  princes ;  the  next,  cracking  jokes  with  companions  in  a  debtor's  prison. 
But  rich  people  would  be  painted,  and  they  had  to  go  to  jail  to  get  it  done ; 
and  so  he  painted  his  way  out. 

In  1794:,  he  turned  his  back  on  his  good  fortune  and  came  home  to 
America.  His  principal  inducement  was  his  great  desire  to  paint  the  por 
trait  of  Washington,  for  whom  he  had  the  greatest  admiration. 

Stuart  had  been  familiar  with  the  highest  society  of  England,  but  he  was 
embarrassed  when  he  entered  the  room  where  Washington  was,  and  he 
said  it  was  the  first  time  he  had  ever  felt  awe  in  the  presence  of  a  fellow 
man. 

Stuart  was  now  gratified  in  the  accomplishment  of  the  hope  of  years. 
Washington  was  standing  on  the  highest  eminence  of  glory  any  man  had 


42  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

yet  stood  on ;  the  gaze  of  the  world  was  fixed  steadily  upon  him.  To 
leave  for  posterity  a  faithful  portrait  of  him,  and  thus  link  his  name  forever 
with  that  great  man's,  had  now  become  the  most  earnest  wish  of  Stuart's 
life.  Washington  sat  for  his  portrait — Stuart  was  not  pleased  with  his  first 
attempt.  It  may  easily  be  imagined  with  what  feelings  the  painter  was 
stirred,  when  he  gazed  with  the  full,  clear,  earnest  eye  of  the  artist,  upon 
that  face  which  Guizot  has  declared  more  than  half  divine.  It  is  a  matter 
of  little  surprise  that  he  failed  on  the  first  trial.  He  destroyed  the  picture. 
Washington  sat  again,  and  then  he  painted  as  good  a  portrait  as  ever  was  or 
can  be  painted. 

This  picture  is  now  in  the  Boston  Athenaeum.  A  couple  of  anecdotes  are 
told  in  relation  to  Stuart  and  Washington,  which  are  among  the  few  authentic 
instances  of  Washington's  losing  his  self-control.  One  morning,  as  the  painter 
approached  the  house,  the  street  door  and  inner  door  were  open,  so  that  his 
eye  was  led  directly  into  the  parlor ;  and  just  as  he  was  about  to  ascend 
the  steps,  he  saw  Washington  seize  a  man  by  the  collar  and  thrust  him 
violently  across  the  room.  This  being  an  awkward  moment  to  enter  the 
house,  he  passed  on  a  short  distance  ;  but  immediately  returned,  and  found 
the  president  sitting  very  composedly  in  his  chair.  After  the  usual  saluta 
tion,  his  first  words  were,  "  Mr.  Stuart,  when  you  went  away,  you  turned  the 
face  of  your  picture  to  the  wall,  and  gave  directions  that  it  should  remain 
so,  to  prevent  its  receiving  any  injury,  but  when  I  came  into  the  room  this 
morning  the  face  was  turned  outward  as  you  now  see  it,  the  doors  were 
open,  and  here  was  a  fellow  raising  a  dust  with  a  broom,  and  I  know  not 
but  the  picture  is  ruined."  It'so  happened,  however,  that  no  essential  harm 
was  done. 

Stuart,  while  engaged  on  this  work,  after  several  ineffectual  attempts  to 
bring  that  noble  but  restrained  soul  to  the  surface,  to  make  the  calm  eye  of 
the  great  man  flash,  and  his  patient  features  light  up  with  excitement,  prac 
ticed  a  stratagem  to  effect  his  object.  He  got  everything  in  readiness  and 
then  left  the  room  just  before  the  time  of  appointment,  knowing  Washing 
ton's  scrupulous  punctuality,  and  his  exaction  of  it  in  all  with  whom  he 
had  to  do  ;  he  waited  in  an  adjoining  room  until  he  heard  a  loud  exclama 
tion  of  impatience,  and  the  rapid  steps  that  told  of  an  angry  mood.  Then 
he  entered,  respectfully  greeted  Washington — who  sternly  resumed  his  seat 
— seized  his  palette,  and,  after  a  few  touches,  apologized  by  confessing  that 
he  had  practiced  the  ruse  to  call  up  a  look  of  moral  indignation,  which 
would  give  spirit  to  his  delineation. 

Stuart  lived  after  this  thirty-four  years,  preserving  his  great  powers  to  the 
very  last.  The  portrait  of  John  Quincy  Adams  was  his  last  work.  He 
died  in  1828,  and  was  buried  in  the  cemetery  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  io 
Boston. 

When  an  English  ambassador  was  leaving  England  for  America,  he  called 
on  West,  and  asked  him  to  recommend  a  portrait  painter.  "Where  are 
you  going?"  "To  the  United  States."  "There,  sir,"  said  West,  "you 
will  find  the  best  portrait  painter  in  the  world,  and  his  name  is  Gilbert 
Stuart." 

When  Sully  wa5  in  Boston,  he  requested  Allston  to  accompany  him  to 
see  a  portrait  of  Mr.  Gibbs,  by  Stuart.  "  Well,"  says  Allston,  "  what  is 


OF  AMERICANS.  43 

your  opinion?"  The  reply  was,  "I  may  commit  myself  and  expose  my 
ignorance  :  but  in  my  opinion,  I  never  saw  a  Rembrandt,  Reubens,  Vandyke, 
or  Titian  equal  to  it.  What  say  you?  "  "  I  &ay,"  replied  Allstori,  "  that  all 
combined  could  not  have  equaled  it." 

JOHN  TRUMBULL. 

Our  countrymen  are  much  indebted  to  JOHN  TBUMBULL,  whose  genius 
and  industry  have  preserved  to  them,  for  all  time,  the  great  scenes  of  our 
war  for  independence,  with  accurate  portraits  of  those  eminent  men  who 
risked  their  all  in  the  struggle. 

He  was  born  in  Lebanon,  Connecticut,  in  1756,  and  was  the  son  of  Jon 
athan  Trumbull,  governor  of  that  State  through  the  entire  war  of  the  Revo 
lution,  and  governor  of  the  colony  before  the  war  ;  being  the  only  one  of 
all  the  chief  magistrates,  who  had  served  both  the  Crown  and  the  Re 
public. 

At  six  years  of  age,  the  future  artist  would  read  Greek  "  in  a  certain 
way."  He  says,  in  his  autobiography  :  "  My  taste  for  drawing  began  to 
dawn  early.  It  is  common  to  talk  of  natural  genius  ;  but  I  am  disposed  to 
doubt  the  existence  of  such  a  principle  in  the  human  mind  ;  at  least  in  my 
own  case,  I  can  clearly  trace  it  to  mere  imitation.  My  two  sisters,  Faith  and 
Mary,  had  completed  their  education  at  an  excellent  school  in  Boston,  where 
they  both  had  been  taught  embroidery ;  and  the  eldest,  Faith,  had  acquired 
some  knowledge  of  drawing,  and  had  even  painted  in  oil  two  heads  and  a 
landscape.  These  wonders  were  hung  in  my  mother's  parlor,  and  were 
among  the  first  objects  that  caught  my  infant  eye.  I  endeavored  to  imitate 
them,  and  for  several  years  the  nicely  sanded  floors  (for  carpets  were  then 
unknown  in  Lebanon)  were  constantly  scrawled  with  my  rude  attempts  at 
drawing. 

About  the  same  time  music  first  caught  my  attention.  I  heard  a  jews- 
harp — delicious  sound  !  which  no  time  can  drive  from  my  enchanted  mem 
ory  !  I  have  since  been  present  at  a  commemoration  of  Handel,  in  West 
minster  Abbey,  and  have  often  listened  with  rapture  to  the  celestial  warblings 
of  Catalani — I  have  heard  the  finest  music- of  the  age  in  London  and  in  Paris, 
but  nothing  can  obliterate  the  magic  charm  of  that  jews-harp,  and  even  at 
this  late  moment,  its  sweet  vibrations  seem  to  tingle  on  my  ear." 

Trumbull  painted  and  studied  till  his  sixteenth  year,  when  he' was  entered 
at  Harvard  (1772),  in  the  Junior  class,  "  the-  best  educated  boy  of  his  age 
in  New  England  " — said  the  Greek  professor. 

"  My  fondness  for  painting  had  grown  with  my  growth,  and  in  reading 
of  the  arts  of  antiquity,  I  had  become  familiar  with  the  names  of  Phidias 
and  Praxiteles,  of  Zeuxis  and  Appelles.  These  names  had  come  down 
through  a  series  of  more  than  two  thousand  years,  with  a  celebrity  and  ap 
plause  which  accompanied  few  of  those  who  had  been  devoted  to  the  more 
noisy  and  turbulent  scenes  of  politics  or  war.  The  tranquillity  of  the  art 
seemed  better  suited  to  me  than  the  bustling  scenes  of  life." 

He  searched  the  library  for  all  the  books  on  art  he  could  find,  copied 
some  fine  paintings,  and,  on  graduating  the  next  year,  returned  to  Lebanon, 
where  he  continued  his  artistic  labors,  by  designing  the  death  of  Paului 
Einilius,  at  the  battle  of  Cannae. 


44  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

In  the  summer  and  autumn  of  1774,  the  angry  discussions  between  Great 
Britain  and  her  Colonies  began  to  assume  a  very  serious  tone.  "  I  caught 
the  growing  enthusiasm,"  he  says ;  "  the  characters  of  Brutus,  of  Paulus 
Emilius,  of  the  Scipios,  were  fresh  in  my  remembrance,  and  their  devoted 
patriotism  always  before  my  eyes  ;  besides,  my  father  was  now  governor  of 
the  colony,  and  a  patriot,  of  course  surrounded  by  patriots,  to  whose  ardent 
conversation  I  listened  daily  ;  it  would  have  been  strange  if  all  this  had 
failed  to  produce  its  natural  effect.  I  sought  for  military  information ; 
acquired  what  knowledge  I  could,  soon  formed  a  small  company  from 
among  the  young  men  of  the  school  and  the  village,  taught  them,  or  more 
properly  we  taught  each  other,  to  use  the  musket  and  to  march,  and  military 
exercises  and  studies  became  the  favorite  occupation  of  the  day. 

"When  my  mother  was  preparing  and  packing  up  my  linen  and  clothes 
for  this  campaign,  she  said  to  me,  '  My  son,  when  I  recollect  the  sufferings 
of  your  infancy,  with  your  present  feebleness  of  constitution,  and  anticipate 
the  hardships  and  dangers  to  which  you  are  about  to  be  exposed,  I  hardly 
dare  to  hope  that  we  shall  ever  meet  again  ;  however,  in  all  events,  my 
dear  son,  I  charge  you  so  to  conduct  yourself,  that  if  ever  I  do  see  you 
again,  it  may  be  with  the  pride  and  delight  of  a  mother.' " 

On  the  19th  of  April,  1775,  the  blood  of  our  fathers  began  to  flow  on 
the  plains  of  Lexington.  Before  the  first  of  May  a  regiment  of  troops 
"started  into  view  as  by  magic,"  and  were  on  their  march  for  Bunker 
Hill.  Young  Trumbull  was  adjutant  of  the  regiment.  He  was  the  best 
draughtsman  in  the  army,  and  his  drawings  of  battle-fields,  forts,  and  forti 
fications,  brought  him  to  the  notice  of  the  commander-in-chief,  who  ap 
pointed  the  young  painter  his  second  aid-de-camp.  He  was  afterward  de 
tached  from  Washington's  staff,  and  made  a  major  of  brigade  at  Roxbury. 
When  General  Gates  took  command  of  the  "  Northern  Department,"  he 
offered  Trumbull  the  appointment  of  adjutant,  and  he  attended  him  jn  his 
northern  expedition,  where  he  distinguished  himself  in  the  "rvice  of  the 
Colonies. 

On  the  22d  of  February,  1777,  terminated  Trumbull's  "regular  military 
career."  The  cause  of  his  resignation  he  explained  in  a  letter  to  the  Presi 
dent  of  Congress.  His  commission  as  deputy  adjutant-general,  was  dated 
the  12th  of  December,  1776— he  had  served  in  that  office  since  the  28th  of 
June,  by  the  appointment  of  Major-General  Gates,  who  was  authorized  to 
make  the  appointment  by  particular  instructions  from  Congress.  Trumbull 
was  right  in  principle,  but  the  manner  of  his  resignation  offended  the  congress. 
He  would  not  yield  a  point  of  honor,  and  his  course  has  been  justified  by 
some  of  the  most  distinguished  officers  of  the  Revolution. 

"  Thus  ended  my  regular  militar}r  service,  to  my  deep  regret,  for  my 
mind  was  at  this  time  full  of  lofty  military  aspirations." 

Some  time  after  this,  he  went  to  Boston  and  hired  a  room,  in  which  to 
study  painting.  He  occupied  himself  in  his  art  by  studies  from  some  excel 
lent  pointings  ;  copies,  by  Symbert,  from  Vandyck,  Poussin,  and  Raphael. 

"  The  war,"  said  he,  "  was  a  period  little  favorable  to  regular  study  and 
deliberate  pursuits :  mine  were  often  desultory.  A  deep  and  settled  regret 
of  the  military  career  from  which  I  had  been  driven,  and  to  which  there 
appeared  to  be  no  possibility  of  an  honorable  return,  preyed  upon  my  spirits ' 


OF  AMERICANS.  45 

and  the  sound  of  a  dram  frequently  called  an  involuntary  tear  to  my 
eye." 

In  the  summer  of  1780,  Trumbull  went  to  Europe,  with  the  intention  of 
studying  painting  under  Mr.  West.  He  had  received  the  assurance,  through 
the  intervention  of  a  friend,  from  the  British  Secretary  of  State,  that,  not 
withstanding  his  past  military  life,  he  could  pursue  the  study  of  art  unmo 
lested,  provided  he  avoided  all  meddling  with  politics.  He  was  received 
kindly  by  Mr.  West,  then  in  the  noon  of  his  glory,  who,  when  he  saw  his 
copy  of  the  Madonna,  said,  "Mr.  Trumbull,  I  have  no  hesitation  to  say 
that  nature  intended  you  for  a  painter.  You  possess  the  essential  qualities  ; 
nothing  more  is  necessary  but  careful  and  assiduous  cultivation." 

A  movement  was  set  on  foot  against  Trumbull  by  some  American  loyalist, 
and  he  was  arrested  for  "high  treason,"  and  taken  off  at  eleven  o'clock  at 
night  to  a  lock-up  liouse  in  Drury  Lane.  Examined  the  next  morning  by 
three  police  magistrates,  who  seemed  to  desire  to  know  something  about  the 
traitor,  he  thus  addressed  them:  "You  appear  to  have  been  much  more 
habituated  to  the  society  of  highwaymen  and  pickpockets,  than  to  that  of 
gentlemen.  I  will  put  an  end  to  all  this  insolent  folly,  by  telling  you 
frankly  who  and  what  I  am.  I  am  an  American — my  name  is  Trumbull ; 
I  am  a  son  of  him  whom  you  call  the  rebel  Governor  of  Connecticut ;  I  have 
served  in  the  rebel  American  army  ;  I  have  had  the  honor  of  being  an 
aid-de-camp  to  him  whom  you  call  the  rebel  General  Washington.  These 
two  have  always  in  their  power  a  greater  number  of  your  friends,  prisoners, 
than  you  have  of  theirs.  Lord  George  Germaine  knows  under  what  cir 
cumstances  I  came  to  London,  and  what  has  been  my  conduct  here.  I  am 
entirely  in  your  power ;  and  after  the  hint  which  I  have  given  you,  treat  me 
as  you  please,  always  remembering,  that  as  I  may  be  treated,  so  will  your 
friends  in  America  be  treated  by  mine." 

The  painter's  commitment  was  made  out  for  a  loathsome  prison — the 
only  one  the  Gordon  riots  had  left  standing  in  London — and  the  first  night 
the  son  of  the  Governor  of  Connecticut  slept  with  a  highwayman. 

The  moment  West  heard  what  had  befallen  his  pupil,  he  "hurried  to 
Buckingham  House,  asked  an  audience  of  the  king,  and  was  admitted." 
"  I  am  sorry  for  the  young  man,"  said  the  king,  "but  he  is* in  the  hands  of 
the  law,  and  must  abide  the  result ;  I  cannot  interpose.  Do  you  know 
whether  his  parents  are  living?"  "I  think  I  have  heard  him  say  that  he 
has  very  lately  received  news  of  the  death  of  his  mother  ;  I  believe  his 
father  is  living." 

"I  pity  him,  from  my  soul!"  He  mused  a  few  moments,  and  then 
added  :  •"  But,  West,  go  to  Mr.  Trumbull  immediately,  and  pledge  to  him 
my  royal  .promise,  that,  in  the  worst  possible  event  of  the-  law,  his  life 
shall  be  safe."  With  this  kind  answer,  West  hurried  away  to  the  prison. 
"I  had  now,"  says  Trumbull,  "nothing  more  to  apprehend  than  a  tedious 
confinement,  and  that  might  be  softened  by  books  and  my  pencil.  I  there 
fore  begged  Mr.  West  to  permit  me  to  have  his  beautiful  little  Corregio  and 
my  tools ;  I  proceeded  with  the  copy,  which  was  finished  in  prison  during 
the  winter  of  1780-81,  and  is  now  deposited  in  the  gallery  at  New  Haven." 

After  an  imprisonment  of  seven  months,  Trumbull  was  liberated  on  the 
condition  of  leaving  the  kingdom  within  thirty  days,  not  to  return  during 


46  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

the  war.  On  tho  restoration  of  peace,  he  again  returned  to  England,  and 
studied  under  West.  He  soon  began  to  meditate  seriously  of  events  of  the 
Revolution,  which  afterward  became  the  great  objects  of  his  professional  life. 
The  death  of  General  Warren  at  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  and  of  General 
Montgomery  at  Quebec,  were  first  painted.  "  Mr.  West  witnessed  the  pro 
gress  of  these  pictures  with  great  interest,  and  strongly  encouraged  me  to 
persevere  in  the  work  of  the  history  of  the  American  Revolution,  which 
I  had  thus  commenced,  and  recommended  to  have  the  series  engraved." 

This  suggestion  Trumbull  followed  up  all  through  life,  at  a  great  sacrifice 
of  time,  money,  and  tranquillity.  With  a  view  to  accomplish  his  object  he 
visited  Paris  in  1785,  at  the  invitation  of  Mr.  Jefferson,  who  was  a  liberal 
and  enlightened  friend  of  art.  The  great  statesman  received  Trumbull 
"most  kindly  at  his  house,"  where  he  made  it  his  home. 

"My  two  paintings,  the  first  fruits  of  my  national  enterprise,  met  his 
warm  approbation,  and  during  my  visit,  I  began  the  composition  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  with  the  assistance  of  his  information  and  ad 
vice." 

He  also  made  various  studies  for  the  Surrender  of  Lord  Cornwallis,  and 
the  Battle  of  Trenton,  and  Princeton.  He  also  painted,  at  this  period,  his 
celebrated  picture  of  the  Sortie  from  Gibraltar,  which  Horace  Walpole  said 
was  "the  finest  picture  he  had  seen  painted  north  of  the  Alps." 

Trumbull  returned  the  second  time  to  the  United  States  in  November, 
1789.  Congress  met  in  New  York  early  in  December.  "All  the  world  was 
assembled  there,  and  I  obtained  many  portraits  for  the  Declaration  of  Inde 
pendence,  Surrender  of  Cornwallis,  and  also  that  of  General  Washington  in 
the  battles  of  Trenton  and  Princeton."  He  now  spent  a  considerable  time  in 
journe}7ing  to  distant  parts  of  the  country,  painting  portraits  of  the  illus 
trious  men  he  introduced  into  his  historical  pieces — a  work  which  no  other 
man  of  his  time  seemed  inclined  to  do. 

In  1792,  he  painted  the  best  portrait  extant  of  Washington  as  a  general, 
in  his  heroic  military  character.  It  is  a  full  length  of  Washington  at  Tren 
ton  ;  and  is  now  in  the  Trumbull  Gallery  at  New  Haven.  He  was  at  this 
time  in  the  prime  of  life,  about  forty-five  years  of  age.  The  portrait  most 
familiar  to  his  countrymen  is  that  of  Stuart,  which  represents  Washington 
as  the  president,  when  he  was  an  old  man,  and  the  expression  of  his  mouth 
injured  by  a  set  of  false  teeth.  "  I  told  the  president  my  object,"  says  Trum 
bull  ;  "he  entered  into  it  warmly,  and,  as  the  work  advanced,  we  talked  of 
the  scene,  its  dangers,  its  almost  desperation.  He  looked  the  scene  again, 
and  I  happily  transferred  to  the  canvas  the  lofty  expression  of  his  animated 
countenance,  the  high  resolve  to  conquer  or  to  perish." 

In  the  year  1815,  Congress  authorized  the  president  to  employ  Trumbull 
to  compose  and  execute  four  paintings,  commemorative  of  the  most  impor 
tant  events  of  the  American  Revolution,  to  be  placed  in  the  Capitol  of  the 
United  States. 

The  choice  of  the  subjects  and  the  size  of  each  picture,  was  left  to  the 
president,  Mr.  Madison.  In  the  interview  between  the  artist  and  the  presi 
dent,  it  was  concluded  to  make  the  pictures  of  dimensions  to  admit  the 
figures  to  be  the  size  of  life.  The  four  subjects  decided  upon,  were  the 
Surrender  of  Burgoyne — the  Surrender  of  Cornwallis — the  Declaration  of 


OF  AMERICANS.  47 

Independence — Resignation  of  General  Washington  of  his  Commission  as 
Commander-in-Chief  of  the  American  Army,  to  Congress.  He  was  em 
ployed  upon  these  about  eight  years,  the  last  being  finished  in  1824,  about 
which  time  he  had  the  misfortune  to  lose  his  wife.  He  received  thirty-two 
thousand  dollars  for  these  works,  from  government ;  but  some  of  his  mercan 
tile  speculations  had  turned  out  badly,  obliging  him  to  sacrifice  everything 
to  meet  his  obligations.  He  says  : 

"My  contract  with  the  government  was  honorably  fulfilled.  My  debts 
were  paid,  but  I  had  the  world  before  me  to  begin  anew.  I  had  passed  the 
term  of  three-score  years  and  ten,  the  allotted  period  of  human  life.  My 
best  friend  was  removed  from  me  and  I  had  no  child.  A  sense  of  loneliness 
began  to  creep  over  my  mind,  yet  my  hand  was  steady  and  my  sight  good, 
and  I  felt  the  vis  vita  strong  within  me.  Why  then  sink  down  into  pre 
mature  imbecility? 

1  resolved,  therefore,  to  begin  a  new  series  of  my  paintings  of  revolution 
ary  subjects,  of  a  smaller  size  than  those  in  the  Capitol,  and  to  solace  my 
heavy  hours  by  working  on  them.  I  chose  the  size  of  six  feet  by  nine,  and 
began.  Funds,  however,  began  to  diminish,  and  I  sold  scraps  of  furniture, 
fragments  of  plate,  etc.  My  pictures  remained  on  my  hands  unsold,  and  to 
all  appearances  unsaleable.  At  length  the  thought  occurred  to  me,  that 
although  the  hope  of  a  sale  to  a  nation  or  to  a  State  became  more  and  moro 
desperate  from  day  to  da}11,  yet  in  an  age  of  speculation,  it  might  be  possible 
that  some  society  might  be  willing  to  possess  these  paintings,  on  condition 
of  paying  me  a  life  annuity.  I  first  thought  of  Harvard  College,  my  alma 
mater,  but  she  was  rich,  and  amply  endowed.  I  then  thought  of  Yale — 
although  not  my  alma,  yet  she  was  within  my  native  State  and  poor.  I 
hinted  this  idea  to  a  friend  (Mr.  Alfred  Smith,  of  Hartford) — it  took — was 
followed  up,  and  resulted  in  a  contract." 

A  gallery,  fire-proof,  was  erected  by  the  college — his  pictures  arranged 
under  the  direction  of  the  artist,  and  an  annuity  of  one  thousand  dollars 
settled  upon  him  for  the  remainder  of  his  life.  Trumbull  also  made  one 
noble  condition  in  this  final  disposition  of  his  works,  which  should  alone 
give  immortality  to  his  name.  After  his  death,  the  entire  proceeds  of  the 
exhibition  of  the  Gallery,  were  to  be  "  perpetually  appropriated  toward  de 
fraying  the  expense  of  educating*  poor  scholars  in  Yale  College."  He  says 
in  the  close  of  his  autobiography  : 

"  Thus  I  derive  present  subsistence  principally  from  this  source,  and  have 
besides  the  happy  reflection,  that  when  I  shall  have  gone  to  my  rest,  these 
works  will  remain  a  source  of  good  to  many  a  poor,  perhaps  meritorious  and 
excellent  man." 

The  Trumbull  Gallery  at  New  Haven,  contains  about  forty  large  paint 
ings  by  the  artist,  beside  nearly  two  hundred  and  fifty  portraits  of  per 
sons  distinguished  during  the  Revolutionary  period,  painted  by  him  f-orn, 
lift.  Among  them  is  that  noble,  full  length  of  Washington  at  Trenton. 
There  too  are  those  inimitable  battle-pieces — the  Death  of  Warren,  at 
Bunker  Hill,  and  of  Montgomery,  at  Quebec.  In  these  two  compositions, 
"the  accuracy  of  drawing,  the  admirable  coloring,  the  variety  of  figures  in 
troduced,  the  force  of  expression  displayed  in  their  attitudes  and  counte 
nances,  with  their  striking  effect  as  a  whole,  stamp  these  productions  aa 


48  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

master-pieces  of  the  art."  As  battle-pieces,  they  are  probably  unequalecl 
by  those  of  any  artist,  living  or  dead. 

These  pictures  are  familiar  to  most  readers,  from  the  engraved  copies 
in  the  early  histories  of  the  United  States. 

The  painting  of  the  Battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  "  represents  the  moment  (tho 
Americans  having  expended  their  ammunition)  the  British  troops  became 
completely  successful  and  masters  of  the  field.  At  this  last  moment  of  the 
action,  General  Warren  was  killed  by  a  musket  ball  through  the  head. 
The  principal  group  represents  him  expiring ;  a  soldier  on  his  knees  sup 
ports  him,  and  with  'one  hand  wards  off  the  bayonet  of  a  British  grenadier 
who,  in  the  heat  and  fury  natural  at  such  a  moment,  aims  to  revenge  the 
death  of  a  favorite  officer,  Colonel  Abercombie,  who  had  just  fallen  at  his 
feet.  Colonel  Small  (whose  conduct  in  America  was  always  equally  distin 
guished  by  acts  of  humanity  and  kindness  to  his  enemies,  as  by  bravery 
and  fidelity  to  the  cause  he  served),  had  been  intimately  connected  with 
General  Warren — saw  him  fall,  and  flew  to  save  him.  He  is  represented 
seizing  the  musket  of  the  grenadier,  to  prevent  the  fatal  blow,  and  speaking 
to  his  friend  ;  it  was  too  late ;  the  general  had  barely  life  remaining  to 
recognize  the  voice  of  friendship ;  he  had  lost  the  power  of  speech,  and 
expired  with  a  smile  of  mingled  gratitude  and  triumph.  Near  him,  several 
Americans,  whose  ammunition  is  expended,  although  destitute  of  bayonets, 
are  seen  to  persist  in  a  resistance  obstinate  and  desperate,  but  fruitless. 
Near  this  side  of  the  painting  is  seen  General  Putnam,  reluctantly  ordering 
the  retreat  of  these  brave  men  ;  while  beyond  him  a  party  of  American 
troops  oppose  their  last  fire  to  the  victorious  column  of  the  enemy. 

Behind  Colonel  Small  is  seen  Colonel  Pitcairn,  of  the  British  marines, 
mortally  wounded,  and  falling  in  the  arms  of  his  son,  to  whom  he  was 
speaking  at  the  fatal  moment.  Under  the  feet  of  Colonel  Small  lies  the 
dead  body  of  Colonel  Abercombie. 

General  Howe,  who  commanded  the  British  troops,  and  General  Clinton, 
who,  toward  the  close  of  the  action,  offered  his  services  as  a  volunteer,  are 
seen  behind  the  principal  group. 

On  the  right  of  the  painting  a  young  American,  wounded  in  the  sword 
hand,  and  in  the  breast,  has  begun  to  retire,  attended  by  a  faithful  negro  ; 
but  seeing  his  general  fall,  hesitates  whether  to  save  himself,  or,  wounded 
as  he  is,  to  return  and  assist  in  saving  a  life  more  precious  to  his  country 
thau  his  own. 

Behind  this  group  are  seen  the  British  column  ascending  the  hill — grena 
diers,  headed  by  an  officer  bearing  the  British  colors,  mounting  the  feeble 
intrcnchments ;  and  more  distant,  the  Somerset  ship-of-war  (which  lay 
during  the  action  between  Boston  and  Charlestown),  the  north  end  of  Bos 
ton,  with  the  battery  on  Copp's  Hill ;  and  the  harbor,  shipping,  etc. 

No  part  of  the  town  of  Charlestown  is  seen  ;  but  the  dark  smoke  indi 
cates  the  conflagration." 

In  the  painting  of  the  attack  on  Quebec,  "that  part  of  the  scene  ia 
chosen  where  General  Montgomery  commanded  in  person  ;  and  that  moment, 
when  by  his  unfortunate  death,  the  plan  of  attack  was  entirely  disconcerted, 
and  the  consequent  retreat  of  his  column  decided  at  once  the  fate  of  the 
place,  and  of  such  of  the  assailants  as  had  already  entered  at  another  point, 


OF  AMERICANS.  49 

The  principal  group  represents  the  death  of  General  Montgomery,  who, 
together  with  his  two  aids-de-camp,  Major  M'Pherson  and  Captain  Chces- 
man,  fell  by  a  discharge  of  grapeshot  from  the  cannon  of  the  place.  Tho 
general  is  represented  as  expiring,  supported  by  two  of  his  officers,  and  sur 
rounded  by  others,  among  whom  is  Colonel  Campbell,  on  whom  the  com 
mand  devolved,  and  by  whose  order  a  retreat  was  immediately  begun. 

Grief  and  surprise  mark  the  countenances  of  the  various  characters. 
The  earth  covered  with  snow — trees  stripped  of  their  foliage — the  desola 
tion  of  winter,  and  the  gloom  of  night  heightened  the  melancholy  character 
of  the  scene." 

Trumbull's  "  Declaration  of  Independence  "  is  the  best  known  of  any 
American  work  of  art.  "To  preserve  the  resemblance  of  the  men  who 
were  the  authors  of  this  memorable  act,  was  an  essential  object  of  this 
painting.  Important  difficulties  presented  themselves  to  the  artist  at  the 
outset ;  for  although  only  ten  years  had  then  elapsed  since  the  date  of  tho 
event,  it  was  already  difficult  to  ascertain  who  were  the  individuals  to  be 
represented.  Should  he  regard  the  fact  of  having  been  actually  present  in 
the  room  on  the  fourth  of  July,  indispensable?  Should  he  admit  those  only 
who  were  in  favor  of,  and  reject  those  who  were  opposed  to  the  act?  Where  a 
person  was  dead,  and  no  authentic  portrait  could  be  obtained,  should  he  ad 
mit  ideal  heads?  These  were  questions  on  which  Mr.  Adams  and  Mr.  Jeffer 
son  were  consulted,  and  they  concurred  in  the  advice,  that  with  regard  to  the 
characters  to  be  introduced,  the  signatures  of  the  original  act  (which  is  still 
preserved  in  the  office  of  state),  ought  to  be  the  general  guide.  -  That  por 
traits  ought,  however,  to  be  admitted,  of  those  who  were  opposed  to,  and 
of  course  did  not  sign,  ,id  well  as  of  those  who  voted  in  favor  of  the  declara 
tion,  and  did  sign  it,  particularly  John  Dickinson,  of  Delaware,  author  of 
the  Farmer's  Letters,  who  was  the  most  eloquent  and  powerful  opposer  of 
the  measure ;  not  indeed  of  its  principle,  but  of  the  fitness  of  the  time, 
which  he  considered  premature.  And  they  particularly  recommended,  that 
wherever  it  was  possible,  the  artist  should  obtain  his  portrait  from  the  living 
person  ;  that  where  any  one  was  dead,  he  should  be  careful  to  copy  the 
finest  portrait  that  could  be  obtained ;  but  that  in  case  cf  death,  where 
no  portrait  could  be  obtained  (and  there  were  many  such  instances,  for,  an 
terior  to  the  Revolution,  the  arts  had  been  very  little  attended  to,  except  in 
one  or  two  cities),  he  should  by  no  means  admit  any  ideal  representation, 
lest  it  being  known  that  some  such  were  to  be  found  in  the  painting,  a 
doubt  of  the  truth  of  others  should  be  excited  in  the  minds  of  posterity ; 
and  that,  in  short,  absolute  authenticity  should  be  attempted,  as  far  as  it 
could  be  attained. 

The  artist  was  governed  by  this  advice,  and  spared  neither  pains  nor  ex 
pense  in  obtaining  his  portraits  from  the  living.  Mr.  Adams  was  painted  in 
London  ;  Mr.  Jefferson  in  Paris  ;  Mr.  Hancock  and  Samuel  Adams  in  Bos 
ton  ;  Mr.  Edward  Rutledge  in  Charleston,  South  Carolina ;  Mr.  Wythe  at 
Williamsburg,  in  Virginia  ;  Mr.  Bartlett  at  Exeter,  in  New  Hampshire,  etc. 

In  order  to  give  some  variety  to  his  composition,  he  found  it  necessary  to 
depart  from  the  usual  practice  of  reporting  an  act,  and  has  made  the  whole 
committee  of  five  advance  to  the  table  of  the  president  to  make  their  re 
port,  instead  of  having  the  chairman  rise  in  his  place  for  the  purpose  ;  the 


50  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS. 

silence  and  solemnity  of  the  scene,  offered  such  real  difficulties  to  a  pic 
turesque  and  agreeable  composition,  as  to  justify,  in  his  opinion,  this  depar 
ture  from  custom,  and  perhaps  fact.  Silence  and  solemnity  he  thought 
essential  to  the  dignity  of  the  subject ;  levity  or  inattention  would  have 
been  unworthy  on  such  an  occasion  and  in  such  an  assembly.  The  dresses 
are  faithfully  copied  from  the  costume  of  the  time,  the  present  fashion 
of  pantaloons  and  trowsers  being  then  unknown  among  gentlemen. 

The  room  is  copied  from  that  in  which  Congress  held  their  sessions  at 
the  time,  such  as  it  was  before  the  spirit  of  innovation  laid  unhallowed 
hands  upon  it,  and  violated  its  venerable  walls  by  modern  improvement,  as 
it  is  called.  The  artist  also  took  the  liberty  of  embellishing  the  background, 
by  suspending  upon  the  wall,  military  flags  and  trophies ;  such  as  had  been 
taken  from  the  enemy  at  St.  Johns,  Chambly,  etc.,  and  probably  were  actually 
placed  in  the  hall.  In  fact  nothing  has  been  neglected  by  the  artist,  that 
was  in  his  power,  to  render  this  a  faithful  memorial  of  the  great  event." 

The  remains  of  Trumbull,  with  those  of  his  wife,  are  deposited  in  a 
vault  under  the  Trumbull  Gallery.  The  following  is  a  part  of  the  in 
scription  on  his  monumental  tablet :  "  Colonel  John  Trumbull,  Painter  and 
Artist,  Friend  and  Aid  of  Washington,  died,  in  New  York,  November  10, 
1843,  aged  eighty-eight.  To  his  Country  he  gave  his  Sword  and  his  Pencil.'-* 

Lester  states,  in  his  "Artists  of  America,"  that  to  no  one  artist  "  does  the 
country  owe  so  much  as  to  Trumbull.  Congress  paid  grudgingly  eight 
thousand  dollars  a  piece  for  his  four  great  paintings  in  the  Rotunda — but 
what  representative  of  the  American  people  would  dare  now  to  rise  in  his 
place,  and  propose  to  sell  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  I  care  not  what 
sum  were  offered  for  it?  It  is  the  only  picture  in  the  world  which  has  pre 
served  the  forms  and  expressions  of  the  great  fathers  of  American  liberty, 
and  it  would  be  sacrilege  to  ruin  it,  because  it  is  above  all  price.  As  ages 
roll  by,  the  wonderful  events  those  pictures  commemorate,  will  be  graven 
more  deeply  in  the  minds  of  men,  and  to  each  successive  generation  they 
will  become  more  invaluable.  The  early  historical  painters  of  nations  have 
always  ranked  among  their  early  historians — they  stand  side  by  side  at  tho 
fountains  of  history,  to  rescue  those  sacred  forms  and  relics,  which,  but  for 
their  holy  vigilance,  would  have  passed  away  forever." 


AN  ACCURATE  AND  INTERESTING  ACCOUNT 

OF    THE 

HARDSHIPS  AND  SUFFERINGS 

OF  THAT 

BAND     OF     HEROES, 

WHO    TRAVERSED  THE   WILDERNESS   IN 

THE  CAMPAIGN  AGAINST  QUEBEC,  IN  1775. 


THE  above  is  the  title  of  a  little  volume  of  about  two  hundred  pages.  It 
was  written  by  the  Hon.  John  Joseph  Henry,  for  the  instruction  and  amuse 
ment  of  his  children,  and  was  not  published  until  after  his  death,  in  1812.* 
The  author,  the  son  of  William  Henry,  Esq.,  the  inventor  of  the  screw- augur, 
was  bora  at  Lancaster,  Pennsylvania,  in  1758.  At  the  age  of  fourteen,  he 
was  apprenticed  to  an  uncle  who  was  a  gunsmith,  and  accompanied  him  to 
Detroit,  where,  however,  his  stay  was  short,  on  account  of  the  scarcity  of 
business.  He  returned  on  foot,  with  a  single  guide,  who  died  in  the  wilder 
ness  which  lay  between  Detroit  and  his  home,  and  it  was  there  that  hard 
ships  and  misfortune  were  first  encountered.  Soon  after  his  return,  the 
troubles  of  his  country  aroused  attention,  and  his  arduous  mind  panted  for 
military  glory.  In  the  fall  of  1775,  he  clandestinely  joined  a  corps  of  Lan 
caster  men  raised  to  reinforce  Arnold  at  Boston.  He  was  then  a  mere  strips 
ling,  the  youngest  of  that  band  of  heroes  who  accompanied  Arnold  to  Que 
bec  :  the  day  he  entered  Canada  being  but  his  seventeenth  birthday. 

While  in  prison  in  Quebec,  where  he  lay  for  nine  months,  he  contracted 
the  scurvy  which,  on  his  return,  assumed  a  most  malignant  form,  and  fras- 
trated  all  his  plans  of  future  military  life,  for  which  purpose  a  captaincy 
had  been  procured  for  him  in  Morgan's  famous  Virginia  rifle  regiment.  After 
the  war,  he  studied  law  and  eventually  was  appointed  by  Gov.  Mifflin,.  Pres 
ident  Judge  of  the  Second  Judicial  District  of  Pennsylvania.  He  died  in 
1809,  some  of  the  leisure  of  his  last  years  having  been  devoted  to  the  writ 
ing  of  the  instructive  narrative  to  his  "dear  children."  here  giv&n  in  aa 
abridged  form. 

*  It  may  interest  persons  not  familiar  with  the  demand  for  old  scarce  wo-As  illustrating 
American  History  to  state,  that  this  small  volume,  the  original  price  of  which  was  prob 
ably  not  over  one  dollar,  brought  at  an  auction  in  New  York  City,  of  rare  American  works, 
ten  dollars,  which  is  more  than  its  weight  in  silver— it  weighing  but  seven  ounces. 
Another  scarce  American  work,  weighing  but  seventeen  ounces  was  sold  to  the  writer  for 
thirty  dollars  ;  yet  these  prices  are  low  compared  to  what  books  comprising  the  same 
amount  of  matter  were  in  manuscript  before  the  invention  of  printing. 

4:  C51> 


52  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

MY  DEAR  CHILDREN. — 

There  is  a  point,  in  the  history  of  the  American  revolution,  hitherto  little 
attended  to  ;  as  yet  imperfectly  related,  and  now  at  this  late  day  almost  for 
gotten  ;  which  would  deserve  and  require  the  talents  and  genius  of  a  Xeno- 
phon,  to  do  it  real  justice.  As  your  father  in  early  life  had  a  concern  in  that 
adventure,  permit  him  to  relate  to  you  in  the  words  of  truth,  a  compendious 
detail  of  the  sufferings  of  a  small  band  of  heroes ;  unused,  to  be  sure,  to 
military  tactics  and  due  subordination,  but  whose  souls  were  fired  by  an  en 
thusiastic  love  of  country,  and  a  spirit  such  as  has  often  inspired  our  ances 
tors,  when  determined  to  be  free. 

In  the  autumn  of  1775,  our  adorable  Washington,  thought  it  prudent  to 
make  a  descent  upon  Canada.  A  detachment  from  the  American  grand 
army,  then  in  the  vicinity  of  Boston,  was  organized,  to  fulfill  this  intention, 
by  the  route  of  the  Kennebec  and  Chaudiere  Rivers.  It  was  intended  as  a 
co-operation  with  the  army  of  General  Montgomery,  who  had  entered  tho 
same  province,  by  the  way  of  Champlain  and  Montreal.  Colonel  Benedict 
Arnold  was  appointed  the  commander-in-chief  of  the  whole  detachment, 
which  consisted  of  eleven  hundred  men.  Colonel  Enos  was  second  in  com 
mand.  Riflemen  composed  a  part  of  the  armament.  These  companies,  from 
sixty-five  to  seventy-five  strong,  were  from  the  southward  :  that  is,  Captain 
Daniel  Morgan's  company  from  Virginia ;  that  of  Captain  William  Hend- 
ricks'  from  Cumberland  county  in  Pennsylvania,  and  Captain  Matthew 
Smith's  company  from  the  county  of  Lancaster,  in  the  latter  province.  The 
-residue,  and  bulk  of  this  corps,  consisted  of  troops  mainly  from  Massachu 
setts,  Rhode  Island  and  Connecticut.  All  these  men  were  of  as  rude  and 
&ardy  a  race  as  ourselves,  and  as  unused  to  the  discipline  of  a  camp,  and  aa 
fearless  as  we  were.  They  were  an  excellent  body  of  men,  formed  by  nature 
AS  the  stamina  of  an  army,  fitted  for  a  tough  and  tight  defense  of  the  liber 
ties  of  their  country.  The  principal  distinction  between  us,  was  in  our  dia 
lects,  our  arms,  and  our  dress.  Each  man  of  the  three  companies,  bore  a  rifle- 
barreled  guc,  a  tomahawk,  or  small  axe,  and  a  long  knife,  usually  called  a 
"scalping-knife,"  which  served  for  all  purposes,  in  the  woods.  His  under- 
dress,  by  no  means  in  a  military  style,  was  covered  by  a  deep  ash-colored 
'hunting-shirt,  leggins,  and  moccasins,  if  the  latter  could  be  procured.  It  was 
.the  silly  fashion  of  those  times,  for  riflemen  to  ape  the  manners  of  savages. 

Our  commander,  Arnold,  was  of  a  remarkable  character.  He  was  brave, 
even  to  temerity,  was  beloved  by  the  soldiery,  perhaps  for  that  quality 
only  : — he  possessed  great  powers  of  persuasion,  was  complaisant :  but  withal 
•sordidly  avaricious.  Arnold  was  a  short  handsome  man,  of  a  florid  com 
plexion,  stoutly  made,  and  forty  years  old  at  least.  On  the  other  hand 
Morgan  was  a  large  strong-bodied  personage,  whose  appearance  gave  the 
idea  history  has  left  us  of  Belisarius.  His  manners  were  of  the  severer 
cast ;  but  where  he  became  attached  he  was  kind  and  truly  affectionate. 
This  is  said,  from  experience  of  the  most  sensitive  and  pleasing  nature  ;  ac 
tivity,  spirit  and  courage  in  a  soldier,  procured  his  good  will  and  esteem. 
Hendricks  was  tall,  of  a  mi'.d  and -beautiful  countenance.  His  soul  was  an 
imated  by  a  genuine  spark  of  heroism.  Smith  was  a  good  looking  man,  had 
the  air  of  a  soldier,  was  illiterate  and  outrageously  talkative.  The  officers 
of  the  pastern  troops,  were  many  of  them  men  of  sterling  worth. 


OF  AMERICANS.  53 

Our  little  army,  in  high  spirits,  marched  from  Prospect  Hill,  near  Cam 
bridge,  on  the  llth  of  September,  1775,  to  New^uryport ;  from  thence  we 
embarked  in  transports  to  the  mouth  of  the  Kennebcc,  run  up  that  river 
one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  to  Colonel  Cobourn's  ship-yard,  there  obtained 
batteaux,  and  proceeded  to  Fort  Western.  Here  it  was  concluded  to  dis 
patch  an  officer  and  seven  men  in  advance,  for  the  purposes  of  ascertaining 
and  marking  the  paths,  which  were  used  by  the  Indians  at  the  numerous 
carrying- places  in  the  wilderness,  toward  the  heads  of  the  river;  and  also, 
to  ascertain  the  course  of  the  River  Chaudiere,  which  runs  from  the  height 
of  land,  toward  Quebec. 

To  give  some  degree  of  certainty  of  success  to  so  hazardous  an  enterprise, 
Arnold  found  it  necessary  to  select  an  officer  of  activity  and  courage ;  the 
choice  fell  upon  Archibald  Steele  of  Smith's  company,  a  man  of  an  active, 
courageous,  sprightly  and  hardy  disposition,  who  was  complimented  with 
the  privilege  of  naming  his  companions.  These  consisted  of  Jesse  Wheeler, 
George  Merchant,  and  James  Clifton,  of  Morgan's  ;  and  Robert  Cunningham, 
Thomas  Boyd,  John  Tidd,  and  John  M'Konkey,  of  Smith's  -company. 
Though  a  very  youth,  yet  in  a  small  degree  accustomed  to  hardships,  de 
rived  from  long  marches  in  the  American  woods,  Steele's  course  of  selec 
tion  next  fell  upon  your  father,  who  was  his  messmate  and  friend.  Two 
birch-bark  canoes  were  provided ;  and  two  guides,  celebrated  for  the  man 
agement  of  such  water-craft,  and  who  knew  the  river  as  high  up  as  the 
great  carrying-place,  were  also  found.  These  were  Jeremiah  Getchel,  a 
very  respectable  man,  and  John  Home,  an  Irishman,  who  had  grown  gray 
in  this  cold  climate. 

This  small  party,  unconscious  of  danger,  and  animated  by  a  hope  of  ap 
plause  from  their  country,  set  forward  from  Fort  Western  in  their  light 
barks,  at  the  rate  of  from  fifteen  to  twenty,  and  in  good  water  twenty-five 
miles  per  day.  These  canoes  are  so  light,  that  a  person  of  common  strength, 
may  carry  one  of  the  smaller  kind,  such  as  ours  were,  many  hundred  yards 
without  halting. 

On  the  evening  of  the  23d  of  September,  our  party  arrived  at  Fort  Hal 
ifax,  situated  on  the  point,  formed  by  a  junction  of  the  Sabasticoog  and 
Kennebec  Rivers.  Here  our  commander,  Steele,  was  accosted  by  a  Captain 
Harrison,  or  Huddlestone,  inviting  him  and  the  company  to  his  house.  The 
invitation  was  gladly  accepted,  as  the  accommodation  at  the  fort,  which  con 
sisted  of  old  block-houses  and  a  stockade  in  a  ruinous  state,  did  not  admit  of 
much  comfort ;  besides  it  was  inhabited,  as  our  friend  the  captain  said,  by  a 
-ank  tory.  Here,  for  the  first  time,  the  application  of  the  American  term 
"tory,"  was  defined  to  me  by  the  captain.  'Its  European  definition  was  well 
known  before.  In  a  very  few  days,  we  arrived  safely  at  Norridgeuoc  Falls, 
and  passed  the  portage.  We  ascended  the  river  rapidly,  blazing  every  car 
rying-place.  Having  now  seceded  many  miles  from  the  last  white  inhabit 
ants  at  Norridgewoc,  it  became  us  therefore  to  proceed  cautiously.  The 
party  proceeded  without  molestation,  but  from  natural  rock,  and  a  strict  cur 
rent  (by  the  27th  of  September),  to  the  twelve-mile  carrying-place.  We 
searched  for  the  carrying- place,  and  found  a  path  tolerably  distinct,  which 
we  made  more  so  by  blazing  the  trees  and  snagging  the  bushes  with  our 
tomahawks.  Proceeding  until  evening,  the  party  encamped  at  the  margin 


5±  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

of  a  small  lake,  perhaps  about  half  a  mile  wide,  where  there  was  plenty  of 
trout,  which  old  Clifton,  who  was  good  at  angling,  caught  in  abundance. 
Here,  in  a  conference  on  the  subject,  it  was  resolved  that  two  persons  of  tha 
party,  Clifton  and  M'Konkey,  should  remain  (with  about  one  half  of  the 
provisions),  until  the  return  of  our  main, body,  calculating  the  return  would 
be  in  eight  or  ten  days. 

By  the  next  evening  we  encamped  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Dead  River, 
an  extension  of  the  Kennebec.  The  company,  not  apprehending  the  re 
verses  which  fortune  had  in  store  for  them,  proceeded  on  next  -day  full  of 
courage  and  hope,  through  a  strong  drift  of  snow,  which  whitening  all  the 
surrounding  hills,  had  fallen  during  the  night. 

As  we  could  not  obtain  food,  in  this  miserable  portion  of  the  globe,  we  pru 
dently  began  to  hoard  our  provision  ;  half  a  biscuit  and  half  an  inch  square 
of  raw  pork  became  this  evening's  meal.  The  day's  journey  had  brought 
us  to  the  foot  of  a  rapid,  which  convinced  us  that  the  term  "Dead  River," 
was  much  misapplied.  The  night  was  spent,  not  upon  feathers,  but  on  the 
branches  of  the  fir  or  tho  spruce.  It  would  astonish  you,  my  dear  children, 
if  there  was  leisure  to  explain  the  many  comforts  and  advantages  those 
trees  afford  to  the  way-worn  traveler. 

In  a  few  days,  October  7th,  we  came  to  a  succession  of  ponds  at  the  head  of 
Dead  River,  and  in  some  cases  the  communication  being  shallow  we  were 
obliged  to  carry  our  canoes  from  one  to  the  other.  My  wardrobe  was  light 
and  scanty,  and  as  winter  was  approaching  I  suffered  from  the  piercing  cold. 
About  three  P.  M.  the  next  day,  we  reached  the  extreme  end  of  the  fifth 
and  last  lake,  where  we  obtained  a  full  view  of  those  hills  which  were  then, 
and  are  now,  called  the  "Height  of  Land."  It  made  an  impression  upon 
us,  that  was  really  more  chilling  than  the  air  which  surrounded  us.  We 
hurried  ashore — drew  out  our  canoes,  and  covered  them  with  leaves  and 
brush- wood.  This  done,  with  our  arms  in  our  hands,  and  our  provision  in 
our  pockets,  we  made  a  race  across  the  mountain,  by  an  Indian  path,  easily 
ascertainable,  until  we  arrived  on  the  bank  of  the  Chaudiere  River.  The 
distance  is  about  five  miles,  counting  the  rising  and  descent  of  the  hill  as 
two.  This  was  the  acme  of  our  desires.  To  discover  and  know  the  course 
of  this  river,  was  the  extent  of  our  orders  :  beyond  it,  we  had  nothing  to 
do.  Our  chief,  wishing  to  do  everything  a  good  officer  could  to  forward  the 
service,  asked  if  any  one  could  climb  a  tree,  around  the  foot  of  which  we 
then  stood  ?  It  was  a  pine  of  considerable  height,  without  branches  for  forty 
feet ;  Robert  Cunningham,  a  strong  athletic  man,  about  twenty-five  years 
old,  presented  himself.  In  almost  the  twinkling  of  an  eye  he  climbed  the 
tree.  He  fully  discerned  the  meandering  course  of  the  river,  as  upon  a  map, 
and  even  descried  the  lake  Chaudiere,  at  the  distance  of  fourteen  or  fifteen 
miles.  The  country  around  and  between  us  and  the  lake  was  flat.  Looking 
westward,  he  observed  a  smoke ;  intimating  this  to  us  from  the  tree  where 
he  sat  we  plainly  perceived  it.  Cunningham  came  down ;  the  sun  was  set 
ting  seemingly  in  a  clear  sky. 

Now  our  return  commenced  and  rapidly  we  ran  in  a  single  file,  and  it  so 
happened  that  your  farther  brought  up  the  rear.  Soon  the  rain  began  to  pour 
in  torrents,  the  night  became  dark  as  pitch,  and  in  crossing  a  ridge  rny  foot 
caught  in  a  root  or  a  twig,  and  I  fell  I  know  not  how  far,  perhaps  twenty  or 


OF  AMERICANS.  55 

thirty  feet.  Stunned  by  the  fall,  the  others  had  got  far  ahead  ere  I  recov 
ered  myself.  My  arrival  at  the  canoe  place  was  delayed  thereby  until 
ten  o'clock,  an  hour  and  a  half  after  my  companions,  who  had  erected  a 
wigwam  of  poles  covered  by  branches  of  fir.  Sleep  came  to  my  eyes,  not 
withstanding  the  drippings  of  the  pelting  storm  through  the  humble  roof. 
We  arose  before  day.  The  canoes  were  urged  suddenly  into  the  water ; 
Btill  rained  hard,  and  at  daylight  we  thought  of  breakfasting.  Graciou: 
God  !  what  was  our  fare  ?  What  could  we  produce  for  such  a  feast  ?  Rum 
maging  my  breeches  pockets,  I  found  a  solitary  biscuit  and  an  inch  of  pork. 
Half  of  the  biscuit  was  devoted  to  the  breakfast,  and  so  also  by  each  person, 
and  that  was  consumed  in  the  canoes  as  we  paddled  over  the  lake.  Tho. 
rain  had  raised  the  lake,  and  consequently  the  outlets  about  four  feet.  We 
slided  glibly  along,  over  passages  where  a  few  days  previously,  we  had  toted 
our  canoes.  At  the  outlet  of  the  fourth  lake,  counting  as  we  came  up,  a 
small  duck  appeared  within  shooting  distance.  It  was  a  diver,  well  known 
in  our  country — a  thing  which  we  here  contemn.  Knowing  the  value  of 
animal  food,  in  our  predicament,  several  of  us  fired  at  the  diver.  Jesse 
Wheeler,  however  (who  all  acknowledged  as  an  excellent  shot),  struck  it 
with  his  ball.  A  shout  of  joy  arose — the  little  diver  was  safely  deposited 
in  our  canoe.  We  went  on  quickly,  without  accident,  till  the  evening,  prob 
ably  traversing  a  space  of  more  than  forty  miles.  At  night-fall  we  halted, 
weary  and  without  tasting  food  since  morning.  Boyd  and  Cunningham,  who 
were  right-hand-men  on  most  occasions,  soon  kindled  a  fire  against  a  fallen 
tree.  The  cooks,  according  to  routine,  picked  the  duck,  and  when  picked 
and  gutted,  it  was  brought  to  the  fireside.  Here  it  became  a  question,  how 
to  make  the  most  of  our  stock  of  provisions.  Finally,  it  was  concluded  to 
boil  the  duck  in  our  camp-kettle,  together  with  each  man's  bit  of  pork,  dis 
tinctively  marked  by  running  a  small  skewer  of  wood  through  it,  with  his 
particular  and  private  designation  ;  that  the  broth  thus  formed,  should  bo 
the  supper,  and  the  duck  on  the  ensuing  morning  should  be  the  breakfast, 
and  which  should  be  distributed  by  "  whose  shall  be  this  ?"  Strange  as  this 
tale  may  appear  to  you,  in  these  times,  the  agreement  was  religiously  per 
formed.  Being  young,  my  appetite  was  ravenous  as  that  of  a  wolf,  but 
honor  bound  the  stomach  tightly.  We  rose  early,  and  each  person  selected 
his  bit  of  pork,  which  made  but  a  single  mouthful ; — there  was  no  contro 
versy.  The  diver  was  parted  most  fairly,  into  ten  shares,  each  one  eyeing 
the  integrity  of  the  division.'  Setting  out  early,  by  the  evening  we  made 
nearly  fifty  miles.  The  bit  of  pork  and  the  rest  of  the  biscuit  became  my 
supper.  My  colleagues  were  similarly  situated.  The  morning  sun  saw  us 
without  any  food.  We  did  not  despond.  The  consolatory  idea,  that  on  that, 
or  the  next  day,  we  should  certainly  join  the  army,  infused  energy  into  our 
minds  and  bodies.  The  succeeding  morning  (llth),  starting  early,  we  ran 
at  a  monstrous  rate.  The  waters,  by  additional  rains  above,  had  risen 
greatly.  After  some  time,  the  light  canoe,  several  hundred  yards  before  us, 
(with  Steele  and  Getchel  in  it),  passed  between  the  forks  of  a  tree,  which 
lay  rooted  in  the  middle  of  the  stream,  where  most  likely  it  had  lain  fof 
many  years.  Seeing  our  friends  pass  through  safely,  and  being  unconscious 
that  we  were  worse  or  less  adventurous  watermen  than  they  were,  we  risked 
it.  Wo  ran  with  great  velocity.  My  good  Irishman  steered.  By  an  un- 


56  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

lucky  stroke,  one  of  the  prongs  of  the  tree  took  the  right  hand  side  of  the 
canoe,  within  six  inches  of  the  bow,  immediately  below  the  gunwale. 
Quick  as  lightning  that  side  of  the  canoe  was  laid  open  from  stem  to  stern, 
and  water  was  gushing  in  upon  us,  which  would  inevitably  have  sunk  us  in 
a  second  of  time,  but  for  that  interference  of  Providence,  which  is  atheisti- 
cally  called  presence  of  mind,  otherwise  a  host  of  men  could  not  have  saved 
us  from  a  watery  grave.  Instinctively  leaning  to  the  left,  we  sunk  the  gun- 
wale  of  that  side  down  to  the  water's  edge,  by  which  we  raised  the  broken 
side  an  inch  or  more  out  of  it.  Calling  loudly  to  our  companions  aheac\, 
they  soon  saw  our  distress  and  put  in.  Carefully  and  steadily  sitting,  and 
gently  paddling  many  hundred  yards,  we  landed  safely.  Our  situation  was 
truly  horrible.  When  we  had  examined  the  broken  canoe,  and  had  rum 
maged  both  for  the  means  of  mending  it,  every  heart  seemed  dismayed. 
Our  birch-bark  and  pitch,  had  been  exhausted  in  former  repairs, — we  were 
without  food, — perhaps  one  hundred  miles  from  the  army,  or  perhaps  that 
army  had  returned  to  New  England.  That  sensation  of  the  mind  called 
"  the  horrors,"  seemed  to  prevail.  Getchel  alone  was  really  sedate  and  re 
flective.  He  ordered  the  other  guide  to  search  for  birch-bark,  whilst  he 
would  look  among  the  pines  for  turpentine.  We  followed  the  one  or  the 
other  of  these  worthies,  according  to  our  inclinations,  and  soon  returned 
with  those  desirable  materials.  The  cedar  root  was  in  plenty  under  our 
feet.  Now  a  difficulty  occurred,  which  had  been  unforeseen,  and  which  was 
seemingly  destructive  of  all  hope.  This  was  the  want  of  fat  or  oil  of  every 
kind,  with  which  to  make  the  turpentine  into  pitch.  A  lucky  thought  oc 
curred  to  the  youngest  of  the  company,  that  the  pork  bag,  lay  empty  and 
neglected,  in  one  of  the  canoes.  The  thought  and  the  act  of  bringing  it 
were  instantaneous.  The  bag  was  ripped,  and  as  if  it  had  been  so  much  gold 
dust,  we  scraped  from  it  about  a  pint  of  dirty  fat.  Getchel  now  prepared 
an  abundance  of  pitch.  The  cedar  root  gave  us  twine.  The  canoe  was 
brought  up  to  the  fire.  We  found  every  rib  except  a  few  at  the  extreme 
points,  actually  torn  from  the  gunwale.  All  hands  set  to  work — two  hours 
afterward,  the  canoe  was  borne  to  the  water. 

We  embarked,  and  proceeding  cautiously,  as  we  thought,  along  the  shore, 
a  snag,  standing  up  stream,  struck  through  the  bottom  of  the  canoe.  It  took 
an  hour  to  patch  the  gap.  The  cup  of  sorrow  was  not  yet  full.  As  the  men 
were  bearing  the  wounded  canoe  to  the  water,  sergeant  Boyd  who  paddled 
in  the  small  canoe,  which  was  drawn  up  as  usual,  taking  hold  of  the  bow 
raised  it  waist  high  (as  was  right)  intending  to  slide  it  gently  into  the 
water — the  bank  was  steep  and  slippery  :  Mr.  Boyd's  feet  slipped — the  canoa 
ell  from  his  hands — its  own  weight  falling  upon  the  cavity,  formed  by  the 
declivity  of  the  bank  and  the  water — broke  it  in  the  center,  into  two  pieces, 
and  which  were  held  together  by  nothing  but  the  gunwales.  Now  absolute 
despair  for  the  first  time  seized  me.  A  thought  came  across  my  mind,  that 
the  Almighty  had  destined  us  to  die  of  hunger,  in  this  inhospitable  wilder 
ness.  The  recollection  of  my  parents,  my  brothers  and  sister,  and  the  clan 
destine  and  cruel  manner  of  my  deserting  them,  drew  from  me  some  hidden, 
yet  burning  tears,  and  much  mental  contrition.  Getchel  thoughtful  and 
active,  instantly  went  to  work.  The  canoe  was  brought  to  the  fire,  and 
placed  in  a  proper  posture  for  the  operation.  The  lacerated  parts  were  neatly 


OF  AMERICANS.  57 

brought  together,  and  sewed  with  cedar  root  A  large  ridge  of  pitch,  as  is 
customary  in  the  construction  of  this  kind  of  water-craft,  was  laid  over  the 
seam  to  make  it  water-tight.  Over  the  seam  a  patch  of  strong  bark  a  foot 
in  width,  and  of  a  length  sufficient  to  encircle  the  bottom,  even  to  the  gun 
wales,  was  sewed  down  at  the  edges  and  pitched.  Again,  over  the  whole 
of  the  work,  it  was  thought  prudent  to  place  our  pork  bag,  which  was  well 
saturated  with  liquid  fat.  It  was  a  full  yard  wide,  and  was  laid  down  in 
the  same  manner.  This  work,  which  was  laborious,  nearly  consumed  the 
rest  of  the  day. 

We  set  out  notwithstanding  the  lateness  of  the  hour.  Hunger  drove  us 
along  at  a  cautious  but  rapid  rate.  About  dusk  the  lieutenant's  canoe,  four 
hundred  yards  before  us,  had  within  view  turned  a  sharp  point  of  land, 
when  we  heard  the  crack  of  a  rifle,  and  presently  another,  and  a  huzza. 
Apprehending  an  attack  from  an  enemy,  we  pulled  hard  to  be  enabled  to 
sustain  our  friends.  In  a  moment  or  two,  observing  them  pulling  for  the 
north  shore,  which  was  steep,  we  looked  up  it  for  the  enemy.  Good  Heav 
ens  !  what  a  sight !  We  saw  a  moose-deer,  falling  on  the  top  of  the  bank. 
A  cry  of  exultation  seemed  to  burst  the  narrow  valley  of  the  river.  Steele 
had  struck  the  deer  in  the  flank,  as  it  was  leaving  the  water,  but  it  sprung 
up  the  bank  with  agility.  Wheeler,  with  better  fortune  for  us  all,  pierced 
its  heart  as  it  arrived  at  the  top.  Seeing  this  you  can  scarcely  imagine  the 
celerity  of  our  movements.  We  were  ashore  in  a  moment.  A  fire  was 
kindled,  the  secondary  guide  cut  off  the  nose  and  upper  lip  of  the  animal, 
instantly,  and  had  it  on  the  fire.  What  a  feast !  But  we  were  prudent. 
We  sat  up  all  night,  selecting  the  fat  and  tit-bits — frying,  boiling,  roasting 
and  broiling,  but  carefully  eating  little  at  a  time.  Toward  morning,  we  slept 
a  few  hours,  absolutely  careless  of  consequences.  We  knew  that  we  had 
arrived  in  a  land  where  game  was  plentiful,  and  where  there  were  no  foes 
superior  to  our  number,  to  oppose  us.  The  next  day  we  shot  a  moose  and 
a  large  gray  wolf ;  and  on  the  morning  of  the  13th  arrived  at  our  first  camp 
ing  ground  on  the  "Dead  River,"  in  good  health  and  spirits ;  though  pallid 
and  weak,  for  the  want  of  substantial  food  in  due  quantity. 

By  this  time  the  fat  and  marrow  of  the  animals  we  had  killed  were  ex 
hausted,  and  our  stock  of  salt  had  been  long  since  expended.  One  who  has 
never  been  deprived  of  bread  and  salt,  nor  known  the  absence  of  oleaginous 
substances  in  his  food,  cannot  make  a  true  estimate  of  the  invaluable  bene 
fits  of  such  ingredients  in  the  sustenation  of  the  bodily  frame ;  nor  of  the 
extremity  of  our  corporeal  debility. 

It  was  immediately  concluded  to  preserve  our  provisions  by  jerking  or 
smoking.  This  operation  is  done  by  slicing  the  meat  into  thin  strips  ;  then 
driving  four  forks  into  the  earth,  in  a  square  position,  at  the  required  dis 
tance  perpendicularly,  and  laying  poles  from  fork  to  fork,  and  poles  athwart 
frcm  pole  to  pole.  A  rack  is  thus  made,  about  four  feet  high,  on  which  the 
sliced  meat  is  laid,  and  smoke-fires  are  made  underneath  ;  this  duty  was 
soon  performed.  We  now  began  to  look  about  us,  and  discuss  the  subject 
of  our  return  to  the  army,  which  we  had,  before  this  time,  persuaded  our 
selves  we  should  meet  at  this  place.  The  non-appearance  of  the  army  and 
our  distress,  induced  a  conclusion  that  we  were  deserted,  and  abandoned  to 
a  disastrous  fate,  the  inevitable  result  of  which  would  be,  a  sinking  into 


58  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

eternity  for  the  want  of  food,  for  though  we  might  have  killed  more  deer, 
the  vigor  of  our  bodies  was  so  reduced,  that  we  were  convinced  that  that 
kind  of  food  could  not  restore  us  to  our  wonted  energy,  and  enable  us  to 
perform  so  rugged  and  long  a  march,  as  that  to  the  frontiers  of  Maine.  The 
notion  of  navigating  the  river  was  scouted  as  a  fallacy,  because  we  did  not 
possess  a  sufficient  degree  of  bodily  force  to  bear  the  canoes  across  the 
twelve-mile  carrying-place.  As,  in  the  case  of  the  retreat  of  the  army,  we 
had  determined  to  follow,  it  became  requisite  to  finish  the  jerking,  which 
would  take  six  days,  to  make  it  the  more  portable,  for  our  feebleness,  and 
preservable  if  we  should  have  wet  weather  on  the  march.  It  was  further 
concluded,  "  that  Lieutenant  Steele,  Getchel  and  Wheeler,  should  immedi 
ately  proceed  on  foot  across  the  twelve-mile  carrying-place,  to  meet  the  army  : 
if  they  did  meet  it,  that  they  should  return  to  us  with  supplies  by  the  end 
of  three  days>  but  in  all  events  to  return." 

Now  we  experienced  the  full  extent  of  a  new  species  of  starving.     Hav 
ing  neither  bread,  nor  salt,  nor  fat  'of  any  kind,  every  day  we  remained  here 
we  became  more  and  more  weak  and  emaciated.     We  had  plenty  of  meat, 
both  fresh  and  dried,  of  which  we  ate  four,  five  and  six  times  a  day,  in 
every  shape  we  had   the  means  of  dressing  it.     Though  we  gorged  the 
stomach,  the  appetite  was  unsatiated.     Something  like  a  diarrhea  ensued, 
which  contributed  to  the  imbecility  of  our  bodies.     Bears-oil  would  have 
made  our  venison  savory,  but  such  an  animal   as  a  bear  we  had  as  yet  not 
seen  in  all  our  wanderings.     On  the  evening  of  the  fourth  day,  we  looked 
out  for  our  absent  companions  with  much  heartfelt  anxiety.     They  came 
not.     In   the   morning  of  the    next  day,  we  consulted  upon  the  question 
whether  we  should  follow  the  army.     A  majority  voted  for  staying  a  few 
days  longer  to  complete  the  jerking.     To  show  you  the  great  bodily  weak 
ness  we  were  brought  to,  it  may  be  proper  to  relate  the  following  anecdote  as 
more  evincive  of  the  fact,  than  any  other  method  which  might  be  adopted, 
to  bring  it  fully  to  your  minds.     Sergeant  Boyd  (the  strongest  and  stout 
est  man  of  the  party,  and  perhaps  of  the  army)  and  myself,  taking  our 
arms,  started  on  in  hopes  of  meeting  the  advance  of  the  army.     We  stag 
gered  along  through  the  plain,  falling  every  now  and  then,  if  our  toes  but 
touched  a  twig  or  tuft  of  grass.    Thus  going  forward,  we  arrived  at  the  edge 
of  a  moss-bog.    Here  my  worthy  friend  Boyd,  unable  to  proceed,  sunk  down 
upon  a  log.     My  seat,  in  tears  of  excruciating  grief,  was  taken  beside  him, 
endeavoring  to  infuse  comfort  and  courage  into  his  manly  mind — it  was  in 
vain.     The  debility  of  his  body  had  disarmed  his  courageous  soul.     Every 
art  in  my  power  was  exercised  to  induce  him  to  pass  the  bog — he  would  not 
listen  to  me  on  that  subject.    Melancholy  of  the  desperate  kind  oppressed  me. 
Convinced  that  the  army  had  retreated,  a  prognostication  resulted  in  my 
mind,  that  we  should  all  die  of  mere  debility  in  these  wilds.    We  sat  here  an 
hour.    At  length  we  agreed  to  return  to  our  camp,  though  it  was  yet  early  in 
the  afternoon.    Our  companions  were  pleased  to  see  us,  thinking  our  coming 
so  soon  indicated  good  news,  but  a  gloom  of  desperation  followed.     As  a 
last  effort  to  save  our  lives,  we  all  agreed  to  pass  the  river  the  next  morning 
and  follow  the  army,  which  we  were  now  assured  had  returned  to  Fort 
Western.     Each  one  put  into  his  knapsack,  as  much  of  our  mawkish  food,, 
as  he  could  conveniently  carry. 


OF  AMERICANS.  59 

We  started  early,  the  next  day  passed  the  river,  and  moved  forward,  as 
fast  as  our  feeble  limbs  would  carry  us.  When  we  came  to  the  log  where 
Boyd  had  seated  himself,  we  were  filled  with  ecstatic  joy  to  observe,  on  the 
far 'side  of  the  bog,  a  party  of  pioneers  forming  a  causeway  for  the  passage 
of  the  army.  Our  strength  redoubled— we  passed  the  bo£  with  considerable 
speed.  Our  wan  and  haggard  faces,  and  meager  bodies,  and  the  monstrous 
beards  of  my  companions,  who  had  neglected  to  carry  a  razor  with  them, 
seemed  to  strike  a  deep  sorrow  into  the  hearts  of  the  pioneers.  They  gave 
us  a  little  of  their  food  ;  but  what  exhilarated  us  more,  was  the  information, 
that  Major  Febiger  with-  the  advanced-guard,  lay  at  the  next  pond-.  We 
urged  forward  as  fast  as  we  could.  Arriving  at  his  fire  a  little  before  my  com 
pany,  an  incapacity  to  stand  compelled  me  to  sit.  Febiger,  in  a  hurried 
manner,  asked  who  we  were  ?  and  from  whence  we  came  ?  A  few  words 
explained  the  mystery  and  cause  of  our  distress.  A  glistening  tear  stood  in 
this  brave  soldier's  eye.  As  it  were  with  a  sudden  and  involuntary  motion 
and  much  tenderness,  he  handed  me  his  wooden  canteen  (which  contained 
the  last  spirits  in  the  army);  from  me  it  passed  to  Cunningham,  who  had 
just  come  tip,  the  most  ghastly  and  wayworn  figure  in  nature  ;  from  him  it 
went  round  to  the  rest,  who  arrived  gradually,  but  slowly.  The  heart  of 
Febiger  seemed  overjoyed  at  the  relief  he  had,  and  could  afford  us.  The 
liquor  had  restored  our  fainting  spirits,  but  this  was  not  enough  for  his  gen 
erosity  to  exhibit.  He  requested  us  to  take  seats  around  the  fire,  and  wait 
the  boiling  of  his  kettle,  which  was  well  replenished  with  pork  and  dump- 
lins.  This  was  all  devoted  to  our  use,  accompanied  by  an  open  heartedness 
and  the  kindest  expressions  of  interest  for  our  sufferings,  and  regard  for  our 
perseverance  in  our  duty  as  military  men.  This  meal  to  all  of  us  seemed  a 
renewal  of  life.  It  was  accustomed  food.  Our  more  immediate  and  inti 
mate  friends  were  still  beyond  the  pond,  but  coming  forward.  By  and  by, 
Morgan  came,  large,  a  commanding  aspect,  and  stentorian  voice.  He  wore 
leggins,  and  a  cloth  in  the  Indian  style.  His  thighs,  which  were  exposed 
to  view,  appeared  to  have  been  lacerated  by  the  thorns  and  bushes.  He 
knew  our  story  from  Steele  and  Wheeler,  and  greeted  us  kindly.  We  now 
found  ourselves  at  home,  in  the  bosom  of  a  society  of  brave  men,  with 
whom  we  were  not  only  willing,  but  anxious  to  meet  the  brunts  of  war. 
This  was  the  twenty-sixth  day  we  had  been  absent  from  the  army.  In  the 
evening  we  resumed  our  stations  in  our  respective  messes. 

We  now  turned  our  faces  toward  the  north,  and  accompanied  the  army 
as  a  s'ort  of  guides  in  minute  matters,  for  the  paths  and  carry  ing- pi  aces  we 
had  sufficiently  developed  for  the  pioneers  to  open  a  way.  The  next  day 
we  reached  our  old  camping  ground  on  Dead  River,  where  the  three  compa 
nies  of  riflemen,  under  Daniel  Morgan,  remained  encamped  for  several  days 
waiting  for  the  arrival  of  the  remainder  of  the  troops.  During  our  sta)r  it 
pleased  me  to  observe  that  Morgan  adopted  certain  rules  of  discipline  abso 
lutely  necessary  to  the  state  we  were  in,  but  discordant  with  the  wild  and 
extravagant  notions  of  our  private  men. 

At  this  place,  Morgan  had  given  it  out  in  orders,  that  no  one  should  fire, 
One  Chamberlaine,  a  worthless  fellow,  who  did  not  think  it  worth  while  to 
draw  his  bullet,  had  gone  some  hundreds  of  yards  into  the  woods,  and  dis 
charged  his  gun.  Lieut.  Steele  happened  to  be  in  that  quarter  at  the  time : 


60  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

Steele  had  but  arrived  at  the  fire,  where  we  sat,  when  Morgan,  who  had  seen 
him  coming,  approached  our  camp,  and  seated  himself  within  our  circle. 
Presently  Chamberlaine  came,  gun  in  hand,  and  was  passing  our  fire,  toward 
that  of  his  mess.  Morgan  called  to  the  soldier — accused  him  as  the  de 
faulter — this  the  rn^in  (^an  arrant  liar)  denied.  Morgan  appealed  to  Steele. 
Steele  admitted  he  heard  the  report,  but  knew  not  the  party  who  discharged 
the  gun.  Morgan  suddenly  springing  to  a  pile  of  billets,  took  one,  and 
s\vore  he  would  knock  the  accused  down  unless  he  confessed  the  fact.  In- 
stantly,  'Smith  seized  another  billet,  and  swore  he  would  strike  Morgan  if  ho 
struck  the  man.  Morgan  knowing  the  tenure  of  his  rank,  receded.  Such 
were  the  rough-hewn  characters,  which  in  a  few  subsequent  years,  by  energy 
of  mind  and  activity  .of  body,  bore  us  safely  through  the  dreadful  storms 
of  the  revolution.  Morgan  was  of  an  impetuous  temper,  yet  withal,  prudent 
in  war,  as  he  was  fearless  of  personal  danger.  His  passions  were  quick  and 
easily  excited,  but  they  were  soon  cooled.  This  observation  is  applicable 
to  many  men  of  great  talents,  and  to  none  more  than  Morgan.  His  severity, 
at  times,  has  made  me  shudder,  though  it  was  necessary,  yet  it  would  have 
been  a  pleasing  trait  in  his  character,  if  it  had  been  less  rigid. 

During  our  resting  here,  Arnold,  accompanied  by  Steele  and  some  excel 
lent  boatmen,  proceeded  to  the  head  of  the  river.  The  rifle  corps  preceded 
the  main  body  of  the  army,  both  by  land  and  water.  The  boats,  which 
were  heavily  laden  with  baggage  and  provisions,  took  in  no  more  men  than 
were  necessary  to  navigate  them,  that  is,  three  to  a  boat.  The  remainder 
of  the  army  marched  by  land,  the  river  being  generally  the  guide. 

After  a  week  of  intense  labor  and  fatigue  we  reached  the  Chaudiere,  Octo 
ber  29th,  and  encamped  on  a  plain  on  the  river  bank.  Here  we  learned 
for  the  first  time  that  Colonel  Enos  had  basely  deserted  us.  He  turned  back 
toward  the  New  England  settlements  from  the  twelve-mile  carrying-place, 
with  five  hundred  men,  a  large  stock  of  provisions,  and  the  medicine  chest. 
It  damped  our  spirits  much,  but  our  commander  conceived  k  *vas  better  to 
proceed  than  return.  We  were  about  a  hundred  miles  from  the  frontier  of 
Canada,  but  treble  that  distance  from  that  of  New  England.  Our  provisions 
were  exhausted.  We  had  no  meat  of  any  kind.  The  flour  which  remained, 
so  far  as  I  know,  was  divided  fairly  and  equally,  among  the  whole  of  the 
troops,  the  riflemen  shared  five  pints  of  flour  per  man.  During  the  night 
and  the  ensuing  morning,  the  flour  was  baked  into  five  cakes  per  man,  under 
the  ashes,  in  the  way  of  Indian  bread. 

On  the  30th  of  October,  we  set  forward.  The  men  were  told  by  the 
officers  "  that  order  would  not  be  required  in  the  march,  each  one  must  put  the 
best  foot  foremost."  The  first  day's  march  was  closed  by  a  charming  sleep 
on  fir-branches.  The  gentlemen  of  our  mess  lay  together,  covering  them 
selves  with  the  blankets  of  each  one.  My  memory  does  not  serve  to  say- 
that  any  stir  was  made  by  any  one  during  the  night.  Happening  to  be  the 
first  who  awaked  in  the  morning,  the  blanket  was  suddenly  thrown  from 
my  her.i,  but  what  was  my  surprise  to  find,  that  we  had  lain  under  a  covet 
of  at  least  four  inches  of  snow. 

This  morning,  the  first  of  November,  we  took  up  the  line  of  march  through 
a  flat  and  boggy  ground.  About  ten  o'clock  A.  M.  we  arrived,  by  a  narrow 
neck  of  land  at  a  marsh  which  was  appalling.  It  was  three  fourths  of  a 


OF  AMERICANS.  t  Cl 

mile  over,  and  covered  by  a  coat  of  ice,  half  an  inch  thick.  Here  Simpson 
concluded  to  halt  a  short  time  for  the  stragglers  or  maimed  of  Heridrick's 
and  Smith's  companies  to  come  up.  There  were  two  women  attached  to 
thase  companies,  who  arrived  before  we  commenced  the  march.  One  was 
the  wife  of  Sergeant  Grier,  a  large,  virtuous  and  respectable  woman.  Tho 
other  was  the  wife  of  a  private  of  our  company,  a  man  who  lagged  upon 
every  occasion.  These  women  being  arrived,  it  was  presumed  that  all  our 
party  were  up.  We  were  on  the  point  of  entering  the  marsh,  when  some 
one  cried  out  "Warner  is  not  here."  Another  said  he  had  "sat  down  sick 
under  a  tree,  a  few  miles  back."  His  wife  begging  us  to  wait  a  short  time, 
with  tears  of  affection  in  her  eyes,  ran  back  to  her  husband.  We  tarried  an 
hour.  They  came  not.  Entering  the  pond,  and  breaking  the  ice  here  and 
there  with  the  butts  of  our  guns  and  feet,  as  occasion  required,  we  were  soon 
waist  deep  in  the  mud  and  water.  As  is  generally  the  case  with  youths,  it 
came  to  my  mind,  that  a  better  path  might  be  found  than  that  of  the  more 
elderly  guide.  Attempting  this,  in  a  trice  the  water  cooling  my  armpits, 
made  me  gladly  return  into  the  file.  Now  Mrs.  Grier  had  got  before  me. 
My  mind  was  humbled,  yet  astonished,  at  the  exertions  of  this  good  woman- 
Her  clothes  more  than  waist  high,  she  waded  before  me  to  the  firm  ground. 
No  one  so  long  as  she  was  known  to  us,  dared  to  intimate  a  disrespectful 
idea  of  her.  Her  husband,  who  was  an  excellent  soldier,  was  on  duty  in 
Hendricks'  boat,  which  had  proceeded  to  the  discharge  of  the  lake  with 
Lieutenant  M'Cleland.  Arriving  at  firm  ground,  and  waiting  again  for  our 
companions,  we  then  set  oif,  and  in  a  march  of  several  miles,  over  a  scrubby 
and  flat  plain,  arrived  at  a  river  flowing  from  the  east  into  the  Chaudiere 
Lake,  which  we  reached,  and  e;  .'imped  at  its  outlet  with  a  heterogeneous 
mass  of  the  army.  It  was  soon  perceived,  that  the  French  term  Chaudiere, 
was  most  aptly  applied  to  the  river  below  us.  Indeed  every  part  of  it,  which 
came  under  our  view,  until  we  arrived  at  the  "first  house,"  in  Canada,  might 
well  be  termed  a  caldron  or  boiler,  which  is  the  import  of  its  French  name. 
It  is  remarkable  of  this  rivor,  and  which,  to  me,  distinguishes  it  from  all 
others  I  had  seen,  that  for  sixty  or  seventy  miles,  it  is  a  continued  rapid, 
without  any  apparent  gap  or  passage,  even  for  a  canoe.  Every  boat  we  put 
into  the  river,  was  stove  in  one  part  or  other  of  it. 

On  the  morning  of  the  2d  of  November,  we  set  off  from  the  Chaudiere 
Lake,  and  hungered,  as  to  my  own  particular,  almost  to  death.  What  with 
the  supplies  to  Shaeffer,  and  my  own  appetite,  food  of  any  kind,  with  me, 
had  become  a  nonentity.  My  own  sufferings,  in  the  two  succeeding  marches, 
from  particular  causes,  were  more  than  ordinarily  severe.  My  moccasins 
had,  many  days  since,  been  worn  to  shreds  and  cast  aside  :  My  shoes,  though 
they  had  been  well  sewed  and  hitherto  stuck  together,  now  began  to  give 
way,  and  that  in  the  very  worst  part  (the  upright  seam  in  the  heel).  For 
one  to  save  his  life,  must  keep  his  station  in  the  rank — the  moment  that 
was  lost,  as  nature  and  reason  dictate,  the  following  soldier  assumed  his 
place.  Thus,  once  thrown  out  of  the  file,  the  unfortunate  wretch  must 
await  the  passage  of  many  men,  until  a  chasm,  toward  the  rear,  happened 
to  open  for  his  admission.  This  explanation  will  answer  some  questions 
which  you  might  naturally  put.  Why  did  you  not  sew  it  ?  Why  did  you 
not  tie  the  shoe  to  your  foot  ?  If  there  had  been  awl,  and  thread,  and 


(52  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

strings  at  command,  which,  there  were  not,  for  the  causes  above  stated,  one 
dared  not  have  done  either,  as  the  probable  consequences  would  ensue, 
"death  by  hunger  in  a  dreary  wilderness."  For  man  when  thrown  out  of 
society  is  the  most  helpless  of  God's  creatures.  Hence  you  may  form  a 
conception  of  the  intolerable  labor  of  the  march.  Every  step  taken  the  heel 
of  the  foot  slipped  out  of  the  shoe  :  to  recover  the  position  of  the  foot  in 
tho  shoe,  and  at  the  same  time  to  stride,  was  hard  labor,  and  exhausted  my 
strength  to  an  unbearable  degree.  You  must  remember  that  this  march  was 
not  performed  on  the  level  surface  of  the  parade,  but  over  precipitous  hills, 
deep  gulleys,  and  even  without  the  path  of  the  vagrant  savage  to  guide  us. 
Thus  we  proceeded  till  toward  mid-day,  the  pale  and  meager  looks  of  my 
companions,  tottering  on  their  feeble  limbs,  corresponding  with  my  own. 
My  friend  Simpson,  who  saw  my  enfeebled  condition  and  tho  cause,  pre 
vailed  with  the  men  to  rest  themselves  a  few  minutes.  Bark,  the  only  suc- 
cedaneum  for  twine,  or  leather,  in  this  miserable  country,  was  immediately 
procured  and  the  shoe  bound  tightly  to  the  foot.  Then  marching  hastily, 
in  the  course  of  an  hour  or  more,  we  came  within  view  of  a  tremendous 
cataract  in  the  river,  from  twelve  to  twenty  feet  high.  The  horror  this  sight 
gave  us,  fearing  for  the  safety  of  our  friends  in  the  boats,  was  aggravated, 
when  turning  the  point  of  a  steep  cragg,  we  met  those  very  friends,  having 
lost  all  but  their  lives,  sitting  around  a  fire  on  the  shore.  0  God  !  what 
were  our  sensations  I  Poor  M'Cleland,  first  lieutenant  of  Hendricks'  was 
lying  at  the  fire  ;  he  beckoned  to  us — his  voice  was  not  audible,  placing  my 
ear  close  to  his  lips,  the  word  he  uttered,  scarcely  articulate,  was,  "Fare 
well."  Simpson,  who  loved  him,  gave  him  half  of  the  pittance  of  food 
which  he  still  possessed  ;  all  I  could  was — a  tear.  Coming  to  a  long  sandy 
beach  of  the  Chaudiere,  for  we  sometimes  had  such,  some  men  of  our  com 
pany  were  observed  to  dart  from  the  file,  and  with  their  nails,  tear  out  of 
the  sand,  roots  which  they  esteemed  eatable,  and  ate  them  raw,  even  with 
out  washing.  Languid  and  woe-begone,  as  your  father  was,  it  could  not  but 
create  a  smile,  to  observe  the  whole  line  watching  with  "Argus  eyes,"  the 
motions  of  a  few  men,  who  knew  the  indications  in  the  sand  of  those  roots. 
The  knowing  one  sprung,  half  a  dozen  followed,  he  who  grabbed  it,  eat  the 
root  instantly.  Though  hunger  urged,  it  was  far  from  me  to  contend  in  that 
way  with  powerful  men,  such  as  those  were.  Strokes  often  occurred. 

During  this  day's  march  (about  ten  or  eleven,  A.  M.),  my  shoe  having 
given  away  again,  we  came  to  a  fire,  where  were  some  of  Captain  Thayer,  or 
Topham's  men.  Simpson  was  in  front,  trudging  after,  slipshod  and  tired,  I 
sat  down  on  the  end  of  a  long  log,  against  which  the  fire  was  built,  absolutely 
fainting  with  hunger  and  fatigue,  my  gun  standing  between  rny  knees.  Seat 
ing  myself,  that  very  act  gave  a  cast  to  the  kettle,  which  was  'placed  partly 
against  the  log,  in  such  a  way,  as  to  spill  two-thirds  of  its  contents.  At  the 
moment  a  large  man  sprung  to  his  gun,  and  pointing  it  toward  me,  he  threa 
tened  to  shoot.  It  created  no  fear ;  his  life  was  with  much  more  certainty 
in  my  power.  Death  would  have  been  a  welcome  visitor.  Simpson  soon 
made  us  friends.  Coming  to  their  fire,  they  gave  me  a  cup  of  their  broth. 
A  table-spoonful  was  all  that  was  tasted.  It  had  a  greenish  hue,  and  was 
said  to  be  that  of  a  bear.  This  was  instantly  known  to  be  untrue,  from  the 
taste  and  smell.  It  was  that  of  a  dog.  He  was  a  large  black  Newfoundland 


OF  AMERICANS.  63 

dog,  belonging  to  Thayer,  and  very  fat*  We  left  these  merry  fellows,  for 
they  were  actually  such,  mauger  all  their  wants,  and  marching  quickly,  to 
ward  evening  encamped.  We  had  a  good  fire,  but  no  food.  To  me  the 
world  had  lost  its  charms.  Gladly  would  death  have  been  received  as  an 
auspicious  herald  from  the  Divinity.  My  privations  in  every  way,  were 
such  as  to  produce  a  willingness  to  die.  Without  food,  without  clothing, 
to  keep  me  warm,  without  money,  and  in  a  deep  and  devious  wilderness, 
the  idea  occurred,  and  the  means  were  in  my  hands,  of  ending  existence. 
The  God  of  all  goodness  inspired  other  thoughts.  One  principal  cause  of 
change  (under  the  fostering  hand  of  Providence)  in  my  sentiments,  was  the 
jovial  hilarity  of  my  friend  Simpson.  At  night,  warming  our  bodies  at  an 
immense  fire,  our  compatriots  joined  promiscuously  around — to  animate  the 
company,  he  would  sing  "  Plato  ;"  his  sonorous  voice  gave  spirit  to  my  heart, 
and  the  morality  of  the  song,  consolation  to  my  mind.  In  truth,  the  music, 
though  not  so  correct  as  that  of  Handel,  added  strength  and  vigor  to  our 
nerves.  This  evening  it  was,  that  some  of  our  companions,  whose  stomachs 
had  not  received  food,  for  the  last  forty-eight  hours,  adopted  the  notion, 
that  leather,  though  it  had  been  manufactured,  might  be  made  palatable 
food,  and  would  gratify  the  appetite.  Observing  their  discourse,  to  me  the 
experiment  became  a  matter  of  curiosity.  They  washed  their  moccasins  of 
mooseskin,  in  the  first  place,  in  the  river,  scraping  away  the  dirt  and  sand, 
with  great  care.  These  were  brought  to  the  kettle  and  boiled  a  considerable 
time,  under  the  vague,  but  consolatory  hope,  that  a  mucilage  would  take 
place.  The  boiling  over,  the  poor  fellows  chewed  the  leather,  but  it  was 
leather  still :  not  to  be  macerated.  My  teeth,  though  young  and  good,  suc 
ceeded  no  better.  Disconsolate  and  weary,  we  passed  the  night. 

November  3d.  We  arose  early,  hunger  impelling,  and  marched  rapidly. 
After  noon,  on  a  point  on  the  bank  of  the  river,  some  one  pretended  he  de 
scried  the  "first  house,"  ten  miles  off.  Not  long  after  another  discerned  a 
boat  coming  toward  us,  and  turning  a  point  of  land — presently,  all  perceived 
cattle  driving  up  the  shore.  These  circumstances,  gave  occasion  to  a  feeble 
huzza  of  joy,  from  those  who  saw  these  cheerful  and  enlivening  sights.  We 
were  now  treading  a  wide  and  stony  beach  of  the  river.  Smith,  our  captain, 
who  at  this  moment  happened  to  be  in  company,  elated  with  the  prospect 
of  a  supply  of  food,  in  the  joy  of  his  heart,  perhaps  thoughtlessly,  said  to 
me,  "take  this  Henry."  It  was  gladly  received.  Opening  the  paper,  which 
had  been  neatly  folded,  there  appeared  a  hand's  breadth  and  length  of  bacon- 
fat,  of  an  inch  thick ;  thoughtlessly,  it  was  eaten  greedily,  inattentive  to  ah 
former  rule,  and  thanks  to  God,  did  me  no  harm. 

Here  it  was  that  for  the  first  time,  AARON  BURR,  a  most  amiable  youth  of 
twenty,  came  to  my  view.  He  then  was  a  cadet.  It  will  require  a  most 
cogent  evidence,  to  convince  my  mind,  that  he  ever  intended  any  ill  to  his 
country  of  late  years,  by  his  various  speculations.  Though  differing  in  polit 
ical  opinion  from  him,  no  reason  has  yet  been  laid  before  me,  to  induce  a 
belief,  that  he  was  traitorous  to  his  country. 

We  marched  as  hastily  as  our  wearied  and  feeble  limbs  could  admit, 
hoping  soon  to  share  in  something  like  an  Abyssinian  feast.  The  curvatures 
of  the  river,  had  deceived  us  in  the  calculation  of  distance.  It  was  many 
hours  ere  we  came  to  the  place  of  slaughter.  We  found  a  fire,  but  no  pro- 


64:  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

vision,  except  a  small  quantity  of  oaten  meal,  resembling  in  grit  our  chop 
ped  rye.  Simpson  warmed  some  of  this  in  water,  and  ate  with  gusto.  To 
me  it  was  nauseous  :  this  may  have  been  owing  to  the  luncheon  from  Smith's 
hoard.  The  French  men  told  us,  that  those  who  preceded,  had  devoured 
the  very  entrails  of  the  cattle.  One  of  the  eastern  men,  as  we  came  to  tho 
fire,  was-  gorging  the  last  bit  of  the  colon,  half  rinsed — half  broiled.  It  may 
be  said,  he  ate  with  pleasure,  as-  he  tore  it  as  a  hungry  dog  would  tear  a 
haunch  of  meat.  We  soon  encamped  for  the  night,  cheered  by  the  hope  of 
succor. 

November  Jtth.  About  two  o'clock,  p.  M.,  we  arrived  at  a  large  stream 
coming  from  the  east,  which  we  ran  through,  though  more  than  mid-deep. 
This  was  the  most  chilling  bath  we  had  hitherto  received  :  the  weather  was 
raw  and  cold.  It  was  the  seventeenth  and  the  harshest  of  my  birthdays. 
Within  a  few  hundred  yards  of  the  river  stood  the  "  first  house"  in  Canada : 
we  approached  it  in  ecstacy,  sure  of  being  relieved  from  death  by  the  means 
of  famine. 

Many  of  our  compatriots  were  unaware  of  that  death  which  arises  from 
sudden  repletion.  The  active  spirit  of  Arnold,  with  such  able  assistants  as 
John  M.  Taylor  and  Steele,  had  laid  in  a  great  stock  of  provisions.  The 
inen  were  furious,  voracious,  and  insatiable.  Three  starvations  had  taught 
me  wisdom.  My  friends  took  my  advice.  But,  notwithstanding  the  irre 
fragable  arguments  the  officers  used  to  insure  moderation,  the  men  were  out 
rageous  upon  the  subject ;  they  had  no  comprehension  of  such  reasoning. 

Among  these  was  one,  of  our  company,  a  good  and  orderly  soldier,  who, 
from  my  affection  toward  him,  I  watched  like  another  doctor  Pedro  Posi 
tive  ;  yet  all  re-presentation  and  reasoning  on  my  part,  had  no  influence. 
Boiled  beef,  hot  bread,  potatoes,  boiled  and  roasted,  were  gormandized  with 
out  stint.  He  seemed  to  defy  death,  for  the  mere  enjoyment  of  present 
gratification,  and  died  two  days  after.  Many  of  the  men  sickened.  If  not 
much  mistaken,  we  lost  three  of  our  company,  by  their  imprudence  on  this 
occasion.  The  immediate  extension  of  the  stomach  by  food,  after  a  lengthy 
fast,  operates  a  more  sudden  extinction  of  life,  than  the  total  absence  of 
aliment. 

At  this  place,  we  for  the  first  time  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  the  worthy 
and  respectable  Indian,  Natanis,  and  his  brother  Sabatis,  with  some  others 
of  their  tribe  (the  Abenaquis)  :  he,  his  brother  Sabatis,  and  seventeen  other 
Indians,  the  nephews  and  friends  of  Natanis,  marched  with  us  to  Quebec, 
and  were  in  the  attack  of  that  place,  on  the  morning  of  the  first  of  Jan 
uary  following.  This  is  the  first  instance  in  the  course  of  our  revolutionary 
war,  of  the  employment  of  Indians  in  actual  warfare  against  our  enemies. 
To  be  sure,  it  was  the  act  of  a  junior  commander,  unwarranted,  so  far  as  has 
come  to  my  knowledge,  by  the  orders  of  his  superiors ;  yet  it  seemed  to 
authorize,  in  a  small  degree,  upon  the  part  of  our  opponents,  that  horrible 
system  of  aggression,  which  in  a  short  time  ensued,  and  astonished  and  dis 
gusted  the  civilized  world. 

Our  severest  personal  sufferings  for  want  of  food  were  over.  The  march 
through  the  wilderness  to  this  point  had  been  dreadful ;  one  day  when  near 
the  head  of  the  Chaudiere,  a  mountain  putting  into  that  stream  compelled 
us  to  pass  the  margin  upon  a  log,  which  had  been  brought  there  ty  a  freshet 


OF  AMERICANS.  65 

The  bark  and  limbs  of  the  tree  had  been  worn  away  by  the  rubbings  of  the 
ice,  and  the  trunk  lay  lengthwise  along  the  narrow  passage,  smooth  and  slip 
pery,  and  gorged  the  pass.  This  difficulty  had  collected  here  a  heteroge 
neous  mass  of  the  troops,  who  claimed  the  right  of  passage  according  to  the 
order  of  coming  to  it.  The  log  was  to  be  footed,  or  the  water,  of  the  depth 
of  three  or  four  feet,  must  be  waded.  There  was  no  alternative.  An  eastern 
man,  bare-footed,  bare-headed,  and  thinly  clad,  lean  and  wretched  from  ab 
stinence,  with  his  musket  in  hand,  passed  the  log  immediately  before  me. 
His  foot  slipped,  and  he  fell  several  feet  into  the  water.  We  passed  on  re 
gardless  of  his  fate.  Even  his  immediate  friends  and  comrades,  many  of 
whom  were  on  the  log  at  the  same  moment,  did  not  deign  to  lend  him  an 
assisting  hand.  Death  stared  us  in  the  face.  I  gave  him  a  sincere  sigh  at 
parting,  for  to  lose  my  place  in  the  file,  might  have  been  fatal.  This  pitiable 
being  died  in  the  wilderness.  The  hard  fate  of  many  others  might  be  re 
capitulated,  but  the  dreadful  tale  of  incidents,  if  truly  told,  would  merely 
serve  to  lacerate  the  heart  of  pity,  and  harrow  up  the  feelings  of  the  soul 
of  benevolence.  Tears  many  years  since,  have  often  wetted  my  cheeks, 
when  recollecting  the  disasters  of  that  unfortunate  campaign,  the  memorable 
exit  of  my  dearest  friends,  and  of  many  worthy  fellow-citizens,  whose  worth 
at  this  time  is  embalmed  solely  in  the  breasts  of  their  surviving  associates. 
Seven  died  sheerly  from  famine  ;  and  many  others  by  disorders  arising  from 
hard  service  in  the  wilderness. 

The  morning  of  the  6th  of  November,  we  marched  in  straggling  parties 
through  a  flat  and  rich  country,  sprinkled,  it  might  be  said,  decorated,  by 
many  low  houses,  all  white- washed,  which  appeared  to  be  the  warm  abodes 
of  a  contented  people.  Every  now  and  then,  a  chapel  came  in  sight ;  but 
more  frequently  the  rude,  but  pious  imitations  of  the  sufferings  of  our 
Saviour,  and  the  image  of  the  Virgin.  These  things  created  surprise,  at 
least  in  my  mind,  for  where  I  thought  there  could  be  little  other  than  bar 
barity,  we  found  civilized  men,  in  a  comfortable  state,  enjoying  all  the  ben 
efits  arising  from  the  institutions  of  civil  society. 

About  noon  of  the  next  day,  we  arrived  at  the  quarters  of  Arnold,  a  sta 
tion  he  had  taken  for  the  purpose  of  halting  and  embodying  the  whole  of 
our  emaciated  and  straggling  troops.  We  were  now  perhaps  thirty  miles 
from  point  Levi ;  which  is  on  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  nearly  opposite  to  Que 
bec.  Here  we  found  our  friend  Taylor,  at  a  slaughter  house  worried  almost 
to  death,  in  dealing  out  the  sustenance  of  life  to  others.  Without  hyperbole 
or  circumlocution,  he  gave  us  as  many  pounds  of  beef-steak  as  we  chose  to 
carry.  Proceeding  to  the  next  house,  a  mile  below,-  some  one  of  the  party 
became  cook.  Good  bread  and  potatoes,  with  the  accompaniment  of  beef 
steak,  produced  a  savory  meal.  Believing  myself  out  of  danger  from  any 
extraordinary  indulgence  of  appetite,  the  due  quantity  was  exceeded,  and 
yet,  believe  me,  it  was  not  more  than  an  anchorite  might  religiously  take. 
We  soon  became  sensible  of  this  act  of  imprudence.  The  march  of  the 
afternoon  was  a  dull  and  heavy  one.  A  fever  attacked  me.  I  became  ac 
cording  to  my  feelings,  the  most  miserable  of  human  beings.  The  evening 
brought  me  no  comfort,  though  we  slept  warmly  in  a  farm  house. 

November  7th.  The  army  now  formed  into  more  regular  and  compact 
order,  in  the  morning  pretty  early  we  proceeded.  About  noon  my  disorder 


66  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

had  increased  so  intolerably,  that  I  could  not  put  a  foot  forward.  Seating 
myself  upon  a  log  at  the  way-side,  the  troops  passed  on.  In  the  rear  came 
Arnold  on  horseback.  He  knew  my  name  and  character,  and  good  naturedly 
inquired  after  my  health.  Being  informed,  he  dismounted,  ran  down  to  the 
river  side,  and  hailed  the  owner  of  the  house,  which  stood  opposite  across 
the  water.  The  good  Canadian,  in  his  Canoe,  quickly  arrived.  Depositing 
my  gun  and  accoutrements  in  the  hands  of  one  of  our  men,  who  attended 
upon  me,  and  had  been  disarmed  by  losing  his  rifle  in  some  one  of  the 
wreckings  above,  and  Arnold  putting  two  silver  dollars  into  my  hands,  the 
Frenchman  carried  me  to  his  house.  Going  to  bed  with  a  high  fever  upon 
me,  I  lay  all  this  and  the  following  day  without  tasting  food.  That  had 
been  the  cause  of  the  disease,  its  absence  became  the  cure. 

The  morning  of  the  third  day  (10th  November),  brought  me  health.  The 
mistress  of  the  house,  who  had  been  very  attentive  and  kind,  asked  me  to 
breakfast.  This  humble,  but  generous  meal,  consisted  of  a  bowl  of  milk, 
for  the  guest,  with  excellent  bread.  The  fare  of  the  family  was  this  same 
bread,  garlic,  and  salt — I  had  observed,  that  this  was  the  usual  morning's 
diet,  for  I  lay  in  the  stove-room,  where  the  family  ate  and  slept.  This 
worthy  family  was  composed  of  seven  persons  ;  the  parents  in  the  prime  of 
life,  and  five  charming  ruddy  children,  all  neatly  and  warmly  clothed  in 
woolen,  apparently  of  their  own  manufactory.  You  might  suppose,  from 
the  manner  of  their  living,  that  these  persons  were  poor.  No  such  thing. 
They  were  in  good  circumstances.  Their  house,  barn,  stabling,  etc.,  were 
warm  and  comfortable,  and  their  diet  such  as  is  universal  among  the  French 
peasantry  of  Canada.  Proffering  my  two  dollars  to  this  honest  man,  he  re 
jected  them  with  something  like  disdain  in  his  countenance,  intimating  to 
me  that  he  had  merely  obeyed  the  dictates  of  religion  and  humanity.  Tears 
filled  my  eyes  when  I  took  my  leave  of  these  amiable  people.  But  they 
had  not  even  yet  done  enough  for  me.  The  father  insisted  on  attending  me 
to  the  ferry  some  miles  off,  where  the  river  takes  a  turn  almost  due  north, 
to  meet  the  St.  Lawrence.  Here  my  worthy  host  procured  me  a  passage 
scot  free,  observing  to  me  my  money  might  be  required  before  the  army 
could  be  overtaken.  Landing  on  the  north  bank  of  the  river,  the  way  could 
not  be  mistaken,  the  track  of  the  army  had  strongly  marked  the  rout.  To 
me  it  was  a  most  gloomy  and  solitary  march.  Not  a  soul  was  to  be  seen  in 
the  course  of  ten  miles.  Here  and  there  was  a  farm-house,  but  the  inhab 
itants  were  either  closely  housed  or  absent  from  their  homes.  Afternoon, 
arriving  at  the  quarters  of  our  company,  my  gun  and  accoutrements  were 
reclaimed  with  ardor. 

Having  arrived  at  Point  Livi  we  crossed  the  St.  Lawrence  in  boats  on  the 
night  of  the  13th  of  November  and  landed  at  Wolf's  Cove. 

November  14th.  The  troops  easily  ascended  the  hill,  by  a  good  road  cut 
in  it  slantingly.  This  was  not  the  case  in  1759,  when  the  immortal  Wolf 
mounted  here — it  was  then  a  steep  declivity,  enfiladed  by  a  host  of  savages. 

November  15th.  Arriving  on  the  brow  of  the  precipice,  we  found  our 
selves  on  the  Plains  of  Abraham,  so  deservedly  famous  in  story.  The  morn 
ing  was  cold,  and  we  were  thinly  clad.  While  an  adventurous  party  dis 
patched  by  Arnold,  under  the  command  of  one  of  Morgan's  lieutenants, 
were  examining  the  walls  of  the  city,  we  were  pacing  the  plains  to  and  fro, 


OF  AMERICANS.  67 

in  silence,  to  keep  ourselves  warm.  The  winter  had  set  in — a  cold  north 
wester  blew  with  uncommon  keenness.  By  the  time  the  reconnoitering  party 
returned,  daylight  was  not  very  distant.  The  party  found  everything  toward 
the  city  in  a  state  of  perfect  quietness.  This  report  was  delivered,  in  my 
presence,  to  Morgan,  however  the  contrary  may  have  been  represented 
since.  Not  even  the  cry  of  "  All's  well"  was  uttered,  was  a  part  of  their 
report,  yet  we  heard  that  cry  from  the  walls,  even  where  we  were ;  but  this 
in  a  direct  line,  was  nearer  to  us  than  the  voices  opposite  to  the  party.  This 
was  the  happy  moment,  but  with  our  small  and  disjointed  force,  what  co;ild 
be  done  ?  There  was  scarcely  more  than  three  hundred  and  fifty  men,  will 
ing  and  determined  to  be  sure,  but  too  few  to  assail  a  fortress  such  as  Que 
bec  is.  If  that  had  been  known  this  night,  which  was  evidenced  in  a  few 
days  by  the  fugitives  from  the  city,  Arnold  would  most  assuredly  have  haz 
arded  an  attack.  St.  John's  Gate,  which  opens  on  Abraham's  Plains,  and  is 
a  most  important  station,  was  unbarred,  nay,  unclosed  :  nothing  but  a  single 
cannon  under  the  care  of  a  drowsy  watch,  was  there  as  a  defense ;  we  were 
not  a  mile  distant,  and  might  have  entered  unknown,  and  even  unseen. 
These  are  uncertain  opinions,  resting  on  the  vague  reports  of  the  moment, 
which  might  have  been  true,  or  untrue.  My  memory  is,  however,  fresh  in 
the  recollection  of  the  heart-burnings  this  failure  caused  among  us.  Prov 
idence,  for  wise  purposes,  would  have  it  otherwise.  Near  daylight,  requir 
ing  rest  and  refreshment,  the  troops  moved  a  mile,  to  a  farm-house  of  Lieu 
tenant  Governor  Caldwell's.  This  was  a  great  pile  of  wooden  buildings, 
with  numerous  outhouses,  which  testified  the  agricultural  spirit  and  taste  of 
the  owner.  He,  good  soul,  was  then  snug  in  Quebec. 

The  next  day,  Arnold  had  the  boldness,  you  might  say  the  audacity,  or 
still  more  correctly,  the  folly,  to  draw  us  up  in  a  line,  in  front  and  opposite 
to  the  wall  of  the  city.  The  parapet  was  lined  by  hundreds  of  gaping  citi 
zens  and  soldiers,  whom  our  guns  could  not  harm,  because  of  the  distance^ 
They  gave  us  a  huzza  !  We  returned  it,  and  remained  a  considerable  tieae 
huzzaing,  and  spending  our  powder  against  the  walls,  for  we  harmed  HO 
one.  In  some  minutes  a  thirty-six  pounder  was  let  loose  upon  us ;  but  so 
ill  was  the  gun  pointed,  that  the  ball  fell  short,  or  passed  high  over  our 
heads.  Another,  and  another  succeeded — to  these  salutes,  we  gave  them 
all  we  could,  another  and  another  huzza.  It  must  be  confessed,,  that  this 
ridiculous  affair  gave  me  a  contemptible  opinion  of  Arnold.  This-  notion 
was  by  no  means  singular.  Morgan,  Febiger  and  other  officers,  who  had 
seen  service,  did  not  hesitate  to  speak  of  it  in  that  point  of  view.  However, 
Arnold  had  a  vain  desire  to  gratify,  of  which  we  were  then  ignorant.  He 
was  well  known  at  Quebec.  Formerly,  he  had  traded  from  thi&  port  to  the 
West  Indies,  most  particularly  in  the  article  of  horses.  Hence,  he  was  de 
spised  by  the  principal  people.  The  epithet  "horse  jockey/'  was  freely  and 
universally  bestowed  upon  him,  by  the  British.  Having  now  obtained 
power,  he  became  anxious  to  display  it  in  the  faces  of  those  who  had  for 
merly  despised  and  contemned  him.  The  venerable  Sir  Guy  Carleton,  an 
Irishman  of  a  most  amiable  and  mild  character,  Colonel  Maclean,  a  Scotch 
man,  old  in  warfare,  would  not,  in  any  shape,  communicate-  with  him.  If 
Montgomery  had  originally  been  our  commander,  matters  might  have 
more  civilly  conducted. 
5 


68  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

Many  of  our  wisest  men,  within  the  colonies,  wrote  and  spoke  of  this  bra 
vading,  as  a  matter  of  moment,  and  with  much  applause.  Even  some  ot 
our  historians  (Gordon)  have  given  it  celebrity.  But  a  more  silly  and  boast 
ful  British  historian  (Arnwell)  says  there  was  a  dreadful  cannonade,  by 
which  many  of  the  rebels  were  destroyed.  The  truth  is,  that  this  day  rot 
a  drop  of  blood  was  shed,  but  that  of  Governor  Caldwell's  homed  cattle, 
hogs  and  poultry,  which  run  plentifully.  After  this  victory  in  huzzaing, 
which  was  boys'  play,  and  suited  me  to  a  hair,  we  returned  to  quarters  to 
partake  of  the  good  things  of  this  world. 

The  next  day  (November  15th),  a  scene  of  a  different  kind  opened,  which 
let  us  into  the  true  character  of  Arnold.  In  the  wilderness,  the  men  had 
been  stinted  to  a  pint  of  flour  by  the  day.  This  scanty  allowance  of  flour 
had  been  continued  since  we  had  come  into  this  plentiful  country.  Morgan, 
Hendricks  and  Smith,  waited  upon  the  commander-in-chief,  to  represent  the 
grievance  and  obtain  redress.  Altercation  and  warm  language  took  place. 
Smith,  with  his  usual  loquacity,  told  us,  that  Morgan  seemed,  at  one  time, 
upon  the  point  of  striking  Arnold.  We  fared  the  better  for  this  interview. 

On  the  following  day  (November  16th),  the  rifle-companies  removed  fur 
ther  from  the  city.  About  half  a  mile  from  Caldwell's  house,  our  company 
obtained  excellent  quarters,  in  the  house  of  a  French  gentleman,  who  seemed 
wealthy.  He  was  pleasing  in  his  manners,  but  the  rudeness  our  ungovern 
able  men  exhibited,  created  in  him  an  apparent  disgust  toward  us.  Here  we 
remained  near  a  week. 

November  18th.  Not  being  fully  in  the  secret,  it  does  not  become  me  to 
recount  the  causes  of  our  retreat,  to  Point  Aux  Tremble,  which  is  at  the 
distance  of  twenty  or  more  miles  from  Quebec.  The  route  thither,  though 
in  a  severe  winter,  was  interesting.  The  woods  were  leafless,  except  as  to 
those  trees  of  the  fir-kind  ;  but  numerous  neat  and  handsomely  situated 
farm-houses,  and  many  beautiful  landscapes  were  presented,  and  enlivened 
;Our  march  along  this  majestic  stream. 

Ascending  the  river  at  a  distance  of  ten  or  fifteen  miles,  we  observed  the 
rapid  passage,  down  stream,  of  a  boat,  and  soon  afterward  of  a  ship,  one  or 
other  of  which  contained  the  person  of  Sir  Guy  Carleton.  That  it  was  the 
governor  of  the  province,  flying  from  Montgomery,  who  had  by  this  time 
captured  Montreal,  we  were  informed  by  a  special  kind  of  messenger,  which 
was  no  other  than  the  report  of  the  cannon,  by  way  of  feu-de-joie,  upon 
his  arrival  at  the  capital.  Point  Aux  Tremble,  at  this  time,  had  assumed 
the  appearance  of  a  straggling  village.  There  was  a  spacious  chapel,  where 
the  ceremonies  of  the  Roman  Catholic  religion  were  performed,  with  a  pomp 
not  seen  in  our  churches,  but  by  a  fervency  and  zeal  apparently  very  pious, 
which  'became  a  severe  and  additional  stroke  at  early  prejudices.  Quarters 
were  obtained  in  the  village  and  farm-houses,  dispersed  over  a  space  of  some 
miles,  up  and  down  the  river.  We  enjoyed  as  much  comfort  as  tight  houses, 
warm  fires,  and  our  scantiness  of  -clothing  would  admit.  Provisions  were  in 
plenty,  and  particularly  beef,  which,  though  small  in  bulk,  was  of  an  excel- 
lent  flavor.  Being  in  a  few  days,  as  it  were,  domesticated  in  a  respectable 
farmer's  house,  we  now  had  leisure  to  observe  the  economy  of  the  family. 
Every  crevice  through  which  cold  air  could  penetrate,  was  carefully  pasted 
with  strips  of  paper  of  every  color.  To  permit  the  cold  air  to  intrude  is  not 


OF  AMERICANS.  69 

the  only  evil  which  results ;  but  the  smallest  interstice  with  the  air,  also 
admits  an  almost  impalpable  snow,  which  is  very  inconvenient,  particularly 
at  night,  when  the  winds  blow  most  sharply.  A  stove  of  iron  stood  a  small 
space  from  the  wall  of  the  kitchen  chimney,  but  in  such  a  way  that  it  might 
be  encompassed  by  the  family  or  the  guests.  This  stove  was  kept  contin 
ually  hot,  both  by  day  and  by  night.  Over  the  stove  there  is  a  rack  so  con 
structed  as  to  serve  for  the  drying  of  wet  clothes,  moccasins,  etc.  When 
these  people  slaughter  their  beasts  for  winter  use,  they  cut  up  the  meat  into 
small  pieces,  such  as  a  half  pound,  two  pounds,  etc.,  according  to  the  number 
of  the  family.  In  the  evening  before  bedtime,  the  females  of  the  house, 
prepare  the  dinner  of  the  following  day.  It  may  be  particularly  described, 
as  it  was  done  in  our  view  for  a  number  of  days  together,  and  during  the 
time  was  never  varied.  This  was  the  manner  :  A  piece  of  pork  or  beef,  or 
a  portion  of  each  kind,  together  with  a  sufficiency  of  cabbage,  potatoes  and 
turnips,  seasoned  with  salt,  and  an  adequate  quantity  of  water,  were  put 
into  a  neat  tin  kettle  with  a  close  lid.  The  kettle,  thus  replenished,  was 
placed  on  the  stove  in  the  room  where  we  all  slept,  and  there  it  simmered 
till  the  time  of  rising,  when  it  was  taken  to  a  small  fire  in  the  kitchen,  where 
F.  stewing  continued  till  near  noon,  when  they  dined.  The  contents  were 
teemed  into  a  large  bason.  Each  person  had  a  plate — no  knife  was  used,  ex 
cept  one  to  cut  the  bread,  but  a  five  or  six  pronged  fork  answered  the  pur 
poses  of  a  spoon.  The  meat  required  no  cutting,  as  it  was  reduced  to  a 
mucilage,  or  at  least  to  shreds.  This,  you  may  say,  is  trifling  information, 
and  unworthy  of  your  notice  ;  according  to  my  mind,  it  is  important  to  all 
of  us,  to  know  the  habits,  manners,  and  means  of  existence  of  that  class  of 
society,  which,  in  all  nations,  composes  the  bulk  and  strength  of  the  body 
politic.  Our  dinner  followed  in  a  few  hours.  The  manner  of  our  cookery 
excited  astonishment  in  our  hosts.  As  much  beef  was  consumed  at  a  single 
meal,  as  would  have  served  this  family  for  a  week.  Remember,  however, 
that  the  mess  consisted  of  persons  who  were  entitled  to  double  and  treble 
rations.  Two  rosy-cheeked  daughters  of  the  house,  soon  contrived  the  means 
and  obtained  the  surplus.  This  circumstance,  most  probably,  made  us  agree 
able  to  the  family,  for  we  had  nothing  else  to  bestow.  The  snow  had  now 
fallen  in  abundance,  and  enlivened  the  country.  Sleighs  and  sleds  were 
passing  in  every  direction.  In  December,  January,  and  February,  the  snow 
lays  in  the  country  from  three  to  five  feet  deep  over  the  surface. 

On  the  first  of  December,  General  Montgomery,  who  was  anxiously  ex 
pected,  arrived  with  the  main  body  of  the  army  who  had  come  on  by  the 
way  of  Charnplaine.  Arnold's  corps,  was  paraded  in  front  of  the  chapel.  It 
was  lowering  and  cold,  but  the  appearance  of  the  general  here,  gave  us 
warmth  and  animation.  He  was  well  limbed,  tall  and  handsome,  though  his 
face  was  much  pock-marked.  His  air  and  manner,  designated  the  real  sol 
dier.  He  made  us  a  short,  but  energetic  and  elegant  speech,  the  burden  of 
which  was  an  applause  of  our  spirit  in  passing  the  wilderness ;  a  hope,  our 
perseverance  in  that  spirit  would  continue,  and  a  promise  of  warm  clothing; 
the  latter  was  a  most  comfortable  assurance.  A  few  huzzas  from  our  freez 
ing  bodies  were  returned  to  the  address  of  the  gallant  hero.  Now  new  lifa 
was  infused  into  the  whole  of  the  corps. 

The  next  day  (December  2d),  we  retraced  the  route  from  Quebec.   A  snow 


70  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

had  fallen  during  the  night,  and  continued  falling.  To  march  on  this  snow 
was  a  most  fatiguing  business.  The  evening  brought  up  the  riflemen  at  an 
extensive  house,  in  the  parish  of  St.  Foix,  about  three  miles  from  Quebec. 

The  next  day  (December  3d),  Morgan  not  finding  himself  comfortable, 
moved  a  short  space  nearer  to  the  city.  Here,  in  low  and  pretty  country 
houses,  he  and  his  men,  were  neatly  accommodated.  It  seemed  to  me,  that 
the  Canadians,  in  the  vicinage  of  Quebec,  lived  as  comfortable,  in  general, 
as  the  generality  of  the  Pennsylvanians  did,  at  that  time,  in  the  county  ot 
Lancaster. 

December  12th.  We  remained  about  ten  days  at  these  quarters.  The 
tours  of  duty,  to  Arnold's  party,  were  peculiarly  severe.  The  officers  and 
men,  still  wore  nothing  else,  than  the  remains  of  the  summer  clothing,  which 
being  on  their  back,  had  escaped  destruction  in  the  disasters  of  the  wilder 
ness.  The  snow  lay  three  feet  deep  over  the  face  of  the  whole  country, 
and  there  was  an  addition  to  it  almost  daily.  Many  impediments  occurred, 
to  delay  the  transportation  of  the  clothing  which  General  Montgomery 
had  procured  for  us  at  Montreal.  Our  miserable  state,  contrary  to  our 
principles,  excited  an  illicit  desire,  to  be  appareled  more  comfortably.  This 
desire  would  probably  have  lain  dormant,  but  for  a  scoundrel  Canadian, 
who  in  all  likelihood,  was  an  enemy  of  Lieutenant  Governor  Cromie's. 
One  morning  having  returned  from  a  cold  night's  duty,  near  palace  gate, 
the  fellow  addressed  Simpson,  who  was  the  only  officer  in  quarters,  and 
communicated  the  information  :  "  That  about  two  miles  up  the  St.  Law 
rence,  lay  a  country  seat  of  Governor  Cromie's,  stocked  with  many  things  we 
wanted,  and  he  would  be  our  guide."  Cariole's  were  immediately  pro 
cured.  The  house,  a  neat  box,  was  romantically  situated  on  the  steep  bank 
of  the  river,  not  very  distant  from  a  chapel.  Though  in  the  midst  of  win 
ter,  the  spot  displayed  the  elegant  taste  and  abundant  wealth  of  the  owner. 
It  must  be  a  most  delightful  summer  residence,  in  the  months  of  July  and 
August,  when  the  heat  of  this  northern  climate,  seems  greater  to  sensation, 
than  that  of  our  country,  in  the  same  season.  The  house  was  closed ; 
knocking,  the  hall-door  was  opened  to  us  by  an  Irishwoman,  who,  of  the 
fair  sex,  was  the  largest  and  most  brawny,  that  ever  came  under  my  notice. 
She  was  the  stewardess  of  the  house.  Our  questions  were  answered  with  an 
apparent  affability  and  frankness.  She  introduced  us  into  the  kitchen,  a 
large  apartment,  well  filled  with  those  articles  which  good-livers  think  ne 
cessary,  to  the  happy  enjoyment  of  life.  Here  we  observed,  five  or  six 
Canadian  servants,  huddled  into  a  corner  of  the  kitchen,  trembling  with  fear. 
Our  prying  eyes,  soon  discovered  a  trap-door  leading  into  the  cellar.  In  the 
country  houses  of  Canada,  because  of  the  frigidity  of  the  climate,  the  cellars 
are  usually  under  a  warm  room,  and  are  principally  intended,  for  the  preser 
vation  of  vegetables.  The  cavity  in  this  instance,  abounded  with  a  great 
variety  of  eatables,  of  which  we  were  not  in  the  immediate  want.  The 
men  entered  it — firkin  after  firkin  of  butter ;  lard,  tallow,  beef,  pork,  fresh 
and  salt — all  became  a  prey.  While  the  men  were  rummaging  below,  the 
lieutenant  descended  to  cause  more  dispatch.  My  duty  was  to  retrain  at 
the  end  of  the  trap-door,  with  my  back  to  the  wall,  and  rifle  cocked  as  a 
sentry,  keeping  a  strict  eye  on  the  servants.  My  good  Irishwoman  fre 
quently  beckoned  to  me  to  descend  :  her  drift  was  to  catch  us  all  in  the  trap. 


OF  AMERICANS.  71 

Luckily  she  was  comprehended.  The  cellar  and  kitchen  being  thoroughly 
gutted,  and  the  spoil  borne  to  the  carriages,  the  party  dispersed  into  tho 
other  apartments.  Here  was  elegancy.  The  walls  and  partitions,  were 
beautifully  papered  and  decorated,  with  large  engravings,  maps,  etc.,  of  the 
mcst  celebrated  artists. 

Our  attention  was  much  more  attracted  by  the  costly  feather  beds,  coun 
terpanes,  and  charming  rose-blankets,  which  the  house  afforded.  Of  these 
there  was  good  store,  and  we  left  not  a  joint  behind  us.  The  nooks  and 
crevices  in  the  carioles,  were  filled  with  smaller  articles  ;  several  dozens  of 
admirably  finished  case-knives  and  forks — even  a  set  of  dessert  knives  ob 
tained  the  notice  of  our  cupidity.  Articles  of  lesser  moment,  not  a  thou 
sandth  part  so  useful,  did  not  escape  the  all-grasping  hands  of  the  soldiery. 
In  a  back  apartment,  there  stood  a  mahogany  couch,  or  settee  in  a  highly 
finished  style.  The  woodwork  of  the  couch  was  raised  on  all  sides  by  cush 
ioning,  and  lastly,  covered  by  a  rich  figured  silk.  This  to  us,  was  lumber  : 
besides  our  carioles  were  full.  However,  we  grabbed  the  mattress  and  pal 
lets,  all  equally  elegant  as  the  couch  :  Having,  as  we  thought,  divested  his 
excellency  of  all  the  articles  of  prime  necessity,  we  departed,  ostensibly  and 
even  audibly  accompanied  by  the  pioui  blessings  of  the  stewardess  for  cur 
moderation.  No  doubt  she  had  her  mental  reservations  ;  on  such  business 
as  this,  we  regarded  neither.  Near  the  chapel,  we  met  a  party  of  Morgan's 
men  coming  to  do  that,  which  we  had  already  done.  The  officer  appeared 
chagrined  when  he  saw  the  extent  of  our  plunder.  He  went  on,  and  finally 
ransacked  the  house,  and  yet  a  little  more,  the  stables.  The  joy  of  our  men, 
among  whom  the  plunder  was  distributed  in  nearly  equal  portions,  was  ex 
travagant.  Now  an  operation  of  the  human  mind,  which  often  takes  place 
in  society,  and  is  every  day  discernible  by  persons  of  observation,  became 
clearly  obvious.  "  Let  a  man  once  with  impunity,  desert  the  strict  rule  of 
right,  every  subsequent  aggression  not  only  increases  in  atrocity,  but  is  done 
without  qualm  of  conscience."  Though  our  company  was  composed  princi 
pally  of  freeholders,  or  the  sons  of  such,  bred  at  home  under  the  strictures 
of  religion  and  morality,  yet  when  the  reins  of  decorum  were  loosed,  and 
the  honorable  feeling  weakened,  it  became  impossible  to  administer  restraint. 
The  person  of  a  tory,  or  his  property,  became  fair  game,  and  this  at  the  de 
nunciation  of  some  base  domestic  villain. 

With  one  more  disreputable  exploit,  marauding  ceased.  A  returning  senso 
of  decency  and  order,  emanating  from  ourselves,  produced  a  species  of  con 
trition.  It  is  a  solemn  truth,  that  we  plundered  none,  but  those  who  were 
notoriously  tories,  and  then  within  the  walls  of  Quebee.  The  clergy,  the 
nobles,  and  the  peasantry,  were  respected  and  protected,  especially  the  latter, 
with  whom,  to  use  a  trite  expression,  we  fraternized. 

December  15th.  In  a  short  time,  the  rifle  companies  moved  and  occupied 
good  quarters  on  the  low  grounds,  near  St.  Charles'  River,  and  about  two 
miles  from  Quebec.  Our  clothing  was  still  of  the  flimsy  kind,  before  noted 
but  our  hearts  were  light,  even  to  merriment. 

During  all  this  time,  our  daily  duty  was  laborious  in  various  ways,  and 
every  other  night,  we  mounted  guard  at  St.  Roque.  A  guard-house,  ere  this 
had  been  established  at  this  place,  in  a  very  large  stone-house,  which,  though 
strong,  being  exposed  to  the  enemy's  fire,  was  soon  battered  about  our  ears, 


72  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

the  distance  scarcely  more  than  three  hundred  yards.  That  position  waa 
changed  for  one  more  secure.  A  house,  which  had  been  a  tavern,  was 
adopted  in  its  stead.  This  house  was  peculiarly  situated.  It  was  compara 
tively  small  with  the  former  in  its  dimensions,  but  the  walls  were  strong, 
and  the  ceilings  bomb-proof.  It  stood  under  the  hill,  so  as  to  be  out  of  tho 
range  of  the  shot,  from  the  ramparts  contiguous  to  Palace  Gate,  which  was 
elevated  far  above  us.  Simpson  would  say,  Jack,  let  us  have  a  shot  at  those 
fellows.  Even  at  noon-day,  we  would  creep  along  close  to  the  houses,  which 
ranged  under  the  hill,  but  close  in  with  it,  till  we  came  within  forty  yard§ 
of  Palace  Gate.  Here  was  a  smith-shop,  formed  of  logs,  through  the  crev 
ices,  of  which,  we  would  fire,  at  an  angle  of  70°,  at  the  sentries  above  us. 
Many  of  them  were  killed,  and  it  was  said,  several  officers.  This  was  dis 
honorable  war,  though  authorized  by  the  practices  of  those  times. 

It  is  but  fair  and  honest  to  relate  to  you  an  anecdote  concerning  myself, 
which  will  convey  to  your  minds  some  notion  of  that  affection  of  the  head 
or  heart  which  the  military  call  a  panic-terror.  Being  one  of  the  guard  and 
having  been  relieved  as  a  sentry  about  twelve  or  one  o'clock  at  night,  upon 
returning  to  the  guard-house,  in  a  dozing  state  I  cast  myself  on  a  bench, 
next  the  back  wall — young,  my  sleeps  were  deep  and  heavy  ;  my  youth 
obtained  this  grace  from  Simpson,  the  officer  who  commanded  ;  about  three 
o'clock,  I  was  roused  by  a  horrible  noise.  The  enemy,  in  casting  their 
shells,  usually  began  in  the  evening,  and  threw  but  a  few ;  toward  morning, 
they  became  more  alert.  Our  station  being  out  of  sight,  it  was  so  managed, 
as  to  throw  the  shells  on  the  side  of  the  hill,  directly  back  of  us,  so  that  they 
would  trundle  down  against  the  wall  of  the  guard-house.  This  had  fre 
quently  occurred  before,  but  was  not  minded.  A  thirteen  inch  shell,  thus 
thrown,  came  immediately  opposite  the  place  where  my  head  lay ;  to  be 
sure,  the  three  feet  wall  was  between  us.  The  bursting  report  was  tremen 
dous,  but  it  was  heard  in  a  profound  sleep.  Starting  instantly,  though  un 
conscious  of  the  cause,  I  run  probably  fifty  yards,  through  untrod  snow, 
three  feet  deep,  to  a  coal-house,  a  place  quite  unknown  to  me  before  :  It 
was  ten  or  fifteen  minutes  before  the  extreme  cold,  restored  that  kind  of 
sensibility,  which  enabled  me  to  know  my  real  situation.  Knowing  nothing 
of  the  cause,  the  probable  effect,  nor  anything  of  the  consequences,  which 
might  follow  from  this  involuntary  exertion,  it  seemed  to  me  to  be  a  species 
of  the  panic,  which  has  been  known  to  affect  whole  armies.  The  circum 
stance  here  related,  caused  a  laugh  against  me ;  but  it  was  soon  discovered, 
that  those  of  the  soldiery,  though  wide  awake,  were  as  much  panic  stricken 
as  myself.  The  laugh  rebounded  upon  them.  During  this  period,  we  had 
many  bitter  cold  nights. 

On  the  night  of  the  20th,  or  21st  of  December,  a  snow-storm,  driving 
fiercely  from  the  north-east,  induced  the  noble  Montgomery,  to  order  an  at 
tack  on  the  fortress.  Our  force  altogether,  <Jid  not  amount  to  more  than 
eleven  hundred  men,  and  many  of  these,  by  contrivances  of  their  own,  were 
in  the  hospital,  which,  by  this  time,  was  transferred  to  the  nunnery.  The 
storm  abated — the  moon  shone,  and  we  retired  to  repose,  truly  unwillingly. 
We  had  caught  our  commander's  spirit,  who  was  anxious,  after  the  capture 
of  Chamblee,  St.  Johns,  and  Montreal,  to  add  Quebec,  as  a  prime  trophy  to 
the  laurels  already  won.  Captain  Smith,  the  head  of  our  mess,  as  captain, 


OF  AMERICANS.  73 

had  been  invited  to  General  Montgomery's  council  of  officers  (none  under 
that  grade  being  called),  like  most  of  uninstructed  men,  he  was  talkative, 
and  what  is  much  worse  in  military  affairs,  very  communicative.  I  believe 
blushing  followed  the  intelligence  he  gave  me  :  the  idea  of  impropriety  of 
conduct  in  him,  deeply  impressed  my  mind.  The  whole  plan  of  the  attack 
on  the  twc  following  days,  was  known  to  the  meanest  man  in  the  army. 
How  it  was  disclosed,  is  uncertain,  unless  by  the  fatuity  of  the  captains.  One 
Singleton,  a  sergeant  in  the  troops  which  accompanied  Montgomery,  deserted 
from  the  guard  at  the  suburbs  of  St.  John's,  and  disclosed  to  our  foes  the 
purport  of  our  schemes  ;  his  desertion  caused  much  anxiety.  The  general 
prudently  gave  out  that  it  was  by  command,  he  would  return  soon  with  in 
telligence.  This  was  believed  generally.  The  latter  information  came  to 
my  knowledge  some  months  afterward,  when  a  prisoner.  The  relation  of 
Smith  to  me,  is  perfect  on  my  memory.  Youth  seldom  forget  their  juvenile 
impressions.  It  was  this  :  "  That  we,  of  Arnold's  corps,  accompanied  by 
Captain  Lang's  York  artillerists,  should  assail  the  lower  town,  on  the  side  of 
St.  Roque  :  General  Montgomery  was  to  attack  the  lower  town  by  the  way 
of  Cape  Diamond,  which  is  on  the  margin  of  the  St.  Lawrence.  A  false 
attack  was  to  be  made  eastwardly  of  St.  Johns  Gate.  When  Montgomery 
and  Arnold  conjoined  in  the  lower  town,  then  the  priests,  the  women  and 
the  children,  were  to  be  gathered  and  intermingled  with  the  troops,  and  an 
assault  be  made  on  the  upper  town."  Visionary  as  this  mode  of  attack  was, 
from  what  ensued,  it  is  sincerely  my  belief  that  Smith  was  correct  in  his 
information,  as  to  the  plan  suggested  by  the  general.  In  those  turbulent 
times,  men  of  gallantry,  such  as  Montgomery,  were  imperiously  necessitated, 
to  keep  up  their  own  fame  and  the  spirits  of  the  people,  to  propose  and  to 
hazard  measures,  even  to  the  confines  of  imprudence.  There  was  another 
circumstance  which  induced  our  brave  and  worthy  general  to  adopt  active 
and  dangerous  means  of  conquest.  Many  of  the  New  England  troops  had 
been  engaged  on  very  short  enlistments,  some  of  which  were  to  expire  on 
the  first  of  January,  1776.  The  patriotism  of  the  summer  of  seventy-five, 
seemed  almost  extinguished  in  the  winter  of  seventy-six.  The  patriotic 
officers  made  every  exertion  to  induce  enlistments,  but  to  no  purpose.  We, 
of  the  "rifle  corps,"  readily  assented  to  remain  with  the  general,  though  he 
should  be  deserted  by  the  eastern  men,  yet  this  example  had  no  manner  of 
influence  on  the  generality.  The  majority  were  either  farmers  or  sailors,  and 
eome  had  wives  and  children  at  home.  These,  and  other  reasons,  perhaps 
the  austerity  of  the  winter,  and  the  harshness  of  the  service,  caused  an  ob 
stinacy  of  mind,  which  would  not  submit  to  patriotic  representation.  Be 
sides  the  smallpox,  which  had  been  introduced  into  our  cantonments  by  the 
indecorous  yet  fascinating  arts  of  the  enemy,  had  already  begun  its  ravages. 
This  temper  of  the  men  was  well  known  to  the  general. 

It  was  not  until  the  nigjit  of  the  thirty-first  of  December,  one  thousand 
•even  hundred  and  seventy-five,  that  such  kind  of  weather  ensued  as  was 
considered  favorable  for  the  assault.  The  forepart  of  the  night  was  admi 
rably  enlightened  by  a  luminous  moon.  Many  of  us,  officers  as  well  as 
privates,  had  dispersed  in  various  directions  among  the  farm  and  tippling 
houses  of  the  vicinity.  We  well  knew  the  signal  for  rallying.  This  was 
no  other  than  a  "snowstorm."  About  twelve  o'clock  p.  M.f  the  heaven  was 


74  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

overcast.  We  repaired  to  quarters.  By  two  o'clock  we  were  accoutred  and 
began  our  march.  The  storm  was  outrageous,  and  the  cold  wind  extremely 
biting.  In  this  northern  country  the  snow  is  blown  horizontally  into  the 
faces  of  travelers  on  most  occasions — this  was  our  case. 

January  1st.  (1776).  When  we  came  to  Craig's  house,  near  Palace  Gate, 
a  horrible  roar  of  cannon  took  place,  and  a  ringing  of  all  the  bells  of  the 
city,  which  are  very  numerous,  and  of  all  sizes.  Arnold,  heading  the  for 
lorn  hope,  advanced,  perhaps,  one  hundred  yards,  before  the  main  body. 
After  these,  followed  Lamb's  artillerists.  Morgan's  company,  led  in  the 
secondary  part  of  the  column  of  infantry.  Smith's  followed,  headed  by 
Steele,  the  captain,  from  particular  causes,  being  absent.  Hendrick's  com 
pany  succeeded,  and  the  eastern  men,  so  far  as  known  to  me,  followed  in 
due  order.  The  snow  was  deeper  than  in  the  fields,  because  of  the  nature 
of  the  ground.  The  path  made  by  Arnold,  Lamb,  and  Morgan,  was  almost 
imperceptible,  because  of  the  falling  snow  :  covering  the  locks  of  our  guns, 
with  the  lappets  of  our  coats,  holding  down  our  heads  (for  it  was  impossible 
to  bear  up  our  faces,  against  the  imperious  storm  of  wind  and  snow),  we 
ran  along  the  foot  of  the  hill  in  single  file.  Along  the  first  of  our  run,  from 
Palace  Gate,  for  several  hundred  paces,  there  stood  a  range  of  insulated 
buildings,  which  seemed  to  be  store-houses ;  we  passed  these  quickly  in  sin 
gle  file,  pretty  wide  apart.  The  interstices  were  from  thirty  to  fifty  yards. 
In  these  intervals,  we  received  a  tremendous  fire  of  musketry  from  the 
ramparts  above  us.  Here  we  lost  some  brave  men,  when  powerless  to  return 
the  salutes  we  received,  as  the  enemy  was  covered  by  his  impregnable  de 
fenses.  They  were  even  sightless  to  us,  we  could  see  nothing  but  the  blaze 
from  the  muzzles  of  their  muskets. 

We  proceeded  rapidly,  exposed  to  a  long  line  of  fire  from  the  garrison,  for 
now  we  were  unprotected  by  any  buildings.  The  fire  had  slackened  in  a 
small  degree.  The  enemy  had  been  partly  called  off  to  resist  Montgomery 
and  strengthen  the  party  opposed  to  Arnold  in  our  front.  Now  we  saw 
Colonel  Arnold  returning,  wounded  in  the  leg,  and  supported  by  two  gentle 
men,  a  parson  Spring  was  one,  and  in  my  belief,  a  Mr.  Ogden,  the  other. 
Arnold  called  to  the  troops,  in  a  cheering  voice,  as  we  passed,  urging  us  for 
ward,  yet  it  was  observable  among  the  soldiery,  with  whom  it  was  my  mis 
fortune  to  be  now  placed,  that  the  colonel's  retiring  damped  their  spirits. 
A  cant  term  "we  are  sold,"  was  repeatedly  heard  in  many  parts  throughout 
the  line.  Thus  proceeding  enfiladed  by  an  animated  but  lessened  fire,  we 
came  to  the  first  barrier,  where  Arnold  had  been  wounded  in  the  onset. 
This  contest  had  lasted  but  a  few  minutes,  and  was  somewhat  severe,  but 
the  energy  of  our  men  prevailed.  The  embrasures  were  entered  when  the 
enemy  were  discharging  their  guns.  The  guard,  consisting  of  thirty  persons, 
were  either  taken  or  fled,  leaving  their  arms  behind  them.  At  this  time,  it 
was  discovered  that  our  guns  were  useless,  because  of  the  dampness.  The 
snow,  which  lodged  in  our  fleecy  coats,  was  melted  by  the  warmth  of  our 
bodies.  Thence  came  that  disaster.  Many  of  the  party,  knowing  the  cir 
cumstance,  threw  aside  their  own,  and  seized  the  British  arms.  These  were 
not  only  elegant,  but  were  such,  as  befitted  the  hand  of  a  real  soldier.  It 
was  said,  that  ten  thousand  stand  of  such  arms,  had  been  received  from 
England,  in  the  previous  summer  for  arming  the  Canadian  militia.  Those 


OF  AMEKICANS.  75 

• 

people  were  loath  to  bear  them  in  opposition  to  our  rights.  From  the  first 
barrier  to  the  second,  there  was  a  circular  course  along  the  sides  of  houses, 
and  partly  through  a  street,  probably  of  three  hundred  yards  or  more.  This 
second  barrier  was  erected  across  and  near  the  mouth  of  a  narrow  street, 
adjacent  to  the  foot  of  the  hill,  which  opened  into  a  larger  street,  leading 
into  the  main  body  of  the  lower  town.  Here  it  was,  that  the  most  serious 
contention  took  place  :  this  became  the  bone  of  strife.  The  admirable 
Montgomery,  Toy  this  time  (though  it  was  unknown  to  us),  was  no  more; 
yet,  we  expected  momentarily  to  join 'him.  The  firing  on  that  side  of  tha 
fortress  ceased,  his  division  fell  under  the  command  of  a  Colonel  Campbell, 
of  the  New  York  line,  a  worthless  chief,  who  retreated,  without  making  an 
effort,  in  pursuance  of  the  general's  original  plans.  The  inevitable  conse 
quence  was,  that  the  whole  of  the  forces  on  that  side  of  the  city,  and  those 
who  were  opposed  to  the  dastardly  persons  employed  to  make  the  false 
attacks,  embodied  and  came  down  to  oppose  our  division.  Here  was  sharp- 
shooting.  We  were  on  the  disadvantageous  side  of  the  barrier,  for  such  a 
purpose.  Confined  in  a  narrow  street,  hardly  more  than  twenty  feet  wide, 
and  on  the  lower  ground,  scarcely  a  ball,  well  aimed  or  otherwise,  but  must 
take  effect  upon  us.  Morgan,  Hendricks,  Steele,  Humphreys,  and  a  crowd 
of  every  class  of  the  army,  had  gathered  into  the  narrow  pass,  attempting 
to  surmount  the  barrier,  which  was  about  twelve  or  more  feet  high,  and  so 
strongly  constructed  that  nothing  but  artillery  could  effectuate  its  destruc 
tion,  There  was  a  construction,  fifteen  or  twenty  yards  within  the  barrier, 
upon  a  rising  ground,  the  cannon  of  which  much  overtopped  the  height  of 
the  barrier,  hence  we  were  assailed  by  grape  shot  in  abundance.  This  erec 
tion  we  called  the  platform.  Again,  within  the  barrier,  and  close  to  it,  were 
two  ranges  of  musketeers,  armed  with  musket  and  bayonet,  ready  to  receive 
those  who  might  venture  the  dangerous  leap.  Add  to  all  this,  that  the 
enemy  occupied  the  upper  chambers  of  the  houses,  in  the  interior  of  the 
barrier,  on  both  sides  of  the  street,  from  the  windows  of  which  we  became 
fair  marks.  The  enemy,  having  the  advantage  of  the  ground  in  front,  a 
vast  superiority  of  numbers,  dry  and  better  arms,  gave  them  an  irresistible 
power,  in  so  narrow  space.  Humphreys'  upon  a  mound,  which  was  speedily 
erected,  attended  by  many  brave  men,  attempted  to  scale  the  barrier,  but 
was  compelled  to  retreat,  by  the  formidable  phalanx  of  bayonets  within, 
and  the  weight  of  fire,  from  the  platform  and  the  buildings.  Morgan,  brave 
to  temerity,  stormed  and  raged  ;  Hendricks,  Steele,  Nichols,  Humphreys, 
equally  brave,  were  sedate,  though  under  a  tremendous  fire.  The  platform, 
which  was  within  our  view,  was  evacuated  by  the  accuracy  of  our  fire,  and 
few  persons  dared  venture  there  again.  Now  it  was,  that  the  necessity  of 
the  occupancy  of  the  houses,  on  our  side  of  the  barrier,  became  apparent. 
Orders  were  given  by  Morgan,  to  that  effect.  We  entered — this  was  near 
daylight.  The  houses  were  a  shelter  from  which  we  could  fire  with  much 
accuracy.  Yet,  even  here,  some  valuable  lives  were  lost.  Hendricks,  when 
aiming  his  rifle  at  some  prominent  person,  died  by  a  straggling  ball  through 
his  heart.  He  staggered  a  few  feet  backwards,  and  fell  upon  a  bed,  where 
he  instantly  expired.  He  was  an  ornament  of  our  little  society.  The  ami 
able  Humphreys  died  by  a  like  kind  of  wound,  but  it  was  in  the  street,  be 
fore  we  entered  the  buildings.  Many  other  brave  men  fell  at  this  place ; 


76  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

among  these  were  Lieutenant  Cooper,  of  Connecticut,  and  perhaps  fifty  or 
sixty  non-commissioned  officers,  and  privates.  The  wounded,  were  numer 
ous,  and  many  of  them  dangerously  so.  Captain  Lamb,  of  the  York  artil 
lerists,  had  nearly  one  half  of  his  face  carried  away,  by  a  grape  or  cannistei 
shot.  My  friend  Steele,  lost  three  of  his  .fingers,  as  he  was  presenting  his 
gun  to  fire  ;  Captain  Hubbard  and  Lieutenant  Fisdle,  were  also  among  the 
wounded. 

When  we  reflect  upon  the  whole  of  the  dangers  at  this  barricade,  and  the 
formidable  force  that  came  to  "annoy  us,  it  is  a  matter  of  surprise,  that  so 
many  should  escape  death  and  wounding,  as  did.  All  hope  of  success 
having  vanished,  a  retreat  was  contemplated,  but  hesitation,  uncertainty, 
and  a  lassitude  of  mind,  which  generally  takes  place,  in  the  affairs  of  men, 
when  we  fail  in  a  project  upon  which  we  have  attached  much  expectation, 
now  followed.  That  moment  was  foolishly  lost,  when  such  a  movement 
might  have  been  made  with  tolerable  success.  Captain  Laws,  at  the  head 
of  two  hundred  men,  issuing  from  Palace  Gate,  most  fairly  and  handsomely 
cooped  us  up. 

Of  the  enemy,  many  were  killed  and  many  more  wounded,  comparatively, 
than  on  our  side,  taking  into  view  the  disadvantages  we  labored  under ;  and 
that  but  two  occasions  happened  when  we  could  return  their  fire,  that  is,  at 
the  first  and  second  barriers.  Perhaps  there  never  was  a  body  of  men  asso 
ciated,  who  better  understood  the  use  and  manner  of  employing  a  rifle,  than 
our  corps  :  which  by  this  time  of  the  attack,  had  their  guns  in  good  order. 
When  we  took  possession  of  the  houses,  'we  had  a  greater  range.  Our  op 
portunities  to  kill,  were  enlarged.  Within  one  hundred  yards,  every  man 
must  die. 

To  the  great  honor  of  General  Carleton,  all  the  wounded,  whether  friends 
or  enemies,  were  treated  with  like  attention  and  humanity.  The  reason  why 
the  wounded  of  our  side  bore  so  small  a  proportion  to  the  dead,  seems  to  be 
this  :  In  the  long  course  we  ran  from  Palace  Gate  to  the  first  barrier,  we  lost 
many  men  who  were  killed  outright,  but  many  more  died,  who  were  merely 
wounded,  yet  in  such  a  manner,  as  in  a  milder  region,  to  make  the  case  a 
curable  one.  A  blow  from  a  ball  so  large  as  that  of  a  musket,  staggers  a 
man,  whether  the  wound  be  in  the  arm,  leg,  or  elsewhere  ;  if  in  staggering, 
he  falls,  he  comes  down  into  a  deep  bed  of  snow,  from  which  a  hale  man 
finds  it  very  difficult  to  extricate  himself.  Five  or  ten  minutes  struggling 
in  such  a  bed,  benumbs  the  strongest  man,  as  frequent  experience  has  taught 
me  ;  if  the  party  be  wounded,  though  but  slightly,  twenty  or  thirty  minutes 
will  kill  him,  not  because  of  the  severity  of  the  wound,  but  by  the  intensity 
of  the  frost. 

About  nino  o'clock  A.  M.,  it  was  apparent  to  all  of  us,  that  we  must  sur 
render.  It  was  done.  The  commissioned  officers,  and  some  of  the  cadets, 
were  conducted  to  the  seminary,  a  respectable  building.  It  became  my  lot, 
in  one  way  or  other,  to  be  lost  in  the  crowd,  and  to  be  associated  with  the 
non-cc^missioned  officers,  in  the  company  of  some  of  whom,  ardent  and 
perilous  duties  had  been  undergone.  These  men  are  by  no  means  to  be  less 
ened  in  character,  by  contrasting  them  with  the  levies  made  in  Europe,  01 
those  made  since  that  time  in  our  own  country.  Many  of  our  sergeants, 
and  even  of  our  privates,  were,  with  good  educations,  substantial  freeholders 


OF  AMERICANS.  77 

in  our  own  country.  Many  of  these  men,  in  the  progress  of  the  bloody 
scenes  which  ensued,  became  props  of  our  glorious  cause,  in  defense  of  our 
sacred  liberties.  Among  those  was  Thomas  Boyd,  so  often  spoken  of  in  the 
wilderness  for  his  good  humor,  his  activity  and  the  intensity  of  his  suffer 
ings  ;  struggled  gloriously  for  his  life  as  a  captain,  and  died  a  dreadful  death 
by  the  hands  of  the  savages  in  1779,  in  the  expedition  conducted  by  Gen 
eral  Sullivan  against  the  Six  Nation  Indians. 

When  under  guard,  in  the  morning  of  the  first  of  January,  Colonel  M'- 
Dougal,  a  Scotch  gentleman,  near  noon,  came  to  review  us  :  his  person  was 
known  to  me  at  Detroit,  as  an  intimate  of  my  uncle,  three  years  before  this 
time.  The  colonel  was  naturally  polite  and  kind-hearted.  When  it  came 
to  my  turn  to  be  examined,  as  to  name,  place  of  birth,  etc.,  besides  making 
the  proper  answers  to  his  inquiries,  I  was  emboldened  to  declare,  that  he 
was  known  to  me.  He  seemed  surprised,  but  not  displeased  :  a  request  was 
immediately  added,  "that  he  would  order  me  to  be  transferred  to  the  quar 
ters  of  the  officers."  "  No,  my  dear  boy,"  said  he,  "  you  had  better  remain 
where  you  are  ;  the  officers,  as  you  are  in  rebellion,  may  be  sent  to  England, 
and  there  be  tried  for  treason."  It  became  my  determination  to  take  this 
fatherly  advice  for  it  was  really  delivered  in  the  parental  style,  and  to  adhere 
to  it.  He  brought  one  of  his  sons,  whom  I  had  formerly  known,  to  see  me 
on  the  following  day.  About  mid-day  we  were  escorted  to  a  ruinous  mo 
nastery  of  the  order  of  St.  Francis,  called  the  Reguliers. 

It  was  now  that  we  fully  learnt  the  destinies  of  our  dear  and  revered 
general,  and  his  companions  in  death.  But  allow  me  before  the  detail  of 
that  sad  story,  to  give  you  an  anecdote  :  The  merchants  of  Quebec,  like 
those  of  England  and  our  country,  are  a  spirited  and  generous  sect  in  socie 
ty  ;  they  applied  to  Governor  Carleton,  and  obtained  leave,  to  make  us  a 
"  new-year's-gift."  This  turned  out  to  be  no  other  than  a  large  butt  of  porter, 
attended  by  a  proportionate  quantity  of  bread  and  cheese.  It  was  a  present 
which  exhilarated  our  hearts,  and  drew  from  us  much  thankfulness.  We 
shared  more  than  a  pint  per  man. 

General  Montgomery  had  marched  at  the  precise  time  stipulated,  and  had 
arrived  at  his  destined  place  of  attack,  nearly  about  the  time  we  attacked 
the  first  barrier.  He  was  net  one  that  would  loiter.  Colonel  Campbell,  of 
the  New  York  troops,  a  large,  good-looking  man,  who  was  second  in  com 
mand  of  that  party,  and  was  deemed  a  veteran,  accompanied  the  army  to 
the  assault ;  his  station  was  rearward  :  General  Montgomery,  with  his  aids, 
were  at  the  point  of  the  column. 

It  is  impossible  to  present  in  words  an  accurate  idea  of  the  geographical 
situation  of  Quebec.  I  can  only  give  you  a  few  facts  explanatory  of  General 
Montgomery's  death  and  the  reasons  of  our  failure. 

From  Wolf's  Cove  there  is  a  good  beach,  down  to,  and  around  "  Cape  Dia 
mond."  The  bulwarks  of  the  city,  came  to  the  edge  of  the  hill,  above  that 
place.  Thence  down  the  side  of  the  precipice,  slantingly  to  the  brink  of 
the  river,  there  was  a  stockade  of  strong  posts,  fifteen  or  twenty  feet  high, 
knit  together  by  a  stout  raiHng,  at  bottom  and  top  with  pins.  This  was  no 
mean  defense,  and  was  at  the  distance  of  one  hundred  yards  from  the  point 
of  the  rock.  Within  this  palisade,  and  at  a  few  yards  from  the  very  point 
itself,  there  was  a  like  palisade,  though  it  did  not  run  so  high  up  the  hill 


78  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

Again,  within  Cape  Diamond,  and  probably  at  a  distance  of  fifty  yards,  there 
stood  a  block-house,  which  seemed  to  take  up  the  space,  between  the  foot 
of  the  hill  and  the  precipitous  bank  of  the  river,  leaving  a  cart- way,  or 
passage  on  each  side  of  it.  A  block-house,  if  well  constructed,  is  an  admi 
rable  method  of  defense,  which  in  the  process  of  the  war,  to  our  cost,  was 
fully  experienced.  The  upper  story,  of  this  building  had  four  or  more  port 
holes,  for  cannon  of  a  large  calibre.  These  guns  were  charged  with  grape 
or  canister  shot,  and  were  pointed  with  exactness  toward  the  avenue,  at 
Cape  Diamond.  The  hero  Montgomery  came.  The  drowsy  or  drunken 
guard,  did  not  hear  the  sawing  of  the  posts  of  the  first  palisade.  Here,  four 
posts  were  sawed  and  thrown  aside,  so  as  to  admit  four  men  abreast.  The 
column  entered  with  a  manly  fortitude.  Montgomery,  accompanied  by  his 
aids,  M'Pherson  and  Cheeseman,  advanced  in  front.  Arriving  at  the  second 
palisade,  the  general,  with  his  own  hands,  sawed  down  two  of  the  pickets, 
in  such  a  manner,  as  to  admit  two  men  abreast.  These  sawed  pickets  were 
close  under  the  hill,  and  but  a  few  yards  from  the  very  point  of  the  rock, 
out  of  the  view  and  fire  of  the  enemy,  from  the  block-house.  Until  our 
troops  advanced  to  the  point,  no  harm  could  ensue,  but  by  stones  thrown 
from  above.  Even  now,  there  had  been  but  an  imperfect  discovery  of  the 
advancing  of  an  enemy,  and  that  only  by  the  intoxicated  guard.  The  guard 
fled,  the  general  advanced  a  few  paces.  A  drunken  sailor  returned  to  his 
gun,  swearing  he  would  not  forsake  it  while  undischarged.  This  fact  is  re 
lated  from  the  testimony  of  the  guard  on  the  morning  of  our  capture,  some 
of  those  sailors  being  our  guard.  Applying  the  match,  this  single  discharge 
deprived  us  of  our  excellent  commander. 

Examining  the  spot,  the  officer  who  escorted  us,  professing  to  be  one  of 
those,  who  first  came  to  the  place,  after  the  death  of  the  general,  showed 
the  position  in  which  the  general's  body  was  found.  It  lay  two  paces  from 
the  brink  of  the  river,  on  the  back,  the  arms  extended — Cheeseraan  lay  on 
the  left,  and  M'Pherson  on  the  right,  in  a  triangular  position.  Two  other 
brave  men  lay  near  them.  As  all  danger  from  without  had  vanished,  the 
government  had  not  only  permitted  the  mutilated  palisades  to  remain,  with 
out  renewing  the  inclosure,  but  the  very  sticks,  sawed  by  the  hand  of  our 
commander,  still  lay,  strewed  about  the  spot. 

Colonel  Campbell,  appalled  by  the  death  of  the  general,  retreated  a  little 
way  from  Cape  Diamond,  out  of  the  reach  of  the  cannon  of  the  block 
house,  and  pretendedly  called  a  council  of  officers,  who,  it  was  said,  justified 
his  receding  from  the  attack.  If  rushing  on,  as  military  duty  required,  and 
a  brave  man  would  have  done,  the  block-house  might  have  been  occupied 
by  a  small  number,  and  was  unassailable  from  without,  but  by  cannon. 
From  the  block-house  to  the  center  of  the  lower  town,  where  we  were,  there 
was  no  obstacle  to  impede  a  force  so  powerful,  as  that  under  Colonel  Camp 
bell.  Cowardice,  or  a  want  of  good  will  toward  our  cause,  left  us  to  our 
miserable  fate.  A  junction,  though  we  might  not  conquer  the  fortress,  would 
enable  us  to  make  an  honorable  retreat,  though  with  the  loss  of  many  valu 
able  lives.  Campbell,  who  was  ever  after  considered  as  a  poltroon  in  grain, 
retreated,  leaving  the  bodies  of  the  general,  M'Pherson  and  Cheeseman,  to 
be  devoured  by  the  dogs. 

On  the  third  day  of  our  capture,  the  generous  Carleton  dispatched  a  flag 


OF  AMERICANS.  79 

to  Arnold,  to  obtain  what  trifling  baggage  we  had  left  at  our  quarters ;  mine 
was  either  forgotten,  or  miserable  as  it  was,  had  been  plundered  ;  but  as  good 
luck  would  have  it,  the  knapsack  of  one  Alexander  Nelson  of  our  coirr 
pany,  who  was  killed  when  running  to  the  first  barrier,  was  disclaimed  by 
all  of  our  men.  Your  father  in  consequence,  laid  violent  hands  upon  the 
spoil.  It  furnished  Boyd  and  myself  with  a  large,  but  coarse  blue  blanket, 
called  a  "  stroud,"  and  a  drummer's  regimental  coat.  The  blanket  becamo 
a  real  comfort,  the  coat  an  article  of  barter.  It  was  on  this  day,  that  my 
heart  was  ready  to  burst  with  grief,  at  viewing  the  funeral  of  our  beloved 
general.  Carleton  had,  in  our  former  wars  with  the  French,  been  the  friend 
and  fellow-soldier  of  Montgomery.  Though  political  opinions,  perhaps  am 
bition  or  interest,  had  thrown  these  worthies  on  different  sides  of  the  great 
question,  yet  the  former  could  not  but  honor  the  remains  of  his  quondam 
friend.  About  noon,  the  procession  passed  our  quarters.  It  was  most 
solemn.  The  coffin  covered  with  a  pall,  surmounted  by  tranverse  swords — 
was  borne  by  men.  The  regular  troops,  particularly  that  fine  body  of  meni 
the  seventh  regiment,  with  reversed  arms,  and  scarfs  on  the  left  elbow,  ac 
companied  the  corpse  to  the  grave.  The  funerals  of  the  other  officers,  both 
friends  and  enemies,  were  performed  this  day.  From  many  of  us,  it  drew 
tears  of  affection  for  the  defunct,  and  speaking  for  myself,  tears  of  greeting 
and  thankfulness,  toward  General  Carleton.  The  soldiery  and  inhabitants, 
appeared  affected  by  the  loss  of  this  invaluable  man,  though  he  was  their 
enemy.  If  such  men  as  Washington,  Carleton  and  Montgomery,  had  had 
the  entire  direction  of  the  adverse  war,  the  contention,  in  the  event,  might 
have  happily  terminated  to  the  advantage  of  both  sections  of  the  nation. 
M'Pherson,  Cheeseman,  Hendricks,  Humphreys,  were  all  dignified  by  the 
manner  of  burial. 

On  the  same,  or  the  following  day,  we  were  compelled  (if  we  would  look), 
to  a  more  disgusting  and  torturing  sight.  Many  carioles,  repeatedly  one 
after  the  other,  passed  our  dwelling  loaded  with  the  dead,  whether  of  the 
assailants  or  of  the  garrison,  to  a  place,  emphatically,  called  the  "dead- 
house."  Here  the  bodies  were  heaped  in  monstrous  piles.  The  horror  of  the 
sight,  to  us  southern  men,  principally  consisted  in  seeing  our  companions 
borne  to  interment,  uncoffined,  and  in  the  very  clothes  they  had  worn  in 
battle ;  their  limbs  distorted  in  various  directions,  such  as  would  ensue  in 
the  moment  of  death.  Many  of  our  friends  and  acquaintances  were  apparent. 
Poor  Nelson  lay  on  the  top  of  half  a  dozen  other  bodies — his  arms  extended 
beyond  his  head,  as  if  in  the  act  of  prayer,  and  one  knee  crooked  and  raised 
seemingly,  when  he  last  gasped  in  the  agonies  of  death.  Curse  on  these 
civil  wars  which  extinguish  the  sociabilities  of  mankind,  and  annihilate  the 
strength  of  nations !  A  flood  of  tears  was  consequent.  Though  Mont 
gomery  was  beloved,  because  of  his  manliness  of  soul,  heroic  bravery  and 
suavity  of  manners  ;  Hendricks  and  Humphreys,  for  the  same  admirable 
qualities,  and  especially  for  the  endurances  we  underwent  in  conjunction, 
which  enforced  many  a  tear :  still  my  unhappy  and  lost  brethren,  though  in 
humble  station,  with  whom  that  dreadful  wild  was  penetrated,  and  from 
whom  came  many  attentions  toward  me,  forced  melancholy  sensations. 
From  what  is  said  relative  to  the  "  dead-house,"  you  might  conclude  that 
General  Carleton  was  inhumane  or  hard-hearted.  No  such  thing.  In  thia 


80  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

northern  latitude,  at  this  season  of  the  year,  according  to  my  feelings  (we 
had  no  thermometer),  the  weather  was  so  cold,  as  usually  to  be  many  degrees 
below  zero.  A  wound,  if  mortal,  or  even  otherwise,  casts  the  party  wounded 
into  the  snow;  if  death  should  follow,  it  throws  the  sufferer  into  various 
attitudes,  which  are  assumed  in  the  extreme  pain  accompanying  death. 
The  moment  death  takes  place,  the  frost  fixes  the  limbs  in  whatever  situa 
tion  they  may  then  happen  to  be,  and  which  cannot  be  reduced  to  decent 
order,  until  they  are  thawed.  In  this  state,  the  bodies  of  the  slain  are  do- 
posited  in  the  "  dead-house,"  hard  as  ice.  At  this  season  of  the  year,  the 
earth  is  frozen  from  two  to  five  feet  deep,  impenetrable  to  the  best  pick-axe, 
in  the  hands  of  the  stoutest  man.  Hence  you  may  perceive  a  justification 
of  the  "dead-house."  It  is  no  new  observation,  "that  climates  form  the 
manners  and  habitudes  of  the  people." 

About  the  first  of  January  we  were  removed  from  the  Eeguliers  to  the 
Dauphin  jail,  where  we  were  well  accomodated.  It  was  an  old  French  build 
ing  in  the  Bastile  style.  We  had  scarcely  got  settled  in  our  new  quarters 
before  we  had  a  plan  laid  to  effect  our  escape,  arid  join  the  forces  of  our 
countrymen  outside.  Our  scheme  was  for  one  party  of  us  to  overpower  the 
sentinels  and  seize  their  depot  of  arms,  set  fire  to  the  jail  and  surrounding 
buildings  to  amuse  or  employ  the  enemy  while  we  were  running  to  St.  John's 
gate.  In  the  meanwhile  another  party  were  to  proceed  at  once  to  attack  and 
carry  St.  John's  gate,  and  instantly  to  turn  the  cannon  upon  the  city.  We 
expected  in  this  event  to  maintain  our  position  on  the  walls  until  the  Amer 
ican  army  should  arrive  from  without.  In  that  case  St.  John's  gate  was  to 
be  opened.  But  if  unfortunately  beaten,  we  were  to  spring  from  the  walls  into 
he  snow  and  each  man  to  trust  to  his  own  legs.  It  was  supposed,  in  the 
worst  result,  that  the  hurry  and  bustle  created  by  so  sudden,  unforseen,  and 
daring  an  attack  would  throw  the  garrison  into  consternation  and  disorder  to 
such  a  degree  as  to  admit  of  the  escape  of  many  ;  sluggards  might  expect  to 
be  massacred.  In  an  old  room  of  the  prison  into  which  we  broke  was  a  pile 
of  iron  and  iron  hoops  and  lumber  from  which  we  secretly  constructed  swords 
and  spears,  rough  but  serviceable  weapons,  sufficient  in  the  hands  of  our  dar 
ing  fellows  to  bring  down  the  stoutest  of  the  enemy.  When  evrything  was 
ready  our  well-laid  plan  was  foiled  by  the  indiscretion  of  two  youths ;  my 
heart  was  nearly  broken  by  the  excess  of  surprise  and  burning  anger  to  be 
thus  accidentally  deprived  of  the  gladdening  hope  of  a  speedy  return  to  our 
friends  and  country. 

Our  leaders  were  carried  before  the  governor's  council.  They  boldly  ad 
mitted  and  justified  the  attempt.  We  did  not  fare  the  worse  in  our  provi 
sions  nor  in  the  estimation  of  the  enemy  ;  but  we  were,  as  a  precaution 
against  future  attempts,  put  in  irons.  Several  cart  loads  of  bilboes,  foot-hob 
bles  and  handcuffs  were  required,  although  there  were  not  quite  enough  for 
us  all. 

A  new  species  of  interesting  occurrences,  mingled  with  much  fun  and 
sportive  humor  now  occurred,  which  was  succeeded  by  a  series  of  horrible 
anguish.  The  doors  were  scarcely  closed,  before  we  began  to  assay  the  un 
shackling.  Those  who  had  small  hands,  by  compressing  the  palms,  could 
easily  divest  the  irons  from  their  wrist.  Of  these  there  were  many,  who 
became  the  assistants  of  their  friends,  whose  hands  were  larger.  Here  there 


OF  AMERICANS.  81 

was  a  necessity  for  ingenuity.  Knives  notched  as  saws,  were  the  principal 
means.  The  head  of  the  rivet,  at  the  end  of  the  bar,  was  sawed  off,  it  was 
lengthened  and  a  screw  formed  upon  it,  to  cap  which,  a  false  head  was  made, 
either  of  iron  or  of  lead,  resembling  as  much  as  possible  the  true  head. 
Again  new  rivets  were  formed  from  the  iron  we  had  preserved  in  our  secret 
hoards,  from  the  vigilance  of  the  searchers.  These  new  rivets  being  made 
tf  beai  a  strong  likeness  to  the  old,  were  then  cut  into- two  parts — one  part 
driven  into  the  bolt  tightly,  became  stationary,  the  other  part  was  move- 
able.  It  behooved  the  wearer  of  the  manacle  to  look  to  it,  that  he  did  not 
lose  the  loose  part,  and  when  the  searchers  came  to  examine,  that  it  should 
stand  firm  in  the  orifice.  Some  poor  fellows,  perhaps  from  a  defect  of  in 
genuity,  the  hardness  of  the  iron,  or  the  want  of  the  requisite  tools,  could 
not  discharge  the  bilboes.  This  was  particularly  the  melancholy  predica 
ment  of  three  of  Morgan's  men,  whose  heels  were  too  long  to  slip  through 
the  iron  which  encompassed  the  small  of  the  leg.  It  was  truly  painful  to 
Bee  three  persons  attached  to  a  monstrous  bar,  the  weight  of  which  was 
above  their  strength  to  carry.  It  added  to  the  poignancy  of  their  sufferings, 
in  such  frigid  weather,  that  their  colleagues  at  the  bar,  having  shorter  heels, 
could  withdraw  the  foot  and  perambulate  the  jail :  where  their  companions 
left  them,  there  they  must  remain  seated  on  the  floor,  unless  some  kind 
hands  assisted  them  to  remove. 

Sentries,  on  our  part,  were  regularly  stationed  at  certain  windows  of  the 
jail,  to  descry  the  approach  of  any  one  in  the  garb  of  an  officer.  .Notwith 
standing  every  caution  to  avoid  detection,  yet  the  clang  of  the  lock  of  the 
great  door  was  upon  some  occasions  the  only  warning  given  us  of  the  im 
pending  danger.  The  scamperings  at  those  times  were  truly  diverting,  and 
having  always  escaped  discovery,  gave  us  much  amusement.  The  clanking 
of  the  fetters  followed,  and  was  terrible  ;  such  as  the  imagination  forms  in 
childhood,  of  the  condition  of  the  souls  in  Tartarus  ;  even  this  was  sport. 
Happily  our  real  situation  was  never  known  to  any  of  the  government 
officers  ;  unless  the  good  blacksmith  (a  worthy  Irishman,  of  a  feeling  heart), 
might  be  called  such,  and  he  was  silent. 

We  remained  in  irons  fpr  several  months,  until  one  day  in  May,  Colonel 
M'Lean  visited  the  prison  in  company  with  Major  Carleton  and  other  officers. 
Being  near  the  major  I  overheard  that  admirable  man  say  to  M'Lean  "  Col 
onel,  ambition  is  laudable.  Cannot  the  irons  of  these  men  be  struck  off?" 
This  the  colonel  ordered  to  be  done  immediately,  and  we  were  soon  freed 
from  the  incumbrance. 

Toward  the  middle  of  April,  the  scurvy,  which  we  had  been  imbibing 
during  the  winter,  made  its  appearance  in  its  most  virulent  and  deadly 
forms,  preceded  and  accompanied  by  a  violent  diarrhea.  Many  of  those 
who  were  first  affected  were  taken  to  the  hospital.  But  the  disease  soon 
became  general  among  us.  We  were  attended  several  times  by  Doctor  May- 
bin,  the  physician-general,  who,  by  his  tender  attentions,  and  amiable  man 
ners,  won  our  affections  :  he  recommended  a  cleansing  of  the  stomach,  by 
ipecacuanha  and  mild  cathartics,  such  as  rhubarb,  together  with  due  ex 
ercise.  Those  who  were  young,  active,  and  sensible  of  the  doctor's  salutary 
advice,  kept  afoot,  and  practiced  every  kind  of  athletic  sport  we  could  de- 
rise.  On  the  contrary,  those  who  were  supinely  indolent,  and  adhered  to 


82  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

their  blankets,  became  objects  of  real  commiseration — their  limbs  contracted, 
as  one  of  mine  is  now  :  large  blue  and  even  black  blotches  appeared  on  their 
bodies  and  limbs — the  gums  became  black — the  morbid  flesh  fell  away — the 
teeth  loosened,  and  in  several  instances  fell  out.  Our  minds  were  now  really 
depressed.  That  hilarity  and  fun  which  supported  our  spirits  in  the  greatest 
misfortunes,  gave  way  to  wailings,  groanings  and  death.  I  know,  from  dire 
experience,  that  when  the  body  suffers  pain,  the  mind,  for  the  time,  is  de 
prived  of  all  its  exhilarations — in  short,  almost  of  the  power  of  thinking. 
The  elbow  joints,  the  hips,  the  knees  and  ankles  were  most  severely  pained. 
It  was  soon  observed  (though  the  doctor's  mate  attended  us  almost  daily? 
and  very  carefully),  there  was  little  or  no  mitigation  of  our  disease  except 
that  the  diarrhea,  which  was  derived  from  another  cause  than  that  which 
produced  the  scurvy,  was  somewhat  abated ;  and  that  our  remedy  lay  else 
where  in  the  materia  medica,  which  was  beyond  the  grasp  of  the  physician. 
The  diarrhea  came  from  the  nature  of  the  water  we  used  daily.  In  the 
month  of  April,  the  snows  begin  to  melt,  not  by  the  heat  of  the  sun,  but 
most  probably  by  the  warmth  of  the  earth  beneath. the  snows.  The  ground, 
saturated  with  the  snow-water,  naturally  increased  the  fountain-head  in  the 
cellar.  Literally,  we  drank  the  melted  snow.  The  scurvy  had  another 
origin.  The  diet — salt  pork,  infamous  biscuit — damp,  and  close  confinement, 
in  a  narrow  space,  together  with  the  severity  of  the  climate,  were  the  true 
causes  of  the  scurvy. 

There  was  no  doubt  in  any  reflective  mind  among  us,  but  that  the  virtu* 
ous  and  beneficent  Carleton,  taking  into  view  his  perilous  predicament,  did 
everything  for  us,  which  an  honest  man  and  a  good  Christian  could. 

The  seventh  of  May  arrived.  Two  ships  came  to  the  aid  of  the  garrison, 
beating  through  a  body  of  ice,  which  perhaps  was  impervious  to  any  other 
than  the  intrepid  sailor.  This  relief  of  men  and  stores,  created  great  joy  in 
the  town.  Our  army  outside  began  their  disorderly  retreat.  My  friend 
Simpson,  with  his  party,  were  much  misused,  from  a  neglect  of  giving  him 
information  of  the  intended  flight  of  our  army.  Some  few  of  the  men 
under  his  authority,  straggled  and  were  taken  in  the  retreat  They  came  to 
inhabit  our  house.  Now,  for  the  first  time,  we  heard  an  account  of  the  oc 
currences  during  the  winter's  blockade,  which  to  us,  though  of  trivial  im 
port,  were  immensely  interesting.  The  sally  of  this  day,  produced  to  the 
prisoners  additional  comfort — though  the  troops  took  a  severe  revenge 
upon  our  friends  without,  by  burning  and  destroying  their  properties.  The 
next  day,  more  ships  and  troops  arrived  :  a  pursuit  took  place,  the  effect  of 
which  was  of  no  consequence,  except  so  far  as  it  tended  to  expel  the  colonial 
troops  from  Canada.  To  the  prisoners,  this  retreat  had  pleasing  conse 
quences  ;  fresh  bread,  beef  newly  slaughtered,  and  a  superabundance  of 
vegetables,  was  a  salutary  diet  to  our  reduced  and  scorbutic  bodies. 

After  we  were  relieved  of  our  irons  and  had  full  bodily  liberty  a  singular 
phenomenon  which  attends  the  scurvy,  discovered  itself.  The  venerable 
and  respectable  Maybin,  had  recommended  to  us  exercise,  not  only  as  a  mean 
of  cure,  but  as  a  preventive  of  the  scorbutic  humors  operating.  Four  of  the 
most  active  would  engage  at  a  game  of  "  fives."  Having  played  some  games 
in  continuation,  if  a  party  incautiously  sat  down,  he  was  seized  by  the  most 
violent  pains  in  the  hips  and  knees,  which  incapaciated  him  from  play  for 


OF  AMERICANS.  S3 

many  hours,  and  from  rising  from  the  earth,  where  the  patient  had  seated 
himself.  These  pains  taught  us  to  keep  afoot  all  day,  and  even  to  eat  our 
food  in  an  erect  posture.  Going  to  bed  in  the  evening,  after  a  hard  day's 
play,  thos3  sensations  of  pain  upon  laying  down  immediately  attacked  us. 
The  pain  would  continue  half  an  hour,  and  often  longer.  My  own  experi 
ence  will  authorize  me  to  say  two  hours.  In  the  morning,  we  rose  free  from, 
pain,  and  the  routine  of  play  and  fatigue  ensued,  but  always  attended  by 
the  same  effects,  particularly  to  the  stubborn  and  incautious,  who  would  not 
adhere  to  the  wholesome  advice  of  Doctor  Maybin.  Those  who  were  inac 
tive,  retained  those  excruciating  pains  to  the  last,  together  with  their  dis 
torted,  bloated,  and  blackened  limbs.  Upon  our  return  from  Canada,  in  the 
autumn  of  1776,  I  saw  five  or  six  of  my  crippled  compatriots,  hobbling 
through  the  streets  of  Lancaster  on  their  way  home.  It  cost  a  tear — all  that 
could  be  given.  By  the  month  of  August,  the  active  were  relieved  from 
those  pains. 

In  the  beginning  of  August,  we  were  told  by  Captain  Prentis,  that  the 
Governor  had  concluded,  to  send  us  by  sea  to  New  York  upon  parole,  for 
the  purpose  of  being  exchanged  ;  that  the  transports,  which  had  brought 
the  late  reinforcements  from  Europe,  were  cleansing  and  preparing  for  the 
voyage.  Now  there  was  exultation.  On  the  seventh  of  August,  we  sub 
scribed  our  written  paroles.  We  embarked  a  day  or  two  after  in  five  trans 
ports  conveyed  by  the  Pearl  frigate  and  arrived  in  the  harbor  of  New  York 
on  the  llth  of  September. 

Now  it  was  for  the  first  time  that  we  heard  of  the  dilemma  in  which  our 
country  stood.  The  battle  of  Long  Island,  on  the  twenty-seventh  of  August, 
had  been  un3uccess fully  fought  by  our  troops,  many  of  whom  were  prisoners. 
In  such  hurrying  times,  intercourses  between  hostile  armies  in  the  way  of 
negotiation  upon  any  point,  are  effected  with  difficulty.  We  had  waited 
patiently  several  weeks,  to  be  disembarked  on  our  own  friendly  shore  ;  yet 
tantalized  every  day  with  reports,  that  to-morrow  we  should  be  put  on 
shore  :  some,  and  in  a  little  while  all,  began  to  fear  it  was  the  intention  of 
General  Howe,  to  detain  us  as  prisoners  in  opposition  to  the  good  will  of 
Sir  Guy  Carleton. 

Near  the  end  of  the  month  our  gloomy  fears  were  set  at  rest  by  the  in 
telligence  that  we  were  to  embarked  in  shallops  and  landed  at  Elizabethtown 
Point  on  the  Jersey  shore.  Every  eye  sparkled  at  the  news.  On  the  next, 
day,  about  noon,  we  were  in  the  boats : — adverse  winds  retarded  us.  It  was 
Morgan  stood  in  the  bow  of  the  boat ;  making  a  spring,  not  easily  surpassed, 
ten  or  eleven  at  night,  before  we  landed;  —  the  moon  shone  beautifully, 
and  falling  on  the  earth,  as  it  were  to  grasp  it — cried  "  0  my  country."  We 
that  were  near  him,  pursued  his  example.  Now  a  race  commenced,,  which 
in  quickness,  could  scarcely  be  exceeded,  and  soon  brought  us  to  Elizabeth- 
town.  Here,  those  of  us  who  were  drowsy,  spent  an  uneasy  night.  Being 
unexpected  guests,  and  the  town  full  of  troops,  no  quarters  were  provided 
for  us.  Joy  rendered  beds  useless  ;  we  did  not  close  our  eyes  till  daylight. 
Singing,  dancing,  the  Indian  halloo,  in  short,  every  species  of  vociferousness 
was  adopted  by  the  men,  and  many  of  the  most  respectable  sergeants,  to 
express  their  extreme  pleasure.  A  stranger  coming  among  them,  would 
have  pronounced  them  mad,  or  at  least  intoxicated  ;  though  since  noon, 
6 


84  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

neither  food  nor  liquor  had  passed  our  lips  ;  thus  the  passions  may  at  times 
have  an  influence  on  the  human  frame,  as  inebriating  as  wine,  or  any  other 
liquor.  The  morning  brought  us  plenty,  in  the  form  of  rations  of  beef  and 
bread.  Hunger  allayed,  my  only  desire  was,  to  proceed  homeward.  Money 
was  wanting.  How  to  obtain  it  in  a  place,  where  all  my  friends  and  ac 
quaintances  were  alike  poor  and  destitute,  gave  me  great  anxiety  and  pain. 
Walking  up  the  street  very  melancholy,  unknowing  what  to  do,  I  observed 
a  waggon,  built  in  the  Lancaster  county  fashion  (which  at  that  time,  was 
peculiar  in  Jersey),  unloading  stores  for  the  troops,  come  or  coming.  The 
owner  was  Stephen  Lutz  of  Lancaster  ;  on  seeing  me,  he  grasped  my  hand 
with  fervor,  told  me  every  one  believed  me  to  be  dead.  Telling  him  our 
story  in  a  compendious  manner,  the  good  old  man,  without  solicitation,  pre 
sented  me  two  silver  dollars,  to  be  repaid  at  Lancaster.  They  were  gladly 
received.  My  heart  became  easy.  The  next  day,  in  company  with  the  late 
Colonel  Febiger,  and  the  present  General  Nichols,  and  some  other  gentlemen, 
we  procured  a  light  return-waggon,  which  gave  us  a  cast  as  far  as  Princeton. 
Here  we  had  the  pleasure  of  conversing  with  Dr.  Witherspoon,  who  was  the 
first  that  informed  us  of  a  resolution  of  Congress  to  augment  the  army.  It 
gave  us  pleasure,  as  we  had  devoted  ourselves  individually  to  the  service  of 
our  country.  The  next  day,  we  proceeded  on  foot,  no  carriage  of  any  kind 
being  procurable.  Night  brought  us  up  at  a  farm-house,  somewhere  near 
Bristol.  The  owner  was  one  of  us,  that  is,  a  genuine  whig.  He  requested 
us  to  tarry  all  night,  which  we  declined.  He  presented  us  a  supper,  that 
was  gratefully  received.  Hearing  our  story,  he  was  much  affected.  We 
then  tried  to  prevail  on  him,  to  take  us  to  Philadelphia,  in  his  light  wagon. 
It  was  objected  that  it  stood  loaded  with  hay  in  the  barn  floor ;  his  sons 
were  asleep  or  abroad.  We  removed  these  objections,  by  unloading  the  hay, 
while  this  good  citizen  prepared  the  horses.  Mounting,  we  arrived  at  the 
*'  Harp  and  Crown,"  about  two  o'clock  in  the  morning.  To  us,  it  was  most 
agreeable,  that  we  passed  through  the  streets  of  Philadelphia  in  the  night 
time,  as  our  clothing  was  not  only  threadbare  but  shabby.  Here  we  had 
friends  and  funds.  A  gentleman  advanced  me  a  sum  sufficient  to  enable 
me  to  exchange  my  leggins  and  moccasins,  for  a  pair  of  stockings  and  shoes, 
and  to  bear  my  expenses  home.  A  day  and  a  half,  brought  me  to  the  arms 
of  my  beloved  parents. 

In  the  course  of  eight  weeks,  after  my  return  from  captivity,  a  slight  cold, 
caught  when  skating  on  the  ice  of  Susquehanna,  or  in  pursuing  the  wild- 
turkey,  among  the  Kittatinny  hills,  renewed  that  abominable  disorder,  the 
scurvy  and  lameness,  as  you  now  observe  it,  was  the  consequence.  Would 
to  God  !  my  extreme  sufferings,  had  then  ended  a  life,  which  since  has 
been  a  tissue  of  labor,  pain,  and  misery. 


THE   WANDERINGS 


OF    THAT 


EMINENT  AMERICAN  TRAVELER 

JOHN    LEDYARD, 

IN  VARIOUS  PARTS  OF  THE  WORLD. 


JOHN  LEDYABD  was  one  of  those  intrepid  men,  who,  "  taking  their  lives 
in  their  hands,"  have,  under  the  stimulus  of  a  spirit  of  adventure,  wandered 
into  unknown  and  barbarous  lands ;  by  their  discoveries  extended  the  boun 
daries  of  geographical  science,  bringing  to  light  new  races  of  men,  and  re 
vealing  to  human  knowledge  the  physical  and  natural  resources  of  other 
climes. 

Whether  we  contemplate  Ledyard  in  his  youth,  descending  the  Connec 
ticut  in  a  frail  canoe,  when  swollen  to  an  impetuous  torrent  by  the  melting 
of  the  winter  snows,  or  voyaging  around  the  world — among  the  savages  of 
New  Zealand,  or  the  gay  revels  of  Paris ;  in  Bhering's  Straits,  or  treading 
Siberian  snows ;  on  the  shores  of  Bothnia,  clambering  Uralian  crags,  or  ia 
the  presence  of  the  Irkutsh  Tartar;  surrounded  with  the  momentoes  of 
Egypt's  glory,  or  amid  the  sands  of  Africa  ;  he  presents  that  prompt  decision 
and  manly  self-reliance  that  will  attract  all  to  whom  his  story  is  made 
known. 

This,  the  most  eminent  of  American  travelers,  was  born  at  Groton,  Con 
necticut,  near  Fort  Griswold,  of  revolutionary  memory,  in  the  year  1751. 
He  was  the  son  of  William  Ledyard,  who  was  master  of  a  vessel  in  the 
West  India  trade.  His  father  dying  while  John  was  a  lad,  threw  the 
management  of  a  large  family  of  little  ones  upon  his  mother.  She  was  left 
penniless  by  the  loss  of  the  will .;  but  being  an  energetic  woman,  she  strug 
gled  successfully  against  misfortune.  William,  her  second  son,  was  the 
brave  Colonel  Ledyard,  who  was  barbarously  slain  after  the  capitulation 
of  Fort  Griswold,  which  he  had  so  gallantly  defended.  John,  the  subject 
of  this  sketch,  was  her  eldest  son.  He  was  eventually  sent  to  Hartford, 
where  h'e  first  attended  the  grammar  school,  and  then  became  a  student  in 
the  law  office  of  his  uncle  and  guardian,  Thomas  Seymour,  and  an  inmate 
in  his  family. 

When  Ledyard  was  in  his  twentieth  year,  Dr.  Wheelock,  the  founder  of 
Dartmouth  College,  prompted  by  an  intimacy  which  had  existed  between 
Ledyard's  grandfather  and  himself,  prevailed  upon  him  to  enter  that  institu 
tion,  with  a  view  to  his  becoming  a  missionary  among  the  Indians.  The 
position  of  an  Indian  missionary,  as  the  experience  of  Wheelock,  Eliot,  and 

(85) 


86  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

others,  proved,  was  one  of  hardship ;  which  to  the  adventurous  disposition 
of  Ledyard,  was  at  first  alluring,  and  he  began  his  studies  with  zeal.  He 
soon,  however,  became  restless  and  discontented.  Steady,  persevering 
application  to  books,  was  irksome  to  his  nature. 

He  had  been  at  Dartmouth  a  few  months,  only,  when  he  suddenly  dis 
appeared,  and  no  one  knew  whither.  It  was  his  first  expedition.  He  plunged 
into  the  wilderness,  and  traveled  among  the  Six  Nations  on  the  borders  of  the 
Canadas,  where  he  spent  nearly  three  months  in  wandering  among  the  Indian 
tribes,  to  gain  a  knowledge  of  their  mode  of  life,  in  view  of  his  anticipated 
duties  as  a  missionary  among  them.  He  reappeared  at  Dartmouth  as  un 
expectedly  as  he  had  left,  effectually  cured  of  all  missionary  inclinations. 

On  his  return  he  was  continually  devising  some  plan  for  the  gratification 
of  his  romantic  fancy.  His  disposition  was  cheerful,  and  his  conversation 
and  manners  so  winning,  that  he  was  a  great  favorite  among  his  fellow 
students.  One  winter's  afternoon  he  persuaded  a  number  of  his  companions 
to  go  with  him  and  spend  the  night  in  the  snow  on  the  summit  of  a  neigh 
boring  mountain,  so  that  those  who  designed  becoming  missionaries  among 
the  Indians,  might  have  a  foretaste  of  the  hardships  in  store  for  them. 
Over  a  pathless  route,  through  forest  and  through  swamp,  he  led  his  little 
band  to  the  appointed  spot.  They  had  barely  time  to  kindle  their  fire  and 
make  their  beds  on  the  snow  when  night  closed  in  upon  them.  The  hours 
passed  wearily,  and  rarely  has  daylight  been  more  heartily  greeted  than  it 
was  by  all  of  that  little  party,  save  Ledyard,  whose  appetite  only  grew  by 
indulgence. 

Robinson  Crusoe  was  evidently  Ledyard's  beau  ideal  of  a  hero.  To  the 
oung  mind  which  makes  companions  of  its  own  dream,  solitude  is  sweet, 
as  it  favors  their  growth,  and  throws  a  gorgeous  mantle  over  their  deformi 
ties.  Our  young  traveler  seems  to  have  early  conceived  the  design  of 
achieving  a  reputation,  and  in  the  meanwhile,  until  he  should  have  made 
the  first  step,  and  acquired  the  right  to  exact  some  degree  of  consideration 
among  mankind,  the  dim  forest,  or  the  lonely  river,  was  a  more  agreeable 
associate  in  his  mind,  than  any  of  those  two-legged  animals  with  which  a 
residence  at  college  daily  brought  him  into  contact.  He  therefore  at  once 
resolved  to  put  an  end  to  so  mawkish  a  mode  of  life.  Selecting  from  the 
majestic  forest,  which  clothed  the  margin  of  the  Connecticut  River,  a  tree 
large  enough  to  form  a  canoe,  he  contrived,  with  the  aid  of  some  of  his 
fellow-students,  to  fell  and  convey  it  to  the  stream  which  runs  near  the 
college.  Here  it  was  hollowed  out,  and  fashioned  in  the  requisite  shape  ; 
and  when  completed,  measured  fifty  feet  in  length  by  three  in  breadth. 
His  young  college  companions  enabled  him  to  lay  in  the  necessary  store 
of  provisions.  He  had  a  bear-skin  for  a  covering;  a  Greek  Testament  and 
Ovid  to  amuse  him  on  the  way  ;  and  thus  equipped,  he  pushed  off  into  the 
current,  bade  adieu  to  his  youthful  friends,  turned  his  back  upon  Dartmouth, 
and  floated  leisurely  down  the  stream.  Hartford,  the  place  of  his  destina 
tion,  was  one  hundred  and  forty  miles  distant.  The  country,  during  much 
of  the  way,  was  a  wilderness  ;  and  the  river,  of  the  navigation  of  which  he 
was  totally  ignorant,  exhibited  in  many  places  dangerous  falls  and  rapids. 
However,  youth  and  ignorance  are  generally  bold.  He  was,  besides,  too 
well  pleased  at  escaping  from  the  irksomeness  of  regular  study  ;  and,  indeed 


OF  AMERICANS.  87 

too  much  enamored  of  danger  itself  to  have  been  terrified,  ever,  had  he  fully 
understood  the  character  of  the  river. 

The  canoe  being  carried  along  with  sufficient  rapidity  by  the  force  of  tho 
current,  he  had  but  little  occasion  for  using  his  paddles,  and  filled  up  the 
intervals  of  reflection  with  reading.  He  was  thus  employed  when  the  canoe 
approached  Bellows'  Falls.  The  noise  of  the  waters  rushing  with  impetuous 
velocity  through  their  narrow  channel  between  the  rocks,  roused  him  to  a 
sense  of  his  danger,  fortunately,  in  time  to  enable  him  by  the  strenuous  use 
cf  his  paddles  to  reach  the  shore.  His  canoe  was  dragged  round  the  fall  by 
the  kindness  of  the  good  people  of  the  neighborhood,  who  were  amazed  at 
the  boldness  and  novelty  of  his  enterprise,  and  again  safely  launched  upon 
the  waters  below. 

As  the  sun  was  rising  on  one  of  those  clear,  bracing  spring  mornings  so 
common  in  New  England,  Mr.  Seymour,  with  his  family,  was  standing  on  a 
little  mound  near  their  house  looking  out  upon  the  river,  when  they  dis 
covered  in  the  distance,  an  unknown  object  floating  down  the  stream.  As 
it  came  nearer,  they  saw  it  was  a  canoe  with  a  man  wrapped  closely  in  some 
garment,  sitting  in  the  stern.  When  nearly  opposite  them,  it  made  for  the 
shore,  and  stopped  in  front  of  their  dwelling.  The  man  then  leaped  on 
land,  threw  aside  his  bear-skin,  and  they  recognized  John  Ledyard,  whom 
they  supposed  was  then  at  Dartmouth  studying  with  a  view  to  missionary 
life. 

Whether  or  not  any  efforts  were  made  on  this  occasion  to  induce  Ledyard 
to  resume  his  missionary  studies  is  not  known  ;  but  if  there  were,  it  was 
without  success.  His  inclinations,  as  already  observed,  had  now  taken 
another  direction.  He  was  desirous  of  becoming  a  regular  clergyman,  and 
exerted  himself,  unfit  as  he  was,  to  obtain  a  preacher's  license.  Inferior 
claims  have  sometimes  been  urged  with  effect ;  but  Ledyard's  were  rejected  ; 
and  in  that  reckless  state  of  mind  produced  by  disappointment  and  disgust, 
which  none  but  those  who  have  been  buffeted  by  adverse  fortune  can 
properly  conceive,  he  threw  himself  into  the  first  gap  which  he  saw  open, 
and  determined  to  combat  with  the  ills  of  life  in  the  humble  condition  of  a 
common  sailor.  In  this  capacity  he  sailed  for  Gibraltar,  in  the  ship  of  a 
Captain  Deshon,  who  had  been  a  friend  of  his  father.  Though  this  gentle 
man,  we  are  told,  regarded  him  more  in  the  light  of  a  companion  than  as 
one  of  his  crew,  Ledyard  seems  to  have  conceived  no  very  favorable  idea  of 
a  seafaring  life  from  his  voyage  across  the  Atlantic,  and  on  his  landing  at 
Gibraltar,  determined  to  avoid  a  repetition  of  the  experiment  by  enlisting  in 
the  army.  By  the  solicitations  of  Captain  Deshon,  however,  who  at  tho 
same  time  strongly  remonstrated  with  him  on  the  impropriety  of  his  con 
duct,  he  was  released,  and  returned  with  his  liberator  to  New  London. 
This  voyage  put  tc  flight  his  romantic  ideas  respecting  the  life  of  a  mariner ; 
and  he  once  more  saw  himself  dependent  on  his  friends,  without  profession 
or  prospect. 

From  the  conversation  of  some  of  the  older  members  of  his  family,  he  ha^J 
learned  that  in  England  he  possessed  many  wealthy  relations ;  and  the  ide 
now  occurred  to  him,  that  could  he  but  make  himself  known  to  these,  h« 
should  be  received  with  open  arms,  and  lifted  up  at  once  to  a  respectable 
position  in  society.     With  him  to  resolve  and  to  act  were  the  same  thing 


83  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

He  immediately  proceeded  to  New  York,  where,  finding  a  vessel  bound  for 
England,  he  obtained  a  berth,  probably  on  condition  of  his  working  as  a 
sailor.  On  landing  at  Plymouth,  he  found  himself  penniless,  and  without  a 
friend,  in  a  strange  country  ;  but  his  courage,  sustained  by  the  golden  hopes 
with  which  he  amused  his  imagination,  was  proof  against  misfortune.  His 
calamities,  he  flattered  himself,  were  soon  to  have  an  end.  He  was  now 
within  a  few  days'  journey  of  his  wealthy  relations  ;  and  provided  he  kept, 
as  the  vulgar  say,  body  and  soul  together,  what  did  it  signify  how  he  passed 
the  brief  interval  which  separated  him  from  his  island  of  Barataria  ? 
Accordingly,  relying  upon  that  principle  in  our  nature  by  which  compassion 
is  kindled,  and  the  hand  stretched  forth  to  relieve,  as  often  as  real  honest 
distress  presents  itself,  he  set  out  for  London.  On  the  way  his  good  genius 
brought  him  acquainted  with  an  Irishman,  whose  pockets  were  as  guiltless 
of  coin  as  his  own  ;  and  as  it  is  a  comfort  not  to  be  "alone  unhappy  "  in  this 
"wide  and  universal  theater,"  these  two  moneyless  friends  were  a  great  con 
solation  to  each  other.  In  fact,  it  is  often  among  the  poor  and  unfortunate 
that  fellowship  is  most  sweet.  The  sight  of  another's  sufferings  excites  our 
magnanimity.  We  scorn  to  sink  under  what  we  see,  by  another  man's 
experience,  can  be  borne,  perhaps,  without  repining.  And  thus  two  poor 
adventurers,  without  a  penny,  may  be  of  use  to  each  other,  by  reciprocally 
affording  an  example  of  fortitude  and  patience.  Ledyard  and  his  Hibernian 
companion  begged  by  turns,  and  in  this  way  reached  London,  where  they 
separated,  each  to  cherish  his  poverty  in  a  different  nook. 

Hunger,  which  has  a  kind  of  predilection  for  great  cities,  seems  to  sharpen 
the  sight  as  well  as  the  wits  of  men  ;  for,  amid  the  vast  throng  of  equipages 
which  jostle  and  almost  hide  each  other  in  the  streets  of  London,  Ledyard's 
eye  caught  the  family  name  upon  a  carriage  ;  and  he  learned  from  the 
coachman  the  profession  and  address  of  the  owner,  who  was  a  rich  merchant. 
El  Dorado  was  before  him.  He  hastened  to  the  house,  and  although  the 
master  himself  was  absent,  he  found  the  son,  who,  at  all  events,  listened  to 
his  story.  When  he  had  heard  him  out,  however,  he  very  coolly  informed 
our  sanguine  traveler,  that  he  wholly  disbelieved  his  representations,  never 
having  heard  of  any  relations  in  America ;  but  that  from  the  East  Indies,  he 
added,  they  expected  a  member  of  the  family,  whom  Ledyard  greatly 
resembled  ;  and  that  if  in  reality  he  was  the  person,  he  would  .be  received 
with  open  arms. 

This  reception,  so  different  from  that  which  he  had  anticipated,  yet  so 
extremely  natural  under  the  circumstances  of  the  case,  was  more  than  Led 
yard's  philosophy,  which  had  not  yet  been  sufficiently  disciplined  by  poverty, 
could  digest ;  and  he  quitted  the  house  of  his  cautious  relative  with  avowed 
disgust.  How  he  now  continued  to  subsist  is  not  known.  It  appears,  how 
ever,  that  in  spite  of  his  distress  he  succeeded  in  making  the  acquaintance 
of  several  respectable  individuals,  to  whom  he  related  his  story,  and  who, 
taking  an  interest  in  his  fate,  exerted  themselves  to  effect  a  reconciliation 
between  him  and  his  wealthy  friends,  but  without  success ;  for  distrust  on 
the  one  part,  and  haughtiness  on  the  other,  intervened,  and  shipwrecked 
their  good  intentions. 

Years  after,  when  his  name  became  famous,  and  all  London  was  filled 
with  the  story  of  his  adventures,  his  relatives  made  overtures  to  him,  and 


OF  AMERICANS.  89 

even  sent  him  money,  begging  his  acceptance  of  it,  as  a  testimonial  of 
esteem.  Though  really  in  need,  he  rejected  their  offers  with  disdain. 
"  Tell  your  master,"  said  he  to  the  bearer,  "  that  he  does  not  belong  to  the 
race  of  Ledyards." 

While  our  traveler's  affairs  were  in  this  precarious  or  rather  desperate 
state,  an  account  of  the  preparations  which  were  making  for  Captain  Cook's 
third  voyage  round  the  world,  reached  him  in  his  obscurity.  Ambition, 
which  for  some  time  seems  to  have  been  almost  stifled  in  his  mind,  by  his 
distresses,  now  again  awoke.  He  longed  to  form  a  part  of  the  glorious 
enterprise,  and  to  behold,  at  least,  if  he  could  not  share  in  the  achievements 
of  the  illustrious  navigator.  As  a  preliminary  step  he  enlisted  in  the  marine 
service  ;  and  having  procured  an  interview  with  Captain  Cook,  his  energy 
and  enthusiasm  so  strongly  recommended  him,  that  the  great  discoverer 
immediately  took  him  into  his  service,  and  promoted  him  to  be  a  corporal 
of  marines. 

The  expedition  sailed  from  England  on  the  12th  of  July,  1776.  It  con 
sisted  of  two  ships,  the  Resolution,  commanded  by  Captain  Cook,  and  the 
Discovery,  by  Captain  Clerke.  After  touching  at  Teneriffe,  and  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope,  where  they  laid  in  a  large  stock  of  provisions,  and  live  animals, 
designed  to  be  left  at  the  various  islands  on  which  they  did  not  exist,  they 
sailed  toward  the  southern  extremity  of  New  Holland.  In  twenty-five  days 
they  arrived  at  Kerguelen's  Island,  then  recently  discovered.  It  was  barren, 
and  totally  without  inhabitants.  There  was,  however,  a  scanty  supply  of 
grass,  and  a  species  of  wild  cabbage,  which  they  cut  for  their  cattle.  Fresh 
water  was  found  in  abundance  ;  for  it  rained  profusely,  so  that  torrents  came 
tumbling  down  from  the  hills,  and  enabled  them  to  replenish  their  empty 
casks.  Seals  and  sea-dogs  covered  the  shore ;  and  vast  flocks  of  birds 
hovered  around.  Never  having  experienced  in  their  lonely  island  the 
danger  of  approaching  man,  they  did  not  fly  from  their  visitors,  but  suffered 
themselves,  and  more  particularly  the  penguin,  to  be  knocked  down  with 
clubs.  Here  they  celebrated  Christmas,  and  then  proceeded  to  Van  Dieman's 
Land. 

Within  less  than  two  months  after  leaving  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  they 
cast  anchor  in  Adventure  Bay,  in  this  island,  which  was  then  supposed  to 
form  a  part  of  New  Holland.  At  first  no  inhabitants  appeared,  though,  in 
sailing  along  the  coast,  they  had  observed  columns  of  smoke  ascending  be 
tween  the  trees  ;  but  in  a  few  days  the  natives,  men,  women,  and  children, 
came  down  to  the  beach,  exhibiting  in  their  persons  the  extreme  of  human 
wretchedness.  They  were  black,  with  negro  features,  and  woolly  hair, 
besmeared  with  red  ochre  and  grease,  and  went  completely  naked.  Bread 
and  fish,  which  were  given  them,  they  threw  away  ;  but  of  the  flesh  of  birds 
they  appeared  fond.  Their  only  weapon  was  a  rude  stick  about  three  feet 
long,  and  sharpened  at  one  end.  They  had  no  canoes,  no  houses,  and 
appeared  to  be,  to  a  great  degree,  destitute  of  curiosity. 

Having  laid  in  a  sufficient  stock  of  wood  and  water,  the  expedition  pro 
ceeded  to  New  Zealand,  where  they  remained  a  whole  month,  employed  in 
laying  in  provisions,  and  in  making  observations  on  the  character  of  the 
country  and  its  inhabitants.  They  found  the  New  Zealanders  a  race  differ- 


90  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

Cannibalism  of  the  most  revolting  kind  flourished  here  in  all  its  glory.  The 
first  thought  of  man  on  beholding  the  face  of  a  fellow-creature,  like  Fonte- 
nelle's  on  seeing  a  flock  of  sheep  in  a  meadow,  was  what  nice  eating  he 
would  make  ;  and  if  they  abstained  from  devouring  their  neighbors  as  well 
as  their  enemies,  it  was  merely  from  fear  of  reprisals.  Yet,  united  with 
propensities  which,  if  found  to  be  ineradicable,  would  justify  their  extermi 
nation,  these  people  are  said  to  possess  a  vehement  affection  for  their  friends, 
constancy  in  their  attachments,  and  a  strong  disposition  to  love.  It  is  very 
possible  that  both  their  good  and  bad  qualities  may  have  been  misrepre 
sented.  The  views  and  feelings  of  savages  are  not  easily  comprehended, 
and  it  is  seldom  that  those  who  enjoy  opportunities  of  observing  them, 
possess  the  genius  to  divine,  from  a  few  flitting  and  often  constrained  mani 
festations  of  them,  the  secret  temper  of  the  soul. 

During  their  stay  at  this  island,  one  of  the  mariners  formed  an  attachment 
for  a  young  female  cannibal ;  and,  in  order  to  wind  himself  the  more 
effectually  into  her  affections,  he  secretly  caused  himself  to  be  tattooed, 
resolving,  when  the  ship  should  sail,  to  make  his  escape,  and  relapse  into 
the  savage  state  with  his  mistress.  I  say  relapse,  because  from  that  state 
we  rose,  and,  whenever  we  can  slip  through  the  artificial  scaffolding  upon 
which  we  have  been  placed  by  philosophy  and  civil  government,  to  that 
state  we  inevitably  return.  These  two  lovers,  though  deprived  of  the  aids 
which  language  affords  in  the  communication  of  thought  and  sentiments, 
contrived  thoroughly  to  understand  each  other.  When  the  time  for  the 
departure  of  the  ships  arrived,  the  sailor,  tattooed,  and  dressed  like  a  savage, 
was  suffered  to  escape  among  the  crowds  of  natives  who  were  hurrying  on 
shore  ;  but  when  the  roll  was  called,  to  ascertain  whether  all  hands  were  on 
board,  his  absence  was  discovered.  A  guard  of  marines,  dispatched  in 
search  of  him  by  the  command  of  Cook,  dragged  him  from  the  arms  of  his 
savage  mistress,  who  exhibited  every  token  of  anguish  and  inconsolable 
grief,  and  leaving  her  in  loneliness  and  bitter  disappointment  on  the  beach, 
hurried  the  culprit  on  board  to  take  his  trial  for  desertion.  In  considera 
tion  of  the  motive,  however,  the  commander  humanely  remitted  the  punish 
ment  of  the  offense  ;  but  it  is  extremely  probable  that  his  vigilance  de 
frauded  a  party  of  New  Zealanders  of  a  feast,  for  as  soon  as  the  ships  should 
have  been  out  of  sight,  these  honest  people  would,  no  doubt,  have  consigned 
the  sailor  to  their  subterranean  ovens. 

Though  desirous  of  making  direct  for  Tahiti,  or  Otaheite,  contrary  wind? 
and  boisterous  weather  forced  them  out  of  their  course,  and  as  they  now 
began  to  be  in  want  of  grass  and  water  for  the  cattle,  as  well  as  fresh  pro 
visions  for  the  men,  it  was  judged  advisable  to  sail  away  for  the  Friendly 
Islands.  Many  new  islands  were  discovered  during  this  voyage,  upon  one 
of  which,  named  Watteeoo,  they  landed.  Here,  to  his  great  astonishment, 
Omai,  the  native  of  Tahiti  whom  Cook  had  taken  with  him  to  England, 
found  three  of  his  countrymen,  who,  having  been  overtaken  by  a  storm  at 
sea,  had  been  driven  in  their  canoe  to  this  island,  a  distance  of  more  than 
fifteen  hundred  miles.  During  the  thirteen  days  that  they  had  been  hurried 
before  the  gale,  without  water  or  provisions,  most  of  their  companions  had 
perished  of  hunger,  or,  stung  to  phrensy  by  their  sufferings,  had  jumped  into 
the  sea.  The  survivors  wore  now  settled  at  Watteeoo,  and  refused  hi? 


OF  AMERICANS.  91 

invitation    to   revisit  their  native  country,  the  sight  of  which  could  only 
renew  their  grief  for  the  loss  of  their  dearest  friends.     This  fact  suffices  to 
explain  how  islands  extremely  distant  from  the  great  hives  of  mankind  hav 
been  peopled,  and  exhibit,  in  their  population,  resemblances  to  races  from 
which  they  would  appear  to  be  separated  by  insurmountable  barriers. 

From  hence  they  sailed  to  Tongataboo,  an  island  exceedingly  fertile,  and 
covered  with  forests,  where  they  remained  twenty-six  days  collecting  pro 
visions.  The  natives,  who,  having  ingrafted  the  vices  of  civilized  nations 
upon  their  own,  have  since  exhibited  themselves  under  a  different  aspect, 
now  appeared  to  be  a  simple  and  inoffensive  race.  Much  of  their  leisure, 
of  which  they  appeared  to  have  but  too  great  plenty,  was  occupied  in 
curious  religious  ceremonies,  which,  as  among  many  civilized  nations,  were 
regarded  something  in  the  light  of  amusements.  Their  king,  Poulaho,  con 
ducted  himself  with  marked  suavity  and  respect  toward  his  strange  guests. 
Few  civilized  individuals,  indeed,  coming  suddenly  into  contact  with  a  new 
race  of  men,  could  have  shown  more  ease  and  self-possession  than  this 
savage  chief.  However,  he  declined  Cook's  invitation  to  go  on  board  the 
day  after  their  arrival ;  but  entertained  Ledyard,  whose  duty  it  was  to 
remain  on  shore  that  night,  in  a  kind  and  hospitable  manner. 

It  was  just  dusk,  says  our  traveler,  when  they  parted,  and  as  I  had  been 
present  during  a  part  of  this  first  interview,  and  was  detained  on  shore,  I 
was  glad  he  did  not  go  off,  and  asked  him  to  my  tent ;  but  Poulaho  chose 
rather  to  have  me  go  with  him  to  his  house,  where  we  went  and  sat  down 
together  without  the  entrance.  We  had  been  here  but  a  few  minutes  before 
one  of  the  natives  advanced  through  the  grove  to  the  skirts  of  the  green,  and 
there  halted.  Poulaho  observed  him,  and  told  me  he  wanted  him ;  upon 
which  I  beckoned  to  the  Indian,  and  he  came  to  us.  When  he  approached 
Poulaho,  he  squatted  down  upon  his  hams,  and  put  his  forehead  to  the  sole 
of  Poulaho's  foot,  and  then  received  some  directions  from  him,  and  went 
away ;  and  returned  again  very  soon  with  some  baked  yams  and  fish  rolled 
up  in  fresh  plantain-leaves,  and  a  large  cocoanut-shell  full  of  clean  fresh 
water,  and  a  smaller  one  of  salt  water.  These  he  set  down,  and  went  and 
fetched  a  mess  of  the  same  kind,  and  set  it  down  by  me.  Poulaho  then 
desired  I  would  eat ;  but  preferring  salt,  which  I  had  in  the  tent,  to  the  sea- 
water  which  they  used,  I  called  one  of  the  guard,  and  had  some  of  that 
brought  me  to  eat  with  my  fish,  which  was  really  most  delightfully  dressed, 
and  of  which  I  ate  very  heartily. 

Their  animal  and  vegetable  food  is  dressed  in  the  same  manner  here,  as 
at  the  southern  and  northern  tropical  islands  throughout  these  seas,  being  all 
baked  among  hot  stones,  laid  in  a  hole,  and  covered  over,  first  with  leaves, 
and  then  with  mould.  Poulaho  was  fed  by  the  chief  who  waited  upon  him, 
both  with  victuals  and  drink.  After  he  had  finished,  the  remains  were 
carried  away  by  the  chief  in  waiting,  who  returned  soon  after  with  two 
large,  separate  rolls  of  cloth,  and  two  little,  low  wooden  stools.  The  cloth 
was  for  a  covering  while  asleep,  and  the  stools  to  raise  and  rest  the  head  on, 
as  we  do  on  a  pillow.  These  were  left  within  the  house,  or  rather  under 
the  roof,  one  side  being  open.  The  floor  within  was  composed  of  dry  grass, 
leaves,  and  flowers,  over  which  were  spread  large,  well-wrought  mats.  On 
this  Poulaho  and  I  removed  and  sat  down,  while  the  chief  unrolled  and 


92  ADVENTURES  AND   ACHIEVEMENTS 

spread  out  the  cloth,  after  which  he  retired  ;  and  in  a  few  minutes  there 
appeared  a  fine  young  girl,  about  seventeen  years  of  age,  who,  approaching 
Poulaho,  stooped  and  kissed  his  great  toe,  and  then  retired,  and  sat  down  in 
an  opposite  part  of  the  house.  It  was  now  about  nine  o'clock,  and  a  bright 
moonshine  ;  the  sky  was  serene,  and  the  wind  hushed.  Suddenly  I  heard 
a  number  of  their  flutes,  beginning  nearly  at  the  same  time,  burst  from  every 
quarter  of  the  surrounding  grove ;  and  whether  this  was  meant  as  an 
exhilarating  serenade,  or  a  soothing  soporific  to  the  great  Poulaho,  I  cannot 
tell.  Immediately  on  hearing  the  music  he  took  me  by  the  hand,  intimat 
ing  that  he  was  going  to  sleep,  and,  showing  me  the  other  cloth,  which 
was  spread  nearly  beside  him,  and  the  pillow,  invited  me  to  use  it." 

The  manners  of  the  people  whom  Ledyard  had  now  an  opportunity  of 
contemplating,  indicated  a  character  nearly  the  reverse  of  that  of  the  New 
Zealanders.  In  what  circumstances  those  extraordinary  differences  origin 
ated,  it  is  foreign  to  the  present  purpose  to  inquire.  To  account  for  them,  as 
some  writers  have  done,  by  the  influence  of  climate,  is  willfully  to  sport  with 
facts  and  experience.  Within  the  same  degrees  of  latitude,  pursuing  our 
researches  round  the  globe,  we  have  black  men  and  white  ;  cannibals,  and 
races  remarkable  for  humanity  ;  men  so  gross  in  their  intellects,  that  they 
retain  nothing  of  man  but  the  shape,  and  others  with  a  character  and  genius 
so  admirably  adapted  to  receive  the  impressions  of  laws  and  civilization, 
that  they  turn  every  natural  or  accidental  advantage  of  their  position  to  the 
greatest  account,  and  run  on  in  the  career  of  improvement  with  gigantic 
strides.  This  was  not  Ledyard's  theory.  He  seemed  everywhere  to  dis 
cover  proofs  of  the  vast  influence  of  climate  in  rendering  men  what  they 
are,  morally  as  well  as  physically  ;  though  he  could  not  be  ignorant  that 
while  the  climate  of  Greece  and  Italy  remains  what  it  was  in  old  times,  the 
physiognomy  of  the  inhabitants  has  undergone  an  entire  change,  while  their 
moral  condition  is,  if  possible,  deteriorated  still  more  than  their  features. 
The  mind  of  man  seems,  in  fact,  after  having  borne  an  extraordinary  crop 
of  virtues,  knowledge,  and  heroic  deeds,  to  require,  like  the  earth,  to  lie 
fallow  for  a  season.  It  cannot  be  made  to  yield  fruit  beyond  a  certain  point, 
upon  which,  when  it  has  once  touched,  no  power  under  heaven  can  prevent 
its  relapsing  into  barrenness. 

The  population  scattered  over  the  innumerable  islands  of  the  Pacific,  have 
been  in  a  remarkably  peculiar  position  from  the  time  in  which  they  were 
discovered  up  to  the  present  moment.  Civilization  has,  in  a  manner,  been 
forced  upon  them.  Their  idols  have  been  thrown  down  ;  the  bloody  or 
absurd  rites  of  their  religion  have,  in  many  instances,  been  exchanged  for 
the  blessings  and  the  light  of  Christianity;  and  although  silly  or  affected 
persons  may  lament  for  the  disappearance  of  what  they  term  a  "picturesque 
superstition,"  every  real  friend  of  humanity  will  rejoice  at  seeing  a  church 
occupying  the  site  of  a  morai ;  and  men,  who  once  delighted  to  feed  upon 
the  limbs  of  an  enemy,  employing  themselves  in  deriving  subsistence  from 
their  own  industry  and  ingenuity. 

The  people  of  Tongataboo,  at  the  period  of  Ledyard's  visit,  though 
neither  cruel  nor  ferocious,  were  partial  to  athletic  exercises,  and  not  averse 
to  war.  It  seems  to  have  yielded  them  great  satisfaction  to  be  allowed  to 
display,  in  the  presence  of  their  visitors,  their  vigor  and  dexterity,  which 


OF  AMERICANS.  93 

were  by  no  means  despicable.  Their  performances,  which  chiefly  consisted 
of  wrestling  and  boxing,  always  took  place  upon  the  greensward,  in  the 
open  air;  and  in  order  to  prevent  what  was  only  meant  for  amusement 
from  degenerating  into  angry  contests,  a  certain  number  of  elderly  men  pre 
sided  over  and  regulated  the  exercises ;  and  when  either  of  the  combatants 
appeared  to  be  fairly  worsted,  they  mildly  signified  the  fact,  and  this  was 
considered  a  sufficient  compliment  to  the  victor.  Like  the  boxers  of 
antiquity,  they  wore  upon  the  hand  a  kind  of  glove,  composed  of  cords  or 
thongs,  designed  to  prevent  their  grappling  each  other,  and  at  the  same 
time  to  preserve  them  from  dislocations  of  the  joints,  particularly  of  that  of 
the  thumb.  Sometimes,  however,  they  engaged  each  other  with  clubs,  in 
which  caaes  the  performances  were  highly  dangerous.  Our  traveler  wit 
nessed  one  of  these  contests,  which,  as  the  persons  engaged  were  renowned 
for  their  superior  skill,  was  protracted  considerably,  though  they  are  in 
general  of  brief  duration.  At  length,  however,  the  affair  was  decided  by  a 
fortuitous  blow  on  the  head.  The  vanquished  champion  was  carried  off 
the  ground  by  his  friends,  while  the  conqueror  was  greeted  with  enthusiastic 
shouts  of  praise  from  the  spectators  ;  and  "  when  these  shouts  ended,  tho 
young  women  around  the  circle  rose,  and  sang,  and  danced  a  short  kind  of 
interlude,  in  celebration  of  the  hero." 

With  the  brilliant  exhibition  of  fireworks,  which,  in  return  for  their 
hospitality  and  politeness,  Cook  got  up  for  their  amusement,  both  Poulaho 
and  his  people  were  greatly  astonished  and  delighted.  The  animals,  like 
wise,  which  were  new  to  them,  excited  their  wonder.  Goats  and  sheep 
they  regarded  as  a  species  of  birds  ;  but  in  the  horse,  the  cow,  the  cat,  and  the 
rabbit,  they  could  perceive  no  analogy  with  the  dog  or  the  hog,  the  only 
animals  with  which  they  had  till  then  been  conversant. 

The  ideas  of  these  people  respecting  property,  were  either  very  vague,  or 
very  different  from  those  of  their  visitors.  Whatever  they  saw  pleasing  to 
the  eye  in  the  possession  of  the  white  men,  without  considering  whether  or 
not  it  was  intended  for  them,  they  immediately  appropriated  to  them 
selves  ;  probably  from  the  belief  that  these  munificent  strangers,  who 
bestowed  upon  them  so  many  wonderful  things,  were  a  kind  of  good  genii, 
who,  in  their  own  case,  stood  in  no  need  of  such  articles.  Cook  did  not 
understand  this  simplicity.  He  attached  the  idea  of  a  thief  to  every  person 
who  touched  what  did  not  belong  to  him,  and  punished  these  ignorant 
savages  with  the  same  rigid  justice,  if  we  may  so  apply  the  term,  which  he 
would  have  shown  toward  a  hardened  offender  at  the  Old  Baily.  In  one 
Instance,  even  the  justice  of  his  conduct  may  be  questioned.  One  of  the 
chiefs  stole  some  peacocks  from  the  ships,  and  Cook  arrested,  not  the 
offender,  but  the  king,  whom  he  kept  in  custody  until  the  culprit  came  for 
ward  engaging  to  restore  the  birds.  This  was  an  absurd  exercise  of  power, 
which  could  not  fail  considerably  to  abate  the  respect  of  the  natives  for  the 
civilized  portion  of  mankind. 

From  Tongataboo  the  expedition  sailed  to  Tahiti,  where  they  arrived  on 
ths  14th  of  August.  Here  Ledyard  employed  his  leisure,  which  appears  to 
have  been  considerable,  in  studying  the  character  and  manners  of  the  in 
habitants  ;  and  upon  these  points  his  opinions  generally  agree  with  the  re 
ceived  notions  resDectinsr  those  Deoole.  In  sailinsr  northward  from  thia 


94  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

group  they  discovered  the  Sandwich  Islands,  where  they  remained  ten  days  ; 
and  then,  steering  still  toward  the  north,  arrived  without  accident  in  Nootka 
Sound,  where  they  cast  anchor  in  nearly  five  hundred  fathorhs  of  water. 
Ledyard  was  now  on  his  native  continent,  and,  though  more  than  three 
thousand  miles  from  the  place  of  his  birth,  experienced  on  landing  some 
thing  like  a  feeling  of  home.  The  inhabitants  he  found  to  be  of  the  same 
race  with  those  on  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic.  In  stature  they  are  above  the 
middle  size,  athletic  in  their  make,  and  of  a  copper  color.  Their  long  black 
hair  they  wear  tied  up  in  a  roll  on  the  top  of  the  head,  and,  by  wav  of  orna 
ment,  smear  it  over  with  oil  and  paint,  in  which  they  stick  a  quantity  of  the 
down  of  birds.  They  paint  their  faces  red,  blue,  and  white,  but  refused  to 
reveal  the  nature  of  their  cosmetics,  or  the  country  whence  thev  obtained 
them.  Their  clothing  principally  consists  of  skins,  besides  which,  however, 
they  have  two  kinds  of  garments,  of  which  one  is  manufactured  from  the 
inner  bark  of  trees,  and  resembles  our  coarser  cloths  ;  the  other  made  chiefly 
from  the  hair  of  white  dogs,  and  wrought  over  with  designs,  representing 
their  mode  of  catching  the  whale,  which  our  traveler  considered  the  most 
ingenious  piece  of  workmanship  he  anywhere  saw  executed  by  a  savage. 
All  their  garments,  like  those  of  the  Hindoos,  are  worn  like  mantles,  and  are 
invariably  fringed,  or  ornamented  in  some  fashion  or  other,  at  the  edges. 
This  species  of  border  ornament,  denominated  wampum  on  the  opposite  side 
of  the  continent,  was  found,  not  only  all  along  this  coast,  but  also  on  th<» 
eastern  shores  of  Asia.  On  the  feet  they  wear  no  covering ;  and  if  they 
occasionally  cover  their  heads,  it  is  with  a  species  of  basket  resembling  that 
which  is  sometimes  worn  by  the  Chinese  and  Tartars.  In  character  they 
were  cunning,  bold,  ferocious,  and,  like  the  inhabitants  of  the  Sandwich 
Islands,  addicted  to  cannibalism. 

From  thence  they  sailed  along  the  coast  of  America  to  Behring's  Straits, 
in  passing  through  which,  they  observed  that  both  continents  were  visible 
at  the  same  time.  The  expedition  having  in  vain  transversed  the  polar 
seas  in  search  of  the  northwest  passage,  returned  toward  the  south.  Before 
issuing  through  the  belt  of  the  Aleeootskian  Islands  into  the  Pacific,  Cap 
tain  Cook  remained  some  days  at  Onalaska,  where  Ledyard  was  engaged  in 
an  adventure  highly  characteristic  of  his  intrepid  and  chivalrous. disposition. 
Even  on  their  first  landing,  many  peculiarities  in  the  appearance  and 
costume,  no  less  than  in  the  movable  possessions  of  the  people,  strongly 
excited  their  curiosity ;  for  it  was  at  once  perceived  that  there  existed  two 
races  of  men  upon  the  island,  of  which  one  might  be  supposed  to  be 
aboriginal,  while  the  other  might  be  presumed  to  be  adscititious  ;  an  offshoot, 
in  all  probability,  from  the  great  Asiatic  stock.  They  were  in  possession  of 
tobacco,  and,  in  many  instances,  wore  blue  linen  shirts  and  drawers.  The 
circumstance,  however,  which  excited  most  surprise,  was  the  appearance  of 
a  young  chief,  bearing  with  him  a  cake  of  rye-meal  newly  oaked,  and  con 
taining  a  piece  of  salmon  seasoned  with  pepper  and  salt,  as  a  present  to 
Captain  Cook.  He  informed  them,  by  signs,  that  there  were  white  strangers 
in  the  country,  who  had  come,  like  them,  over  the  great  waters  in  a  large 
ship. 

This  information  excited  in  Cook  a  desire  to  explore  the  island.  It  was 
difficult,  however,  to  determine  in  what  manner  the  object  was  to  be 


OF  AMERICANS.  95 

effected.  An  armed  body  would  proceed  slowly,  and  might,  perhaps,  bo 
cut  off — an  irreparable  loss  to  the  expedition.  The  risk  of  a  single  indi 
vidual  would  be  imminent,  but  his  movements  would  be  more  rapid  ;  and 
if  he  should  fall,  the  loss  to  the  public  would  not  be  great.  Yet,  as  tho 
commander  did  not  think  himself  justified  in  ordering  any  person  to  under 
take  so  perilous  an  enterprise,  a  volunteer  was  sought  for ;  and  Ledyard  pre 
sented  himself.  The  great  navigator  was  highly  pleased  with  this  example 
of  intrepidity,  for  the  brave  always  sympathize  with  the  brave  ;  and  after 
giving  the  traveler  instructions  how  to  proceed,  "he  wished  me  well,"  says 
Ledyard,  "and  desired  I  would  dot  be  longer  absent  than  a  week,  if  possible  ; 
at  the  expiration  of  which  he  should  expect  me  to  retura.  If  I  did  not 
return  by  that  time,  he  should  wait  another  week  for  me,  and  no  longer." 

The  young  chief  who  brought  Cook  the  rye-cake  and  the  salmon,  with 
two  persons  who  attended  him,  were  to  serve  as  guides  on  the  occasion. 
Being  furnished  with  a  small  quantity  of  bread  and  some  brandy  in  bottles, 
intended  for  presents  to  the  Indians,  our  traveler  departed  with  his  Indian 
guides,  and,  during  the  first  day,  advanced  about  fifteen  miles  into  the 
interior.  About  nightfall  they  arrived  at  a  small  village,  consisting  of  about 
thirty  huts,  some  of  which  were  large  and  spacious,  though  not  very  lofty. 
These  huts  were  composed  of  a  slight  frame  erected  over  a  square  hole  sunk 
about  four  feet  into  the  ground.  Below  the  frame  was  covered  with  turf, 
which  served  as  a  wall,  and  above  it  was  thatched  with  grass.  Though  the 
whole  village,  men,  women,  and  children,  crowded  to  see  him,  it  was  not 
with  the  intense  curiosity  which  their  behavior  would  have  exhibited,  had 
they  never  before  beheld  a  white  man.  Here  they  passed  the  night. 

Their  course  had  hitherto  lain  toward  the  north,  but  they,  next  morning, 
turned  round  toward  the  southwest.  About  three  hours  before  night  they 
reached  the  edge  of  a  large  bay,  where  the  chief  entered  into  a  canoe,  with 
all  their  baggage,  and  intimating  to  Ledyard  that  he  was  to  follow  his  other 
companions,  left  him  abruptly,  and  paddled  across  the  bay.  Although 
rendered  somewhat  uneasy  at  this  movement,  he  proceeded  along  the  shore 
with  his  guides,  and  in  about  two  hours,  observed  a  canoe  making  toward 
them  across  the  bay.  Upon  this  they  ran  down  to  the  water's  edge,  and, 
by  shouting  and  waving  bushes  to  and  fro  in  the  air,  attracted  the  attention 
of  the  savages  in  the  canoe.  It  was  beginning  to  be  dark,  says  he,  when  the 
canoe  came  to  us.  It  was  a  skin  canoe,  after  the  Esquimaux  plan,  with  two 
holes  to  accommodate  two  sitters.  The  Indians  that  came  in  the  canoe 
talked  a  little  with  my  two  guides,  and  then  came  to  me,  and  desired  I 
would  get  into  the  canoe.  This  I  did  not  very  readily  agree  to,  however, 
as  there  was  no  place  for  me  but  to  be  thrust  into  the  space  between  the 
holes,  extended  at  length  upon  my  back,  and  wholly  excluded  from  seeing 
the  way  I  went,  or  the  power  of  extricating  myself  upon  an  emergency. 
But  as  there  was  no  alternative,  I  submitted  thus  to  be  stowed  away  in  bulk, 
and  went  head  foremost  very  swift  through  the  water  about  an  hour,  when 
I  felt  the  canoe  strike  a  beach,  and  afterward  lifted  up  and  carried  some 
distance,  and  then  set  down  again ;  after  which  I  was  drawn  out  by  the 
shoulders  by  three  or  four  men  ;  for  it  was  now  so  dark  that  I  could  not  tell 
who  they  were,  though  I  was  conscious  I  heard  a  language  that  was  new. 
I  was  conducted  by  two  of  these  persons  who  appeared  to  be  strangers, 


96  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

about  forty  rods,  when  I  saw  lights  and  a  number  of  huts  like  those  I  left  in 
the  morning.  As  we  approached  one  of  them,  a  door  opened  and  discov 
ered  a  lamp,  by  which,  to  my  great  joy,  I  discovered  that  the  two  men  who 
held  me  by  each  arm  were  Europeans,  fair  and  comely,  and  concluded  from 
their  appearance  they  were  Russians,  which  I  soon  after  found  to  be  true. 

By  these  Russians,  who  had  established  themselves  in  Onalaska  for  the 
purpose  of  collecting  furs  for  the  markets  of  Moscow  and  Petersburg,  Led- 
yard  was  received  and  entertained  in  a  most  hospitable  manner ;  and  when 
he  returned  to  the  ships,  was  accompanied  by  three  of  the  principal  persons 
among  them,  and  several  inferior  attendants.  "  The  satisfaction  this  dis 
covery  gave  Cook,"  says  he,  "and  the  honor  that  redounded  to  me,  may  be 
easily  imagined  ;  and  the  several  conjectures  respecting  the  appearance  of  a 
foreign  intercourse  were  rectified  and  confirmed." 

From  Onalaska  the  expedition  sailed  southward  for  the  Sandwich  Islands, 
and  in  two  months  arrived  at  Hawaii.  On  entering  a  commodious  bay,  dis 
covered  on  the  southern  coast  of  the  island,  they  observed,  on  each  hand,  a 
town  of  considerable  size,  from  which  crowds  of  people,  to  whom  the 
appearance  offered  by  the  ships  was  totally  new,  crowded  down  to  the  beach 
to  receive  the  strangers.  Their  number  was  prodigious.  No  less  than  three 
thousand  canoes,  containing  at  least  fifteen  thousand  men,  women,  and 
children,  were  crowded  in  the  bay ;  and,  besides  these,  numbers  sustained 
themselves  on  floats,  or  swam  about  in  the  water.  "  The  beach,  the  sur 
rounding  rocks,  the  tops  of  the  houses,  the  branches  of  trees,  and  the  adjacent 
hills,  were  all  covered  ;  and  the  shouts  of  joy  and  admiration  proceeding 
from  the  sonorous  voices  of  the  men,  confused  with  the  shriller  exclama 
tions  of  the  women,  dancing  and  clapping  their  hands,  the  oversetting  of 
canoes,  cries  of  the  children,  goods  afloat,  and  hogs,  that  were  brought  to 
market,  squeaking,  formed  one  of  the  most  curious  prospects  that  can  bo 
imagined."  Yet,  amid  all  this  vast  multitude,  no  signs  of  hostility,  no  dispo 
sition  to  insult  or  annoy  the  strangers  appeared.  Both  parties  were  very  far, 
at  that  moment,  from  anticipating  that  tragical  event  which  shortly  after 
ward  dyed  their  shores  with  blood,  and  rendered  -the  name  of  Hawaii 
memorable  in  the  history  of  discovery. 

However,  for  the  first,  few  days  extraordinary  harmony  prevailed.  Visits 
were  made  and  returned  ;  fireworks  were  exhibited  by  the  English  ;  wrest 
ling,  boxing,  and  various  other  kinds  of  athletic  exercises,  by  the  savages. 
During  this  continuance  of  good  humor,  Ledyard  obtained  permission  to 
make  a  tour  in  the  interior  of  the  island,  for  the  purpose  of  examining  the 
nature  of  the  country,  and  of  ascending,  if  possible,  the  peak  of  Mouna  JRoa, 
which,  though  situated  in  an  island  not  exceeding  ninety  miles  in  diameter, 
is  regarded  as  one  of  the  loftiest  in  the  world.  He  was  accompanied  by  the 
botanist  and  gunner  of  the  Resolution,  and  by  a  number  of  natives,  some  as 
guides,  others  to  carry  the  baggage.  Admonished  by  the  snows  which 
gliitered  in  dazzling  pinnacles  on  the  summit  of  Mouna  Roa,  they  provided 
themselves  with  additional  clothing  to  guard  against  the  effects  of  a  sudden 
transition  from  the  heat  of  a  tropical  sun  to  intense  cold.  Their  road  during 
the  first  part  of  the  journey  lay  through  inclosed  plantations  of  sweet 
potatoes,  with  a  soil  of  lava,  tilled  in  some  places  with  difficulty.  Here 
and  there,  in  moist  situations,  were  small  patches  of  sugar-cane  ;  and  these, 


OF  AMERICANS.  97 

as  they  proceeded,  were  followed  by  open  plantations  of  bread-fruit  trees. 
The  land  now  began  to  ascend  abruptly,  and  was  thickly  covered  with  wild 
fern.  About  sunset  they  arrived  on  the  skirts  of  the  woods,  which  stretched 
round  the  mour.tain  like  a  belt,  at  the  uniform  distance  of  four  or  five  miles 
from  the  shore.  Here  they  found  an  uninhabited  hut,  in  which  they  passed 
the  night. 

Next  morning,  on  entering  the  forest,  they  found  there  had  been  heavy 
rain  during  the  night,  though  none  of  it  had  reached  them  at  the  distance 
of  about  two  hundred  yards.  They  traversed  the  woods  by  a  compass, 
keeping  in  a  direct  line  for  the  peak  ;  and,  finding  a  beaten  track  nearly  in 
their  course,  were  enabled  on  the  second  day  to  advance  about  fifteen  miles. 
At  night  they  rested  under  the  shelter  of  a  fallen  tree,  and  early  next  morn 
ing  recommenced  their  journey.  It  was  soon  discovered,  however,  that  the 
difficulties  they  had  hitherto  encountered  were  ease  itself  compared  with 
those  against  which  they  were  now  to  contend.  To  persons  unaccustomed 
as  they  were  to  walk,  a  journey  of  so  great  a  length  would,  under  any  cir 
cumstances,  have  been  a  grievous  task.  But  they  were  impeded  in  their 
movements  by  heavy  burdens  ;  their  path  was  steep,  broken,  and  rugged  ; 
and  the  farther  they  proceeded,  the  more  dense  and  impenetrable  did  the 
thickets  become.  At  length,  it  became  evident  that  the  enterprise  must  be 
abandoned  ;  and  with  those  unpleasant  feelings  which  accompany  baffled 
ambition,  they  returned  by  the  way  they  had  gone  to  the  ships. 

In  less  than  a  fortnight  after  their  arrival  at  Hawaii,  the  discoverers,  by 
their  impolitic,  or  rather  insolent  behavior,  had  contrived  to  irritate  the 
savage  natives  almost  to  desperation.  They  saw  themselves,  and,  what 
perhaps  was  more  galling,  their  gods  treated  with  silent  contempt  or  open 
scorn  ;  while  their  wives  and  daughters  were  contaminated  by  the  brutal 
lusts  of  the  sailors.  How  far  these  circumstances  were  within  the  control  of 
Captain  Cook,  or,  in  other  words,  to  what  degree  of  blame  he  is  liable  for 
what  took  place,  it  is  not  our  present  business  to  inquire.  But  assuredly, 
according  to  the  testimony  of  Ledyard,  this  great  navigator  seems,  during 
the  last  few  days  of  his  life,  to  have  been  urged  by  a  kind  of  fatality  into 
the  commission  of  actions  highly  despotic  and  unjustifiable  in  themselves, 
and,  under  the  circumstances  in  which  they  were  performed,  little  short  of 
insane.  The  mere  idea  of  converting  the  fence  and  idols  of  the  morai — 
objects  sacred  to  them,  however  contemptible  in  our  eyes — into  firewood, 
argues  a  reprehensible  disregard  of  the  feelings  of  the  natives.  His  offer  of 
two  hatchets  to  the  priest  in  payment,  reminds  one  of  Captain  Clapperton's 
promise  of  a  couple  of  guns,  a  few  flasks  of  powder,  and  some  rockets  to 
Sultan  Bello,  as  the  price  of  his  putting  down  the  slave-trade.  But  when 
the  priest  refused  the  proffered  payment,  not  so  much  on  account  of  its  pre 
posterous  inadequacy — of  which,  however,  savage  as  he  was,  he  must  havo 
been  fully  sensible — because,  in  his  eyes,  no  price  was  an  equivalent  for 
articles,  to  destroy  which  would  be  sacrilege,  to  proceed  with  a  strong  hand 
in  the  work  of  destruction,  profaning  the  spot  which  contained  the  ashes  of 
their  ancestors,  and  throwing  down  and  bearing  away  the  images  of  their 
gods.  This  was  an  outrage  which  the  tamest  and  most  enslaved  race  would 
have  found  it  difficult  to  endure. 


08  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

However,  force  was  triumphant;  but  from  that  moment  the  souls  of  the 
natives  were  on  fire,  and  revenge  was  determined  on.  A  relation  of  the 
various  incidents  and  small  events  by  which  the  tragic  action  moved 
onward  to  its  completion,  would  be  incompatible  with  my  present  design. 
Captain  Cook,  accompanied  by  an  armed  force,  in  which  Ledyard  was 
included,  went  on  shore  for  the  purpose  of  making  the  king  a  prisoner,  and 
of  keeping  him  in  confinement  on  board,  until  certain  articles  stolen  by  his 
subjects  should  be  restored.  The  savages,  with  a  boldness  worthy  of  admira 
tion,  opposed  his  designs,  and  compelled  him  to  retreat  toward  his  boats. 
Here,  as  the  marines  were  endeavoring  to  embark,  a  contest  took  place  ; 
stones  were  thrown  by  the  natives ;  the  English  flew  to  their  firearms  ;  and 
a  chief,  rushing  on  with  an  iron  dagger  in  his  hand,  stabbed  Cook  through 
the  body.  His  guards,  likewise,  were  all  cut  off  excepting  two,  who  escaped 
by  swimming.  The  cannon  of  the  Resolution  were  now  fired  at  the  crowd, 
and  this  produced  an  almost  instantaneous  retreat;  though  the  savages, 
mindful  even  in  the  midst  of  danger  of  the  gratification  of  their  appetite, 
took  care  to  carry  along  with  them  the  bodies  of  their  fallen  enemies ;  in 
order,  by  feasting  upon  them  at  their  leisure,  to  derive  some  trilling  comfort 
from  their  disaster. 

The  business  now  was  to  retire  as  quickly  as  possible  from  the  island, 
which  they  did  ;  and  having  again  entered  Behring's  Strait,  and  sailed  about 
for  some  time  among  the  ices  of  the  Polar  Sea,  they  returned  by  way  of 
China  and  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  to  England,  after  an  absence  of  four 
years  and  three  months. 

In  1782  Ledyard  sailed  on  board  an  English  man-of-war  for  America, 
not  with  a  design  to  serve  against  his  country,  but  determined  on  seizing 
the  first  occasion  of  escape  which  should  offer  itself.  An  opportunity  scon 
occurred.  On  arriving  at  Long  Island,  then  in  the  possession  of  the  English, 
he  obtained  permission  of  seven  days'  absence  from  the  ship,  for  the  purpose 
of  seeing  his  mother,  who  then  kept  a  boarding-house  at  Southold,  occupied 
chiefly  by  British  officers.  "He  rode  up  to  the  door,  alighted,  went  in,  and 
asked  if  he  could  be  accommodated  in  her  house  as  a  lodger.  She  replied 
that  he  could,  and  showed  him  a  room  into  which  his  baggage  was  con 
veyed.  After  having  adjusted  his  dress,  he  came  out  and  took  a  seat  by 
the  fire,  in  company  with  several  other  officers,  without  making  himself 
known  to  his  mother,  or  entering  into  conversation  with  any  person. 
She  frequently  passed  and  repassed  through  the  room,  and  her  eye  was 
observed  to  be  attracted  toward  him  with  more  than  usual  attention.  He 
still  remained  silent.  At  last,  after  looking  at  him  steadily  for  some  min 
utes,  she  deliberately  put  on  her  spectacles,  approached  nearer  to  him, 
begging  his  pardon  for  her  rudeness,  and  telling  him  that  he  so  much 
resembled  a  son  of  hers,  who  had  been  absent  for  eight  years,  that  she  could 
not  resist  her  inclination  to  view  him  more  closely.  The  scene  that  followed 
may  be  imagined,  but  not  described  ;  for  Ledyard  had  a  tender  heart,  and. 
affection  for  his  mother  was  among  its  deepest  and  most  constant  e-notious." 

He  now  visited  his  old  friends  and  many  of  the  places  which  youthful 
recollections  rendered  dear  to  him.  He  was  everywhere  well  received,  and 
employed  the  leisure  which  he  now  enjoyed  for  several  months,  in  writing 


OF  AMERICANS.  99 

an  account  of  his  voyage  round  the  world  with  Captain  Cook.  But  when 
this  was  done,  many  'motives,  among  which  want  of  money  was  not  the 
least,  urged  him  to  enter  upon  some  new  plan  of  life.  His  favorite  project 
at  this  time,  and  indeed  throughout  the  remainder  of  his  life,  was  a  voyage 
of  commerce  and  discovery  to  the  northwestern  coast  of  America;  and 
during  the  remainder  of  his  stay  in  his  native  country  he  made  numerous 
efforts  to  obtain  wealthy  co-operators  in  his  design.  Being  constantly  dis 
appointed,  however,  he  once  more  turned  his  thoughts  toward  Europe, 
where  the  spirit  of  speculation  was  bolder  and  more  liberal,  and  proceeded 
to  France.  Here  his  projects  were  eage-rly  patronized,  and  as  easily 
abandoned  ;  and  during  a  long  stay,  both  at  L'Orient  and  Paris,  he  subsisted 
by  shifts  and  expedients,  associating  by  turns  with  every  variety  of  char 
acter,  from  Jefferson  down  to  Paul  Jones. 

How  he  existed  at  all,  unless  upon  the  bounty  of  his  friends,  is  altogether 
inexplicable.  He  was  now  reduced  to  the  character  of  a  mere  adventurer, 
and  his  life,  during  this  period,  affords  no  incidents  worthy  of  being 
described.  An  Englishman,  who  had  given  him  fifteen  guineas  at  St. 
Germain,  shortly  afterward  invited  him  to  London,  and  procured  him  a 
passage  in  a  ship  bound  for  the  Pacific  Ocean,  with  a  promise  from  the 
captain  that  he  would  set  him  on  shore  upon  any  point  of  the  northwest 
coast  which  he  might  choose.  He  now  once  more  appeared  to  be  verging 
toward  the  accomplishment  of  his  dearest  wishes.  He  embarked ;  the 
vessel  sailed  down  the  Thames,  and  put  out  to  sea  ;  but  before  they  were 
out  of  sight  of  land,  the  ship  was  brought  back  by  an  order  from  the  govern 
ment,  and  the  voyage  was  finally  abandoned. 

Ledyard's  enthusiasm,  however,  in  the  prosecution  of  his  designs,  though 
it  is  probable  that  few  could  perceive  the  advantages  to  be  derived  from 
their  accomplishment,  procured  him  many  friends  in  London  ;  and  it  is  said 
that  a  subscription  was  set  on  foot  by  Sir  Joseph  Banks,  Dr.  Hunter,  Sir 
James  Hall,  and  Colonel  Smith.  From  the  result  of  this  measure,  we  must 
inevitably  infer  one  or  two  things — either  that  the  liberality  of  those  gentle 
men  was  exceedingly  scanty,  or  that  their  opinion  of  Ledyard's  prudence 
was  very  low.  From  several  circumstances  which  afterward  took  place,  the 
latter  is  the  more  probable  inference.  Be  this  as  it  may,  we  find  him,  on 
his  arrival  at  Hamburgh,  with  no  more  than  ten  guineas  in  his  pocket ;  and 
these,  with  reckless  and  unpardonable  absurdity,  he  bestowed  upon  a  Major 
Langhorn,  an  eccentric  vagabond,  who,  after  accepting  his  money  and 
reducing  him  to  beggary,  coolly  refused  to  bear  him  company  on  his 
journey  to  Petersburg ;  alleging,  as  his  excuse,  that  he  could  travel  in  the 
way  he  did  with  no  man  upon  earth.  What  his  mode  of  traveling  was,  we 
have  no  means  of  ascertaining ;  but  from  his  conduct  in  this  transaction,  it 
may  be  inferred,  without  any  great  stretch  of  uncharitableness,  that  Ledyarrt 
was  fortunate  in  getting  rid  of  such  a  companion  at  the  expense  of  all  he 
was  worth  in  the  world.  The  man  who  is  insensible  of  a  generous  action, 
could  be  no  desirable  companion  in  any  circumstances  of  life ;  but  to  be 
linked  with  such  an  individual  in  traversing  a  foreign  land,  would  have 
been  a  curse  which  few  who  have  not  experienced  a  similar  calamity  can 
conceive. 


100  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

Having  at  the  same  time  bade  adieu  to  his  money  and  the  graceless 
major,  he  began  to  experience  the  effects  of  his  folly ;  for  had  he  not,  by 
singular  good  fortune,  found  a  merchant  who  consented  to  accept  a  bill  on  a 
friend  in  London,  and  pay  him  the  amount,  his  travels  must  have  terminated 
where  he  was.  This  supply,  however,  enabled  him  to  pursue  his  route. 

On  arriving  at  Stockholm,  Ledyard  found  that  the  Gulf  of  Bothnia  was 
neither  sufficiently  frozen  to  enable  him  to  cross  it  upon  the  ice,  nor  yet  free 
enough  from  ice  to  be  navigable.  Under  these  circumstances  he  formed  the 
daring  resolution  of  traveling  round  the  gulf,  a  distance  of  twelve  hundred 
miles,  "over  trackless  snows,  in  regions  thinly  peopled,  where  the  nights  are 
long,  and  the  cold  intense — and  all  this  to  gain  no  more  than  fifty  miles." 
Accordingly,  he  set  out  for  Tornea,  in  the  depth  of  winter,  on  foot,  with 
little  money  in  his  pocket,  and  no  friends  to  whom  he  could  apply  when 
his  small  stock  should  be  exhausted.  Of  this  part  of  his  travels  no  account 
remains.  Other  travelers  who  have  visited  Tornea  in  winter,  under  the 
most  favorable  circumstances,  describe  in  tremendous  colors  the  horrors  of 
the  place.  "The  place,"  says  Maupertuis,  "on  our  arrival,  on  the  30th  of 
December,  had  really  a  most  frightful  aspect.  Its  little  houses  were  buried 
to  the  tops  in  snow,  which,  if  there  had  been  any  daylight,  must  have 
effectually  shut  it  out.  But  the  snow  continually  falling,  or  ready  to  fall, 
for  the  most  part,  hid  the  sun  the  few  moments  that  he  might  have  showed 
himself  at  midday.  In  the  month  of  January  the  cold  was  increased  to  the 
extremity,  that  Reaumur's  mercurial  thermometers,  which,  in  Paris,  in  the 
great  frost  of  1709,  it  was  thought  strange  to  see  fall  to  fourteen  degrees 
below  the  freezing  point,  were  now  down  to  thirty-seven.  The  spirit  of 
wine  in  the  others  was  frozen.  If  we  opened  the  door  of  a  warm  room,  the 
external  air  instantly  converted  all  the  air  in  it  into  snow,  whirling  it  round 
in  white  vortices.  If  we  went  abroad,  we  felt  as  if  the  air  were  tearing  our 
breasts  to  pieces.'* 

Such  was  the  country  through  which  Ledyard  made  his  way  to  Peters 
burg,  which  he  reached  on  the  20th  of  March,  that  is,  within  seven  weeks 
from  his  leaving  Stockholm,  making  the  distance  traveled  over,  about  two 
hundred  miles  per  week,  upon  an  average.  Here  he  was  well  received  by 
Professor  Pallas  and  other  scientific  men  ;  and  through  the  interest  of  Count 
Segur,  the  French  embassaclor,  obtained  the  empress'  permission  to  traverse 
her  vast  dominions.  As  he  was  compelled  to  wait  several  months,  how 
ever,  for  this  indispensable  document,  and  was  destitute,  on  his  arrival  at 
Petersburg,  of  money,  and  almost  of  clothes,  he  drew  a  bill  of  twenty 
guineas  on  Sir  Joseph  Banks,  which  he  was  fortunate  enough  to  get  some 
one  to  discount.  This  enabled  him  to  await  the  leisure  of  Catharine,  who 
was  too  deeply  plunged  in  her  schemes  of  debauchery  and  ambition,  to 
afford  a  thought  on  a  poor  houseless  wanderer  like  Ledyard.  But  at  length 
the  passport  was  granted  ;  and  a  Dr.  Brown  happening  at  that  moment  to 
be  proceeding  with  a  quantity  of  stores  to  Yakutsk,  for  the  use  ®f  Mr. 
Billings,  who  was  then  employed  by  the  empress  in  exploring  the  remoter 
parts  of  Siberia  and  Kamtschatka,  our  traveler  obtained  permission  to 
accompany  him. 

They  left  Petersburg  on  the  1st  of  June,  and  in  six  days  after  arrived  at 


OF  AMERICANS.  101 

Moscow.  Here  they  nired  a  kibjtka,  and  proceeded  at  the  same  rapid  rate 
toward  Kezan,  on  the  Volga,  where  they  remained  a  week  ;  and  then  set  off 
on  the  full  gallop  for  Tobolsk.  It  should  be  remarked,  that  Ledyard's 
object  in  this  journey  was  not  to  see  the  country,  but  to  reach  the  north 
west  coast  of  America,  where  he  hoped  to  make  some  useful  discoveries,  as 
quickly  as  possible  ;  otherwise  it  would  have  been  far  wiser  to  have  "made 
his  legs  his  compasses,"  at  the  risk  of  consuming  years  in  the  journey.  In 
the  vast  plain  which  stretches  from  Moscow  to  the  Ural  Mountains,  there 
was,  it  is  true,  very  little  of  the  picturesque,  and  not  much  of  the  moral,  to 
captivate  the  eye  or  interest  the  mind  of  a  traveler  ;  but  there  is  no  country, 
the  careful  examination  of  which  may  not  be  made  to  yield  both  amuse 
ment  and  instruction.  Ledyard,  however,  was  not  answerable  for  the 
rapidity  of  his  movements ;  he  accounted  himself  but  too  happy  in  being 
allowed  to  share  Dr.  Brown's  kibitka ;  and  had  it  been  in  the  empress' 
power  to  have  darted  him  across  Siberia  upon  an  iceberg,  or  astride  upon  a 
cloud,  he  would  not  have  objected  to  the  conveyance. 

From  Tobolsk  they  proceeded  to  Bernaoul,  the  capital  of  the  province  of 
Kolyvan,  where  Dr.  Brown's  journey  terminated.  At  this  place  Ledyard 
remained  a  whole  week,  and  was  entertained  in  a  very  hospitable  manner 
by  the  treasurer  of  the  mines.  He  observes,  that  the  immense  plain  he  had 
traversed  in  reaching  this  city,  was  in  many  places  dotted  with  large  mounds 
of  earth,  which  very  much  resembled  those  supposed  monumental  piles 
found  among  various  tribes  of  North  America,  and  the  barrows  or  heroic 
tombs  of  ancient  Europe.  In  the  people  the  Tartar  features  began  to 
appear  before  they  reached  Kazan.  But  there  existed  great  variety  in  the 
population  ;  the  same  village  containing  every  variety  of  mankind,  from 
those  with  fair  skin,  light  hair,  and  white  eyes,  to  those  of  olive  complexion, 
and  jet-black  eyes  and  hair.  Poverty,  as  may  be  supposed,  was  no  stranger 
in  these  villages ;  for  they  had  not,  like  the  Chremylus  of  Aristophanes, 
discovered  the  secret  of  restoring  sight  to  Plutus  ;  but  this  did  not  dis 
courage  the  fair  moieties  of  the  peasants  from  painting  their  faces,  like  a 
discontented  English  beauty,  both  with  red  and  white.  As  these  damsels 
are  not  niggardly  of  their  kisses,  it  would  be  useless  for  them  to  adopt  tho 
custom  which  prevailed  among  the  ancient  Greek  ladies,  of  painting  the 
lips  ;  but  this,  it  would  seem,  is  the  sole  consideration  which  opposes  the 
introduction  of  the  custom.  "  The  Tartar,  however  situated,"  says  Ledyard, 
"is  a  voluptuary  ;  and  it  is  an  original  and  striking  trait  in  their  character, 
from  the  grand  seignior  to  him  who  pitches  his  tent  on  the  wild  frontiers  of 
Russia  and  China,  that  they  are  more  addicted  to  real  sensual  pleasure  than 
any  other  people."  This  is  a  judicious  remark,  and  corroborates  the  testi 
mony  of  the  ancient  historian,  who  tells  us  that  the  Scythian  ladies  were 
accustomed  to  put  out  the  eyes  of  their  male  slaves,  that  they  might  be 
ignorant  of  the  name  and  quality  of  the  mistresses  to  whose  wantonness 
they  were  made  subservient. 

From  Bernaoul  he  proceeded  with  an  imperial  courier  to  Tomsk,  discover 
ing,  as  he  rode  along,  marks  of  the  tremendous  winds  which  sometimes 
devastate  Siberia.  The  trees  of  the  forest  were  uprooted,  and  whole  fields 
of  grain  were  beaten  into  the  earth.  Hurrying  onward  in  the  same  rapid 


102  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

manner,  he  crossed  the  Yeiusei  at  Krasnojarsk,  and  entered  a  rough,  moun 
tainous  country,  covered  with  thick  forests,  which  continued  all  the  way  to 
Irkutsk,  where  he  arrived  in  ten  days  after  leaving  Tomsk. 

During  his  stay  in  this  town,  he  made  an  excursion,  in  company  with  a 
German  colonel,  to  the  Lake  Baikal,  which,  in  the  Kalmuck  language, 
signifies  the  "North  Sea."  Arriving  on  the  shores  of  the  lake,  they 
found  a  galliot,  which,  in  summer,  plies  a  packet  across  the  "North 
Sea."  In  this  galliot  they  went  out  with  line  and  lead  to  take  sound 
ings ;  but  having  only  fifty  fathoms  of  line,  which  at  one  hundred  feet 
from  the  shore  was  wholly  taken  up,  they  quickly  abandoned  theif 
soundings,  and  returned  through  the  rain  in  the  galliot's  boat  to 
Irkutsk. 

On  the  26th  of  August,  he  quitted  Irkutsk,  and  proceeded  toward  the 
point  where  he  was  to  embark  on  the  River  Lena  for  Yakutsk.  The  country 
in  this  part  was  well  cultivated,  and  therefore  cheerful ;  but  the  forest  trees 
had  already  begun  to  drop  their  foliage,  and  put  on  the  garb  of  autumn. 
Having  proceeded  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  in  his  kibitka,  he  embarked 
with  Lieutenant  Laxman,  a  Swede,  in  a  boat  on  the  Lena,  and  commenced 
a  voyage  of  fourteen  hundred  miles.  Their  boat  was  carried  along  at  the 
rate  of  eighty  or  a  hundred  miles  per  day,  "  the  river  gradually  increasing 
in  size,  and  the  mountain  scenery  putting  on  an  infinite  variety  of  forms, 
alternately  sublime  and  picturesque,  bold  and  fantastic,  with  craggy  rocks 
and  jutting  headlands,  bearing  on  their  brows  the  verdure  of  pines,  larches, 
and  other  evergreens  and  alpine  shrubs."  All  the  way  to  Yakutsk  the 
river  was  studded  with  islands,  which  recurring  at  short  intervals,  added  to 
the  romantic  effect  of  the  scenery  ;  but  the  weather  was  growing  cold,  and 
heavy  fogs  hung  over  the  river  until  a  late  hour  in  the  morning.  The 
mountains  flanking  the  river  were  said  to  abound  with  wolves  and  bears ; 
and  there  was  an  abundance  of  wild  fowl,  of  which  our  travelers  shot  as 
many  as  they  pleased.  Salmon-trout  were  plentiful  in  the  river ;  and  the 
inhabitants  fished  with  seines,  and  also  with  spears,  like  the  natives  of 
Tahiti,  by  torchlight. 

On  the  18th  of  September  he  arrived  at  Yakutsk,  where  he  immediately 
waited  on  the  commandant  with  his  letters  of  recommendation,  and  ex 
plained  his  desire  of  proceeding  with  all  possible  celerity  to  Okotsk,  before 
winter  should  shut  in  and  cut  off  his  progress.  The  commandant,  however, 
had  received  secret  orders  to  detain  him  ;  and  under  pretense  that  the  season 
was  already  too  far  advanced,  informed  him  that  he  must  pass  the  winter  at 
Yakutsk.  Though  nothing  could  exceed  the  rage  and  vexation  of  Ledyard 
at  this  unexpected  disappointment,  he  was  sensible  that  it  was  necessary  to 
submit ;  the  determination  of  the  despots  around  him  being  as  irresistible 
as  destiny.  He  therefore  bent  his  attention  to  the  consideration  of  the 
objects  within  his  reach ;  and  in  these  compulsory  studies  awaited  the  return 
of  spring. 

In  the  journal  of  his  Siberian  travels,  he  discourses  upon  a  variety  of 
interesting  topics.  Among  these  was  his  celebrated  eulogy  on  woman.  Thia 
is  regarded  as  the  most  beautiful  and  touching  tribute  to  the  moral  superi 
ority  of  the  female  character  in  the  whole  range  of  literature.  It  shows  one 


OF  AMERICANS. 


103 


of  the  sources  of  consolation  to  the  lone  traveler  in  his  wanderings  over  the 
world ;  and  exhibits,  also,  the  warm  affections  of  a  grateful  heart  toward 
the  sex,  to  whom  alone  can  be  applied,  the  loving,  tender  words — "  sister," 
"wife,"  "mother." 


LEDYARD  8   EULOGY    ON    WOMAN. 

"  I  have  observed  among  all  nations  that  the  WOMEN  ornament 
themselves  more  thau  the  men  :  that  wherever  found  they  are  the 
same  kind,  civil,  ohligiug,  humane,  tender  heings  j  that  they  are 
ever  inclined  to  be  gay  and  cheerful,  timorous  and  modest.  They 
do  not  hesitate,  like  man,  to  perform  a  hospitable,  generous  action ; 
not  haughty,  nor  arrogant,  nor  supercilious,  but  full  of  courtesy, 
aud  fond  of  society ;  industrious,  economical,  ingenuous ;  more 
liable,  in  general,  to  err  thau  man,  but  in  general,  also,  more 
virtuous,  and  performing  more  good  actions  than  he.  I  never 
addressed  myself  in  the  language  of  decency  and  friendship  to  a 
WOMAN,  whether  civilized  or  savage,  without  receiving  a  decent  and 
friendly  answer.  With  man  it  has  often  been  otherwise.  In 
wandering  over  the  barren  plains  of  inhospitable  Denmark,  through 
honest  Sweden,  frozen  Lapland,  rude  and  churlish  Finland,  un 
principled  Russia,  and  the  wide-spread  regions  of  the  wandering 
Tartar,  if  hungry,  dry,  cold,  wet,  or  sick,  WOMAN  has  ever  been 
friendly  to  me,  and  uniformly  so ;  and  to  add  to  this  virtue  so 
worthy  of  the  appellation  of  benevolence,  these  actions  have  been 
performed  in  so  free  and  so  kind  a  manner,  that  if  I  was  dry  I 
drank  the  sweet  draught,  aud  if  hungry,  ate  the  coarse  morsel  with 
a  double  relish." 


During  Ledyard's  weary  sojourn  at  Yakutsk,  Captain  Billings,  who  had  been 
on  an  expedition  by  order  of  the  Empress  Catherine,  arrived  in  the  place.  He 
was  formerly  intimate  with  Ledyard,  having  been  an  assistant  to  the  as 
tronomer  Bayless,  during  the  last  voyage  of  Cook.  He  was  astonished  and 
gratified  at  meeting  with  Ledyard  in  the  heart  of  Siberia.  Remaining  there 
during  five  weeks,  they  set  out  together  for  Irkutsk  in  sledges  over  the  ice 
of  the  river  Lena,  a  distance  of  fifteen  hundred  miles,  which  they  reached  in 
seventeen  days  ;  there,  by  order  of  the  empress,  Ledyard  was  arrested  on  the 
24:th  of  the  ensuing  February,  upon  a  false  allegation  that  he  was  a  French 
spy.  He  was  closely  guarded,  whirled  in  sledges  over  the  snow,  through 
the  intense  cold  of  a  Siberian  winter  to  Moscow,  to  answer  the  charge.  In 
this  condition  he  wrote  the  following  :  "  My  ardent  hopes  are  once  more 
blasted,  when  almost  half  accomplished.  What  secret  machinations  have 
been  at  work  ?  What  motive  ?  But  so  it  suits  her  royal  majesty  of  all  the 
Russias,  and  she  has  nothing  but  her  pleasure  to  consult ;  she  has  n 
nation's  resentment  to  apprehend,  for  I  am  the  minister  of  no  State,  L 
monarch ;  I  travel  under  the  common  flag  of  humanity,  commissioned  by 
myself  to  serve  the  world  at  large ;  and  so  the  poor,  the  unprotected 
wanderer,  must  go  where  the  sovereign  will  ordains ;  if  to  death,  why  then 
my  journeying  will  be  over  sooner,  and  rather  differently  from  what  I  con- 


104  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

templated  ;  if  otherwise,  why  then  the  royal  dame  has  taken  me  much  out 
of  my  way.  But  I  pursue  another  route.  The  rest  of  the  world  lies  un- 
interdicted.  Though  born  in  the  freest  of  the  civilized  countries,  yet  in 
the  present  state  of  privation,  I  have  a  more  exquisite  sense  of  the  amiable, 
the  immortal  nature  of  liberty,  than  I  ever  had  before."  He  continues  these 
remarks  at  some  length,  deploring  his  arrest,  as  an  interference  with  hia 
plans,  but  bowing  with  submissive  stoicism  to  the  strokes  of  fate. 

The  result  of  his  arrest,  was  his  banishment  to  the  frontiers  of  Poland, 
and  being  forbidden  on  pain  of  death  to  re-enter  the  Russian  dcminions. 
Speaking  of  this,  he  says  :  "  Cruelties  and  hardships  are  tales  I  leave  untold. 
I  was  disappointed  in  the  pursuit  of  an  object  on  which  my  future  fortune 
entirely  depended.  I  know  not  how  I  passed  through  the  kingdoms  of 
Polar  1  and  Prussia,  or  from  thence  to  London,  where  I  arrived  in  the 
beginning  of  May,  disappointed,  ragged,  penniless;  and  yet,  so  accustomed 
am  I  to  such  tilings,  that  I  declare  my  heart  was  whole.  My  health,  for 
the  first  time,  had  suffered  from  my  confinement,  and  the  amazing  rapidity, 
with  which  I  had  been  carried  through  the  illimitable  wilds  of  Tartary  and 
Russia.  But  my  liberty  regained,  and  a  few  days'  rest  among  the  beautiful 
daughters  of  Isreal,  in  Poland,  re-established  it,  and  I  am  now  in  as  full 
bloom  and  vigor  as  thirty-seven  years  will  afford  any  man.  Jarvis  says  I 
look  much  older  than  when  he  saw  me  three  summers  ago  at  Paris,  which 
I  can  readily  believe.  An  American  face  does  not  wear  well,  like  an 
American  heart. 

It  would  be  now  idle  to  inquire  into  the  motives  which  urged  that  old 
profligate  despot,  the  Empress  Catherine,  into  such  an  act  of  flagrant  injus 
tice,  as  the  seizure  of  Ledyard.  She  had,  no  doubt,  been  told  that  his 
success  might  be  in  some  way  or  another  detrimental  to  her  commerce  ;  and 
without  consideration  or  inquiry,  perhaps  in  one  of  her  furious  fits  of  rage 
or  drunkenness,  she  issued  the  order  for  his  recall,  which  was  executed 
with  no  less  barbarity  than  it  was  given. 

On  his  arrival  at  London,  Ledyard,  unsubdued  by  the  bitterness  of  past 
disappointments,  determined  to  enter  upon  some  new  theater  of  adventure; 
for,  in  his  case,  as  with  wanderers  generally,  the  passion  for  travel  but  in 
creased  by  indulgence. 

At  this  time  he  wrote  an  affectionate  letter  to  his  mother,  from  which  the 
following  is  an  extract :  "I  wrote  you  last  from  this  place  nearly  two  years 
ago,  but  I  suppose  you  heard  of  me  at  Petersburg!!,  by  Mr.  Franklin,  of 
New  York.  I  promised  to  write  you  from  the  remote  parts  of  Siberia.  I 
promise  everything  to  those  I  love,  and  so  does  fortune  to  me  sometimes  ; 
but  we  reciprocally  prevent  each  other  from  fulfilling  our  engagements. 
$Ae  left  me  so  poor  in  Siberia  that  I  could  not  write  you,  because  I  could  not 
frank  tlie  letter ! "  He  goes  on  to  explain  the  nature  of  his  anticipated  trip 
to  Africa,  speaks  of  his  engagement  with  the  association,  and  amplifies  upon 
its  expected  results,  giving  assurances  in  the  meantime  of  his  most  intense 
filial  love.  He  also  sent  her  specimens  of  the  wearing  apparel  he  had  used 
in  Siberia :  "  Such  as  I  have  worn,"  he  says,  "  through  many  a  scene,  and 
was  glad  to  get  them." 

"  The  surtout  coat  is  made  of  reindeer  skin,  and  edged  with  the  dewlap  of 
the  moose.  It  was  made  for  a  riding  coat,  and  I  have  rode  both  horses  and 


OP  AMERICANS.  105 

deer  with  it.  The  first  cap  is  of  the  Siberian  red  fox  skin  ;  it  is  a  traveling 
cap,  and  the  form  is  entirely  Tartar.  The  second  cap  is  Kussian,  consisting 
of  white  ermine,  and  bordered  with  blue  fox  skin ;  it  cost  me  at  Yakutsk 
twenty-five  roubles,  which  is  four  guineas  and  one  rouble.  The  surtout 
coat  cost  seventy  roubles  ;  and  the  fox  skin  cap,  six.  The  gloves  are  made 
of  the  feet  of  the  fox,  and  lined  with  Tartar  hare,  and  cost  five  roubles. 
The  frock  is  in  form  and  style  truly  Tartar.  It  was  presented  to  me,  and 
came  from  the  borders  of  the  Frozen  Ocean,  at  the  mouth  of  the  river 
Kolyma.  It  is  made  of  a  spotted  reindeer  calf;  the  edging  is  the  same  as 
that  on  the  surtout. 

The  boots  are  of  reindeer  skin,  ornamented  with  European  cloth  ;  the 
form  is  Tartar  :  they  cost  eight  roubles.  The  socks  are  made  of  the  skin  of 
an  old  reindeer.  The  cloak  in  which  they  are  wrapped  up,  was  made  in 
London.  I  traveled  on  foot  with  it  in  Denmark,  Sweden,  Lapland,  Fin 
land — the  Lord  knows  where.  I  have  slept  in  it,  eat  in  it,  drank  in  it, 
fought  in  it,  negotiated  in  it.  Through  every  scene,  it  has  been  my  constant 
and  hardy  servant,  from  my  departure  till  my  return  to  London.  And  now 
to  give  it  an  asylum — for  I  have  none — I  send  it  to  you.  Lay  it  up ;  as 
soon  .as  I  can  I  will  call  and  lay  myself  up  with  it."  It  seems  that  he  sent 
his  mother  nearly  a  complete  suit  of  his  traveling  clothes,  sufficient,  at  any 
rate,  to  give  a  correct  idea  of  her  erratic  son's  appearance,  among  the  frozen 
wilds  of  Siberia.  'T  was  well  he  did — he  never  "  called  and  laid  himself 
up  with  them." 

Another  field  was  now  opened  to  the  enterprise  of  Ledyard.  He  was 
taken  into  the  service  of  the  African  Association,  which  was  composed  of 
gome  of  the  first  characters  in  England,  the  object  of  which  was  to  promote 
discoveries  in  the  interior  of  that  continent. 

"  For  many  ages  the  continent  of  Africa  had  be-en  a  neglected  portion  of 
the  globe,  of  which  the  rest  of  the  world  had  taken  little  account.  The 
learning,  and  splendor,  and  prowess  of  Egypt  were  departed  ;  Carthage,  with 
all  its  glory,  had  sunk  into  the  dust;  the  proud  monuments  of  Numidian 
greatness  had  been  blotted  from  the  face  of  the  earth,  and  almost  from  the 
memory  of  man.  The  gloom  of  this  scene  was  heightened,  not  more  by 
the  ravages  of  time  in  destroying  what  had  been,  than  by  the  contrasts 
which  succeeding  changes  had  produced.  A  semibarbarous  population, 
gathered  from  the  wrecks  of  fallen  nations,  enemies  to  the  arts,  and  to  the 
best  social  interests  of  man,  had  gradually  spread  themselves  over  the  whole 
northern  borders  of  Africa,  and  presented  a  barrier  to  the  hazards  of  enter 
prise,  no  less  than  to  the  inroads  of  civilization.  Whatever  might  be  the 
ardor  for  discovery,  and, the  disregard  of  danger,  nobody  cared  to  penetrate 
into  these  regions,  where  all  was  uncertainty,  and  where  the  chance  of 
success  bore  no  proportion  to  the  perils  that  must  be  encountered. 

There  is  no  question,  that  the  northern  half  of  Africa  was  better  known  to 
the  Romans  at  the  time  of  Julius  Csesar,  than  to  the  Europeans  in  the  mid 
dle  of  the  eighteenth  century,  A  few  scattered  names  of  rivers,  towns,  and 
nations,  occupied  the  map  of  the  interior,  traced  there  by  a  hesitating  hand, 
on  the  dubious  authority  of  the  Nubian  geographer  Edrissi,  and  the  Spanish 
traveler  Leo  Africanus.  The  rhymes  of  Swift  on  this  subject,  were  not  mow 
witty  than  true. 


106  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

"  Geographers,  in  Afric  maps, 
With  savage  pictures  fill. their  gaps, 
And  o'er  unhabitable  downs, 
Place  elephants,  for  want  of  towns." 

At  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century,  Leo  penetrated  as  far  as  Timbuc- 
too  and  the  Niger ;  but  so  imperfect  were  his  descriptions,  even  of  what  ha 
saw,  that  very  little  geographical  knowledge  was  communicated  by  them. 
He  was  on  the  banks  of  the  Niger ;  but  it  could  not  be  ascertained  from  his 
account,  whether  this  river  ran  to  the  east  or  west,  nor,  indeed,  whether  :t 
existed  as  a  separate  stream. 

In  short,  down  to  the  time  when  the  African  Association  was  formed, 
almost  the  whole  of  this  vast  continent,  its  geography  and  physical  resources, 
its  inhabitants,  governments,  languages,  were  a  desideratum  in  the  history 
of  nature  and  of  man.  It  could  not  be  doubted,  that  many  millions  of 
human  beings  inhabited  these  hidden  regions.  Nor  were  the  character  and 
condition  of  these  people,  their  institutions  and  social  advancement,  mer3 
matters  of  curiosity  ;  they  had  a  relation  to  the  people  of  other  parts  of  tb.3 
globe,  and,  when  discovered  and  understood,  might  be  turned  to  the  corn- 
mon  advantage  of  the  great  human  family.  There  are  no  nations  that  may 
not  profit  by  an  intercourse  between  each  other,  either  by  an  exchange  of 
products  peculiar  to  each,  or  by  a  reciprocal  moral  influence,  or  by  both. 
On  these  broad  and  benevolent  principles  the  society  for  promoting  dis 
coveries  in  Africa  was  instituted,  and  the  scheme  was  worthy  of  the  en- 
lightened  philanthropists  by  whom  it  was  devised." 

On  the  committee  of  the  African  Association,  at  the  time  the  arrange 
ment  with  Ledyard  was  made,  was  Sir  Joseph  Banks,  through  whose 
agency  he  became  connected  with  the  enterprise.  The  preliminary  inter 
view  which  Ledyard  had  with  Sir  Joseph  on  this  subject,  is  thus  described 
by  Mr.  Beaujoy,  then  secretary  of  the  African  Association  :  "  Sir  Joseph 
Banks,  who  knew  his  temper,  told  him  that  he  believed  he  could  recom 
mend  him  to  an  adventure  almost  as  perilous  as  the  one  from  which  he  had 
returned  ;  and  then  communicated  to  him  the  wishes  of  the  association,  for 
discovering  the  inland  countries  of  Africa.  Ledyard  replied,  that  he  had 
always  determined  to  traverse  the  continent  of  Africa,  as  soon  as  he  had 
explored  the  interior  of  North  America ;  and  as  Sir  Joseph  had  offered  him 
a  letter  of  introduction,  he  came  directly  to  the  writer  of  these  memoirs. 
Before  I  had  learned  from  the  note  the  name  and  business  of  my  visitor,  I 
was  struck  with  the  manliness  of  his  person,  the  breadth  of  his  chest,  the 
openness  of  his  countenance,  the  inquietude  of  his  eye.  I  spread  the  map 
of  Africa  before  him,  and  tracing  a  line  from  Cairo  to  Sennaar,  and  passed 
thence  in  the  latitude  and  supposed  direction  of  the  Niger,  I  told  him  that 
was  the  route  by  which  I  was  anxious  that  Africa  might,  if  possible,  be  ex 
plored.  He  said  he  should  think  himself  singularly  fortunate  to  be  trusted 
with  the  adventure.  I  asked  him  when  he  would  set  out.  '  TO-MORROW 
MORNING  ! '  was  his  answer.  I  told  him  I  was  afraid  that  we  should  not  be 
able,  in  so  short  a  time,  to  prepare  his  instructions,  and  to  procure  for  him 
the  letters  that  were  requisite  ;  but  that  if  the  committee  approved  of  hia 
proposals,  all  expedition  should  be  used." 


OF  AMERICANS.  107 

This  interview  is  one  of  the  most  wonderful  instances  of  decision  of 
character  on  record.  Notwithstanding  his  recent  bitter  experience,  enough 
to  have  crushed  the  most  romantic  enthusiasm,  Ledyard  was  ready  to  face 
death,  by  encountering  new  and  unheard-of  perils  in  the  heart  of  Africa. 
Any  other  man  would  long  have  hesitated  ere  they  would  have  decided  to 
embtrk  on  such  a  mission,  and  none,  except  the  bravest,  but  what  would 
then  have  quailed  in  view  of  its  dangers  :  yet  Ledyard,  superior  to  all  fear 
in  the  prompt  decision  of  an  elevated  spirit,  gave  the  unexpected  and  sur 
prising  answer  :  "  To-morrow  morning,  sir ! " 

Ledyard  was  in  a  situation  now  better  suited  to  his  wishes  and  nature, 
than  ever  before.  From  the  position  of  seeker,  he  had  attained,  by  the 
exhibition  of  his  superior  qualities,  that  of  the  sought,  and  with  entire  inde 
pendence  he  could  press  his  restless  foot  on  the  plains  of  Africa.  Buoyed 
up  with  expectation,  he  thus  wrote  to  his  mother  :  "  Truly  it  is  written, 
'  that  the  ways  of  God  are  past  finding  out,  and  his  decrees  unsearchable.' 
Is  the  Lord  thus  great  ?  So  also  he  is  good.  I  am  an  instance  of  it.  I 
have  trampled  the  world  under  my  feet,  laughed  at  fear,  and  derided 
danger.  Through  millions  of  fierce  savages,  over  parching  deserts,  the 
freezing  north,  the  everlasting  ice,  and  stormy  seas,  have  I  passed  without 
harm.  How  good  is  my  God  !  What  rich  subjects  have  I  for  praise,  love, 
and  adoration.  I  have  just  returned  to  England,  from  my  travels  of  two 
years,  and  am  going  away  into  Africa  to  examine  that  continent.  I  expect 
to  be  absent  three  years.  I  shall  be  in  Egypt  as  soon  as  I  can  get  there, 
and  after  that,  go  into  unknown  parts.  I  have  full  and  perfect  health. 
Remember  me  to  my  brothers  and  sisters.  Desire  them  to  remember  me, 
for  if  heaven  permits,  I  shall  see  them  again.  I  pray  God  to  bless  and 
comfort  you  all.  Farewell." 

The  character  he  intended  to  assume  in  Africa,  was  that  of  a  trader  in  a 
caravan,  which  was  very  appropriate  ;  such  persons  crossing  and  recrossing 
the  country  continually,  in  that  position  without  molestation. 

On  the  30th  of  June,  1788,  Ledyard.  for  the  last  time,  left  London,  en 
route  for  Africa.  On  the  morning  of  his  departure,  in  conversation  with  a 
friend,  he  spoke  as  follows,  concerning  his  checkered  life:  "I  am  accus 
tomed  to  hardships.  I  have  known  both  hunger  and  nakedness,  to  the 
utmost  extremity  of  human  suffering.  I  have  known  what  it  was  to  have 
food  given  me  as  charity  to  a  madman  ;  and  I  have  at  times  been  obliged  to 
shelter  myself  under  the  miseries  of  that  character,  to  avoid  a  heavier 
calamity.  My  distresses  have  been  greater  than  I  have  owned,  or  ever  will 
own  to  any  man.  Such  evils  are  terrible  to  bear ;  but  they  never  yet  had 
power  to  turn  me  from  my  purpose.  If  I  live,  I  will  faithfully  perform,  in 
its  utmost  extent,  my  engagement  to  the  society  ;  and  if  I  perish  in  the 
attempt,  my  honor  will  be  safe,  for  death  cancels  all  bonds." 

Ledyard  proceeded  direct  to  Paris,  where  he  had  encouraging  interviews 
with  Jefferson  and  Lafayette.  From  thence  he  went  to  Marseilles,  and 
crossed  the  Mediterranean  to  Alexandria,  in  Egypt,  and  passed  up  the  Nile 
to  Cairo.  From  Cairo  he  wrote  the  association  a  letter,  which  showed  his 
zeal  in  their  cause,  and  his  great  aims  in  life.  "  Money  ! "  exclaims  he,  "  is 
a  vile  slave  !  I  have  at  present  an  economy  of  a  more  exalted  kind  to 
observe.  I  have  the  eyes  of  some  of  the  first  men,  of  the  first  kingdom  OB 


108  ADVENTUKES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

earth  turned  upon  me.  I  am  engaged  by  those  very  men,  in  the  most  im 
portant  object  that  any  private  individual  can  be  engaged  in.  I  have  their 
approbation  to  acquire  or  to  lose;  and 'their  esteem,  also,  which  I  prize 
beyond  everything,  except  the  independent  idea  of  serving  mankind. 
Should  rashness  or  desperation  carry  me  through,  whatever  fame  the  vain 
and  injudicious  might  bestow,  I  should  not  accept  of  it ;  it  is  the  good  and 
great  I  look  to — Fame  bestowed  by  them  is  altogether  different,  and  ia 
closely  allied  to  a  'Well  done,'  from  God." 

But  little  remains  to  be  said  of  John  Ledyard ;  what  toil,  suffering,  and 
hardship  could  not  do,  was  accomplished  by  disease.  Expecting  soon  to 
start  with  the  caravan  for  Sinnaar,  and  ardently  anxious  to  accomplish  his 
mission  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  association,  he  wrote  a  long  letter  to  Jeffer 
son,  in  the  course  of  which  he  said  :  "  From  Cairo,  I  am  to  travel  southwest 
about  three  hundred  miles,  to  a  black  king.  Then  my  present  conductors 
will  leave  me  to  my  fate.  Beyond,  I  suppose,  I  shall  go  alone.  I  expect 
to  cut  the  continent  across,  between  the  parallels  of  twelve  and  twenty 
degrees  of  north  latitude.  If  possible,  I  shall  write  you  from  the  kingdom 
of  this  black  gentleman." 

This  was  the  last  letter  ever  known  to  have  been  written  by  Ledyard  to 
anyone  ;  the  next  arrivals  from  Cairo,  conveyed  the  mournful  intelligence  of 
his  death.  Exposed,  as  he  was,  to  the  heat  of  the  tropics  and  uncongenial 
atmospheric  influences,  in  the  midst  of  the  sickly  season,  he  became  the 
victim  of  a  severe  bilious  attack.  To  relieve  it,  he  took  a  large  dose  of 
vitriolic  acid,  which  produced  an  intense  burning  in  the  brain,  that  threatened 
the  most  serious  consequences.  Resort  was  had  to  a  tartar  emetic,  with 
hopes  that  the  acid  would  be  evacuated.  It  was  of  no  avail.  He  con 
tinued  to  sink  rapidly,  though  the  best  medical  skill  that  could  be  had  was 
called  into  requisition.  He  died  in  November,  1788,  in  the  38th  year  of 
his  age. 

Ledyard  was  amiable,  and  kind,  grateful  for  benefits,  humane,  and  re 
markable  for  his  disinterestedness.  His  primary  object  in  his  travels,  was  to 
benefit  mankind  by  his  discoveries.  Mr.  Beaujoy,  the  secretary  of  the 
African  Association,  thus  describes  him  :  "  To  those  who  have  never  seen 
Mr.  Ledyard,  it  may  not,  perhaps,  be  uninteresting  to  know  that  his  person, 
though  scarcely  exceeding  the  middle  size,  was  remarkably  expressive  of 
activity  and  strength,  arid  that  his  manners,  though  unpolished,  were  neither 
unpleasing  nor  uncivil.  Little  attentive  to  difference  of  rank,  he  seemed  to 
consider  all  men  as  his  equals,  and  as  such  he  respected  them.  His  genius, 
thougn  uncultivated  and  irregular,  was  original  and  comprehensive.  Ardent 
in,  his  wishes,  yet  calm  in  his  deliberations ;  daring  in  his  purposes,  but 
guarded  in  his  measures ;  impatient  of  control,  yet  capable  of  strong  endu 
rance  ;  adventurous  beyond  the  conception  of  ordinary  men,  yet  wary  and 
considerate,  and  attentive  to  all  precautions,  he  appeared  to  be  formed  by 
nature  for  achievements  of  hardihood  and  peril." 


THE  HEROIC  ADVENTURE 


FRANCIS    HUGER, 

fOJJNQ  MAN    OF   SOUTH   CAROLINA,  AND   OF  HIS   COMPANION,    DR.  BOLLMAN,    IN  THE1I 
ATTEMPTED   RESCUE   OF    GENERAL   LA    FAYETTE,    FROM    AN 

AUSTRIAN  PRISON  AT  OLMUTZ. 


DURING  the  frenzy  of  the  French  Revolution,  nearly  every  citizen,  emi 
nent  for  worth  or  public  services,  became,  in  turn,  the  object  of  suspicion 
and  denunciation  to  the  violent  men,  who  for  a  time  controlled  the  destinies 
of  France.  La  Fayette,  whose  devotion  to  the  cause  of  liberty  had  been 
proved  by  his  services  and  sacrifices  in  aid  of  the  revolted  American  Colo 
nies,  did  not  escape  the  common  fate  of  the  patriotic  and  the  good  in  that 
dark  day  of  distrust  and  terror. 

He  was  denounced  in  the  National  Assembly,  and  Danton  and  Brissot 
had  the  extreme  satisfaction  of  procuring  a  decree  of  accusation  to  be  passed 
against  him  in  that  body.  New  commissioners  were  appointed  and  dis 
patched  to  apprehend  him,  his  property  was  confiscated,  a  price  was  set  on 
his  head,  and  all  citizens  were  charged  to  assist  in  apprehending  him,  and 
were  authorized  to  kill  him  wherever  he  should  be  found.  Finding  that  no 
reliance  could  be  placed  on  his  army  for  protection,  but  that  defection  and 
desertion,  through  the  influence  of  the  Jacobin  terror,  were  increasing,;  and 
seeing,  under  such  circumstances,  no  prospect  of  benefiting  his  country,  La 
Fayette  decided  on  flight  as  the  only  means  of  saving  his  life. 

With -this  intention,  he  invited  three  of  his  friends,  Generals  Latour 
Maubourg,  Alexander  Lameth,  and  Bureau  de  Puzy,  the  commandant  of 
engineers,  to  come  to  his  tent  at  midnight  on  the  19th  of  August.  It  was 
decided  that  they  would  leave  an  ungrateful  country,  governed  by  a  faction, 
which  sought  for  their  blood,  and  that  they  would  cross  Brabant  and  reach 
Holland,  from  whence  they  could  embark  for  the  United  States  of  America. 

Early  the  next  day,  La  Fayette,  accompanied  by  his  three  friends,  who  had 
been  members  of  the  National  Assembly  with  him,  and  who  alone  were  in 
the  secret,  together  with  their  aids-de-camp,  and  a  part  of  their  staffj"  set 
off  on  horseback  as  if  to  reconnoiter.  Having  arrived  at  an  inn,  two  or 
three  leagues  from  the  camp,  they  dismounted  and  entered  the  house,  plac 
ing  sentinels  at  the  door  to  prevent  a  surprise  from  the  enemy's  patrols. 
General  La  Fayette  then  confided  to  these  officers,  twenty-three  in  number, 
the  state  of  the  country;  the  feelings  of  the  army;  the  before  unknown 
facts,  that  the  Jacobin  society,  and  the  municipality  of  Paris,  had  devoted 
him  to  proscription,  that  the  corporation  of  the  same  city  had  caused  the 
dies  of  the  medal,  which  was  to  have  been  struck  to  his  honor,  to  be  broken 

(109) 


110  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

by  the  hands  of  the  common  executioner,  and  that  he  was  declared  to  be  an 
enemy  to  his  country,  and  a  price  was  set  upon  his  head.  He  finished,  by 
informing  them  of  his  determination  to  quit  the  country  for  a  time,  and 
that  he  should  consider  as  his  enemy  any  man  who  should  propose  to  march 
against  her. 

Notwithstanding  this  injunction,  these  young  soldiers  unanimously  de 
clared,  that  there  was  but  one  way  left,  to  save  their  country  and  their 
general,  which  was  t3  march  directly  to  Paris,  and  disperse  the  Jacobin 
faction  at  once.  But  the  general  soon  convinced  them  that  such  a  step 
ought  not  to  be  thought  of,  and  as  none  of  them  had  been  proscribed  except 
himself,  he  thought  that  all  had  better  return  peaceably  and  immediately  to 
the  camp,  lest  their  absence  should  excite  suspicion. 

Notwithstanding  all  his  remonstrances  to  the  contrary,  several  of  them 
determined  to  leave  France,  and  share  the  fate  of  their  general,  whatever 
it  might  be.  These  young  men  were  the  two  Maubourgs,  Bureau  de  Puzy, 
Lameth,  Masson,  Rene,  Pillet,  and  Cardingan.  His  faithful  valet,  Ponten- 
nier,  and  Augustus  one  of  his  servants,  who  afterward  voluntarily  shared  all 
his  imprisonments  from  Luxembourg  to  Olmutz,  asked  the  liberty  to  follow 
their  master.  The  rest  were  persuaded  to  return,  and  take  with  them  La 
Fayette's  escort,  consisting  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  cavalry. 

La  Fayette  then  set  out  with  his  seven  companions,  harassed  with  the 
most  trying  reflections  upon  his  own  situation,  that  of  his  family  and  coun 
try,  and  upon  the  danger  which  threatened  him.  After  a  rapid  and  unin 
terrupted  journey,  they  arrived,  toward  night,  in  the  neighborhood  of  an 
advanced  guard  of  the  Austrian  army.  Here  they  halted,  and  deliberated 
upon  the  steps  to  be  taken.  It  was  near  eleven  o'clock  at  night,  none  of  them 
knew  the  road,  and  the  darkness  was  such  as  to  make  it  impossible  to  find  it. 
In  this  state  of  embarrassment,  rendered  more  so  from  the  fear  that  the  French 
were  in  pursuit  of  them,  they  determined  at  all  hazards  to  proceed,  and, 
without  discovering  their  names  or  rank,  to  demand  permission  of  the 
Austrian  commander  to  pass  him,  with  the  intention  of  taking  refuge  in 
Holland,  at  that  time  a  neutral  territory.  This  resolution  being  taken, 
Colonel  de  Puzy,  the  only  individual  of  the  party  who  spoke  German,  ad 
vanced  toward  the  Austrian  officer,  who  received  him  very  politely.  He 
informed  him  that  he  and  his  companions  had  deserted  from  the  French 
army,  finding  themselves  compelled  to  leave  the  country,  in  consequence  of 
intrigue  and  faction,  and  that  they  desired  a  safe  passage  into  Holland. 
The  officer  expressed  his  regret,  that  he  was  unable  to  give  a  decided  an 
swer,  without  first  consulting  his  superior;  but  that,  in  the  meantime,  he 
and  his  friends  were  welcome  to  rest  and  take  refreshments  in  his  tent,  as 
the  night  was  stormy.  De  Puzy  having  returned  and  made  his  report,  they 
set  out  for  the  Austrian  headquarters,  and  finally  were  conducted  to  Lux 
embourg. 

Immediately  on  their  arrival  at  this  fortress,  they  were  recognized  by  a 
crowd  of  refugees,  who,  looking  on  La  Fayette  as  one  of  the  first  promoters 
of  the  revolution,  treated  them  with  the  utmost  insolence  and  contempt 
Among  the  most  virulent  of  these  enraged  emigrants,  was  Prince  da 
Lambes,  who  rendered  himself  notorious  by  his  abuse  of  La  Fayette. 
As  soon  as  the  Governor  of  Luxembourg  recognized  La  Fayette.  he  con 


OF  AMERICANS.  HI 

fined  each  of  the  party  in  separate  rooms,  at  the  inn  where  they  had 
stopped,  and  placed  sentinels  at  their  doors.  They  protested  in  vain  against 
these  proceedings  and  Avrote  to  the  Duke  of  Saxe  Tschen,  for  the  purpose 
of  gaining  their  release,  and  obtaining  passports.  His  refusal  was  accompa 
nied  with  a  savage  and  useless  threat  of  a  public  execution;  and  they  re 
mained  in  a  state  of  close  confinement,  until  the  Governor  of  Luxembourg 
received  orders  from  the  Court  of  Vienna,  to  deliver  them  into  the  hands  of 
the  King  of  Prussia.  They  were  transported  in  a  common  cart,  like  crimi 
nals,  under  a  strong  escort  of  cavalry,  during  the  night,  from  Luxembourg  to 
Wesel,  being  confined  in  the  common  jails  of  the  country,  whenever  it 
was  found  necessary  to  stop.  La  Fayette's  valet,  only,  was  permitted  to 
ride  in  the  cart  with  his  master.  The  Austrians  sold  their  horses  and  arms, 
and  retained  the  money. 

At  Wesel,  the  populace  were  permitted  to  insult  them  in  the  most  savage 
manner.  Here  they  were  put  in  irons,  placed  in  separate  cells  in  the  castle, 
deprived  of  all  intercourse  with  each  other,  and  told  that  the  king  intended 
to  have  them  hanged,  as  wretches  who  deserved  no  favor.  From  Wesel, 
they  were  again  transported  in  a  cart  to  Magdeburg,  where  they  were  con 
fined  a  year,  in  a  dark  subterranean  dungeon,  and  during  this  time,  all  in 
formation  from  their  families  was  denied  them. 

The  King  of  Prussia  now  ordered  La  Fayette  to  be  transported  to  Silesia  ; 
General  Maubourg  solicited  and  obtained  permission  to  accompany  him. 
Here  they  were  confined  until  about  the  period  when  a  peace  was  settled  be 
tween  France  and  Prussia,  when  they  were  delivered  up  to  the  Austrian 
government,  and  were  conveyed  to  Olmutz. 

Here  they  were  informed,  as  they  were  incarcerated  in  separate  cells,  that 
they  would  never  again  see  anything  but  the  four  walls  of  their  prison 
house,  that  they  would  never  again  hear  a  human  voice  ;  their  very  names 
were  proscribed,  and  that  in  future  they  would  be  designated  in  dispatches 
to  government  by  the  numbers  of  their  respective  cells ;  and  lest  they 
should  destroy  themselves,  knives,  forks,  and  everything  that  could  be 
used  for  that  purpose,  would  be  interdicted. 

The  three  prisoners  they  abandoned  to  their  miserable  reflections,  were 
immured  in  the  dungeons  of  the  ancient  castle  of  the  Jesuits,  the  walls  of 
which  were  twelve  feet  thick,  and  into  which  air  is  admitted  through  an 
opening  two  feet  square,  which  is  secured  at  each  end  by  transverse  massive 
iron  bars.  Immediately  before  thes6  loopholes  was  a  broad  ditch,  which 
was  covered  with  water  only  when  it  rained,  and  at  other  times  was  a  stag 
nant  marsh,  from  which  a  poisonous  effluvium  was  constantly  exhaling ; 
and  beyond  this,  were  the  outer  walls  of  the  castle,  which  prevented  the 
slightest  breeze  from  passing  to  the  captives.  On  these  outer  walls  were,  in 
the  daytime,  four,  and  at  night  eight,  sentinels,  with  loaded  muskets,  con 
stantly  watching  the  prisoners,  and  forbidden,  on  pain  of  one  hundred 
lashes,  to  speak  a  word  with  them,  and  with  orders  to  shoot  them  dead,  if 
they  attempted  to  escape.  The  cellar  of  this  castle  had  a  large  saloon,  two 
hundred  feet  long  and  twelve  wide,  in  which  was  a  guard,  consisting  of  an 
officer  and  twenty-five  men,  and  a  corporal  and  four  soldiers,  who  alter 
nately  kept  guard  before  the  door  of  the  prisoners.  These  soldiers,  while 
ou  duty,  were  forbidden  either  to  speak,  sing,  or  whistle. 


112  ADVENTUEES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

As  this  castle  had  served  as  a  prison  for  four  years  previously  to  La  Fay- 
otto's  confinement,  there  had  been  constructed  for  each  cell  two  doors,  one 
of  iron  and  the  other  of  wood,  near  two  feet  thick.  Both  were  covered 
with  bolts,  and  bars,  and  double  padlocks.  Every  time  the  inspector  of  the 
prison  entered,  the  whole  guard  stood  to  their  arms.  Four  men  were  posted 
on  each  side  of  the  door ;  the  sergeant,  with  his  sword  drawn,  remained 
without,  while  the  officer  of  the  guard  entered  the  inner  door,  with  his  sword 
also  drawn.  The  men  crossed  their  bayonets,  while  the  inspector  examined 
every  corner  of  their  cells  with  the  greatest  minuteness.  When  the  jailer 
entered  with  their  wretched  pittance,  twice  a  day,  it  was  scrupulously  ex 
amined,  particularly  the  bread,  which  was  crumbled  to  pieces  by  the  officer 
of  the  guard,  to  discover  if  there  was  any  note  or  communication  contained 
in  it.  A  wretched  bed  of  rotten  straw  filled  with  vermin,  together  with  a 
broken  chair  and  an  old  table,  formed  the  whole  furniture  of  each  apart 
ment. 

The  cell's  were  eight  or  ten  paces  deep,  and  six  or  eight  wide  ;  and  when 
it  rained,  the  water  ran  through  the  loopholes,  off  the  walls,  in  such  quan 
tities,  that  the  prisoners  would  sometimes  find  themselves  in  the  morning 
wet  to  the  skin. 

Such  is  the  shocking  account  given  by  General  Ducondray  Holstein,  and 
as  he  states,  on  the  verbal  authority  of  the  prisoners  themselves. 

The  sufferings  of  La  Fayette  in  this  dreary  abode,  brought  him  to  the 
borders  of  the  grave.  "  His  frame  was  wasted  by  disease,  of  which,  for  a 
long  period,  not  the  slightest  notice  was  taken  ;  and,  on  one  occasion,  he 
was  reduced  so  low,  that  his  hair  fell  from  him  entirely,  by  the  excess  of 
his  sufferings.  At  the  same  time  his  estates  in  France  were  confiscated,  his 
wife  cast  into  prison,  and  Fayetteism,  as  adherence  to  the  constitution  was 
called,  was  punished  with  death." 

But  a  man  so  distinguished  in  the  world,  and  so  endeared  to  the  friends 
of  civil  liberty,  though  shut  up  in  a  dungeon,  and  deprived  of  communica 
tion  with  human  beings, 'was  not  forgotten.  The  American  ministers  to 
foreign  courts,  were  instructed  to  intercede  for  his  liberation.  The  envoy 
from  the  United  States  to  the  Court  at  St.  James,  exerted  himself  for  the 
same  purpose.  The  Count  Lally  Tolendal,  who  sat  with  La  Fayette  in  the 
National  Assembly,  and  who  admired  his  principles  and  his  virtues,  also 
made  unwearied  exertions  to  effect  his  enlargement.  Washington,  when 
President  of  the  United  States,  wrote  to  the  Emperor  of  Austria  a  private 
letter,  laying  La  Fayette's  case  before  him,  and  requesting  his  permission 
that  he  might  be  liberated,  and  come  to  America.  The  following  is  a  part 
of  that  letter: 

"It  will  readily  occur  to  your  majesty,  that  occasions  may  sometimes 
exist,  on  which  official  considerations  would  constrain  the  chief  of  a  nation 
to  be  silent  and  passive  in  relation  even  to  objects  which  affect  his  sensibil 
ity,  and  claim  his  interposition  as  a  man.  Finding  myself  precisely  in 
this  situation  at  present,  I  have  taken  the  liberty  of  writing  this  private 
letter  to  your  majesty,  being  persuaded  that  my  motives  will  also  be  my 
apology  for  it. 

In  common  with  the  people  of  this  country,  I  retain  a  strong  and  cordia. 
sense  of  the  services  rendered  to  them  by  the  Marquis  de  La  Fayette  ;  and 


OF  AMERICANS.  113 

my  friendship  for  him  has  been  constant  and  sincere.  It  is  natural,  there- 
fore,  that  I  should  sympathize  with  him  and  his  family  in  their  misfor 
tunes  ;  and  endeavor  to  mitigate  the  calamities  they  experience,  among 
which  his  present  confinement  is  not  the  least  distressing. 

I  forbear  to  enlarge  on  this  delicate  subject.  Permit  me  only  to  submit 
to  your  majesty's  consideration,  whether  the  long  imprisonment,  and  the 
confiscation  of  his  estate,  and  the  indigence  and  dis'persion  of  his  family, 
and  the  painful  anxieties  incident  to  all  these  circumstances,  do  not  form 
an  assemblage  of  sufferings  which  recommend  him  to  the  mediation  of  hu 
manity?  Allow  me,  Sir,  on  this  occasion,  to  be  its  organ  ;  and  to  entreat 
that  he  may  be  permitted  to  come  to  this  country,  on  such  conditions  as 
your  majesty  may  think  it  expedient  to  prescribe. 

As  it  is  a  maxim  with  me  not  to  ask  what,  under  similar  circumstances,  I 
would  not  grant,  your  majesty  will  do  me  the  justice  to  believe,  that  this 
request  appears  to  me  to  correspond  with  those  great  principles  of  magna 
nimity  and  wisdom,  which  form  the  basis  of  sound  policy  and  durable 
glory." 

To  this  humane  and  magnanimous  request,  his  majesty  the  emperor 
either  returned  no  answer  at  all,  or  such  a  one  as  made  Washington  under 
stand  that  he  declined  setting  the  prisoner  at  liberty,  or  negotiating  further 
on  the  subject. 

In  1793,  Count  Lally  Tolendal,  then  in  London,  engaged  Dr.  Bollman, 
a  Hanoverian  of  great  sagacity,  courage,  and  perseverance,  to  attempt  the 
liberation  of  La  Fayette.  Dr.  Bollman  had  before  been  employed  by 
Madame  de  Stael,  to  effect  the  escape  of  Count  Norbonne  from  France,  who, 
in  the  reign  of  terror,  had  been  proscribed.  This  he  had  performed,  having, 
with  uncommon  address,  conveyed  the  count  to  England.  But  Dr.  Boll- 
man's  first  attempt  was  so  unsuccessful,  that  after  all  his  exertions,  he  did 
little  more  than  to  ascertain  that  the  government  of  Prussia  had  delivered 
La  Fayette  over  to  that  of  Austria.  But  where  he  was  or  whether  he  was 
still  alive,  were  circumstances  which  Dr.  Bollman  found  it  impossible  to 
ascertain.  He  therefore  returned  again  to  London,  and  reported  to  the 
friends  of  the  prisoner  the  little  information  he  had  obtained. 

But  the  friends  of  La  Fayette  were  not  discouraged.  In  June,  1794,  they 
again  sent  Dr.  Bollman  to  Germany,  to  ascertain  what  had  been  his  fate, 
and  if  he  were  still  alive,  to  endeavor  to  procure  his  escapes.  With  great 
difficulty  he  traced  the  French  prisoners  to  the  Prussian  frontier,  and  then 
ascertained  that  an  Austrian  escort  had  received  them,  and  taken  the  road 
to  Olmutz.  At  Olmutz,  Dr.  Bollman  ascertained  that  several  state  prisoners 
were  kept  in  the  citadel,  with  a  degree  of  caution  and  mystery,  which  must 
have  been  not  unlike  that  used  by  the  half-fabulous  personage  in  the  Iron 
Mask. 

The  following  interesting  account  of  Dr.  Bollman's  second  visit  to  the 
continent,  and  the  attempt  to  deliver  La  Fayette,  is  extracted  from  the 
"  Edinburgh  Annual  Kegister,"  for  1809.  "  The  narrative,"  says  the  editor, 
"was  drawn  up  by  the  writer  from  personal  communications  with  Mr. 
Huger." 

La  Foyette  had  dragged  on  two  miserable  years  in  his  solitary  prison, 
when  a  stranger  and  a  foreigner  stepped  forward  from  pure  motives  of  com- 


H4-  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

passion,  and  an  anxious  wish  to  be  of  service  to  a  man  who  had  signalized 
himself  in  the  cause  of  liberty.  Bollman  was  a  Hanoverian  by  birth, 
young,  active,  intrepid,  and  intelligent.  He  repaired  alone  and  on  foot  to 
Olmutz,  to  gain  such  information  as  might  enable  him  to  judge  of  the  best 
means  to  execute  the  purpose  he  had  in  view,  to  assist  La  Fayette  .'n  making 
his  escape  from  the  power  of  Austria.  He  soon  found  that,  without  an 
able  coadjutor  the  difficulties  which  presented  themselves  were  insurmount 
able.  He  was  forced,  therefore,  for  the  present  to  abandon  his  design,  until 
ho  should  be  so  fortunate  as  to  find  a  man  equally  zealous  with  himself, 
and  with  ability  sufficient  to  execute  the  hazardous  plan  he  had  formed. 
Accident  threw  in  his  way  the  person  in  the  world  best  suited  to  the  enter 
prise  by  nature  and  education.  At  Vienna  he  entered  into  the  society  of 
young  Americans,  whom  he  thought  most  likely,  from  their  veneration  for 
the  character  of  La  Fayette,  to  dare  such  an  undertaking.  He  soon  singled 
out  one,  to  whom,  after  proper  precautions,  he  imparted  his  secret.  Hugei 
entered  into  and  adopted  his  schemes  with  all  the  keenness  of  youth,  and 
that  enthusiastic  enterprise  peculiar  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  new  world. 

Francis  Huger  was  the  son  of  Colonel  linger,  of  Chraleston,  South  Caro 
lina,  who  lost  his  life  in  the  service  of  his  country,  against  the  British 
troops,  on  the  walls  of  the  town,  when  besieged  by  General  Prevost.  The 
year  before  his  death,  he  had  retired  to  a  small  island  off  the  Charleston 
Bar,  with  his  family,  for  the  purpose  of  sea-bathing.  There  happened  one 
evening  a  violent  storm  ;  the  report  of  cannon  was  heard  at  a  distance  :  con 
cluding  the  firing  came  from  British  ships,  then  cruising  in  those  seas,  it  was 
necessary  to  avoid  giving  suspicion  that  the  island  was  inhabited.  About 
midnight  a  knocking  at  the  door  of  the  cottage  obliged  Colonel  Huger  to 
open  it.  Two  persons  appeared,  who,  in  a  foreign  accent,  informed  him 
that  their  ship  had  been  driven  on  shore  by  the  violence  of  the  wind,  and 
the  crew  had  dispersed  themselves  over  the  island  in  search  of  assistance. 
They  were  hospitably  received,  and  provided  with  such  necessaries  as  they 
most  stood  in  need  of.  When  the  strangers  were  made  acquainted  with  the 
quality  of  their  host,  and  his  political  principles,  they  made  themselves 
and  the  object  of  their  voyage  known  to  him.  The  one  was  the  Marquis 
do  La  Fayette,  then  about  eighteen,  and  the  other  an  elderly  gentleman,  a 
Chevalier  de  St.  Louis,  who,  like  another  Mentor,  had  followed  the  fortunes 
of  the  Young  Telemachus.  "  They  beheld,"  they  said,  "  with  indignation, 
the  tyranny  the  inhabitants  of  North  America  labored  under  from  the 
mother  country ;  and,  animated  with  the  true  spirit  of  liberty,  they  were 
resolved  to  espouse  the  cause  of  the  congress,  and  either  partake  with  them 
the  happiness  of  emancipation,  or  perish  with  them  in  the  glorious  effort." 
Colonel  Huger  quitted  the  island  with  his  guests,  and,  repairing  to  head 
quarters,  introduced  them  to  General  Washington,  who  gave  each  of  them 
a  command  in  the  continental  army.  Francis  Huger  was  only  four  years 
old  when  this  happened,  but  the  adventure  remained  deeply  impressed  on 
his  memory ;  and  though  he  had  never  seen  La  Fayette  since,  yet  he  fel * 
the  greatest  attachment  to  his  person,  and  the  highest  admiration  of  his 
actions ;  with  ardor,  therefore,  he  participated  in  Bollman's  scheme  for  the 
release  of  his  favorite  hero. 

Thus  agreed,  they  began  their  operations.     It  was  necessary  to  condijct 


OF  AMERICANS.  115 

themselves  with  caution,  for  the  Austrian  police  was  vigilant,  and  particu.- 
larly  jealous  of  strangers.  Huger  pretended  ill  health,  and  Bollman  gave 
himself  out  for  a  physician,  who  on  that  account  traveled  with  him.  They 
bought  three  of  the  best  horses  they  could  find,  and  with  one  servant  set 
forward  on  a  tour.  After  traveling  many  weeks,  staying  some  time  at  dif 
ferent  places,  the  better  to  conceal  their  purpose,  and  to  confirm  the  idea 
that  curiosity  was  the  motive  of  their  journey,  they  at  length  reached 
Olmutz.  After  viewing  everything  in  the  town,  they  walked  into  the  castle 
to  see  the  fortifications,  made  themselves  acquainted  with  the  jailer,  and 
having  desired  permission  to  walk  within  the  castle  the  next  day,  they  re 
turned  to  their  lodging.  They  repeated  their  visits  frequently,  each  time 
conversing  familiarly  with  the  jailer,  and  sometimes  making  him  little 
presents.  By  degrees  they  gained  his  confidence,  and  one  day,  as  if  by  ac 
cident,  asked  him  what  prisoners  he  had  under  his  care.  He  mentioned 
the  name  of  La  Fayette  ;  without  discovering  any  surprise,  they  expressed 
a  curiosity  to  know  how  he  passed  his  time,  and  what  indulgencies  he  enjoyed  ; 
they  were  informed  that  he  was  strictly  confined,  but  was  permitted  to  take 
exercise  without  the  walls  with  proper  attendants,  and,  besides,  was  allowed 
the  use  of  books  and  pen,  ink,  and  paper.  They  said,  that  as  they  had 
some  new  publications  with  them,  it  might  add  to  his  amusement  if  they 
were  to  lend  them  to  him,  and  desired  to  know  if  they  might  make  the 
offer.  The  jailer  said  he  thought  there  could  be  no  objection,  provided  the 
books  were  delivered  open  to  him  (the  jailer),  so  that  he  might  see  there 
was  nothing  improper  in  their  contents.  With  this  caution  they  complied, 
and  the  same  evening  sent  a  book  and  a  note  to  the  jailer,  addressed  to  La 
Fayette,  written  in  French  ;  who,  though  he  did  no>t  understand  that  lan 
guage  (as  it  afterward  appeared),  yet  did  not  suspect  any  treachery  where 
everything  was  conducted  so  openly.  The  note  contained  apologies  for  the 
liberty  they  had  taken  ;  but  as  they  wished  in  any  way  to  contribute  to  his 
happiness,  they  hoped  he  would  attentively  read  the  book  they  had  sont, 
and  if  any  passages  in  it  particularly  engaged  his  notice,  they  begged  be 
would  let  them  know  his  opinion.  He  received  the  note,  and  finding  it 
was  not  expressed  in  the  usual  mode  of  complimentary  letters,  conceived 
that  more  was  meant  than  met  the  eye.  He  therefore  carefully  perused  the 
book,  and  found  in  certain  places  words  written  with  a  pencil,  which,  being 
put  together  acquainted  him  with  the  ^names,  qualities,  and  designs  of  the 
writers,  and  requiring  his  sentiments  before  they  should  proceed  any  fur 
ther.  He  returned  the  book,  and  with  it  an  open  note,  thanking  them,  and 
adding,  that  he  highly  approved  of  and  was  much  charmed  with  its  con 
tents. 

Having  thus  begun  a  correspondence,  seldom  a  day  passed  but  open  notes 
passed  between  them,  some  of  which  the  jailer  showed  to  persons  who 
could  read  them;  but,  as  nothing  appeared  that  could  create  any  suspicion, 
the  correspondence  was  permitted. 

Their  plan  being  at  length  arranged,  the  particulars  were  written  wiih 
lemon  juice,  and  on  the  other  side  of  the  paper  a  letter  of  inquiry  after  La 
Fayette's  health,  concluding  with  these  words  :  Quand  vous  aarea  hi  ce 
billet,  mettez  le  au  feu  (instead  of  dans  h  feu).  By  holding  the  paper  to 
the  fire  the  letters  appeared  and  he  was  made  acquainted  with  every  ar 
8 


116  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

rangement  they  had  made.  The  day  following  was  fixed  upon  to  put  the 
plan  into  execution.  The  city  of  Olrautz  is  situated  about  thirty  miles 
from  the  frontiers  of  Silesia,  in  the  midst  of  a  plain,  which,  taking  the 
town  as  its  center,  extends  three  miles  each  way.  The  plain  is  bounded  by 
rising  ground,  covered  with  bushes  and  broken  rocks ;  so  that  a  man  stand 
ing  on  the  walls  might  distinctly  see  everything  that  passed  on  the  plain. 
Sentinels  were  placed  for  the  purpose  of  giving  an  alarm  when  any  prisoner 
was  attempting  to  escape,  and  all  people  were  ordered  to  assist  in  retaking 
him  ;  great  rewards  were  likewise  due  to  the  person  who  arrested  a  pris 
oner.  It  seemed  therefore  scarcely  possible  to  succeed  in  such  an  attempt. 
Aware  of  these  difficulties,  Boljman  and  Huger  were  not  intimidated,  but 
took  their  measures  with  the  greater  caution. 

Under  pretense  that  his  health  required  air  and  exercise,  La  Fayette  had 
obtained  permission  to  ride  out  upon  the  plain  every  day  in  an  open  cabrio 
let,  accompanied  by  an  officer,  and  attended  by  an  armed  soldier,  who 
mounted  behind  by  way  of  guard.  During  these  excursions  he  had  gained 
the  confidence  of  the  officer  so  far,  that  when  the  carriage  was  at  a  distancs 
from  the  walls  they  used  to  quit  it,  and  walk  together. 

The  plan  determined  upon  was  this  :  Bollman  and  Huger  were  to  rid.e 
out  of  town  on  horseback,  the  latter  leading  a  third  horse ;  as  neither  of 
them  knew  La  Fayette,  a  signal  was  agreed  upon  at  their  meeting.  La 
Fayette  was  to  endeavor  to  gain  as  great  a  distance  as  possible  from  the 
town,  and,  as  usual,  to  quit  the  carriage  with  the  officer,  and  draw  him  im 
perceptibly  as  far  from  it  as  he  could,  without  exciting  his  suspicions.  The 
two  friends  were  then  to  approach,  and,  if  necessary,  to  overpower  the  officer, 
mount  La  Fayette  upon  the  horse  Huger  led,  and  ride  away  to  Beautropp, 
fifteen  miles  distant,  where  a  chaise  and  horses  awaited  to  convey  thorn  to 
Trappaw,  the  nearest  town,  within  the  Prussian  dominions,  about  thirty 
miles  from  Olmutz,  where  they  would  be  safe  from  pursuit.  In  the  morn 
ing  Huger  sent  his  trusty  servant  to  endeavor  to  learn  the  precise  time  that 
La  Fayette  left  the  castle.  After  a  tedious  delay,  he  returned,  and  told 
them  that  the  carriage  had  just  passed  the  gates. 

With  agitated  hearts  they  set  out ;  having  gained  the  plain,  they  could 
perceive  no  carriage;  they  rode  slowly  on,  till  they  had  nearly  reached  the 
woody  country,  but  still  no  carriage  appeared.  Alarmed  lest  some  unfore 
seen  accident  should  have  led  to  a  discovery,  they  hesitated  ;  but,  recollect 
ing  that  their  motions  might  be  distinctly  seen  from  the  walls,  they  retraced 
their  steps,  and  had  arrived  at  a  short  distance  from  the  town,  when  they 
beheld  the  long  wished  for  cabriolet  pass  through  the  gates,  with  two  per 
sons  in  it,  one  in  the  Austrian  uniform,  and  a  musqueteer  mounted  behind. 
On  passing,  they  gave  the  preconcerted  signal,  which  was  returned,  and  the 
carriage  moved  on.  They  continued  their  ride  toward  the  town,  then  turned, 
and  slowly  followed  the  carriage.  They  loitered,  in  order  to  give  La  Fay 
ette  time  to  execute  his  part  of  the  agreement.  They  observed  the  two 
gentlemen  descend  from  the  carriage,  and  walk  from  it  arm-in-arm.  They 
approached  gradually,  and  perceiving  that  La  Fayette  and  the  officer  ap 
peared  to  be  engaged  in  earnest  conversation  about  the  officer's  sword, 
which  La  Fayette  had  at  the  time  in  his  hand,  they  thought  this  the  favor 
able  moment,  and  put  spurs  to  their  horses.  The  noise  of  their  approach 


OP  AMERICANS.  117 

alarmed  ths  officer,  who,  turning  round,  and  seeing  two  horsemen  coming 
up  full  gallop,  he  hastened  to  join  the  cabriolet,  pulling  La  Fayette  with 
him  ;  finding  resistance,  he  endeavored  to  get  possession  of  his  sword,  and 
a  struggle  ensued.  Huger  arrived  at  this,  moment ;  "  You  are  free,"  said  he ; 
"seize  this  horse,  and  fortune  be  our  guide." 

He  had  scarce  spoken,  when  the  gleam  of  the  sun  upon  the  blade  of  the 
Bword  startled  the  horse.  He  broke  his  bridle,  and  fled  precipitately  over 
the  plain.  Bollman  rode  after  to  endeavor  to  take  him.  Meantime  Huger, 
with  a  gallantry  and  generosity  seldom  equaled,  but  never  excelled,  in 
sisted  on  La  Fayette's  mounting  his  horse,  and  making  all  speed  to  the  place 
of  rendezvous  :  "Lose  no  time,  the  alarm  is  given,  the  peasants  are  assem 
bling,  save  yourself."  La  Fayette  mounted  his  horse,  left  Huger  on  foot, 
and  was  soon  out  of  sight.  Bollman  had  in  vain  pursued  the  frightened 
horse,  and  perceiving  he  had  taken  the  road  to  the  town,  gave  up  the  chase, 
and  returned  to  Huger,  who  got  up  behind  him,  and  they  galloped  away 
together.  They  had  not  gone  far  when  the  horse,  unequal  to  such  a  bur 
den,  stumbled  and  fell,  and  Bollman  was  so  bruised  with  the  fall,  that  with 
difficulty  he  could  rise  from  the  ground.  The  gallant  Huger  assisted  hia 
friend  upon  the  horse,  and  again  forgetting  all  selfish  considerations,  desired 
him  to  follow  and  assist  La  Fayette,  and  leave  him  to  make  his  escape  on 
foot,  which  he  said  he  could  easily  do,  as  he  was  a  good  runner,  and  the 
woody  country  was  close  at  hand.  Bollman  with  reluctance  consented. 

Upon  the  approach  of  the  horsemen,  the  soldier,  who  had  remained  \vith 
the  cabriolet,  instead  of  coming  to  the  assistance  of  the  officer,  ran  back  to 
the  town  ;  but  long  before  he  arrived  the  alarm  was  given  ;  for  the  whole 
of  the  transaction  had  been  observed  from  the  walls — the  cannon  fired,  and 
the  country  was  raised.  Bollman  easily  evaded  his  pursuers,  by  telling 
them  he  was  himself  in  pursuit.  Huger  was  not  so  fortunate  ;  he  had  been 
marked  by  a  party,  who  never  lost  sight  of  him  ;  yet  his  hunters  being  on 
foot  like  himself,  he  might  have  reached  his  covert,  had  they  not  been 
joined  \>y  others  who  were  fresh  in  the  chase ;  they  gained  ground  upon 
him,  and  at  the  moment  he  had  reached  a  place  where  he  hoped  he  might 
rest  awhile,  quite  exhausted  with  fatigue  and  breathless,  he  sunk  to  the 
earth,  and  a  peasant  came  up ;  he  offered  him  his  purse  to  assist  his  escape ; 
the  Austrian  snatched  the  money  with  one  hand,  and  seized  him  with  the 
other,  calling  to  his  companions  to  come  to  his  help.  Resistance  was  vain, 
and  the  intrepid  Huger  was  conveyed  back  to  Olmutz  in  triumph,  inwardly 
consoling  himself  with  the  glorious  idea,  that  he  had  been  the  cause  of  res 
cuing  from  tyranny  and  misery  a  man  he  esteemed  one  of  the  first  charac 
ters  upon  earth.  He  was  shut  up  in  a  dungeon  of  the  castle  as  a  state 
prisoner. 

Meanwhile  La  FayeUe  took  the  road  he  was  directed,  and  arrived  without 
any  obstacle  at  a  small  town  about  ten  miles  from  Olmutz  ;  here  the  road 
divided  ;  that  leading  to  Trappaw  lay  to  the  right — unfortunately  he  took 
the  left.  Pie  had  scarce  left  the  town,  when  perceiving  the  road  turning  too 
much  to  the  left,  he  suspected  he  had  mistaken  his  way,  and  inquired  of  a 
person  he  met  the  way  to  Beautropp.  The  man,  eyeing  him  with  a  look 
of  curiosity,  at  length  told  him  he  had  missed  his  way,  but  directed  him 
to  take  another,  which  he  said  would  soon  lead  him  right.  This  man, 


118  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

from  La  Fayette's  appearance,  his  horse  in  a  foam,  his  foreign  accent,  and 
the  inquiries  he  made,  suspected  him  to  be  a  prisoner  making  his  escape ; 
he  therefore  directed  him  a  road,  which  by  a  circuit  led  him  back  to  the 
town,  ran  himself  to  the  magistrate,  and  told  him  his  suspicions ;  so  that 
when  La  Fayette  thought  himself  upon  the  point  of  regaining  the  road 
which  would  soon  secure  his  retreat,  he  found  himself  surrounded  by  a 
guard  of  armed  men,  who,  regardless  of  his  protestations,  Conveyed  him  to 
the  magistrate.  He  was  however  so  collected,  that  he  gave  the  most 
plausible  answers  to  the  interrogations  that  were  put  to  him  ;  he  said  that  he 
was  an  officer  of  excise  belonging  to  Trappaw,  and  that  having  friends  at 
Olmutz,  he  had  been  there  upon  a  visit ;  had  been  detained  there  by  indis 
position  longer  than  he  intended,  and,  as  his  time  of  leave  of  absence  was 
expired,  he  was  hastening  back,  and  begged  he  might  not  be  detained,  for  if 
he  did  not  reach  Trappaw  that  day,  he  was  afraid  his  absence  might  be  no 
ticed,  and  he  should  lose  his  office.  The  magistrate  was  so  much  prepos 
sessed  in  his  favor  by  this  account,  and  by  the  readiness  of  his  answers  to 
every  question,  that  he  expressed  himself  perfectly  satisfied,  and  was  going 
to  dismiss  him,  when  the  door  of  an  inner  room  opened,  and  a  young  man 
entered  with  papers  for  the  magistrate  to  sign.  While  this  was  doing  the 
young  man  fixed  his  eyes  upon  La  Fayette,  and  immediately  whispered  to 
the  magistrate  ;  "  Who  do  you  say  he  is  ?  "  "  The  General  La  Fayette." 
" How  do  you  know  him  ? "  "I  was  present  when  the  general  was  deliv 
ered  up  by  the  Prussians  to  the  Austrians  ;  this  is  the  man,  I  cannot  be  mis 
taken." 

La  Fayette  entreated  to  be  heard.  The  magistrate  told  him  it  was  useless 
for  him  to  speak ;  he  must  consent  immediately  to  be  conveyed  to  Olmutz, 
and  his  identity  would  then  be  ascertained.  Dismayed  and  confounded,  he 
submitted  to  his  hard  fate,  was  carried  back  to  Olmutz,  and  the  same  day, 
which  rose  to  him  with  the  fairest  prospects  of  happiness  and  liberty,  beheld 
him,  at  the  close  of  it,  plunged  in  still  deeper  misery  and  imprisonment. 
Bollman,  having  eluded  the  search  of  his  pursuers,  arrived  at  the  place 
where  the  chaise  had  been  ordered  to  wait  their  coming.  Finding  it  still 
there,  and  yet  no  appearance  of  La  Fayette,  he  foreboded  mischief.  With 
as  much  patience  as  he  could  command,  he  remained  till  evening,  not  yet 
giving  up  all  hope  of  a  fortunate  issue  to  their  adventure.  He  dismissed 
the  chaise,  however,  and  made  a  circuitous  journey,  in  hopes  his  friends 
might  have  escaped  by  a  different  route ;  he  could  gain  no  information 
whatever,  till,  on  the  third  day,  a  rumor  of  La  Fayette  having  been  retaken 
in  attempting  his  escape,  dissipated  his  hopes ;  and,  anxious  to  learn  the 
truth,  he  took  the  road  to  Olmutz.  He  soon  was  told  the  melancholy  tale, 
with  the  addition,  that  his  friend  Huger  had  shared  a  similar  fate.  In  des 
pair  at  having  been  the  primary  cause  of  his  misfortune,  and  determining  to 
share  it  with  him,  he  voluntarily  surrendered  himself,  and  was  committed  a 
prisoner  to  the  castle. 

Thus,  by  a  train  of  most  untoward  accidents,  which  no  prudence  co'ild 
foresee  or  guard  against,  failed  a  plan  so  long  meditated,  and  so  skillfully 
projected.  The  reader's  attention  must  now  be  confined  chiefly  to  Huger. 
The  day  after  his  entrance  into  the  castle,  Huger  received  notice  from  the 
jailer  to  prepare  for  an  examination  before  the  chief  magistrate  of  the  citr. 


OF  AMERICANS.  119 

As  he  was  not  conscious  of  having  committed  any  very  heinous  crime, 
he  was  under  no  apprehensions  for  his  life  ;  but  expected  that,  after  he  had 
told  his  story,  and  declared  the  motive  of  his  actions,  his  judge  might  sub 
ject  him  to  some  slight  punishment,  perhaps  a  short  imprisonment ;  what 
then  was  his  amazement,  when  he  heard  himself  accused  of  having  entered 
into  a  conspiracy  against  the  Austrian  government. 

The  examination  was  carried  on  by  means  of  an  interpreter,  a  young 
man  of  a  benign  aspect,  who  seemed  to  compassionate  his  situation,  and 
who,  when  he  gave  such  answers  as  he  thought  might  tend  to  hurt  his 
cause,  made  him  repeat  his  answers,  softening  their  import,  assuring  him  he 
did  not  exactly  express  himself  in  proper  terms,  and  desiring  him  to  recol 
lect  whether  he  did  not  mean  to  answer  in  such  and  such  a  manner.  Huger 
saw  his  good  intentions,  and  determined  to  rely  on  his  judgment,  especially 
after  he  had  heard  him  say  in  a  low  voice,  "I  am  your  friend."  After  this, 
and  many  subsequent  examinations,  the  magistrates  informed  him  he  must 
not  expect  pardon,  but  advised  him  to  prepare  for  the  worst.  This  exhor 
tation,  so  often  repeated,  began  to  have  some  effect  upon  him,  and  consider 
ing  he  was  in  the  power  of  an  absolute  monarch,  whose  will  was  superior 
to  law,  he  could  not  shake  off  some  melancholy  presages.  His  place  of 
confinement  was  a  loathsome  dungeon,  without  light ;  he  was  fed  with  the 
coarsest  food — chained  to  the  floor  during  the  night — his  own  clothes  taken 
from  him,  and  others  sent  him  that  had  already  been  worn  by  many  an  un 
fortunate  prisoner.  Thus  he  dragged  on  the  first  three  months  of  his  con 
finement.  After  that  time,  he  was  removed  to  a  better  room,  into  which 
glimmered  a  borrowed  light;  better  clothes,  and  more  wholesome  food 
were  given  him,  and  his  circumstances,  in  every  respect,  were  improved. 
But  still  he  was  uncertain  as  to  his  fate,  and  the  jailer  was  the  only  human 
being  that  visited  him.  One  day  he  was  surprised  with  the  appearance  of 

his  young  friend  the  interpreter,  Mr.  W .    Nothing  could  exceed  his  joy 

at  once  more  beholding  a  kindly  human  face.  He  informed  Huger,  that  tho 
court  of  Austria  had  believed  that  all  the  garrison  of  Olmutz  had  been  en 
gaged  in  the  conspiracy  ;  that  many  people  had  been  arrested  on  suspicion  ; 
for  it  could  not  be  believed,  that  two  such  young  men  as  he  and  Bollman 
could  have  formed  and  executed  so  daring  a  plan,  without  the  aid  of  others  ; 
but  as  no  proofs  had  hitherto  appeared,  it  was  determined  to  bring  them 
shortly  to  trial,  and  for  that  purpose,  lawyers  were  to  be  sent  from  Vienna, 
to  assist  the  magistrates  of  the  city.  Huger  now,  for  the  first  time,  learned 
the  complete  failure  of  their  scheme,  and  that  Bollman  was  under  the  same 
roof  with  him.  However  sad  the  reflection  was,  that  his  friend's  sufferings 
equaled  his  own,  yet  he  could  not  express  the  joy  he  felt  at  being  so  near 
him.  Soon  after,  he  discovered  that  he  inhabited  the  room  above  him. 
Thenceforward  his  treatment  was  much  less  rigorous ;  even  the  jailer,  who 
till  lately  had  observed  a  profound  silence,  relaxed  his  caution,  and  came 
frequently  to  visit  him  ;  and  though  a  man  of  few  words,  yet  as  his  pres 
ence  broke  the  dreary  solitude,  he  felt  happy  whenever  he  made  hi 
appearance.  Many  were  the  experiments  he  tried,  to  hold  communicatio 
with  Bollman,  and  at  length  he  succeeded. 

He  discovered  that  the  window  which  threw  a  borrowed  light  into  hi« 
cell,  served  likewise  to  throw  light  into  that  of  Bollman.  He  picked  a 


120  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

piece  of  lime  from  the  wall,  and  with  it  scratched  a  few  words  upon  a 
black  silk  handkerchief  he  wore  about  his  neck ;  then  fixing  it  upon  a 
stick,  he  climbed  up  the  side  of  the  room,  and  raised  the  stick  as  near  tho 
common  window  as  he  could,  till  it  had  attracted  the  attention  of  Bollman, 
who,  after  many  efforts,  made  himself  master  of  it,  and  returned  an  answer 
by  the  same  method.  Delighted  with  having  overcome  this  difficulty,  they 

never  suffered  a  day  to  pass  without  some  communication.  To  W , 

they  were  indebted  for  the  means  of  rendering  their  situation  still  more 
comfortable,  by  engaging  the  jailer's  wife  in  their  interest ;  a  few  presents, 
and  now  and  then  a  small  piece  of  money,  induced  her  secretly  to  bring 
them  books,  food,  wine,  and  warmer  clothes  ;  and  at  length  to  procure  a 
meeting  between  the  two  friends,  at  first  short,  but  by  degrees  become  more 
hardy,  they  were  permitted  to  pass  some  part  of  every  day  together.  The 
following  is  an  extract  of  a  letter,  written  by  Huger  to  a  near  friend  and 
relation,  which,  as  it  describes  his  situation  and  feelings  in  a  forcible  man 
ner,  ought  not  to  be  omitted. 

"I  am  equally  ignorant  how  this  affair  may  have  been  represented,  or 
what  may  be  thought,  in  these  times,  of  an  attempt  to  deliver  M.  de  la 
Fayette.  The  motives  which,  however,  induced  me  to  engage  in  it,  cannot 
be  judged  by  those  who  examine  all  similar  enterprises  according  to  their 
success  or  failure.  Believe  me,  it  was  neither  unreasonably  undertaken,  nor 
rashly  executed,  but  failed  from  accidents  which  prudence  could  not  foresee. 
To  the  mortification  of  a  failure,  were  added  the  miseries  of  a  prison, 
which,  in  Austria,  exceed  anything  known  in  England.  In  a  small  room, 
just  long  enough  for  my  bed  of  straw,  with  eight-pence  a  day  for  my  sup 
port  ;  at  night  chained  to  the  ground,  and  without  books  or  light,  I  passed 
the  first  three  months  of  my  captivity.  After  this  time  my  situation  be 
came  gradually  better,  but  I  was  not  allowed  to  write  to  my  friends  to  be 
delivered  from  my  chains,  or  permitted  the  smallest  intercourse  with  the 
world,  till  a  fortnight  before  my  release. 

"  In  such  a  situation,  the  consciousness  alone  of  having  done  nothing  dis 
honest  or  dishonorable,  could  afford  that  internal  satisfaction,  and  inspire 
that  stern  patience,  necessary  to  support  calmly  so  sudden  and  severe  a  re 
verse  of  fortune  ;  but  it  has  convinced  me,  that  a  mind  at  peace  with  itself, 
can  in  no  situation  be  unhappy.  Daily  habit  also  soon  removed  the  un 
pleasant  sensations  excited  by  disagreeable  and  unaccustomed  objects,  and 
the  mind,  which  no  power  can  restrain,  will  always  derive  consolation  from 
hope,  and  rarely  want  some  object  to  be  actively  employed  upon.  My 
friend  and  companion,  Mr.  Bollman,  was  in  the  same  house,  and  our  efforts 
to  establish  some  communication,  or  to  procure  a  momentary  interview,  af 
forded  exercise  for  invention  ;  and,  in  proportion  to  the  difficulty  of  effecting 
our  wishes,  the  smallest  success  rewarded  days  of  projects  and  expectation. 
I  once,  also,  found  means  to  disengage  nwself  from  my  chains,  and  felt  an 
emotion  beyond  the  pow^r  of  words  to  describe.  My  long  captivity  haa 
not  then  been  wholly  miserable,  nor  without  some  pleasure." 

At  length,  at  the  end  of*seven  months,  they  were  informed  that  the 
crown  lawyers  had  arrived.  The  government  by  this  time  was  satisfied, 
that  the  attempt  to  liberate  La  Fayette  was  planned  independently  by  two 
adventurers,  and  that  it  was  not  a  plot  laid  by  the  secret  agents  of  France^ 


OF  AMERICANS.  121 

in  which  the  garrison  at  Olmutz  at  least  was  concerned,  if  it  wero  not  more 
widely  extended  ;  and  upon  their  trial,  the  sole  fact  of  having  attempted  to 
rescue  a  state  prisoner  was  alleged  against  them. 

This  fact  being  proved,  they  were  remanded  to  their  prison,  to  await  the 
sentence  which  was  to  be  pronounced  against  them  by  the  supreme  magis 
trate.  They  were  now,  however,  permitted  every  indulgence  but  liberty. 

It  was  some  days  before  they  heard  from  W ,  and  when  he  came,  they 

were  astonished  and  confounded  to  hear  from  him,  that  their  punishment 
was  intended  to  be  imprisonment  for  life.  He  however  consoled  them  by 
hinting,  that  if  they  could  by  any  means  procure  money,  this  sentence 
might  be  changed  to  one  much  less  severe,  as  it  remained  with  the  magis 
trate  to  pass  what  sentence  he  thought  proper,  or  even  to  release  them  en 
tirely.  Bollman  had  no  fortune,  and  as  Huger  had  no  credit  in  Austria,  it 
would  be  a  long  time  before  he  could  receive  a  remittance  from  London. 
W ,  their  guardian  angel,  promised  to  do  all  he  could  for  them. 

In  the  vicinity  of  Olmutz  resided  a  Russian  nobleman,  of  most  polished 

manners,  joined  to  the  greatest  benevolence  of  heart.     With  him  W 

enjoyed  a   perfect  intimacy  and  friendship ;    they   were    congenial   souls. 

\V had  made  him  acquainted  with  the  whole  of  their  story  ;  through 

him  he  had  been  able  to  administer  so  frequently  to  their  comfort ;  and  he 
now  nobly  offered  to  advance  them  whatever  money  they  might  want,  to  ac 
complish  their  release,  and  to  defray  their  expenses  to  Hamburg.  Having 
thus  removed  the  greatest  difficulty,  his  next  care  was  to  sound  the  senti 
ments  of  the  magistrate.  This  he  could  easily  effect,  as,  in  the  capacity  of 
interpreter,  he  had  constant  communication  with  him.  He  soon  discerned 
that  the  magistrate  was  not  averse  to  his  speaking  in  their  favor:  and  when 
he  artfully  insinuated  that  a  large  reward  would  certainly  attend  his  de 
claring  himself  inclined  to  pardon,  he  found  himself  listened  to  with  more 
attention.  Having  gained  this  point,  he  very  soon  came  to  an  eclaircisse- 

ment.     The  magistrate  made  an  exorbitant  demand  ;  W said  it  was 

useless  for  him  to  go  to  the  prisoners  with  such  terms,  and  as  he  knew  ex 
actly  the  state  of  their  finances,  he  could  at  once  mention  what  they  had  to 
give,  and  therefore  the  utmost  he  could  expect.  This  sum  was  fifty  pieces. 

He  refused  to  comply  for  less  than  a  hundred.     In  answer  to  this,  W 

desired  him  to  consider,  that  if  he  delayed  his  determination,  he  might  lose 
his  prize  altogether,  for  that  great  interest  was  making  at  Vienna  for  the  re 
lease  of  the  prisoners,  which  he  had  no  doubt  would  succeed,  as  among 
others,  the  English  and  American  ambassadors  had  exerted  themselves  in 
their  favor.  This  upright  magistrate  at  last  yielded  to  the  impulse  of  ava 
rice,  and  p.greed  that,  if  the  prisoners  would  send  him  the  money  before 
the)''  left  the  prison,  they  should  be  released  the  next  day.  To  this  he  an 
swered  that  they  were  so  distrustful  of  all  about  them,  that  he  was  certain 
they  would  rather  await  the  result  of  the  petition  at  Vienna,  than  part  with 
their  little  stock  of  money  at  an  uncertainty,  but  added,  that  he  himself 
would  become  their  security,  and  be  answerable  to  him  for  the  money  in 

case  they  did  not  pay  it.     To  this  he  agreecj^and  W was  authorized  to 

negotiate  with  the  prisoners.  All  matters  being  soon  settled,  the  term  of 
their  imprisonment  was  first  fixed  at  fourteen  years,  then  shortened  to  seven, 
«oon  after  to  one,  then  to  a  month,  and  lastly  to  a  week  ;  at  the  expiration 


122  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

of  which  they  were  released  from  prison.  They  immediately  repaired  to 
the  house  of  the  magistrate,  to  return  him  thanks  for  the  many  indulgences 
he  had  allowed  them,  and  upon  shaking  hands  with  him,  the  stipulated 
sum  was  put  into  his  hands.  It  is  not  to  be  supposed  they  made  a  long 
stay  at  Olmutz  ;  no  longer  than  was  necessary  to  pour  out  their  grateful 
acknowledgments  to  the  Russian  nobleman,  and  above  all,  to  the  noble- 

minded,  generous  W ,  to  whose  kindness  they  owed  all  the  comforti 

they  had  experienced  in  prison,  and  to  whose  friendly  and  humane  exer 
tions  they  were  ultimately  indebted  for  their  liberation. 

"  La  Fayette,  in  the  meantime,  was  thrown  back  into  his  obscure  and  ig 
nominious  sufferings,  with  hardly  a  hope  that  they  could  be  terminated 
except  with  his  life.  During  the  winter  of  1794-5,  he  was  reduced  to 
almost  the  last  extremity  by  a  violent  fever;  and  yet  was  deprived  of 
proper  attendance,  of  air,  of  suitable  food,  and  of  decent  clothes.  To  in 
crease  his  misery,  he  was  made  to  believe  that  he  was  reserved  for  public 
execution,  and  that  his  chivalrous  deliverers  had  already  perished  on  a  scaf 
fold  ;  while,  at  the  same  time,  he  was  not  permitted  to  know  whether  his 
family  were  still  alive,  or  had  fallen  under  the  revolutionary  ax,  of  which, 
during  the  time  he  was  out  of  his  dungeon,  he  had  heard  such  appalling  ac 
counts. 

Madame  La  Fayette,  however  was  nearer  to  him  than  he  could  imagine 
to  have  been  possible.  She  (with  her  two  daughters)  had  been  released 
from  prison,  where  she  too  had  nearly  perished  ;  and  having  gained  strength 
sufficient  for  the  undertaking,  and  sent  her  eldest  son  for  safety  to  the  care 
of  General  Washington,  she  set  out  accompanied  by  her  two  young  daugh 
ters,  all  in  disguise,  with  American  passports.  They  were  landed  at  Altona, 
and  proceeding  immediately  to  Vienna,  obtained  an  audience  witjj  the  em 
peror,  who  refused  to  liberate  La  Fayette,  but,  as  it  now  seems  probable, 
against  the  intentions  of  his  ministers,  gave  them  permission  to  join  him  in 
his  prison.  They  went  instantly  to  Olmutz  ;  but  before  they  could  enter, 
they  were  deprived  of  whatever  they  had  brought  with  them,  to  alleviate 
the  miseries  of  a  dungeon,  and  required,  if  they  should  pass  its  threshold, 
never  again  to  leave  it. 

Madame  La  Fayette's  health  soon  sunk  under  the  complicated  sufferings 
and  privations  of  her  loathsome  imprisonment,  and  she  wrote  to  Vienna  for 
permission  to  pass  a  week  in  the  capital,  to  breathe  purer  air,  and  obtain 
medical  assistance.  Two  months  elapsed  before  any  answer  was  returned  ; 
and  then  she  was  told  that  no  objection  would  be  made  to  her  leaving  her 
husband,  but  that  if  she  should  do  so,  she  must  never  return  to  him.  She 
immediately  and  formally  signed  her  consent  and  determination  to  share 
his  captivity  in  all  its  details." 

Notwithstanding  the  efforts  which  had  been  made  for  their  release,  La 
Fayette  and  his  fellow  prisoners  remained  immured  in  their  dark  and 
loathsome  dungeons,  until  August,  1797,  when  Bonaparte  settled  the  treaty 
of  Campo  Formio  with  the  Austrian  government.  La  Fayette  had  been 
confined  five  years,  and  Madame  La  Fayette  and  her  daughters  shared  hif 
imprisonment  for  twenty-two  months. 


THE    TRIUMPHS 


OF   SOME   OF  THE  MOST 


EMINENT  AMERICAN  INVENTORS 


WHITNEY—  FULTON— MORSE— STEERS— GOODYEAR— COLT— M'COR- 

MICK— SINGER,  ETC.,  TO  WHICH  IS  ADDED  A  SKETCH  OF 

THE  ATLANTIC  SUB-MARINE  TELEGRAPH 


THIS  world  probably  is  not  yet  out  of  its  babyhood.  The  united  ages  of 
one  hundred  'individuals  who  have  reached  the  allotted  period  of  three 
score  years  and  ten,  sum  up  an  amount  of  time  greater  than  that  which  has 
elapsed  since  our  common  parents  first  walked  in  the  groves  of  Paradise. 

Geologists  demonstrate,  and  theologians  assent  to  their  evidence,  that 
this  round  globe,  whereon  we  all  unexpectedly  find  ourselves,  was  probably 
millions  of  years  in  the  process  of  forming  for  our  habitation.  Is  it  not  fair, 
then,  to  infer  that  it  will  be  occupied  by  our  race  for  at  least  as  long  a 
period  as  it  was  preparing  for  them  ?  And  this,  it  would  seem,  could  be 
well  afforded  ;  for  let  us  assign  its  duration  to  any  vast  number  of  ages, 
nothing  would  be  taken  from  eternity — nothing  from  the  measureless  glory 
and  beneficence  of  HIM,  with  whom  "  one  day  is  as  a  thousand  years,  and  a 
thousand  years  as  one  day." 

Beside,  to  our  apprehension  the  world  thus  far  would  appear  a  failure. 
Very  little  has  been  accomplished  by  those  for  whom  it  was  made.  They 
have  not  even  now  completely  explored  its  surface,  and  the  great  mass  are 
yet  in  a  savage  state,  which,  although  the  natural  condition,  can  be  so  only 
in  the  beginning — the  nature  of  man  being  to  progress,  to  reach  forward  and 
improve  his  condition,  through  the  aid  of  Art,  Science,  and  Religion.  Art, 
mechanical  and  ajsthetical,  which  ministers  to  labor,  comfort,  and  the  sense 
of  the  beautiful — Science,  the  sister  and  partner  of  Art,  that  opens  the  riches 
and  workings  of  nature  ;  and  Religion,  which  cements  everything,  by  lifting 
ap  the  soul  in  harmony  with  the  righteous  law  of  the  Great  Author. 

That  this  world  is  not  yet  out  of  swaddling  clothes,  seems  further  evi 
dent  from  the  fact,  that  the  vital  truth,  that  "  all  men  are  born  free  and 
equal,"  has  just  been  discovered — the  great  American  idea,  that  all  have  the 
same  natural  right  to  enjoy  the  benefits  of  everything  which  a  common 
Father  has  provided — that  no  distinction  in  these  respects  exists  between 
men,  and  no  especial  consideration  is  due  to  any  one,  other  than  that  which 
arises  from  a  mental  or  a  moral  superiority. 

It  is  the  effect  of  this  idea  of  freedom  and  equality,  united  to  the  conse 
quent  more  general  diffusion  of  knowledge,  that  does  so  fill  the  breast  of 
the  Americin  with  hope  and  cheerfulness,  for  with  it  bursts  upon  his  view 


124:  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

such  a  boundless  field  for  enterprise,  as  never  before  gladdened  the  humar 
heart.  The  great  mass  of  mind  that  in  other  ages,  and  in  other  countries, 
was  kept  compressed  has  here  burst  its  bonds,  and  is  illustrating  its  power. 
The  general  freedom  results  in  such  an  intensity  of  application  in  the  in 
dividual,  and  such  an  amount  in  the  aggregate,  that  the  progress  made 
seems 'miraculous ;  a  few  years  giving  results,  that  once  centuries  did  not 
equal.  In  science,  discovery  after  discovery,  and  in  the  mechanical  arts,  in 
vention  after  invention  crowd  so  thick  upon  us,  that  astonishment  at  the 
profusion  of  the  riches  of  nature  open  to  the  genius  of  our  race,  is  only 
equaled  by  our  wonder  in  view  of  the  eventual  result  of  all  these,  present 
and  to  be,  upon  our  condition. 

Some,  in  noting  these  great  achievements  of  our  time,  think  that  the 
greatest  must  have  been  attained,  as  though  there  could  be  a  limit  to  the 
wonders"  that,  in  the  profusion  of  an  Almighty  Creator,  will  always  remain 
for  the  discovery  and  the  application  of  the  mind  of  man.  Were  such  a 
final  point  reached,  the  human  intellect  would  at  once  sink  and  become 
dwarfed  in  the  absence  of  the  proper  aliment  for  its  highest  powers.  No  ! 
neither  in  Time  nor  Eternity,  can  there  be  any  want  of  the  material  for  the 
development  of  the  intellect  and  the  affections,  upward  and  onward  forever 
and  ever. 

We  here  give  sketches  of  some  of  our  countrymen,  whose  inventions  have 
had  so  much  to  do  in  changing  the  whole  current  of  our  national  industry. 
These,  great  as  they  are,  may  have  been  equaled,  and  perhaps  in  some  in 
stances  surpassed  in  mental  force  by  others  not  generally  known,  because  of 
their  limited  utility.  Furthermore  the  truth  doubtless  is,  that  in  a  majority 
of  instances  the  wisest  exertions  of  intellect  have  failed  in  this  life  by  the 
intervention  of  obstacles,  as  impossible  to  be  foreseen  as  the  passage  of  the 
meteoric  stone,  which  falling  from  the  skies  on  to  the  track  at  a  critical 
moment,  caused  the  whole  train,  with  its  precious  freight  of  humanity,  to  go 
dashing  over  the  precipice.  But  failure  in  the  plans  of  this  life  are,  perhaps, 
but  temporary.  Hope  buoys  us  up  with  the  thought  that  the  strength 
gained  by  exertion  here,  may  be  continued  to  the  spirit-world,  where  the 
ineffable  glory  of  the  Creator  will  be  illustrated  by  the  continuous  progress 
of  those  who  were  originally  made  but  "a  little  lower  than  the  angels." 

ELI  WHITNEY,  THE  INVENTOR  OF  THE  COTTON-GIN. 

Eli  Whitney,  the  soli  of  a  substantial  New  England  fanner,  was  born  in 
Westborough,  Massachusetts,  in  1765.  He  early  showed  a  genius  for  me 
chanics,  and  employed  his  leisure  in  such  pursuits.  When  a  mere  boy,  in 
the  absence  of  his  parents  at  church,  prompted  by  curiosity,  he  took  his 
father's  watch  to  pieces  to  examine  its  mechanism.  He  put  it  together  so 
skillfully  that  the  machin-e  ran  as  well  as  before.  His  father  never  dis 
covered  his  audacity,  until  he  himself,  years  after,  revealed  it  to  him. 

At  the  close  of  the  revolution,  a  fashion  prevailed  among  the  ladies  of 
fastening  on  their  bonnets  with  long  pins.  These  he  contrived  to  make 
with  so  much  skill  and  dexterity,  that  he  nearly  monopolized  the  business. 
Partly  by  the  avails  of  his  mechanical  industry,  and  partly  by  teaching 
school,  he  provided  the  means  to  prepare  himself  for  college,  and  in  1789 
became  a  student  of  Yale.  His  propensity  for  mechanical  operations  thero 


OF  AMERICANS.  125 

was  occasionally  shown.  The  skill  with  which  he  used  the  tools  he  bor 
rowed  of  a  carpenter,  led  to  the  exclamation,  on  the  part  of  the  man,  "  There 
was  one  good  mechanic  spoiled  when  you  came  to  college  ! " 

In  1792,  having  graduated,  Whitney  went  to  Georgia,  with  a  view  of 
becoming  a  private  teacher;  but  being  disappointed  in  an  engagement, 
temporarily  accepted  the  hospitalities  of  Gen.  Greene,  who  resided  near 
Savannah.  Ho  there  invented  a  tambour  frame  for  Mrs.  Greene,  to  be  used 
in  embroidery,  the  ingenuity  of  which  delighted  the  whole  household. 
Not  long  after  the  family  were  visited  by  a  party  of  gentlemen,  consisting 
principally  of  officers  who  had  served  under  the  general,  in  the  revolu 
tionary  army.  The  conversation  turning  upon  the  state  of  agriculture,  it 
was  regretted  that  there  was  no  means  of  cleaning  the  seed  from  the  green 
seed  cotton,  which  might  otherwise  be  profitably  raised  on  lands  unsuitable 
for  rice.  But,  until  ingenuity  could  devise  some  machine  which  would 
greatly  facilitate  the  process  of  cleaning,  it  was  vain  to  think  of  raising 
cotton  for  market.  Separating  one  pound  of  the  clean  staple  from  the  seed 
was  a  day's  work  for  a  woman.  While  the  company  were  engaged  in  this 
conversation,  "  Gentlemen,"  said  Mrs.  Greene,  "  apply  to  my  young  friend, 
Mr.  Whitney,  he  can  make  anything,"  at  the  same  time  showing  them  the 
tambour  frame  and  several  other  articles  which  he  had  made.  She  intro 
duced  the  gentlemen  to  Whitney  himself,  extolling  his  genius,  and  com 
mending  him  to  their  notice  and  friendship.  He  modestly  disclaimed  all 
pretensions  to  mechanical  genius,  and  on  their  naming  th#  object,  replied 
that  he  had  never  seen  cotton  seed  in  his  life.  Mrs.  Greene  said  to  one  of 
the  gentlemen:  "I  have  accomplished  my  aim,  Mr.  \Vhitney  is  a  very 
deserving  young  man,  and  to  bring  him  into  notice  was  my  object.  The 
interest  which  our  friends  now  feel  for  him,  will,  I  hope,  lead  to  his  getting 
some  employment  to  enable  him  to  prosecute  the  study  of  the  law." 

Encouraged  by  Mr.  Miller,  a  teacher  in  the  family,  and  a  brother  grad 
uate  of  Yale,  he  shut  himself  up  in  his  room,  and  set  himself  at  work  in 
venting  and  constructing  that  machine  on  which  his  future  fame  depended. 
He  labored  under  great  disadvantages,  being  obliged  to  manufacture  his 
tools,  and  draw  his  own  wire.  In  the  course  of  a  few  months,  the  machine 
was  so  far  perfected  as  to  leave  no  doubt  of  its  success.  Mr.  Miller,  who 
had  funds  at  his  command,  united  with  Mr.  Whitney,  as  a  partner  in  the 
enterprise  of  making  and  vending  the  machine.  An  invention  so  important 
to  the  agricultural  interests,  and,  as  it  has  proved,  to  every  department  of 
human  industry,  could  not  long  remain  a  secret.  The  knowledge  of  it  soon 
spread  through  the  State,  and  so  great  was  the  excitement  on  the  subject, 
that  multitudes  of  persons  came  from  all  quarters  of  the  State  to  see  the 
machine  ;  but  it  was  not  deemed  safe  to  gratify  their  curiosity  until  the 
patent-right  should  be  secured.  But  so  determined  were  some  of  the 
populace  to  possess  this  treasure,  that  neither  law  nor  justice  could  restrain 
them  ;  they  broke  open  the  building  by  night,  and  carried  off  the  machine. 
In  this  way  the  public  became  possessed  of  the  invention  ;  and  before  Mr. 
Whitney  could  complete  his  model  and  secure  his  patent,  a  number  of 
machines  were  in  successful  operation,  constructed  with  some  slight  devia 
tion  from  the  original,  with  the  hope  of  evading  the  penalty  for  violating 
the  patent-right. 


126  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

As  soon  as  the  co-partnership  of  Miller  and  Whitney  was  formed,  Mr 
Whitney  repaired  to  Connecticut,  where,  as  far  as  possible,  he  was  to  perfect 
the  machine,  obtain  a  patent,  and  manufacture  and  ship  for  Georgia,  such  * 
number  of  machines  as  would  supply  the  demand. 

At  the  close  of  this  year,  1793,  Mr.  Whitney  was  to  return  to  Georgia 
with  his  cotton-gins,  where  his  partner  had  made  arrangements  for  iom- 
mencing  business  immediately  after  his  arrival.  The  importunity  of  Mr. 
Miller's  letters,  written  during  the  preceding  period,  urging  him  to  come  on, 
evinces  how  eager  the  Georgia  planters  were  to  enter  the  new  field  of  en 
terprise  which  the  genius  of  Whitney  had  laid  open  to  them.  Nor  did 
they  at  first  in  general  contemplate  availing  themselves  of  the  invention 
unlawfully.  But  the  minds  of  the  more  honorable  class  of  planters  were 
afterward  deluded  by  various  artifices,  set  on  foot  by  designing  men,  with 
the  view  of  robbing  Mr.  Whitney  of  his  just  rights. 

One  of  the  greatest  difficulties  experienced  by  men  of  enterprise,  at  this 
period,  was  the  extreme  scarcity  of  money,  which  embarrassed  them  to 
such  a  degree,  as  to  render  it  almost  impossible  to  construct  machines  fast 
enough.  In  April  he  returned  to  Georgia.  Large  crops  of  cotton  were 
planted,  the  profits  of  which  were  to  depend,  of  course,  entirely  on  the  suc 
cess  and  employment  of  the  gin. 

The  most  formidable  rival  to  Whitney's  machine,  was  the  saw-gin.  It 
was  Whitney's  gin,  excepting  that  the  teeth  were  cut  in  circular  rims  of 
iron,  and  it  was  principally  in  reference  to  this  that  the  law-suits  were  after 
ward  held. 

In  this  year,  1795,  misfortunes  began  to  multiply  upon  them.  Mr. 
Whitney's  shop  at  New  Haven  was  burnt,  and  all  his  machines  and  papers 
destroyed,  so  that  the  company  began  to  be  much  straitened  for  want  of 
funds.  Miller  wrote  Whitney  to  endeavor  to  raise  a  loan  of  money  in  New 
Haven,  and  concluded  his  letter  with  some  very  sensible  remarks.  "In 
doing  this,"  says  he,  "  use  great  care  to  avoid  giving  an  idea  that  we  are  in 
a  desperate  situation,  to  induce  us  to  borrow  money.  To  people  who  are 
deficient  in  understanding,  this  precaution  will  be  extremely  necessary  :  men 
of  sense  can  easily  distinguish  between  the  prospect  of  large  gains,  and  the 
approaches  to  bankruptcy."  "  Such  is  the  disposition  of  man,"  he  observes 
on  another  occasion,  "  that  while  we  keep  afloat,  there  will  not  be  wanting 
those  who  will  appear  willing  to  assist  us ;  but  let  us  once  be  given  over, 
and  they  will  immediately  desert  us." 

The  cotton  from  Whitney's  gins  was  sought  in  preference  to  all  others ; 
but  the  value  of  the  patent  was  almost  annihilated  by  the  extent  of  the  en 
croachments.  The  first  patent  suit,  which  was  tried  at  Augusta,  Ga.,  in 
the  spring  of  1797,  went  against  them.  The  Judge  gave  a  charge  to  the 
Jury  directly  in  their  favor.  The  imperfections  of  the  patent  law  of  that 
time,  and  the  folly  of  trying  an  intricate  case  of  this  kind  by  a  com 
mon  jury,  were  thus  made  manifest.  Thus,  after  four  }rears  of  incessant 
labor,  their  hopes  of  success  were  blasted.  Surreptitious  gins  were  erected 
in  all  parts  of  the  State,  and  few  would  buy  a  patent  which  they  could  use 
with  impunity  without  purchasing. 

In  1801  and  1802,  however,  the  patentees  succeeded  in  selling  their 
patent-right  on  advantageous  terms  to  the  States  of  South  Carolina,  North 


OF  AMERICANS.  127 

Carolina,  and  Tennessee,  and  the  prospects  were  becoming  favorable,  when 
the  legislature  of  South  Carolina  suddenly  annulled  their  contract,  and  sued 
for  the  money  which  had  been  paid. 

In  a  letter  written  to  Mr.  Miller  at  this  time,  Mr.  "Whitney  remarks  : 
"  I  am,  for  my  own  part,  more  vexed  than  alarmed  by  their  extraordinary 
proceedings.  I  think  it  behooves  us  to  be  very  cautious  and  circumspect  in 
our  measures,  and  even  in  our  remarks  with  regard  to  it.  Be  cautious  what 
you  say  or  publish  till  we  meet  our  enemies  in  a  court  of  justice,  when,  if 
they  have  any  sensibility  left,  we  will  make  them  very  much  ashamed  of 
their  childish  conduct." 

But,  that  Mr.  Whitney  felt  very  keenly  in  regard  to  the  severities  after 
ward  practiced  toward  him,  is  evident  from  the  tenor  of  the  remonstrance 
which  he  presented  to  the  legislature.  "  The  subscriber,"  says  he,  "  respect 
fully  solicits  permission  to  represent  to  the  legislature  of  South  Carolina, 
that  he  conceives  himself  to  have  been  treated  with  unreasonable  severity 
in  the  measures  recently  taken  against  him,  by,  and  under  their  immediate 
direction.  He  holds  that,  to  be  seized  and  dragged  to  prison  without  being 
allowed  to  be  heard  in  answer  to  the  charge  alleged  against  him,  and,  in 
deed,  without  the  exhibition  of  any  specific  charge,  is  a  direct  violation  of 
the  common  right  of  every  citizen  of  a  free  government  ;  that  the  power,  in 
this  case,  is  all  on  one  side  ;  that  whatever  may  be  the  issue  of  the  process 
now  instituted  against  him,  he  must,  in  any  case,  be  subjected  to  great  ex 
pense  and  extreme  hardships  ;  and  that  he  considers  the  tribunal  before 
which  he  is  holden  to  appear,  to  be  wholly  incompetent  to  decide,  defini 
tively,  existing  disputes  between  the  State  and  Miller  and  Whitney. 

"  The  subscriber  avers,  that  he  has  manifested  po  other  than  a  disposition 
to  fulfill  all  the  stipulations  entered  into  with  the  State  of  South  Carolina, 
with  punctuality  and  good  faith  ;  and  begs  leave  to  observe,  farther,  that  to 
have  industriously,  laboriously,  and  exclusively  devoted  many  years  of  the 
prime  of  his  life  to  the  invention  and  the  improvement  of  a  machine,  from 
which  the  citizens  of  South  Carolina  have  already  realized  immense  profits — 
which  is  worth  to  them  millions,  and  from  which  their  posterity,  to  the 
latest  generations,  must  continue  to  derive  the  most  important  benefits,  and 
in  return  to  be  treated  as  a  felon,  a  swindler,  and  a  villain,  has  stung  him  to 
the  very  soul.  And  when  he  considers  that  this  cruel  persecution  is  in 
flicted  by  the  very  persons  who  are  enjoying  these  great  benefits,  and  ex 
pressly  for  the  purpose  of  preventing  his  ever  deriving  the  least  advantage 
from  his  own  labors,  the  acuteness  of  his  feelings  is  altogether  inex 
pressible." 

Doubts,  it  seems,  had  arisen  in  the  public  mind  as  to  the  validity  of  the 
patent,  and  the  patentees  were  supposed  to  have  failed  in  the  fulfillment  of 
a  part  of  the  contract.  Great  exertions  had  been  made  in  Georgia,  wheref 
it  will  be  remembered,  hostilities  were  first  declared  against  him,  to  show 
that  his  title  to  the  invention  was  unsound,  and  that  somebody  in  Switzer 
land  had  coi.ceived  of  it  before  him,  and  that  the  improved  form  of  the 
machine,  with  saws  instead  of  wire  teeth,  did  not  come  within  the  patent, 
having  been  introduced  by  one,  Hodgin  Holmes. 

The  popular  voice,  stimulated  by  the  most  sordid  motives,  was  now 
raked  against  him  throughout  all  the  cotton-growing  States.  The  State  D/ 


128  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

Tennessee  followed  the  example  of  South  Carolina,  in  annulling  the  contract 
made  with  him  ;  and  the  attempt  was  made  in  North  Carolina,  but  a  com 
mittee  of  the  legislature,  to  whom  it  was  referred,  reported  in  his  favor, 
declaring  "  that  the  contract  ought  to  be  fulfilled  with  punctuality  and  good 
faith,"  which  resolution  was  adopted  by  both  houses.  There  were  also 
high-minded  men  in  South  Carolina,  who  were  indignant  at  the  dishonor- 
able  measures  adopted  by  their  legislature  of  1803  ;  and  their  sentiments 
had  impressed  the  community  so  favorably  with  regard  to  Mr.  Whitney, 
that  at  the  session  of  1804,  the  legislature  not  only  rescinded  what  the  pre 
vious  one  had  done,  but  signified  their  respect  for  Mr.  Whitney  by  marked 
commendations.  Nor  ought  it  to  be  forgotten  that  there  were  in  Georgia, 
too,  those  who  viewed  with  scorn  and  indignation  the  base  attempts  of 
demagogues  to  defraud  him.  The  proceedings  against  Mr.  Whitney  were 
predicated  upon  impositions  practiced  upon  the  public. 

At  this  time,  a  new  and  unexpected  responsibility  devolved  on  Mr. 
Whitney,  in  consequence  of  the  death  of  his  partner,  Mr.  Miller,  who  died  on 
the  7th  of  December,  1803.  Mr.  Whitnej1"  was  now  left  alone,  to  contend 
singly  against  those  difficulties  which  had  for  a  series  of  years  amost  broken 
down  the  spirits  of  both  the  partners.  But  the  favorable  issue  of  the  affairs 
of  Mr.  Whitney,  in  South  Carolina,  during  the  subsequent  year,  and  the 
generous  receipts  that  he  obtained  from  the  avails  of  his  contracts  with 
North  Carolina,  relieved  him  from  the  embarrassments  under  which  he  had 
so  long  groaned,  and  made  him  in  some  degree  independent.  Still  no  small 
portion  of  the  funds  thus  collected  in  North  and  South  Carolina,  was  ex 
pended  in  carrying  on  the  fruitless,  endless  lawsuits  in  Georgia. 

In  the  United  States  Court,  held  in  Georgia,  in  December,  1807,  Mr. 
Whitney  obtained  a  most  important  decision,  in  a  suit  brought  against  a 
trespasser  of  the  name  of  Fort. 

It  was  on  this  trial  that  Judge  Johnson  gave  his  celebrated  decision  in 
favor  of  Mr.  Whitney.  In  the  course  of  his  remarks  upon  the  case,  he  said: 
"  There  are  circumstances  in  the  knowledge  of  all  mankind  which  prove  the 
originality  of  this  invention  more  satisfactorily  to  the  mind  than  the  direct 
testimony  of  a  host  of  witnesses.  The  cotton  plant  furnished  clothing  to 
mankind  before  the  age  of  Herodotus.  The  green  seed  is  a  species  much 
more  productive  than  the  Hack,  and  by  nature  adapted  to  a  much  greater 
variety  of  climate  ;  but  by  reason  of  the  strong  adherence  of  the  fiber  to  the 
seed,  without  the  aid  of  some  more  powerful  machine  for  separating  it  than 
any  formerly  known  among  us,  tlie  cultivation  of  it  would  never  have  been 
made  an  object.  The  machine  of  which  Mr.  Whitney  claims  the  invention, 
so  facilitates  the  preparation  of  this  species  for  use,  that  the  cultivation  of  it 
has  suddenly  become  an  object  of  infinitely  greater  national  importance 
than  that  of  the  other  species  ever  can  be.  Is  it,  then,  to  be  imagined,  that 
if  this  machine  had  been  before  discovered,  the  use  of  it  would  ever  have 
been  lost,  or  could  have  been  confined  to  any  tract  or  country  left  unex 
plored  by  commercial  enterprise  ?  But  it  is  unnecessary  to  remark  further 
upon  this  subject.  A  number  of  years  have  elapsed  since  Mr.  Whitney 
took  out  his  patent,  and  no  one  has  produced  or  pretended  to  prove  the  ex 
istence  of  a  machine  of  similar  construction  or  use. 

With  regard  to  the  utility  of  this  discovery,  the  court  would  deem  it  a 


OF  AMERICANS.  129 

waste  of  time  to  dwell  long  upon  this  topic.  Is  there  a  man  who  hears  us 
who  has  not  experienced  its  utility  ?  the  whole  interior  of  the  Southern 
States  was  languishing,  and  its  inhabitants  emigrating  for  want  of  some 
object  to  engage  their  attention  and  employ  their  industry,  when  the  inven 
tion  of  this  machine  at  once  opened  views  to  them  which  set  the  whole 
country  in  active  motion.  From,  childhood  to  age  it  has  presented  to  us  a 
lucrative  employment.  Individuals  who  were  depressed  with  poverty  and 
sunk  in  idleness,  have  suddenly  risen  to  wealth  and  respectability.  Our 
debts  have  been  paid  off;  our  capitals  have  increased,  and  our  lands  trebled 
themselves  in  value.  We  cannot  express  the  weight  of  the  obligation 
which  the  country  owes  to  this  invention.  The  extent  of  it  cannot  now  be 
seen.  Some  faint  presentiment  may  be  formed  from  the  reflection  that 
cotton  is  rapidly  supplanting  wool,  flax,  silk,  and  even  furs,  in  manufactures, 
and  may  one  day  profitably  supply  the  use  of  specie  in  our  East  India 
trade.  Our  sister  States,  also,  participate  in  the  benefits  of  this  invention  ; 
for,  besides  affording  the  raw  material  for  their  manufacturers,  the  bulki- 
ness  and  quantity  of  the  article  afford  a  valuable  employment  for  their 
shipping." 

Even  Judge  Johnson,  in  the  above  remarks,  but  feebly  sets  forth  the 
advantages  to  our  country  which  have  accrued  from  this  invention.  Prior  to 
that  period  cotton  cloth  was  comparatively  unknown.  In  1784  an  American 
vessel  arrived  at  Liverpool,  having  on  board,  for  part  of  her  cargo,  eight  bags 
of  cotton,  which  were  seized  by  the  officers  of  customs  under  the  convic 
tion  that  they  could  not  be  the  growth  of  America,  although  the  plant  is 
natural  to  the  soil.  Now  cotton  is  our  great  article  of  export,  amounting 
annually  in  value  to  over  one  hundred  millions  of  dollars.  The  demand 
is  increasing  in  a  greater  ratio  than  we  can  supply ;  such  are  our  advantages 
of  soil  and  climate,  that  none  can  compete  with  us.  Instead  of  measuring 
the  value  of  this  invention  by  hundreds  of  millions  of  dollars,  thousands  of 
millions  could  scarce  compass  it.  But  for  it,  it  is  probable  that  the  cotton- 
growing  States  would  have  remained  in  a  wilderness  condition,  and  our 
country,  as  a  whole,  immeasurably  behind  her  present  state,  in  wealth, 
power,  and  population. 

The  earliest  seat  of  the  cotton  manufacture  known  to  us  was  Hindostan, 
where  it  continues  to  be  carried  on  by  hand  labor.  America  and  Europe 
are  now  pouring  back  upon  Asia  her  original  manufacture,  and  under 
selling  her  in  her  own  markets.  In  the  manufacture  of  no  one  article  has 
the  genius  of  invention  been  more  called  into  exercise.  It  has  not  only 
built  up  our  own  Lowell  and  other  thriving  towns,  but  large  cities  in  other 
lands,  as  Liverpool,  Manchester,  Glasgow,  Paisley,  etc.  It  is  estimated  to 
give  employment  to  over  a  million  of  persons,  and  an  amount  of  capital  of 
millions  upon  millions  of  dollars. 

"  Cotton  goods,  to  a  great  extent,  may  be  seen  freighting  every  vessel, 
from  Christian  nations,  that  traverses  the  globe  ;  and  filling  the  warehouses 
snd  shelves  of  the  merchants,  over  two-thirds  of  the  world.  By  the  in 
dustry,  skill,  and  enterprise  employed  in  the  manufacture  of  cotton,  man 
kind  are  better  clothed  ;  their  comfort  better  promoted  ;  general  industry 
more  highly  stimulated  ;  commerce  more  widely  extended  ;  and  civiliza 
tion  more  rapidly  advanced  than  in  any  preceding  age.  When  the 


130  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

statistics  on  the  subject  are  examined,  it  appears  that  nearly  all  the  cotton 
consumed  in  the  Christian  world,  is  the  product  of  the  slave-labor  of  the 
United  States."  The  London  Economist,  says  :  "  The  lives  of  nearly  two 
millions  of  our  countrymen  are  dependent  upon  the  cotton  crops  of 
America;  their  destiny  may  be  said,  without  any  kind  of  hyperbole,  to 
hang  upon  a  thread.  Should  any  dire  calamity  befall  the  land  of  cotton,  a 
thousand  of  our  merchant  ships  would  rot  idly  in  dock  ;  ten  thousand  mills 
must  stop  their  busy  looms;  two  hundred  thousand  mouths  would  starve 
for  lack  of  food." 

In  the  year  1812,  Mr.  Whitney  applied  to  congress  for  a  renewal  of  his 
patent.  In  his  memorial,  he  presented  a  history  of  the  struggles  he  had 
been  forced  to  encounter  in  defense  of  his  right,  observing  that  he  had  been 
unable  to  obtain  any  decision  on  the  merits  of  his  claim  until  he  had  been 
eleven  years  in  the  law,  and  thirteen  years  of  his  patent  term  had  expired. 
He  sets  forth,  that  his  invention  had  been  a  source  of  opulence  to  thousands 
of  the  citizens  of  the  United  States;  that,  as  a  labor-saving  machine,  it 
would  enable  one  man  to  perform  the  work  of  a  thousand  men;  and  that  it 
furnishes  to  the  whole  family  of  mankind,  at  a  very  cheap  rate,  the  most 
essential  article  of  their  clothing.  Hence,  he  humbly  conceived  himself 
entitled  to  a  further  remuneration  from  his  country.  The  very  men  whose 
wealth  had  been  acquired  by  the  use  of  this  machine,  and  who  had  grown 
rich  beyond  all  former  example,  had  combined  their  exertions  to  prevent 
the  patentee  from  deriving  any  emolument  from  his  invention.  Estimating 
the  value  of  the  labor  of  one  man  at  twenty  cents  per  day,  the  whole 
amount  which  had  been  received  by  him  for  his  invention,  was  not  equal  to 
the  value  of  the  labor  saved  in  one  Jiour,  by  his  machines  then  in  use  in  the 
United  States.  Cotton  is  a  more  cleanly  and  healthful  article  of  cultivation 
than  tobacco  and  indigo,  which  it  has  superseded,  and  does  not  so  much  im 
poverish  the  soil.  This  invention  has  already  trebled  the  value  of  the  land 
through  a  great  extent  of  territory ;  and  the  degree  to  which  the  cultivation 
of  cotton  may  be  still  augmented,  is  altogether  incalculable.  This  species 
of  cotton  has  been  known  in  all  countries  where  cotton  has  been  raised, 
from  time  immemorial,  but  was  never  known  as  an  article  of  commerce, 
until  since  this  method  of  cleaning  it  was  discovered.  It  is  objected  that  if 
the  patentee  succeeds  in  procuring  the  renewal  of  his  patent,  he  will  be  too 
rich.  There  is  no  probability  that  the  patentee,  if  the  term  of  his  patent 
was  extended  for  twenty  years,  would  ever  obtain  from  his  invention  one- 
half  as  much  as  many  an  individual  will  gain  by  the  use  of  it.  Up  to  the 
present  time,  the  whole  amount  of  what  he  has  acquired  from  this  source 
(after  deducting  his  expenses),  does  not  exceed  one -half  the  sum  which  a 
single  individual  has  gained  by  the  use  of  the  machine  in  one  year.  It  is 
true  that  considerable  sums  have  been  obtained  from  some  of  the  States 
where  the  machine  is  used  ;  but  no  small  portion  of  these  sums  has  been 
expended  in  prosecuting  his  claim  in  a  State  where  nothing  has  been  ob 
tained,  and  where  his  machine  has  been  used  to  the  greatest  advantage. 

"Your  memorialist  has  not  been  able  to  discover  any  reason  why  he,  au 
well  as  others,  is  not  entitled  to  share  the  benefits  of  his  own  labors.  He 
who  speculates  upon  the  markets,  and  takes  advantage  of  the  necessities  of 
others,  and  by  these  means  accumulates  property,  is  called  '  a  man  of  enter- 


OF  AMERICANS. 

prise' — 'a  man  of  business' — he  is  complimented  for  his  talents,  and  is  pro 
tected  by  the  laws.  He,  however,  only  gets  into  his  possession  that  which 
was  before  in  the  possession  of  another ;  he  adds  nothing  to  the  public  stock  ; 
and  can  he  who  has  given  thousands  to  others,  be  thought  unreasonable,  if 
he  asks  one  in  return  ? 

It  is  to  be  remembered,  that  the  pursuit  of  wealth  by  means  of  new  in 
ventions,  is  a  very  precarious  and  uncertain  one — a  lottery  where  there  are 
many  thousand  blanks  to  one  prize.  If  you  would  hold  out  inducements 
for  men  of  real  talents  to  engage  in  these  pursuits,  your  rewards  must  be 
sure  and  substantial.  Men  of  this  description  can  calculate,  and  will  know 
how  to  appreciate,  the  recompense  which  they  are  to  receive  for  their  labors. 
The  number  of  those  who  succeed  in  bringing  into  operation  really  useful 
and  important  improvements,  always  has  been,  and  always  must  be,  very 
small.  It  is  not  probable  that  this  number  can  ever  be  as  great  as  one  in  a 
hundred  thousand.  It  is  therefore  impossible  that  they  can  ever  exert  upon 
the  community  an  undue  influence.  There  is,  on  the  contrary,  much  pro 
bability  and  danger  that  their  rights  will  be  trampled  on  by  the  many." 

Notwithstanding  these  cogent  arguments,  the  application  was  rejected  by 
congress.  Some  liberal-minded  and  enlightened  men  from  the  cotton 
districts,  favored  the  petition  :  but  a  majority  of  the  members  from  that 
section  of  the  Union,  were  warmly  opposed  to  granting  it. 

In  a  correspondence  with  the  late  Mr.  Robert  Fulton,  on  the  same  sub 
ject,  Mr.  Whitney  observes  as  follows :  "  The  difficulties  with  which  I 
have  had  to  contend,  have  originated,  principally,  in  the  want  of  a  disposi 
tion  in  mankind  to  do  justice.  My  invention  was  new  and  distinct  from 
every  other — it  stood  alone.  It  was  not  interwoven  with  anything  before 
known  ;  and  it  can  seldom  happen  that  an  invention  or  improvement  is  so 
strongly  marked,  and  can  be  so  clearly  and  specifically  identified  ;  and  I 
have  always  believed,  that  I  should  have  had  no  difficulty  in  causing  my 
rights  to  be  respected,  if  it  had  been  less  valuable,  and  been  used  only  by  a 
small  portion  of  the  community.  But  the  use  of  this  machine  being  im 
mensely  profitable  to  almost  every  planter  in  the  cotton  districts,  all  were- 
interested  in  trespassing  upon  the  patent-right,  and  each  kept  the  other  in 
countenance.  Demagogues  made  themselves  popular  by  misrepresentation,, 
and  unfounded  clamors,  both  against  the  right  and  the  law  made  fo*  its. 
protection.  Hence  there  arose  associations  and  combinations  to  oppose 
both.  At  one  time,  but  few  men  in  Georgia  dared  to  come  into  court,  and 
testify  to  the  most  simple  facts  within  their  knowledge,  relative  to  the  use 
of  the  machine.  In  one  instance,  I  had  great  difficulty  in  proving  that  the- 
machine  had  been  used  in  Georgia,  although,  at  the  same  moment,  there 
were  three  separate  sets  of  this  machinery  in  motion  within  fifty  yards  of 
the  building  in  which  the  court  sat,  and  all  so  near  that  the  rattling  of  the 
wheels  was  distinctly  heard  on  the  steps  of  the  court-house." 

In  1793.  Mr.  Whitney  being  deeply  impressed  with  the  uncertainty  of 
all  his  hopes,  founded  upon  the  cotton  gin,  directed  his  attention  to  the 
manufacture  of  arms  for  government.  He  selected  a  site  near  New  Haven, 
and  there  erected  a  manufactory,  around  which  grew  up  a  beautiful  little 
settlement  of  artisans.  Owing  to  the  low  state  of  arts  in  our  country,  his 
constant  oversight  and  attention  were  required.  "Mankind,"  said  he, 
9 


132  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

*  generally  are  not  to  be  depended  upon,  and  the  best  workmen  I  can  find 
are  incapable  of  directing.  Indeed  there  is  no  branch  of  the  work  that  can 
proceed  well,  scarcely  for  a  single  hour,  unless  I  am  present."  His  genius, 
indeed,  impressed  itself  on  every  part  of  the  manufactory,  extending  even 
to  the  most  common  tools,  all  of  which  received  some  peculiar  modification 
which  improved  them  in  accuracy,  or  efficacy,  or  beauty.  His  machinery 
for  making  the  several  parts  of  a  musket  was  made  to  operate  with  the 
greatest  possible  degree  of  uniformity  and  precision.  The  object  at  which 
he  aimed,  and  which  he  fully  accomplished,  was  to  make  the  same  parts  of 
different  guns,  as  the  locks,  for  example,  as  much  like  each  other  as  the 
successive  impressions  of  a  copper-plate  engraving.  It  has  generally  been 
conceded  that  Mr.  Whitney  greatly  improved  the  art  of  manufacturing  arms, 
and  laid  his  country  under  permanent  obligations,  by  augmenting  her  facili 
ties  for  national  defense. 

Mr.  Whitney  died  in  1825.  In  person,  he  was  commanding,  and  of  an 
open,  manly  countenance.  His  manners  were  modest,  unassuming,  and  he 
invariably  won  the  respect  of  all  with  whom  he  was  thrown  in  contact.  No 
American,  by  the  single  exercise  of  his  powers,  has  added  so  much  to  the 
wealth  and  prosperity  of  his  country  as  Eli  Whitney,  the  inventor  of  the 
Cotton  Gin. 

ROBERT  FULTON,  THE  STEAMBOAT  INVENTOR. 

LITTLE  BRITAIN,  now  called  Fulton,  Lancaster  County,  Pennsylvania, 
was  the  birthplace  of  the  indefatigable  ROBERT  FULTON.  He  was  born  of 
frish  parentage  in  1765,  the  same  year  which  gave  birth  to  Eli  Whitney. 
When  a  mere  lad,  he  passed  his  leisure  hours  in  the  shops  of  mechanics,  or 
in  the  use  of  his  pencil.  The  four  years  previous  to  his  majority,  he  sup 
ported  himself,  in  Philadelphia,  by  portrait  and  landscape  painting.  He 
then  v;ent  to  London  to  study  painting  under  Benjamin  West,  with  whom 
•he  remained  for  several  years.  He  resided  for  a  time  in  Devonshire,  where 
he  derived  much  benefit  from  the  acquaintance  of  those  eminent  patrons  of 
the  mechanic  arts,  the  Duke  of  Bridgewater,  and  the  Earl  of  Stanhope. 

Internal  navigation,  by  canals  and  improvements  in  machinery,  now  en 
grossed  his  attention,  and  he  abandoned  his  profession  as  an  artist  and 
became  a  civil  engineer.  In  his  profession  he  at  once  gained  eminence,  and 
was  the  author  of  several  valuable  inventions.  In  1796  he  published  his 
Treatise  on  .the  Improvement  of  Canal  Navigation,  and  soon  after  went  to 
Paris,  where  he  resided  with  Joel  Barlow  for  seven  years.  At  this  time, 
his  thoughts  were  turned  toward  the  subject  of  political  economy,  and  he 
wrote  a  work,  addressed  to  "  the  Friends  of  Mankind,"  in  which  he  labors 
to  show,  that  education  and  internal  improvements  would  have  a  good  effect 
on  the  .happiness  of  a  nation.  He  judged  it  would  take  ages  to  establish 
the  freedom  of  the  seas  by  the  common  consent  of  nations;  he  therefore 
turned  his  whole  attention  to  find  out  some  means  of  destroying  ships  of 
war,  those  engines  of  oppression,  and  to  put  it  out  of  the  power  of  any 
nation  to  maintain  such  a  system  ;  and  thus  to  compel  every  government  to 
adopt  the  simple  principles  of  education,  industry,  and  a  free  circulation  of 
its  produce.  Out  of  such  enlarged  and  philanthropic  views  and  reflections 
grew  Mr.  Fulton's  inventions  for  submarine  navigation  and  explosions. 


OF  AMERICANS.  133 

Having  gained  the  patronage  of  the  French  government,  in  the  summer 
of  1801  he  went  to  Brest,  to  make  experiments  in  submarine  navigatior. 
He  embarked  with  three  companions  on  board  his  plunging-boat  in  tho 
harbor,  and  descended  to  the  depth  of  five,  ten,  fifteen,  and  so  on  to  twenty- 
five  feet ;  but  he  did  not  attempt  to  go  lower,  because  he  found  that  his  im 
perfect  machine  would  not  bear  the  pressure  of  the  water  at  a  greater  depth. 
He  found  that  she  would  tack  and  steer,  and  sail  on  a  wind  or  before  it,  as 
well  as  any  common  sailing  boat.  He  then  struck  her  masts  and  sails  ;  to 
do  which,  and  prepare  for  plunging,  required  about  two  minutes.  Having 
plunged  to  a  certain  depth,  he  placed  two  men  at  the  engine,  which  wag 
intended  to  give  her  progressive  motion,  and  one  at  the  helm,  while  he, 
with  a  barometer  before  him,  kept  her  balanced  between  the  upper  and 
lower  waters.  He  found  that  with  one  hand  he  could  keep  her  at  any 
depth  he  pleased ;  and  that  in  seven  minutes  he  had  gone  about  the  third 
of  a  mile.  He  could  turn  her  round  while  under  water,  and  return  to  the 
place  he  started  from.  These  experiments  were  repeated  for  several  days, 
till  he  became  familiar  with  the  operation  of  the  machinery  and  the  motion 
of  the  boat.  He  found  that  she  was  as  obedient  to  her  helm  under  water, 
as  any  boat  could  be  on  the  surface  ;  and  that  the  magnetic  needle  traversed 
as  well  in  one  situation  as  in  the  other.  Satisfied  with  his  boat,  he  next 
made  some  experiments  with  the  torpedoes,  or  submarine  bombs. 

A  small  vessel  was  anchored  n  the  roads,  and  with  a  bomb,  containing 
about  twenty  pound*  of  powder,  he  approached  within  about  two  hundred 
yards  struck  the  vessel  and  blew  her  into  atoms.  A  column  of  water  and 
fragments  was  blown  near  one  hundred  feet  into  the  ain  This  experiment 
was  made  in  the  presence  of  the  prefect  of  the  department  and  a  multitude 
of  spectators. 

Through  the  summer  he  watched  for  English  ships,  to  try  the  success  of 
his  invention  in  blowing  up  the  enemy  of  France.  No  opportunity  being 
afforded,  the  government  refused  him  any  farther  encouragement,  and, 
having  received  overtures  from  that  of  England,  he  proceeded  to  London. 
Several  experiments  were  made,  and  some  of  them  were  failures  ;  but  on 
the  15th  of  October,  1805,  he  blew  up  a  strong  built  Danish  brig  of  two 
hundred  tuns  burden,  which  had  been  provided  for  the  experiment,  and 
which  was  anchored  in  Walmar  Roads,  near  the  residence  of  Mr.  Pitt.  The 
torpedo  used  on  this  occasion  contained  one  hundred  and  seventy  pounds  of 
powder ;  and  in  fifteen  minutes  from  the  time  of  starting  the  machinery  and 
throwing  the  torpedo  into  the  water,  the  explosion  took  place.  It  lifted  tho 
brig  almost  entire,  and  broke  her  completely  in  two.  The  ends  sunk  im 
mediately,  and  in  one  minute  nothing  was  to  be  seen  of  her  but  floating 
fragments.  In  fact,  her  annihilation  was  complete. 

Notwithstanding  the  complete  success  of  this  experiment,  the  British 
ministry  seem  to  have  been  but  little  disposed  to  have  anything  further  to 
do  with  Mr.  Fulton,  or  his  projects.  Their  object,  evidently,  had  been  to 
prevent  his  engines  being  placed  in  the  hands  of  an  enemy  ;  and  if  this  was 
accomplished,  it  was  the  interest  of  England,  as  long  as  she  was  ambitious 
of  the  proud  title  of  the  mistress  of  the  seas,  to  make  the  world  believe  that 
Mr.  Fulton's  projects  were  chimerical. 

In  December,  1806,  Mr.  Fulton  returned  to  his  native  country,  and  im 


134:  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

mediately  engaged  in  the  projects,  both  of  submarine  war  and  steam-naviga 
tion.  In  the  succeeding  July,  he  blew  up,  with  a  torpedo,  in  the  harbor  of 
New  York,  a  large  hulk-brig,  which  had  been  prepared  for  the  purpose.  In 
1810,  congress  granted  him  five  thousand  dollars  to  make  further  experi 
ments  in  submarine  explosions. 

We  must  now,  however,  revert  to  an  early  period  of  his  life,  to  trace  from 
the  beginning  the  progress  of  that  great  improvement  in  the  arts,  for  which 
\ve,  and  all  the  world,  are  so  much  indebted  to  him  :  we  mean  the  practical 
establishment  of  navigation  by  steam.  At  what  time  his  attention  was  first 
directed  to  this  subject,  we  do  not  know  ;  but  it  is  ascertained  that,  in  the 
year  1793,  he  had  matured  a  plan,  in  which,  even  at  that  early  day,  he  had 
great  confidence.  Mr.  Fulton,  when  he  conceived  a  mechanical  invention, 
not  only  perceived  the  effect  it  would  produce,  but  he  could  ascertain,  by 
calculation,  the  power  his  combination  would  afford,  how  far  it  would  be 
adequate  to  his  purpose,  and  what  would  be  the  requisite  strength  of  every 
part  of  the  machine  :  and  though  his  numerical  calculations  did  not  always 
prove  exact,  and  required  to  be  corrected  by  experiments,  yet  they  assured 
him  of  general  results. 

It  would  be  great  injustice  not  to  notice  with  due  respect  and  commenda 
tion  the  enterprises  of  the  late  Chancellor  Livingston,  who  had  so  intimate 
a  connection  with  Fulton  in  the  progress  and  establishment  of  steam-navi 
gation.  As  early  as  1798,  Mr.  Livingston  represented  to  the  legislature  of 
New  York,  that  he  was  possessed  of  a  mode  of  applying  the  steam  engine 
to  propel  a  boat  on  new  and  advantageous  principles;  upon  which,  they 
passed  an  act,  vesting  him  with  the  exclusive  right  and  privilege  of  navi 
gating  all  kinds  of  boats,  which  might  be  propelled  by  the  force  of  fire  or 
steam,  on  all  the  waters  within  the  territory  or  jurisdiction  of  the  State  of 
New  York,  for  the  term  of  twenty  years  from  the  passing  of  the  act ;  upon 
condition  that  he  should,  within  a  twelve-month,  build  such  a  boat,  the 
mean  of  whose  progress  should  not  be  less  than  four  miles  an  hour.  Mr. 
Livingston,  immediately  after  the  passing  of  this  act,  built  a  boat  of  about 
thirty  tuns  burden,  which  was  propelled  by  steam  ;  but,  as  she  was  incom 
petent  to  fulfill  the  condition  of  the  law,  she  was  abandoned.  Soon  after  he 
entered  into  a  contract  with  Fulton,  by  which  it  was,  among  other  things, 
agreed,  that  a  patent  should  be  taken  out  in  the  United  States  in  Fulton's 
name,  which,  Mr.  Livingston  well  knew,  could  not  be  done  without  Mr. 
Fulton's  taking  an  oath  that  the  improvement  was  solely  his. 

Fulton  met  Chancellor  Livingston  in  Paris  in  1802,  and  was  induced  by 
him  to  again  turn  his  attention  to  the  subject.  In  the  summer  of  1803,  an 
experimental  boat  was  built  on  the  Seine,  sixty-six  feet  long,  and  eight  feet 
wide.  The  experiment  was  satisfactory  to  the  spectators — not  entirely  so  to 
Mr.  Fulton,  she  being  deficient  in  speed,  owing  to  defective  machinery.  He, 
however,  was  so  well  satisfied  of  ultimate  success,  that  he  ordered  of  Watt 
and  Bolton,  of  Birmingham,  England,  certain  parts  of  a  steam-engine  to  be 
made  for  him,  and  sent  to  America.  He  did  not  disclose  to  them  for  what 
purpose  the  engine  was  intended  ;  but  his  directions  were  such  as  would 
produce  the  parts  of  an  engine,  that  might  be  put  together  within  a  compass 
suited  for  a  boat.  Mr.  Livingston  had  written  to  his  friends  in  this  country, 
and,  through  their  interference,  an  act  was  passed  by  the  legislature  of  the 


OF  AMERICANS.  135 

State  of  New  York,  on  the  5th  of  April,  1803,  by  which  the  rights  and 
exclusive  privileges  of  navigating  all  the  waters  of  that  State,  by  vessels 
propelled  by  fire  or  steam,  granted  to  Mr.  Livingston  by  the  act  of  1798, 
which,  we  have  before  mentioned,  were  extended  to  Mr.  Livingston  and 
Mr.  Fulton,  for  the  term  of  twenty  years  from  the  date  of  the  new  act. 

Very  soon  after  Mr.  Fulton's  arrival  in  New  York,  he  commenced  build 
ing  his  first  American  boat.  While  she  was  constructing,  he  found  that 
her  expenses  would  greatly  exceed  his  calculations.  He  endeavored  to 
lessen  the  pressure  on  his  own  finances,  by  offering  one  third  of  the  right, 
for  a  proportionate  contribution  to  the  expenses. 

In  the  spring  of  1807,  Fulton's  first  American  boat  was  launched  from 
the  ship-yard  of  Charles  Brown  on  the  East  River.  The  engine  from  Eng 
land  was  put  on  board  of  her,  and  in  August  she  was  completed,  and  was 
moved  by  her  machinery  from  her  birthplace  to  the  Jersey  shore.  Mr. 
Livingston  and  Mr.  Fulton  had  invited  many  of  their  friends  to  witness  the 
first  trial,  among  whom  were  those  learned  men,  Dr.  Mitchill  and  Dr. 
M'Neven,  to  whom  we  are. indebted  for  some  account  of  what  passed  on 
this  occasion.  Nothing  could  exceed  the  surprise  and  admiration  of  all 
who  witnessed  the  experiment.  The  minds  of  the  most  incredulous  were 
changed  in  a  few  minutes.  Before  the  boat  had  made  the  progress  of  a 
quarter  of  a  mile,  the  greatest  unbeliever  must  have  been  converted.  The 
man  who,  while  he  looked  on  the  expensive  machine,  thanked  his  stars 
that  he  had  more  wisdom  than  to  waste  his  money  on  such  idle  schemes, 
changed  the  expression  of  his  features  as  the  boat  moved  from  the  wharf 
and  gained  her  speed,  and  his  complacent  expression  gradually  stiffened 
into  one  of  wonder.  The  jeers  of  the  ignorant,  who  had  neither  sense  nor 
feeling  enough  to  suppress  their  contemptuous  ridicule  and  rude  jokes, 
were  silenced  for  a  moment  by  a  vulgar  astonishment,  which  deprived 
them  of  the  power  of  utterance,  till  the  triumph  of  genius  extorted  from 
the  incredulous  multitude  which  crowded  the  shores,  shouts  and  acclama 
tions  of  congratulation  and  applause. 

This  boat,  which  was  called  the  Clermont,  soon  after  made  a  trip  to 
Albany.  Mr.  Fulton  gives  the  following  account  of  this  voyage  in  a  letter  to 
his  friend,  Mr.  Barlow.  "  My  steamboat  voyage  to  Albany  and  back,  has 
turned  out  rather  more  favorable  than  I  had  calculated.  The  distance 
from  New  York  to  Albany  is  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles ;  I  ran  it  up  in 
thirty-two  hours,  and  down  in  thirty.  I  had  a  light  breeze  against  me  the 
whole  way,  both  going  and  coming,  and  the  voyage  has  been  performed 
wholly  by  the  power  of  the  steam-engine.  I  overtook  many  sloops  and 
schooners  beating  to  windward,  and  parted  with  them  as  if  they  had  been 
at  anchor.  The  power  of  propelling  boats  by  steam  is  now  fully  proved. 
The  morning  I  left  New  York,  there  were  not  perhaps  thirty  persons  in  the 
city,  who  believed  that  the  boat  would  ever  move  one  mile  an  hour,  or  bo 
of  the  least  utility  ;  and  while  we  were  putting  off  from  the  wharf,  which 
was  crowded  with  spectators,  I  heard  a  number  of  sarcastic  remarks.  Thi 
is  the  way  in  which  ignorant  men  compliment  what  they  call  philosophers 
and  projectors.  Having  employed  much  time,  money,  and  zeal,  in  accom 
plishing  this  work,  it  gives  me,  as  it  will  you,  great  pleasure  to  see  it  fully 
answer  my  expectations.  It  will  give  a  cheap  and  quick  conveyance  to 


136  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

the  merchandise  on  the  Mississippi,  Missouri,  and  other  great  rivers,  which 
are  now  laying  open  their  treasures  to  the  enterprise  of  our  countrymen  ;  and 
although  the  prospect  of  personal  emolument  has  been  some  inducement  to 
me,  yet  I  feel  infinitely  more  pleasure  in  reflecting  on  the  immense  advan 
tage  that  my  country  will  derive  from  the  invention,"  etc. 

Soon  after  this  successful  voyage,  the  Hudson  boat  was  advertised  and 
established  as  a  regular  passage-boat  between  New  York  and  Albany.  She, 
however,  in  the  course  of  the  season,  met  with  several  accidents,  from  tha 
hostility  of  those  engaged  in  the  ordinary  navigation  of  the  river,  and 
from  defects  in  her  machinery. 

On  the  llth  of  February,  1800,  Mr.  Fulton  took  out  a  patent  for  his  in 
ventions  in  navigation  by  steam,  and  on  the  9th  of  February,  1811,  he 
obtained  a  second  patent  for  some  improvements  in  his  boats  and 
machinery. 

It  having  been  found  that  the  laws,  granting  to  Livingston  and  Fulton 
exclusive  privileges,  were  insufficient  to  secure  their  enjoyment,  the  legisla 
ture  of  New  York,  in  1811,  passed  a  supplementary  act,  giving  certain 
summary  remedies  against  those  who  should  contravene  the  protecting 
laws.  The  act,  however,  excepts  two  boats  which  were  then  navigating  the 
Hudson,  and  one  which  ran  on  Lake  Champlain  in  opposition  to  Living 
ston  and  Fulton  :  without  these  exceptions,  the  law,  as  to  these  boats,  would 
have  been  ex  post  facto.  In  respect  to  these,  therefore,  the  parties  were  left 
to  the  same  remedies  as  before  passing  the  last  act.  The  opposition  boats 
on  the  Hudson,  were  at  first  to  have  been  propelled  by  a  pendulum,  which 
some  thought  would  give  a  greater  power  than  steam  ;  but  on  launching 
their  vessel,  they  found  the  machinery  was  not  so  easily  moved  as  when 
she  was  on  the  stocks.  Having  found,  by  experiment,  that  a  pendulum 
would  not  supply  the  place  of  steam,  and  knowing  no  other  way  of  apply 
ing  steam  than  that  they  saw  practiced  in  the  Fulton  boats,  they  adopted 
all  their  machinery,  with  some  small  alterations,  with  no  other  view  than 
to  give  a  pretense  for  claiming  to  be  the  inventors  of  improvements  on 
steamboats. 

On  a  trial  for  an  injunction  which  ensued,  the  merits  of  the  members  of 
this  Pendulum  Company  were  contrasted  with  those  of  Fulton,  by  Mr. 
Emmet,  the  counsel  for  the  appellants.  He  described  them  as  "  men  who 
never  wasted  health  and  life  in  midnight  vigils,  and  painful  study,  who 
never  dreamt  of  science  in  the  broken  slumbers  of  an  exhausted  mind,  and 
who  bestowed  on  the  construction  of  a  steamboat  just  as  much  mathemati 
cal  calculation  and  philosophical  research,  as  in  the  purchase  of  a  sack  of 
wheat,  or  a  barrel  of  ashes." 

From  the  time  the  first  boat  was  put  in  motion  till  the  death  of  Mr. 
Fulton,  the  art  of  navigating  by  steam  was  fast  advancing  to  that  perfection 
of  which  he  believed  it  capable :  for  some  time  the  boat  performed  each 
successive  trip  with  increased  speed,  and  every  year  improvements  were 
made.  The  last  boat  built  by  him  was  invariably  the  best,  the  most  con- 
venient,  and  the  swiftest. 

In  the  war  of  1812,  Mr.  Fulton's  ingenuity  was  called  upon  to  furnish 
plans  of  his  submarine  warfare,  as  a  defense  to  the  harbor  of  New  York. 
Congress  also  authorized  him  to  build  a  steam-frigate  for  its  defense,  which 


OF  AMERICANS.  137 

was  named  Fulton  the  First ;  but  before  she  was  launched  this  ingenious 
man  was  no  more. 

During  the  whole  time  that  Mr.  Fulton  had  thus  been  devoting  hia 
talent  to  the  service  of  his  country,  he  had  been  harassed  by  lawsuits  and 
cc-Qtroversies  with  those  who  were  violating  his  patent-rights,  or  intruding 
upon  his  exclusive  grants.  The  State  of  New  Jersey  had  passed  a  law 
which  operated  against  Mr.  Fulton.  He  visited  Trenton,  the  capital,  and 
succeeded  in  obtaining  its  repeal.  On  his  return  he  was  exposed  on  the 
Hudson,  which  was  very  full  of  ice,  for  several  hours.  He  had  not  a  con 
stitution  to  encounter  such  exposure,  and  upon  his  return,  found  himsell 
much  indisposed  from  the  effects  of  it.  He  had  at  that  time  great  anxiety 
about  the  steam-frigate,  and,  after  confining  himself  for  a  few  days,  he 
went  to  give  his  superintendence  to  the  artificers  employed  about  her. 
Forgetting  his  debilitated  state  of  health  in  the  interest  he  took  in  what 
was  doing  on  the  frigate,  he  remained  too  long  exposed,  in  a  bad  day,  to 
the  weather  on  her  decks.  He  soon  felt  the  effects  of  this  imprudence. 
His  indisposition  returned  upon  him  with  such  violence  as  to  confine  him 
to  his  bed.  His  disorder  increased,  and  on  the  24th  day  of  February,  1815, 
terminated  his  valuable  life. 

Mr.  Fulton  was  not  the  original  inventor  of  the  steamboat,  nor  never 
claimed  to  be.  Many  steamboats  had  been  made  before  the  Clermont,  both 
in  Europe  and  in  America ;  the  most  successful  of  which,  was  that  con 
structed  by  John  Fitch,  a  Connecticut  clock-maker.  He  built  a  steamboat 
on  the  Delaware  propelled  by  paddles ;  which,  for  about  a  month,  in  1790, 
regularly  plied  as  a  passage-boat  between  Philadelphia  and  Bordentown  ; 
traversing  in  that  period  over  two  thousand  miles.  Her  speed  was,  at 
times,  eight  miles  an  hour ;  and  this  with  an  engine  manufactured  in  this 
country  by  common  blacksmiths,  under  the  supervision  of  Fitch.  All  that 
can  be  rightfully  claimed  for  Fulton  in  this  matter,  is,  that  his  experiment 
convinced  the  world  of  the  practicability  of  steam-navigation  ;  so  that 
steamboats  have  never  ceased  running  from  that  day  to  this. 

S.    F.    B.    MORSE,  AND    THE    MAGNETIC    TELEGRAPH. 

Samuel  F.  B.  Morse,  widely  known  as  the  inventor  of  the  Magnetic 
Telegraph,  is  the  eldest  son  of  the  Rev.  Jedediah  Morse,  the  first  American 
geographer,  and  was  born  in  Charlestown,  Massachusetts,  in  1791.  He 
graduated  at  Yale  College  in  1810,  and  the  year  after  went  to  London,  to 
learn  the  art  of  painting.  He  made  very  rapid  progress,  and  gave  great 
promise  of  surpassing  excellence  in  the  profession.  "On  his  return  to 
America,  he  settled  in  Boston,  but  he  met  with  so  little  encouragement 
that  he  removed  to  New  Hampshire,  where  he  found  employment  in 
painting  portraits  at  fifteen  dollars  per  head.  He  was  induced  by  his 
friends  to  remove  to  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  and  there  his  art  proved 
more  profitable.  About  1822,  he  took  up  his  residence  in  New  York, 
where  he  found  his  works  and  talents  more  justly  appreciated,  and  his  skill 
as  an  artist  put  in  requisition.  Under  a  commission  from  the  corporation, 
he  painted  a  full-length  portrait  of  Lafayette,  then  on  a  visit  to  the  United 
States.  It  was  shortly  after  this,  that  Mr.  Morse  formed  that  association 
of  artists,  which  resulted  in  the  establishment  of  the  National  Academy  of 


138  ADVENTURES  AND   ACHIEVEMENTS 

Design,  of  which  he  was  elected  president ;  and  it  is  worthy  of  noter  that 
the  first  course  of  lectures  on  the  subject  of  art  read  in  America,  was 
delivered  by  him  before  the  New  York  Athenaeum,  and  afterward  repeated 
to  the  students  of  the  academy.  In  1829,  he  paid  a  second  visit  to  Europe, 
and  remained  abroad  three  years. 

On  his  return  from  Europe,  in  the  packet-ship  Sully,  in  1832,  a  gentle 
man,  in  describing  the  experiments  that  had  just  been  made  in  Paris  with 
the  electro-magnet,  the  question  arose  as  to  the  time  occupied  by  the 
electric  fluid  in  passing  through  the  wire,  stated  to  be  about  one  hundred 
feet  in  length.  On  the  reply  that  it  was  instantaneous  (recollecting  the 
experiments  of  Franklin),  he  suggested  that  it  might  be  carried  to  any  dis 
tance,  and  that  the  electric  spark  could  be  made  a  means  of  conveying  and 
recording  intelligence.  This  suggestion,  which  drew  some  casual  observa 
tion  of  assent  from  the  party,  took  deep  hold  of  Professor  Morse,  who 
undertook  to  develop  the  idea  which  he  had  originated  ;  and,  before  the 
end  of  the  voyage,  he  had  drawn  out  and  written  the  general  plan  of  the 
invention  with  which  his  name  will  be  inseparably  connected.  His  main 
object  was  to  effect  a  communication  by  means  of  the  electro-magnet  that 
would  leave  a  permanent  record  by  signs  answering  for  an  alphabet,  and 
which,  though  carried  to  any  distance,  would  communicate  with  any  place 
that  might  be  on  the  line.  His  first  idea  was  to  pass  a  strip  of  paper, 
saturated  with  some  chemical  preparation,  that  would  be  decomposed  when 
brought  in  connection  with  the  wire,  along  which  the  electric  current  was 
passing,  and  thus  form  an  alphabet  by  marks,  varying  in  width  and  number, 
that  could  be  made  upon  the  paper  at  the  will  of  the  operator,  and  by  this 
means  avoid  separating  the  wire  at  the  different  points  of  communication. 

On  his  return  to  New  York,  he  resumed  his  profession,  still  devoting  a.l 
his  spare  time,  under  great  disadvantages,  to  the  perfection  of  his  invention. 
Finding  his  original  plan  impracticable,  he  availed  himself  of  the  action  of 
the  electro-magnet  upon  the  lever  as  a  mode  of  using  pens  and  ink,  as  in 
the  ruling  machine.  Of  these  he  had  five,  with  the  idea  of  securing  the 
required  characters  from  one  of  the  pens.  These  he  abandoned  for  pen 
cils,  and  after  a  trial  of  various  means  for  obtaining  the  end  desired,  and 
finding  by  experiment  he  could  obtain  any  requisite  force  from  the  lever, 
he  adopted  the  stylus  or  steel  point  for  indenting  the  paper,  and  it  is  this 
he  has  since  used. 

After  great  difficulty  and  much  discouragement,  Professor  Morse,  in  1835, 
demonstrated  the  practicability  of  his  invention,  by  completing  and  putting 
in  operation  in  the  New  York  University  a  model  of  his  'Recording  Electric 
Telegraph ' — the  whole  apparatus,  with  the  exception  of  a  wooden  clock, 
which  formed  part  of  it,  having  been  made  by  himself.  In  1837,  he  aban 
doned  his  profession,  with  great  regret,  hoping  to  make  his  invention  a 
means  of  resuming  it,  under  easier  and  more  agreeable  circumstances.  In 
the  same  year,  he  filed  his  caveat  at  the  patent-office  in  Washington  ;  and 
it  is  somewhat  singular  that,  during  this  year  (1837),  Wheatstone,  in  Eng 
land,  and  Steinheil,  in  Bavaria,  both  invented  a  magnetic  telegraph,  differ 
ing  from  the  American,  and  from  each  other.  Wheatstone's  is  a  very  in 
ferior,  not  being  a  recording  telegraph,  but  requiring  to  be  watched  by  one 
of  the  attendants — the  alphabet  being  made  by  the  deflection  of  the  needle. 


OF  AMERICANS.  139 

Steinheil's,  on  the  contrary,  is  a  recording  telegraph,  but  from  its  compli 
cated  and  delicate  machinery,  has  been  found  impracticable  for  extended 
lines.  At  a  convention  held  in  1851  by  Austria,  Prussia,  Saxony,  Wirtem- 
berg,  and  Bavaria,  for  the  purpose  of  adopting  a  uniform  system  of  telegrapn- 
ing  for  all  Germany,  by  the  advice  of  Steinheil,  Professor  Morse's  was  the 
one  selected.  From  the  sultan  of  Turkey  he  received  the  first  foreign 
acknowledgment  of  his  invention  in  the  bestowal  of  a  nishan,  or  order — tho 
1  order  of  glory  : '  a  diploma  to  that  effect  was  transmitted  to  him  with  the 
magnificent  decoration  of  that  order  in  diamonds.  The  second  acknowledg 
ment  was  from  the  king  of  Prussia,  being  a  splendid  gold  snuff-box,  con 
taining  in  its  lid  the  Prussian  gold  medal  of  scientific  merit.  The  latest 
acknowledgment  is  from  the  king  of  Wurtemberg,  who  transmitted  to  him 
(after  the  adoption  of  the  Telegraph  treaty  by  the  convention  above  men 
tioned)  the  'Wurtemberg  Gold  Medal  of  Arts  and  Sciences.'  In  1838,  he 
went  to  England,  for  the  purpose  of  securing  a  patent  there,  but  was  refused, 
through  the  influence  of  Wheatstoue  and  his  friends,  under  the  pretense 
that  his  invention  had  already  been  published  there.  All  that  could  be 
adduced  in  proof  of  this  was  the  publication  in  an  English  scientific 
periodical  of  an  extract  copied  from  the  New  York  'Journal  of  Commerce,' 
stating  the  results  of  his  invention,  without  giving  the  means  by  which 
they  were  produced.  In  the  following  spring,  he  returned  to  this  country, 
and  in  1840  perfected  his  patent  at  Washington,  arid  set  about  getting  his 
telegraph  into  practical  operation. 

In  184.4,  the  first  electric  telegraph  was  completed  in  the  United  States, 
between  Baltimore  and  Washington  ;  and  the  first  intelligence  of  a  public 
character  which  passed  over  the  wires  was  the  announcement  of  the  nomina 
tion  of  James  K.  Polk,  as  the  democratic  candidate  for  the  presidency,  by 
the  Baltimore  convention.  Since  then,  he  has  seen  its  wires  extended  all 
over  the  country,  to  the  length  of  thousands  of  miles — an  extent  unknown 
elsewhere  in  the  civilized  world.  His  success  has  led  to  the  invasion  of  hia 
patent-rights  by  others,  whom  he  has  finally  succeeded  in  defeating,  after  an 
expensive  and  protracted  litigation." 

The  greatest  triumph  of  Professor  Morse,  we  hope,  will  be  found  in  the 
success  of  the  submarine  telegraph  between  America  and  Europe,  efforts 
being  now  prosecuted  to  lay  the  cable  across  the  Atlantic.  "The  honor  of 
having  laid  the  first  permanent  telegraph  under  water,  belongs  to  the  Eng 
lish,  in  laying  that  from  Dover  to  Calais.  But  the  first  conception  of,  and 
the  first  attempt  at  submarine  telegraphic  communication,  were  the  fruit  of 
the  genius  of  our  countryman,  Professor  Samuel  F.  B.  Morse. 

In  the  New  York  Herald  of  17th  October,  1842,  the  following  paragraph 
occurs:  'Professor  Morse  will  perform  a  highly  interesting  experiment 
with  his  electro-magnetic  telegraph,  by  which  a  correspondence  will  be 
carried  on  between  Castle  Garden  and  Governor's  Island.'  On  the  follow 
ing  day  the  same  journal  refers  again  to  the  subject,  and  predicts  that  'it  is 
destined  to  work  a  complete  revolution  in  the  mode  of  transmitting  intel 
ligence  throughout  the  civilized  world.' 

On  the  night  of  18th  October,  Professor  Morse  set  out  from  Castle  Garden 
in  a  small  boat,  with  one  man  to  row.  In  the  stern  sheets  he  had  a  coil  of 
wire,  insulated  by  being  wrapped  in  cotton  thread  covered  with  a  coating  of 


140  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

asphaltum  and  India  rubber;  this  he 'paid  out'  as  the  boatman  rowed 
across  to  Governor's  Island,  and  had  the  satisfaction  of  making  fast  the  end 
to  a  battery  on  the  island  some  time  before  daybreak.  Thus  far  all  had 
been  propitious.  But  when  the  sun  rose,  Professor  Morse  discovered,  with 
dismay,  that  after  he  had  laid  his  wire,  two  or  three  vessels  had  anchored 
directly  over  it.  He  foresaw  the  Consequence.  When  the  people  assem 
bled,  and  the  hour  of  trial  came,  the  battery  was  set  to  work,  and  the 
professor,  with  a  trembling  hand,  essayed  to  send  a  message  to  the  island. 
He  succeeded  in  transmitting  a  few  marks,  but  they  were  illegible  ;  the 
anchors  had  fouled  the  wire  and  destroyed  its  insulation  ;  the  crowd  went 
home  convinced  that  telegraphic  communication  under  water  was  '  all 
humbug ; '  and  the  professor  was  hardly  consoled  by  a  letter  of  thanks  and 
a  gold  medal  from  the  institute,  and  a  fair  appreciation  by 'the  press. 

Somewhat  discouraged,  in  truth,  but,  of  course,  firm  in  confidence,  Pro 
fessor  Morse  applied  his  mind  to  the  transmission  of  the  electric  current 
across  rivers  without  the  aid  of  wires.  This  experiment  was  successfully 
performed,  and  the  current  sent  across  the  canal  at  Washington,  without  in 
tervening  wire,  in  presence  of  many  members  of  congress  and  distinguished 
persons,  in  December,  1842.  Nothing  carne  of  it.  But  Professor  Morse 
was  so  well  satisfied  that  his  failure  at  Castle  Garden  was  only  a  step  to 
the  success  of  submarine  telegraphs,  that  he  wrote  to  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  on  10th  August,  1843:  'The  practical  inference  to  be  drawn 
from  the  law  (which  he  had  developed),  is,  that  a  telegraphic  communica 
tion  may  be  established  across  the  Atlantic.  Startling  as  this  may  now 
geem,  the  time  will  come  when  this  project  will  be  realized.' 

Nor  does  the  professor  stand  alone.  In  the  winter  of  1842-3,  Colonel 
Colt  laid  a  submarine  telegraphic  wire  across  from  New  York  to  Brooklyn, 
and  from  Long  Island  to  Coney  Island.  This  wire,  which  was  laid  for  the 
purpose  of  obtaining  early  marine  news,  worked  for  some  time  to  the 
public  satisfaction. 

It  was  not  till  five  years  afterward  that  the  Dover  and  Calais  line  was 
laid.  Public  opinion  was  against  it ;  and  when  the  wire  was  actually  laid, 
and  messages  passing  to  and  fro,  the  wise  men  still  said  that  it  could  not 
be.  Some  declared  that  the  messages  were  a  fraudulent  imposture  ;  others 
simply  shrugged  their  shoulders.  One  of  our  leading  periodicals,  in  allud 
ing  to  the  event,  said,  with  a  sneer,  'The  thing  actually  seems  to  work, 
for  the  present.' 

Other  lines  rapidly  followed — the  Dover  and  Ostend  line,  the  Liverpool 
and  Dublin,  the  line  to  the  Hague,  the  line  from  Piedmont  to  Sardinia  and 
Corsica,  and  the  Newfoundland  line,  on  this  side  of  the  ocean,"  etc. 

GEORGE    STEERS,  THE    AMERICAN    SHIP-ARCHITECT. 

One  of  the  most  melancholy  chapters  in  the  history  of  almost  every  man 
of  genius,  whose  beneficent  labors  have  made  the  earth  better  by  hia 
resio\er  ?e  upon  it,  is  that  which  tells  of  the  misdirection  of  his  earliest 
efforts  in  the  great  battle  of  life,  and  the  time  lost,  and  the  discouragements 
encountered  in  the  vain  attempt  to  do  what  nature  never  intended  ho 
should  do.  The  right  man  has  to  fight  his  way  into  the  right  place, 
through  a  thousand  discouraging  obstacles,  but  he  finds  it  at  last 


OF  AMERICANS. 

Fulton  spent  the  best  years  of  his  life  in  painting  bad  historical  pictures, 
which  are  only  remembered  now  because  they  were  painted  by  him.  The 
great  engineer  and  inventor,  whose  beneficent  genius  has  done  so  much  for 
mankind,  frittered  away  his  early  manhood  in  designing  allegorical  compo 
sitions  as  illustrations  of  Joel  Barlow's  epic  poem.  But  Fulton  found  the 
place  at  last,  and  the  glory  of  his  name  will  never  fade  from  the  memory  of 
men. 

It  was  the  good  fortune  of  George  Steers  to  be  born  into  the  very  sphere 
whore  his  natural  genius  could  be  employed  to  the  best  advantage  for  him 
self  and  the  world.  His  father  was  a  ship-carpenter,  an  Englishman  by 
birth,  and  a  resident  of  the  City  of  Washington,  where  George  was  born,  in 
the  year  1819  ;  but  fortunately  for  him,  the  elder  Steers  removed  to  the 
City  of  New  York,  to  work  at  his  trade ;  and  among*  the  operations  in 
which  he  engaged,  was  the  building  of  the  famous  Marine  Railway,  com 
monly  known  as  the  Dry  Dock.  The  father  of  George  Steers  was  re 
markable  for  his  integrity  of  character  and  perfect  uprightness  ;  and  it  is  a 
circumstance  worth  mentioning,  that  when  the  distinguished  son  of  this 
honest  man  had  taken  the  contract  to  build  the  groat  steam-ship  Adriatic, 
a  gentleman,  who  was  an  entire  stranger  to  him,  volunteered  to  be  one  of 
his  bondsmen,  because  he  had  been  acquainted  with  his  father,  and  knew 
him  to  be  "  as  honest  a  man  as  ever  breathed." 

The  region  of  the  Dry  Dock  was,  and  still  is,  devoted  to  the  business  of 
ship-building  in  all  its  branches  ;  it  was  here  the  young  lad  Steers  passed 
his  early  years,  and,  in  fact,  his  whole  life.  While  his  father  was  employed 
upon  the  Marine  Railway,  George  made  himself  useful  in  the  humble 
occupation  of  tending  the  "pitch-kettle;"  but  he  did  not  confine  himself 
to  that  humble  employment :  his  mind  was  occupied  in  inventing  models 
of  boats  and  ships,  which  he  put  successfully  into  shape  as  opportunities 
occurred.  His  first  practical  effort  at  ship-building,  was  in  the  construction 
of  a  flat-boat,  when  he  was  but  ten  years  old,  which  was  eight  feet  long. 
His  mind  was  of  so  practical  a  character,  and  his  instincts  so  sure,  that  he 
never  manifested  any  desire  to  obtain  information  from  books,  or  cared  to 
listen  to  the  suggestions  of  others.  Though  one  of  the  most  modest 
natures  in  the  world,  he  never  had  the  slightest  misgivings  as  to  the  cor 
rectness  of  his  own  theories,  nor  would  he  yield  his  own  opinions  to  the 
dictations  of  another.  It  was,  perhaps,  unfortunate  for  him  that  he  had  not 
enjoyed  greater  advantages  of  schooling  :  not  that  schooling  could  have 
done  anything  for  him  toward  making  him  a  better  builder  of  ships,  but  a 
better  acquaintance  with  literature,  and  the  scientific  formula  of  his  art, 
would  have  enabled  him  to  appear  to  much  better  advantage,  and  have 
gained  him  a  readier  acknowledgment  of  his  inventive  genius.  Those  who 
knew  him  best,  had  unbounded  confidence  in  his  ability  ;  but  to  strangers, 
it  seemed  very  naturally  questionable  that  a  man  whose  general  education 
was  so  limited  should  so  much  excel  all  others  in  h'is  noble  profession. 
But  it  did  not  take  long  for  him  to  gain  the  utmost  confidence  of  those 
with  whom  he  came  in  contact. 

He  continued  to  make  models  for  boats,  until  he  became  a  master  in  his 
art,  at  an  age  when  other  boys  were  but  beginning  to  learn.  At  the  age  of 
sixteen,  he  tried  and  built  a  sail-boat  sixteen  feet  long,  named  the  Martin 


142  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

Van  Buren  :  for  George  was  always  a  decided  democrat  in  his  politica. 
principles.  This  boat  beat  the  Gladiator,  a  famous  sailer,  three  miles,  in  a 
race  of  twenty-four.  Two  years  afterward,  he  built  the  John  C.  Stevens, 
a  row-boat,  twenty-one  feet  long,  three  feet  ten  inches  broad,  and  thirteen 
inches  deep ;  it  weighed  but  one  hundred  and  forty  pounds,  and,  with  a  full 
crew  on  board,  drew  but  four  inches  of  water.  The  John  C.  Stevens  was 
believed  to  be  the  lightest  and  fleetest  boat  in  the  world  ;  but,  however  that 
might  be,  it  is  very  certain  that  she  beat  the  fastest  boats  that  New  York 
could  produce,  in  several  match  races. 

George  was  never  put  to  a  regular  apprenticeship,  but,  at  the  age  ol 
sixteen,  he  went  to  work  in  the  ship-yard  of  Jabez  Williams,  with  whom 
he  continued  a  year  and  a  half.  While  he  was  in  the  yard  of  Mr.  Wil 
liams,  he  asked  the  foreman  to  be  allowed  to  do  a  certain  piece  of  work,  to 
"square  the  wales,"  which  the  foreman  refused  to  do,  on  account  of  his 
youth.  But  George  appealed  to  the  "  Boss,"  who  granted  him  the  privi 
lege  asked  for,  and  he  finished  the  job  to  the  satisfaction  even  of  the 
foreman. 

After  leaving  the  ship-yard  of  Mr.  Williams,  he  entered  the  employ  of  a 
ship-builder,  named  Hathorne,  whose  partner  he  became  subsequently.  But 
he  did  not  remain  long  with  him  as  an  employee  :  his  object  being  to  gain 
all  the  practical  knowledge  that  could  be  acquired  in  a  particular  position, 
and  when  that  was  done,  he  transferred  himself  to  the  next  best  place. 
After  leaving  Mr.  Hathorne,  he  was  now  employed  by  W.  H.  Brown,  a 
celebrated  ship-builder,  in  laying  off  the  model  of  the  frigate  Kamschatka, 
built  for  the  emperor  of  Russia.  Though  not  yet  nineteen  years  old,  he 
took  the  job  of  putting  on  the  deck  of  this  frigate.  He  also,  in  connection 
with  two  other  young  men,  "  lumped  "  a  ship  to  build  for  the  great  ship 
builder  W.  H.  Webb;  arid  found  time  to  build  a  sail-boat,  the  Mauhaltes, 
of  nearly  thirty  tuns. 

In  1843,  when  he  was  twenty-four  years  old,  he  entered  into  partnership 
with  his  old  "boss,"  Mr.  Hathorne,  who  was  one  of  the  first  yacht  builders 
in  the  country,  and  a  favorite  with  the  celebrated  Stevens,  of  Hoboken,  for 
whom  he  had  built  several  steamboats  and  yachts.  The  first  vessel  built 
by  the  new  firm  was  the  steamboat  Columbia,  on  which  Mr.  Steers  per 
formed  the  greatest  day's  work  that  any  ship-carpenter  was  ever  known  to 
accomplish.  He  fitted  and  erected  forty-five  stanchions  on  the  guard,  cut 
ting  the  holes  in  the  oak  plank  sheer,  tenanting  them  into  the  facing  under 
neath  the  beams.  He  was  not,  like  many  inventors,  an  idle  dreamer,  but 
a  hard-fisted,  thorough-going,  conscientious  mechanic.  Though  always  ex 
tremely  temperate  in  his  habits,  he  was  the  very  reverse  of  niggardly,  and 
never  made  money  a  primary  consideration  in  any  of  his  undertakings. 
His  great  pride  was  to  excel  in  his  profession.  While  in  partnership  with 
Mr.  Hathorne,  he  built  a  great  number  of  vessels  of  various  kinds  ;  but  one 
of  his  great  successes  was  the  pilot,  W.  G.  Hackstaff,  which  beats  all  the 
boats  of  that  class  sailing  out  of  the  port  of  New  York.  On  dissolving  with 
Mr.  Hathorne,  Steers  built  a  small  steamer  on  Seneca  Lake,  and  two  pro 
pellers,  at  Rochester,  for  Lake  Ontario ;  one  of  which,  the  Ontario,  was  one 
of  the  finest  boats  of  her  class.  Returning  to  New  York,  he  engaged  again 
in  his  favorite  business  of  yacht-building ;  and  among  the  vessels  of  that 


OF  AMERICANS. 


kind,  which  he  modeled  arid  constructed,  was  the  beautiful  schooner  the 
Una,  which  soon  made  a  name  for  herself  among  the  Yacht  Squadron.  In 
the  year  1848,  Mr.  Steers  engaged  as  foreman  for  W.  H.  Brown,  the 
largest  ship-builder  in  New  York,  and  laid  down  the  molds  for  two  of  the 
Collins'  steamships,  the  Atlantic,  and  the  ill-fated  Arctic. 

The  next  step  of  Mr.  Steers,  was  in  the  direction  which  has  given  him 
his  great  renown  as  an  inventor  in  the  modeling  of  sailing-vessels.  In  build 
ing  a  pilot-boat,  called  the  Mary  Taylor,  he  brought  to  perfection  his  theory 
of  hollow  water  lines ;  and  all  his  subsequent  models  were  but  little  more 
than  the  expansion  of  the  lines  and  proportions  of  this  famous  vessel.*  The 


*  "  This  system  was  conceived  when  a  mere  boy,  and  is  based  upon  the  assumption 
that  for  a  vessel  to  sail  easily,  steadily,  and  rapidly,  the  displacement  of  water  must  be 
nearly  uniform  along  the.  lines.  When  he  laid  the  keel  of  the  pilot-boat  Mary 
Taylor,  he  engaged  in  advance,  to  make  a  faster,  a  dryer,  and  a  steadier  craft  than  had 
ever  left  the  port  of  New  York,  so  confident  was  he  of  his  power,  and  he  succeeded 
exactly  according  to  his  expectations.  Previous  to  this  achievement,  a  vessel  had  never 
been  built  where  the  center  of  displacement  had  not  been  forward  of  the  beam.  Fears 
were  generally  entertained  that  this  '  new  form '  would  prove  a  failure.  Some  predicted 
that  this  vessel  would  plunge  under  water,  others  thought  that  in  rough  weather  no  one 
could  live  on  deck,  all  of  which  prophecies  are  certainly  contradicted  by  fact.  For,  en- 
countering  less  resistance  from  the  narrow  bows,  the  vessel  went  faster,  and  experienced 
no  corresponding  strain,  and  suffered  no  more  in  rough  weather  than  in  the  summer 
breeze.  The  advantages  of  Mr.  Steers'  system  of  ship-building  may  be  thus  summed 
up  :  greater  speed  with  the  same  tuunage  and  canvas  ;  greater  stability  in  the  vessel — 
that  is,  an  increased  hold  upon  the  water :  greater  evenness  and  equality  of  motion,  re 
sulting  from  an  equalized  leverage — since  the  masts,  as  levers,  work  more  uniformly 
upon  the  fulcrum  of  the  ship ;  greater  endurance,  because  there  is  less  strain  in  rapid 
sailing,  or  in  rough  weather ;  steadiness  of  motion,  which  enables  her,  in  sailing,  to  keep 
close  to  the  wind,  and  lose  but  little  leeway." 

"  As  most  of  our  readers  are  not  conversant  with  the  technicalities  of  ship-building 
terms,  we  have  endeavored,  in  the  accompanying  diagram,  to  give  the  relative  position 
of  the  beam — or  extreme  breadth — as  it  occurred  iii  the  old  style  of  vessels,  and  in  those 
of  Steers. 


F/GJ. 


FIG.  1,  represents  the  shape  of  vessels  on  the  old  plan — the  dotted  line  being  the 
position  of  the  beam. 

FIG.  2.  Plan  of  Steers,  as  shown  in  the  yacht  America. 


144  ADVENTUKES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

Mary  Taylor  was  a  wonder  for  her  sailing  qualities,  and  excited  unbounded 
admiration  among  amateur  yacht-men  and  ship-builders.  In  1850,  the 
keel  of  the  world  renowned  America  was  laid,  and  also  that  of  the  hardly 
less  celebrated  yacht  Sylvia.  The  America  has  become  one  of  the  most 
famous  vessels  that  ever  floated.  She  was  built  expressly  to  compete  with 
England  in  her  own  waters,  for  the  championship  of  the  seas,  so  far  as 
epeed  was  concerned,  and  she  came  off  victorious.  It  was  regarded  as  a 
national  victory  ;  and  the  young  ship-builder,  who  had  been  hitherto  un 
known,  became  at  once  one  of  the  most  famous  men  of  the  day,  and  the  pet  of 
his  admiring  countrymen.  Mr.  Steers  went  over  in  the  yacht  expressly  to 
manage  her  in  the  great  race.  He  had  an  instinctive  knowledge  in  sailing 
a  vessel,  and  would  carry  a  sail  to  the  last  moment ;  when  all  but  himself 
were  blanched  with  fear  at  his  boldness,  he  kept  his  post  at  the  helm  per 
fectly  serene  and  self-possessed  :  for  he  knew  the  exact  strain  which  his 
boat  could  bear,  and  the  right  moment  to  give  her  relief. 

The  yacht  America  was  built  for  the  New  York  Yacht  Club.  The 
terms  were  that  the  builder  should  be  paid  forty  thousand  dollars,  if  she 
beat,  in  a  race,  the  sloop  Maria,  and  but  half  of  that  sum  if  she  failed. 
There  was  never  a  fair  trial  of  speed  between  the  two  vessels,  and  only  the 
smaller  sum  was  paid. 

On  his  return  to  New  York,  after  his  great  victory  at  Cowes  with  the  America, 
(See  page  615),  Mr.  Steers  was  received  with  every  mark  of  distinction  and 
respect;  he  was  honored  by  a  public  dinner,  given  him  by  the  mechanics  of 
the  city,  and  was  also  a  guest  at  the  dinner  given  by  the  Yacht  Club,  in 
commemoration  of  their  victory.  He  bore  all  these  honors  modestly,  and 
esumed  his  business  again,  with  as  much  earnestness  as  ever,  as  though  he 
had  not  achieved  so  great  a  success.  He  built  a  great  number  of  yachts, 
and,  at  every  regatta  of  the  Yacht  Club,  some  of  his  boats  carried  off  the 
prizes.  He  also  built  several  ships  and  steamboats.  But  his  fame  had  not 
yet  culminated.  A  larger  and  more  honorable  field  was  open  before  him. 
In  the  year  1854,  congress  having  made  an  appropriation  for  six  steam- 
frigates  of  the  largest  class,  it  was  decided  to  allow  one  of  them  to  be  built 
by  a  private  architect,  or,  at  least,  one  not  in  the  service  of  the  government ; 
and  though  there  was  great  competition  for  the  honor  of  building  this 
ship,  which  was  to  be  the  largest  of  all,  the  secretary  of  the  navy,  to  the 
great  satisfaction  of  the  country,  decided  to  bestow  the  favor  upon  Mr. 


"  Among  mechanical  triumphs,  nothing  can  be  more  beautiful  than  the  models  of 
George  Steers'  ships — they  are  like  the  handiwork  of  Cellini  for  delicacy  of  execution, 
nnd  yet,  like  the  torso  of  Angelo,  suggest  mighty  results.  It  was  in  the  closet — in 
the  retiracy  of  his  modest  work-shop,  that  Steers  solved  the  mighty  problems  which 
enter  into  naval  architecture,  and  speculating,  like  another  Franklin  or  Laplace,  upon 
the  laws  of  nature,  studied  to  overcome  friction  in  propelling  the  weighty  argosies 
through  the  great  deep;  and  so  perfectly  did  he  enter  into  the  arcana  of  natme's  in 
most  temples,  that  every  step  of  progress  he  made  was  through  means  sublimely  simple, 
and  accomplished  amid  a  halo  of  the  most  perfect  beauty.  His  ships,  like  all  master 
works  of  art,  seem  to  be  born  of  inspiration — the  iatense  labor  which  produced  them 
is  entirely  lost  sight  of  iu  the  suggestion  that  they  are  the  result  alone  of  a  creative 
power  " 


OP  AMERICANS.  145 

Steers.  It  was  a  proud  distinction  for  the  young  mechanic,  and  most  nobly 
did  he  justify  the  choice  of  the  secretary.  The  superb  Niagara,  the  largest 
and  fastest  man-of-war  afloat,  was  the  result.  No  opportunity  has  yet  been 
offered  for  thoroughly  testing  the  capacity  of  this  magnificent  ship;  but 
enough  has  been  done  to  establish  her  superiority  over  every  other  vessel  in 
our  own  navy.  She,  as  is  well  known,  was  the  vessel  selected  to  assist  in 
laying  down  the  telegraphic  wire  across  the  Atlantic. 

The  launching  of  this  huge  vessel  was  a  triumph  of  mechanical  skill,  and 
as  she  slid  gracefully  and  swiftly  from  her  ways  into  the  water,  her  excited 
architect  leaped  from  the  ground  in  exultation  at  his  success.  "  And  then, 
the  next  moment,"  says  a  friend,  who  was  with  him,  "as  the  united  cheers 
of  ten  thousand  rent  the  air,  the  modesty  of  the  simple-hearted  man  re 
ceived  such  a  shock,  that  he  at  once  shrank  from  observation,  and  became 
personally  lost  in  the  crowd  of  heaving,  exultant  human  beings  that  sur- 
'ounded  him.  Relieved  from  the  presence  of  observers,  and  standing  on 
the  deck  of  the  newly-born  ship,  he  walked  over  the  vast  area,  pointed  out 
the  advantages  he  calculated  would  be  gained  by  her  construction,  imagined 
the  stars  and  stripes  floating  aloft,  and  then  coming  to  the  immense  em 
brasures,  in  his  glowing  imaginings,  he  ran  out  the  tremendous  guns  in 
tended  for  the  Niagara's  armament,  and  asked,  with  a  proper  glow  of  pride, 
what  vessel  could  successfully  dispute  her  supremacy  on  her  ocean  home?* 
[t  was  a  sublime  spectacle  thus  to  witness  the  great  commander  triumphant 
upon  his  own  deck — it  was  a  new  thing  to  behold  a  victory  so  complete,  so 
mighty  in  its  results,  unaccompanied  by  the  shedding  of  blood,  unstained 
by  a  single  aggressive  act.  We  admired,  nay,  venerated,  the  man,  and  in 
wardly  thanked  Heaven  that  among  all  our  national  blessings  we  could 
icckon  the  wealth  of  the  constructive  mind  of  George  Steers,  who  was  so 
eminently  adding  luster  to  our  acknowledged  supremacy  of  the  seas,  and 
thus  collecting  under  our  glorious  flag  not  only  the  largest  marine  in  the 
world,  but  also  adding  the  additional  graces  of  specimens  unsurpassed  in  ex 
cellence  of  shape,  and  unapproached  in  speed." 

But  this  monster  ship  did  not  engross  all  his  thoughts,  nor  all  his  time; 
while  she  was  in  process  of  construction  he  modeled  and  built  another  beau 
tiful  yacht  the  Widgeon,  and  took  the  contract  for  the  steam  ship  Adriatic, 
for  the  Collins'  line  of  steam-packets.  The  model  of  this  ship  has  been 
pronounced  nearer  perfection  than  that  of  any  other  vessel  afloat,  while  sha 
is  the  largest  wooden  ship  that  has  ever  been  built ;  the  iron  ship,  Great 
Eastern,  alone  excelling  her  in  dimensions. 

The  Adriatic  was  his  last  work.  She  was  launched  in  the  presence  of 
the  greatest  crowd  that  was  ever  assembled  on  a  similar  occasion.  It  was  a 
splendid  triumph  for  the  self-reliant,  self-taught  mechanic.  After  the 
launch,  the  proprietors  of  the  line  gave  a  banquet,  at  a  hotel  in  Broadway, 
in  honor  of  the  occasion,  to  which,  of  course,  the  builder  of  the  ship  was 
invited,  and  was  expected  to  be  the  principal  guest.  But,  when  all  the 
company  were  assembled  there  was  the  vacant  chair  at  the  head  of  the 
table ;  all  eyes  were  watching  for  the  entrance  of  the  man  in  whose  honor 
the  feast  was  given  ;  but  he  did  not  come.  He  was  sent  for,  and  found  in 
his  ship  yard  directing  his  workmen,  not  having  deemed  it  worth  his  whil« 
to  attend  the  festival.  This  was  a  characteristic  trait  of  his  modest  nature, 


146  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

AH  that  he  aimed  at  was  to  do  his  work  perfectly.  The  glorification  which 
followed  he  never  thought  about. 

The  completion  of  the  Niagara  and  the  Adriatic  was  the  culmination  of 
his  aspirations  ;  he  had  abundantly  proved  to  the  world  that  he  was  not  a 
mere  builder  of  yachts  and  pilot  boats,  and,  in  spite  of  all  opposition  had 
demonstrated  on  the  largest  scale  that  the  principles  he  had  adopted  were  as 
true  in  their  application  to  the  largest  class  of  ships,  as  they  were  to  tho 
smallest  boats.  The  huge  Adriatic  of  six  thousand  tuns  burden  was  but  a 
big  yacht ;  and  she  was  finished  in  every  part  with  the  accuracy  and  ele 
gance  that  he  bestowed  upon  his  smaller  crafc. 

He  had  now  reached  the  point  at  which  he  had  been  aiming ;  his  talents  were 
recognized,  and  he  had  made  grand  calculations  for  the  future.  Preparatory 
to  putting  his  new  schemes  in  practice,  he  had  dissolved  partnership  with 
his  elder  brother  James,  and  there  were  large  capitalists  who  stood  ready  to 
invest  any  amount  of  capital  he  might  require  in  tho  prosecution  of  hia 
plans.  But  it  was  not  ordained  that  he  should  achieve  any  more  triumphs. 

On  the  26th  of  September,  in  the  year  1856,  he  drove  out  on  Long  Island 
with  a  pair  of  gay  horses,  to  bring  home  his  wife  and  children,  who  had  been 
spending  the  summer  at  a  farm  house.  The  horses  took  fright  and  he  was 
either  thrown  or  leaped  from  the  carriage,  and  he  was  found  a  few  minutea 
afterward  lying  upon  the  ground  insensible.  His  fall  was  fatal  and  he  never 
spoke  again. 

His  funeral  was  attended  more  largely  than  that  of  any  private  citizen 
who  had  died  in  New  York,  and  every  mark  of  affection  and  respect  was 
paid  to  his  memory.  He  died,  like  Byron  and  Raphael,  in  his  thirty-seventh 
year,  just  as  his  genius  was  at  its  full  vigor,  and  when  he  seemed  about  to 
commence  his  career.  But  he  had  done  enough  to  insure  him  renown,  and 
his  death  was  lamented  as  a  national  loss,  as  it  undoubtedly  was. 

In  person  George  Steers  was  tall  and  vigorous,  his  complexion  was  florid, 
and  his  eyes  were  a  dark  blue.  His  countenance  had  a  remarkable  expression 
of  honesty  and  simplicity.  He  was  extremely  liberal,  yet  careful  in  money 
matters  ;  and,  though  he  had  never  thought  of  saving  for  his  family,  he  left 
them  in  comfortable  circumstances.  He  is  buried  in  Greenwood  Cemetery, 
and  a  very  elegant  marble  monument,  erected  by  his  widow,  marks  the  place 
of  his  interment.  Among  the  testimonials  he  had  received,  was  a  very  costly 
ring,  set  with  precious  stones  which  was  sent  to  him  by  the  Emperor  Nicholas 
of  Russia,  and,  if  he  and  his  imperial  admirer  had  lived,  it  is  probable  that 
he  would  have  been  employed  to  rebuild  the  Russian  Navy. 

CHARLES   GOODYEAR,    THE    INVENTOR   OF    VULCANIZED    INDIA-RUBBER. 

Middle  aged  men  recollect  when  they  were  boys  that  the  only  use  of 
India-rubber  was  for  the  purpose  of  obliterating  marks  made  by  the  lead 
pencil.  But  the  manufacturing  spirit  of  our  days  having  formed  an  alliance 
with  chemistry,  the  result  has  been  that  this  among  other  materials  has  risen 
nto  great  importance  and  of  varied  uses  for  the  welfare  of  society. 

"With  regard  to  the  material  itself,  we  shall  just  state  that  it  was  first 
seen  in  Europe  about  the  middle  of  the  last  century  ;  that  it  was  soon  afterward 
discovered  to  be  the  gum,  or,  more  properly,  the  coagulated  juice  of  certain 
trop:cal  trees,  the  chief  of  which  is  the  celebrated  Siplumia  elastica  of  the 


OF  AMERICANS.  147 

Brazilian  forests  ;  that  by  the  natives  it  was  called  cacutchouc ;  by  tho 
chemists,  from  its  singular  elasticity,  gum-elastic ;  and  by  the  common 
people,  from  its  valuable  property  of  cleaning  paper,  India-rubber.  Its  phy 
sical  properties,  indeed,  as  a  whole,  are  perfectly  unique.  By  far  the  most 
elastic  substance  in  nature,  it  is  insoluble  in  water,  in  alcohol,  or  in  any  of 
the  mineral  acids ;  but  it  dissolves  readily  in  ethej  or  naptha  ;  and,  above 
all,  it  possesses  the  power  of  agglomerating,  or,  in  plain  language,  of  adher 
ing  again  when  cut,  if  the  separate  pieces  are  brought  together.  •  No  other 
substance,  we  may  add,  is  so  valuable  to  the  analytical  chemist.  We  have 
the  high  authority  of  the  Baron  Justus  von  Liebig  for  stating,  that  to  the 
increased  facilities  which  the  flexible  tubes  and  sheets  of  India-rubber  have 
given  in  the  laboratory,  we  owe  many  of  the  brightest  discoveries  in  organic 
chemistry. 

Now,  it  happened  about  twenty-five  years  ago,  that  the  method  of  pro 
ducing  thin  sheets  of  India-rubber  was  applied  to  the  invention  of  water 
proof  cloth  garments  ;  and  large  manufactories  for  this  purpose  were  estab 
lished  both  in  Europe  and  in  America.  The  celebrated  Macintosh  fabrics, 
so  popular  in  the  duys  of  stage-coach  traveling,  belong  to  this  era  of  the 
trade.  But,  unfortunately,  one  or  two  awkward  circumstances  connected 
with  the  material,  which  had  hitherto  almost  escaped  notice,  began  to  appear 
in  the  most  unmistakable  manner.  India-rubber,  it  was  found,  like  all  other 
vegetable  substances,  had  a  tendency  to  unite  with  the  oxygen  of  the  atmos 
phere,  and  decompose ;  and  while  perfectly  elastic  at  all  ordinary  tempera 
tures,  it  had  the  fatal  peculiarity  of  becoming  soft  with  heat  and  hard  with 
cold.  It  was  related  in  South  Carolina,  that  a  stout  gentleman,  traveling  one 
day  under  a  hot  sun  with  a  waterproof  coat  on,  became  glued  up  into  an 
outer  integument,  from  which  no  skill  could  extricate  him.  Another  unfor- 
nate  man  in  Michigan,  who  wore  a  full  suit  of  the  treacherous  fabric,  was 
seen  to  leave  a  hot  room  on  a  cold  winter  evening,  his  clothes  to  all  appear 
ance  quite  soft  and  pliable.  Next  morning,  he  was  found  among  the  snow 
on  the  high  road  frozen  to  death,  with  the  fatal  garments  around  him  as 
stiff  as  buckram,  and  as  hard  as  iron." 

From  these  causes,  among  others  we  need  not  stay  to  mention,  the  original 
India-rubber  manufacture  gradually  sunk  in  importance,  and  indeed  soon 
became  extinct.  But  in  a  few  years  it  was  destined  to  rise  from  its  ashes, 
and  through  the  persevering  experiments  of  Mr.  Charles  Goodyear.  This  gen 
tleman,  the  son  of  a  manufacturer,  was  born  in  New  Haven,  Connecticut,  in 
the  year  1800.  He  appears  to  have  inherited  a  genius  for  invention,  for  his 
father  was  the  inventor  of  several  useful  articles,  particularly  of  the  spring 
steel  hay  and  manure  forks,  which  he  manufactured,  together  with  metal 
and  pearl  buttons,  spoons,  sythes,  etc.  In  the  year  1826,  he  went  to  Phil 
adelphia  with  his  family,  and  engaged  in  the  domestic  hardware  business, 
in  connection  with  the  manufacturing  establishment  in  Connecticut.  This 
was  the  first  establishment  for  the  sale  of  domestic  hardware  in  the  United 
States,  and  was  considered  by  many,  a  visionary  enterprise,  for  to  that  period 
the  whole  trade  in  hardware  had  been  in  imported  articles.  It  was  however 
for  a  time  eminently  successful,  and  a  handsome  fortune  was  accumulated 
by  the  firm  ;  yet,  in  consequence  of  too  extended  operations  in  different 

10 


148  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

states,  too  liberal  credits  and  heavy  losses,  in  1830  the  firm  was  obliged  to 
suspend  payments. 

About  two  years  after  this  the  manufacture  of  gum-elastic  was  begun  in 
the  United  States,  but  not  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  where  he  then  was. 
He  observed  all  he  heard  or  could  ascertain  respecting  it  with  critical  'nterest, 
and  commenced  experimenting  with  it,  mixing  the  gum  by  hand  ar.d  spread 
ing  it  on  a  marble  slab  with  a  rolling  pin.  By  the  disinterested  and  timely- 
aid  of  a  friend,  he  was  enabled  to  continue  his  experiments  in  this  manner, 
and  with  the  aid  of  a  few  hands  he  succeeded  in  making  a  few  hundred 
pairs  of  shoes.  This  manufacture  was  carried  on  during  the  winter  of  1835-6, 
in  a  small  cottage  in  New  Haven,  which  served  also  as  a  family  residence. 

The  failure  of  these  experiments  was  a  signal  one,  as  on  the  return  of 
warm  weather  they  all  decomposed  and  became  one  mass  of  melted  gum. 
M  This  circumstance  was  very  discouraging,  and  might  have  induced  any  one 
of  a  less  enthusiastic  turn  of  mind  to  abandon  the  project  altogether.  But 
Goodyear,  it  should  seem,  was  no  common-place  inventor.  With  astonish 
ing  perseverance,  he  set  about  acquiring  the  chemistry  of  the  subject;  and 
it  is  pleasing  to  relate  that  in  this  direction  his  efforts  were  at  length  crowned 
with  success.  He  discovered  that  if  India-rubber  were  combined  at  a  high 
temperature  with  certain  proportions  of  sulphur  and  the  oxide  of  lead,  its 
whole  physical  nature  was  changed,  that  it  was  now  proof  against  the  process 
of  vegetable  decay,  and  that  it  remained  uniformly  elastic  under  the  most 
considerable  variations  of  temperature.  This  singular  compound  he  ushered 
into  the  world  in  due  time  under  the  title  of  Vulcanized  India-rubber." 

During  the  first  years  of  his  experiments,  until  after  he  had  discovered  the 
heating  or  vulcanizing  process,  and  had  become  certain  that  he  had  obtained 
his  object,  he  made  it  an  invariable  practice  to  test  the  various  experiments 
by  wearing  some  article  of  apparel  made  from  the  material,  that  he  might  as 
soon  as  possible  arrive  at  correct  conclusions,  the  wearing  of  gume-lastic 
about  the  person  being  one  of  the  severest  tests  to  which  it  can  be  applied. 
An  anecdote  is  related  which  exhibits  in  its  true  light,  the  opinion  of  the 
public  as  to  his  enthusiasm  and  also  as  to  his  poverty.  A  gentleman,  asking 
how  he  might  recognize  him,  received  for  an  answer,  "If -you  meet  a  man 
who  has  on  an  India-rubber  cap,  stock,  coat,  vest,  and  shoes,  with  an  India- 
rubber  purse  without  a  cent  of  money  in  it,  that  is  he  !" 

Late  in  the  summer  of  1836,  Mr.  Goodyear  removed  to  Roxbury,  Massa 
chusetts,  where  he  carried  on  his  experiments  with  indefatigable  perseverance, 
notwithstanding  frequent  imprisonments  for  debt,  and  the  strong  opposition 
of  his  friends.  It  was  during  the  winter  of  1839-40,  a  year  after  the  dis 
covery  of  the  vulcanization  process,  and  that  he  became  convinced  of  the 
real  value  of  his  discovery,  that  the  greatest  discouragements  were  met 
with.  During  this  period  his  family  were  sometimes  destitute  of  food  and 
fuel.  The  great  difficulty  now  remained  to  bring  the  minds  of  others  to  ap 
preciate  the  subject  as  he  did  himself,  and  it  was  not  until  some  years  later 
that  the  manufacture  was  established  on  a  profitable  basis. 

The  importance  of  this  invention  was  very  great.  Vulcanized  India-rubl>er 
after  awhile  became  the  rage ;  all  sorts  of  things  were  made  from  it — rail 
way  springs  and  buffers,  machinery  belts,  elastic  bands  and  air-cushions, 
waterproof  garments  of  every  description,  all  kinds  of  bandages,  and  a  num 


OF  AMEEICANS.  149 

ber  of  surgical  instruments.  These  things  all  created  a  large  demand  for 
the  material ;  but  it  was  soon  found  that  the  article  which  consumed  most 
and  sold  best  was  the  waterproof  shoes  ;  and  in  a  few  years  after  the  invention 
was  made  public,  there  sprang  up  several  large  establishments  in  Connecticut, 
in  Rhode  Island,  in  New  Jersey,  and  in  Massachusetts,  which  manufacture 
abo1:*.  five  million  pair  every  year,  and  give  employment  to  upward  of  five 
tho;.»and  people. 

Similar  manufactories  have  also  been  established  in  England,  Scotland, 
France,  and  Germany.  It  is  estimated  a  capital  of  fifty  millions  of  dollars, 
is  now  employed  in  the  business  of  Vulcanized  India-rubber. 

Mr.  Goodyear,  owing  to  the  almost  interminable  lawsuits  which  follow 
upon  the  -heels  of  every  great  invention,  and  the  continuation  of  his  expen 
sive  experiments  in  developing  the  applications  and  uses,  and  in  improving 
the  manufacture,  has  not  to  this  day  realized  a  competency  sufficient  to  free 
him  from  business  embarrassments.  Large  fortunes,  however,  have  been 
made  and  are  now  making  by  manufacturers  in  the  different  kinds  of  India- 
rubber  goods. 

SAMUEL   COLT,    THE   INVENTOR  OF   THE    REPEATING  FIRE-ABM. 

War,  appears  to  have  been  one  of  the  principal  occupations  of  our  race. 
But  as  mind  in  this,  as  in  all  other  callings,  is  certain  to  triumph,  it  so  results 
that  the  less  cultivated  nations  and  races  are  conquered  by  the  more  intel 
lectual,  who  introduce  the  knowledge  of  their  own  arts  to  the  vanquishedf 
and  thus  in  the  end  bless  them,  through  an  introductory  suffering  and 
defeat.  War  is  therefore  called  an  instrument  of  civilization,  and,  so  it  is, 
if  we  read  rightly  the  lessons  taught  by  history. 

In  the  earlier  ages  of  the  world,  wars  were  of  long  duration,  for  so  im 
perfect  was  the  knowledge  of  the  military  art  and  so  rude  the  weapons  in 
use,  that  great  length  of  time  was  necessary  to  inflict  enough  injury  upon 
an  enemy  to  compel  him  to  peace.  The  day  however  is  past,  when  a  war  com 
menced  in  one's  boyhood  will  last  until  he  is  a  grandfather,  and  then,  with 
a  slight  intermission  be  succeeded  by  another,  of  as  long  duration.  The  in 
ventions  of  modern  times  have  put  an  end  to  these  interminable  wars,  by 
making  them  too  terrible  for  long  continuance,  for  they  leave  a  memory  of 
them  so  severe  upon  the  generation  engaged,  that  they  are  careful  not  to 
again  rashly  enter  upon  the  arena  of  blood.  The  effect  now  is,  wars,  short 
and  severe,  with  long  intervals  of  rest,  which  give  the  nations  the  leisure  to 
advance  in  the  arts  of  peace.  In  this  view  this  class  of  inventors  must  be 
judged  among  the  benefactors  of  the  race.  If  a  machine  were  invented  and 
could  be  readily  used,  by  which  a  few  men  could  instantly  and  unfailingly, 
at  once  destroy  a  thousand  lives,  wars  among  civilized  nations  would  cease 
forever,  and  nations  low  in  the  scale  would  more  speedily,  and  with  com 
paratively  little  suffering,  be  brought  under  their  pupilary  subjection.  The 
inventor  of  such  a  machine  would  prove  a  greater  benefactor  of  his  race, 
than  he  who  should  endow  a  thousand  hospitals. 

Colonel  Samuel  Colt,  the  eminent  inventor  of  the  repeating  fire-arms,  was 
born  at  Hartford,  Connecticut,  July  19,  1814.  His  father  was  a  manufac 
turer  of  wool,  and  cotton,  and  finally  of  silk,  of  which  last  article,  he  es 
tablished  the  first  manufactory  in  New  England. 


150  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

When  a  lad,  young  Colt  was  placed  at  a  school  in  Amherst,  Massachusetts 
from  whence,  moved  by  a  spirit  of  adventure,  he  ran  away  to  Boston,  and 
embarked  as  a  boy  before  the  mast  on  the  ship  Corlis,  for  Calcutta.  He  re 
turned  buoyant  in  spirits,  and  as  much  determined  to  make  his  own  way  in 
the  world  as  ever.  By  a  short  apprenticeship  in  the  manufactory  of  his 
father,  particularly  in  the  department  of  dyeing  and  bleaching,  he  became 
familiarly  acquainted  with  the  leading  principles  of  chemistry  which  he 
Boon  turned  to  account,  for  when  only  seventeen  or  eighteen  years  of  age 
he  traveled  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  United  States,  and 
the  Canadas  "  under  the  assumed  name  of  Dr.  Coult,  burned  more  oxygen, 
and  administered  more  laughing  gas,  to  more  men,  women  and  children,  than 
any  other  lecturer,  we  dare  affirm,  since  chemistry  was  first  known  as  a 
science.  Without  pretension,  of  course,  at  this  period  of  his  life — then  a 
youth  of  but  seventeen  or  eighteen  years  of  age — to  anything  like  profound 
ness  of  scientific  knowledge,  he  yet  managed,  by  a  ready  use  of  such  expe 
riments  as  were  dazzling  and  amusing,  and  by  his  dexterity  as  a  manipulator, 
to  win  a  favorable  public  opinion,  and  to  secure,  what  was  then  of  especial 
value  to  himself,  a  profit  from  his  entertainments  varying  from  five  to  fifty 
dollars  a  night,  and  occasionally  reaching  several  hundreds  of  dollars  in 
amount. 

All  these  profits — beyond  those  required  for  the  supply  of  his  daily  wants — 
were  sedulously  devoted  by  the  youthful  adventurer  to  the  prosecution  of 
that  great  invention  which  has  since  extended  his  renown  throughout  the 
civilized  world.  For,  most  remarkably,  indeed,  it  was  upon  that  voyage  to 
which  we  have  already  alluded — which  he  made  as  a  runaway  sailor-boy  to 
Calcutta — and  while  firing  for  amusement  at  porpoises  and  whales,  off  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope  and  in  the  Indian  Seas,  that  he  first  conceived,  and 
wrought  out  with  a  chisel  on  a  spun-yarn,  with  a  common  jack-knife  and  a 
little  iron  rod,  the  rude  model,  in  a  piece  of  white  pine,  of  that  fire-arm 
which  now,  from  the  shores  of  the  Pacific  to  the  Japan  Seas — over  the  whole 
extent  of  the  civilized  world — itself  reports  the  triumph  of  his  skill  and 
dazes  his  fame. 

With  unwearied  assiduity,  and  a  confidence  in  an  ultimately  prosperous 
result  which  never  wavered — though  against  the  vaticinations  and  dissention 
of  numerous  relations  and  friends — he  toiled  and  improved  upon  his  pefc 
model,  until  at  last  he  engendered  confidence  enough  in  the  bosoms  of  a 
few  capitalists  to  procure  the  establishment,  at  Patterson,  New  Jersey,  of  a 
company,  with  a  capital  of  three  hundred  thousand  dollars,  for  the  manu 
facture  of  his  favorite  arm. 

After  having  secured,  in  addition  to  a  patent  at  home,  patents  also  for  his 
invention  in  England  and  in  France — countries  which  he  personally  visited 
for  the  purpose — he  returned  to  America  to  urge  upon  his  own  Government 
the  adoption  of  his  arm.  But  here  at  first  he  met  with  no  success.  The 
supreme  authorities  at  Washington,  and  officers  in  the  public  service,  both 
civil  and  military,  frowned  upon  his  invention.  He  used  the  percussion 
cap — a  bad  substitute,  it  was  thought,  for  the  old  flint-lock.  His  arms  wero 
more  likely  to  get  out  of  order  than  those  of  the  old-fashioned  construction, 
and  when  broken  could  not  so  easily  be  repaired  as  common  arms.  These 
were  the  main  objections.  But  Colonel  Colt,  nothing  daunted — for  cliscour- 


OF  AMERICANS.  151 

agement  is  no  element  in  his  composition — met  the  objectors  by  careful  ex 
planations,  by  numerous  experiments,  and,  what  is  more,  by  making  constant 
improvements  upon  his  invention.  There  was  no  suggestion,  of  practical 
value,  from  boards  of  officers  convened  to  examine  and  report  upon  his  arm, 
or  from  other  quarters,  to  which  he  did  not  give  heed — no  thought  of  his 
own  in  this  connection  which  he  did  not  test  by  experiment — the  company 
of  which  he  was  the  soul,  consuming  for  this  purpose  not  less  than  three 
hundred  thousand  dollars — and  the  result  was  soon  manifested  in  an  arm  so 
perfect  in  its  construction  as  to  rouse  commendation  wherever  seen.  Leading 
institutes  and  societies,  within  whose  proper  purview  the  arm  came,  and  the 
journals  of  the  country,  to  a  great  extent,  vied  with  each  other  in  its  praise. 
The  first  premium  of  the  American  Institute,  New  York,  and  of  the  Me 
chanics'  Institute  in  the  same  city,  was,  at  several  fairs,  bestowed  upon  its 
inventor.  Both  Colt's  pistols  and  Colt's  rifles  were  eulogized  generally  as 
splendid  specimens  of  ingenuity  and  skill — as  surpassing  in  beauty  and  cor 
rectness  of  workmanship  the  best  arms  of  European  manufacture — as  handled 
with  the  greatest  facility  and  ease — as  firing  with  astonishing  precision — and 
as  sending  forth  their  successive  messengers  of  death  with  marvelous  celerity, 
force  and  effect.  These  justly  merited  commendations — and,  what  is  of 
weightier  importance  still  in  this  connection,  the  practical  experience  of  mil 
itary  men,  to  a  large  extent,  of  the  value  of  these  arms — upon  the  battle 
fields  of  Texas,  in  the  everglades  of  Florida,  and  amid  the  fastnesses  and 
over  the  plains  of  Mexico — finally  commended  their  adoption  by  the  Govern 
ment  of  the  United  States.  The  testimony  in  their  favor  of  such  men  as 
General  Rusk  and  General  Houston,  of  Commodore  Moore,  of  the  Texan, 
Navy,  of  Jack  Hayes,  Ben.  McCulloch,  and  numerous  other  gallant  officers 
of  the  far- famed  Texan  Rangers,  and  of  that  brave  and  excellent  officer, 
particularly,  Colonel  Harney,  the  Murat  of  the  American  army,  could  not  be 
resisted.  "  We  use  them  with  the  greatest  possible  success,"  they  all  af 
firmed.  "They  have  far  surpassed  our  expectations.  We  would  not  be 
without  them  for  the  world  !" 

This  last  named  officer,  Colonel  Harney  first  became  acquainted  with  their 
merits,  in  the  war  with  the  Seminoles  of  Florida.  In  the  hands  of  his 
hardy  mounted  Rangers,  they  at  once  became  the  terror  of  the  red  men, 
and  the  war  was  soon  brought  to  a  close  ;  for  when  the  Indians  saw  their 
foes  fire  six  times  without  lowering  their  weapons  to  load- they  know  their 
former  tactics  were  useless,  and  surrendered. 

From  the  period  of  this  adoption  of  his  arm,  the  prosperity  of  Colonel 
Colt — as  was  his  just  meed  after  years  of  toil,  of  trial,  of  disappointment, 
but  never  of  failure  of  hope,  or  abatement  of  industry — has  run  on  in  one 
limpid,  sparkling,  and  unbroken  stream.  By  contract  demands  for  his  arms 
from  Texas — which  he  fulfilled,  with  straitened  means,  at  Whitneyville, 
Connecticut — by  contract  demands  also  from  the  United  States — he  was 
enabled  to  transfer  his  enterprise  to  Hartford,  his  own  native  town,  upon  the 
banks  of  the  Connecticut,  where  he  has  at  last  succeeded  in  founding  aa 
armory,  the  most  magnificent  of  its  kind,  it  may  be  safely  alleged,  in  the 
known  world — an  establishment,  built  in  the  first  place  by  damming  out — 
a  project  deemed  by  many,  in  its  inception,  almost  superhuman — the 
waters  cf  the  mighty  Connecticut  in  their  maddened  freshet  time — which 


152  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

incorporates,  in  buildings  and  machinery,  a  full  million  of  dollars,  and 
gives  employment  to  from  six  to  eight  hundred  men  inside  the  main  build 
ing,  and  to  numerous  hands  outside — which  dispenses  daily,  in  wages  alone, 
from  one  thousand  to  fifteen  hundred  dollars ;  and  manufactures,  year  by 
year,  from  seventy-five  to  one  hundred  thousand  arms. 

The  result  is  the  fruit  of  a  market  for  arms,  not  confined  to  the  United 
States,  but  extending  over  both  the  Americas — more  or  less  to  the  Indias, 
East  and  West — to  Egypt — even  tr,  distant  Australia — to  remote  Asiatic 
tribes  assembled  at  the  great  Fairs  of  Novgorood,  and  over  Europe  generally, 
but  especially  to  England.  Here  the  arms  of  Colonel  Colt,  first  introduced 
in  splendid  style  through  the  World's  Fair,  were  warmly  welcomed,  and  led 
to  the  speedy  establishment  in  London  of  an  extensive  armory  for  their 
manufacture,  and  to  their  rapid  adoption  into  the  British  army  and  naval 
service. 

"  In  whatever  aspect  the  different  observers  viewed  the  American  repeat 
ers,"  says  an  account  of  the  impression  they  made  at  the  Crystal  Palace, 
"  all  agreed  that  perfection  had  been  reached  in  the  art  of  destruction.  None 
were  more  astonished  than  the  English,  to  find  themselves  so  far  surpassed 
in  an  art  which  they  had  studied  and  practiced  for  centuries,  by  a  nation 
whose  existence  was  within  the  memory  of  man,  and  whose  greatest  triumphs 
had  been  in  the  paths  of  peaceful  industry.  Lord  Wellington  was  found 
often  in  the  American  department,  pointing  out  the  great  advantage  of  these 
repeaters  to  other  officers  and  his  friends,  and  the  different  scientific  as  well 
as  popular  journals  of  the  country  united  in  one  common  tribute  of  praise 
to  the  ingenuity  and  genius  of  Colonel  Colt.  The  Institute  of  Civil  En 
gineers,  one  of  the  most  highly  scientific  and  practical  Boards  of  its  kind  in 
the  world,  invited  Colonel  Colt  to  read  a  paper  before  its  members  upon  tha 
subject  of  these  arms,  and  two  of  its  meetings  were  occupied  in  hearing 
him,  and  in  discussing  the  merits  of  his  invention."  He  was  the  first 
American  inventor  who  was  ever  thus  complimented  by  this  celebrated  In 
stitute,  and  he  received  at  its  hands,  for  his  highly  able  and  interesting 
pape"r,  the  award  of  a  gold  medal  and  a  life  membership. 

In  addition  to  his  presence  before  the  Institute,  Colonel  Colt — in  high 
compliment  to  his  experience  and  skill,  appeared,  also,  upon  special  invita 
tion,  before  a  Select  Committee  on  Small  Arms  of  the  British  Parliament — 
and  there  gave  testimony  which  was  gladly  received,  and  deemed  of  supe 
rior  practical  value.  His  own  statements  were  amply  corroborated  at  the 
time,  before  the  same  committee,  by  British  officers,  and  others,  who  had 
visited  his  armory  in  America,  and  especially  by  J.  Nasmith,  the  inventor 
of  the  celebrated  steam  hammer — who,  in  reply  to  the  inquiry  what  effect 
his  visit  to  Colt's  manufactory  had  upon  his  mind,  answered — "  It  produced 
a  very  impressive  effect,  such  as  I  shall  never  forget.  The  first  impression 
was  to  humble  me  very  considerably.  I  was  in  a  manner  introduced  to  such 
a  skillful  extension  of  what  I  knew  to  be  correct  principles,  but  extended 
in  so  masterly  and  wholesale  a  manner,  as  made  me  feel  that  we  were  very 
far  behind  in  carrying  out  what  we  know  to  be  good  principles.  What 
struck  me  at  Colonel  Colt's  was,  that  the  acquaintance  with  correct  princi 
ples  had  been  carried  out  in  a  bold,  ingenious  way,  and  they  had  been 


OP  AMERICANS.  153 

pushed  to  their  full  extent ;  and  the  result  was  the  attainment  of  perfection 
and  economy  such  as  I  had  never  met  with  before." 

All  tests  and  examinations  to  which  the  repeating  arms  were  subjected  in 
England  were  highly  in  their  favor.  Emphatically  they  spoke  for  them 
selves.  The  enormous  power,  nay,  the  invincibility  of  British  troops  armed 
with  them,  was  demonstrated.  "  The  revolver  manufactured  by  Colonel 
Colt,"  said  the  Dover  Telegraph,  a  public  journal,  expressing  the  best  and 
almost  universal  opinion  of  England  upon  the  arm,  "is  a  weapon  that  can 
not  be  improved  upon.  It  will,  we  unhesitatingly  predict,  prove  a  panacea 
for  the  ills  we  have  so  unhappily  encountered  in  the  Southern  hemisphere. 
The  Caffre  hordes  will  bitterly  '  rue  the  day  on  which  the  first  terrific  dis 
charge  is  poured  upon  their  sable  masses.' "  And  so — a  panacea — the  re 
volver  did  prove,  both  with  the  Caffre  hordes,  and  with  the  Scandinavian, 
upon  the  bloody  plains  of  the  Crimea.  The  marvelous  extension  of  its  use 
within  a  few  years,  in  Europe,  and  over  parts  of  Asia — the  establishment  by 
the  British  Government  of  an  armory  of  its  own,  at  Enfield,  for  its  manu- 
ture — the  establishment  of  another  by  the  Russian  Government  at  Tula  for 
the  same  manufacture — the  call  upon  Colonel  Colt,  aided  in  part  by  some 
other  American  establishments,  to  provide  all  the  important  machinery  for 
these  new  armories — these  facts,  and  hosts  of  testimonials  from  all  parts  of 
the  world,  and  from  the  highest  sources,  attest  the  unrivaled  excellence  of 
the  repeating  arms  of  Colonel  Colt,  and  rank  him  among  the  most  remark 
able  inventors  of  the  world. 

But  it  is  not  only  in  the  department  of  arms  that  Colonel  Colt's  mechan 
ical  genius  has  displayed  itself.  He  also  invented  an  apparatus  for  blowing 
up  vessels,  and  for  coast  and  harbor  defense,  which,  in  his  own  hands  sig 
nally  successful,  and  for  a  time  experimented  upon  under  the  patronage  and 
at  the  expense  of  the  American  General  Government,  will  yet,  we  cannot 
but  believe,  be  adopted  as  a  system,  and,  to  a  great  extent,  take  the  place 
of  forts  and  bastions,  and  Paixhan  guns,  for  maritime  defense.'  Aside  from 
this,  to  him,  belongs  the  rare  honor,  of  first  succeeding  in  transmitting  tele 
graphic  communications  under  water,  by  an  insulated  wire,  as  spoken  of 
more  fully  in  the  preceding  sketch  of  Professor  Morse. 

CYRUS  H.  M'CORMICK,  THE  INVENTOR  OF  THE  REAPING  MACHINE. 
Inventive  talent,  as  applied  to  the  first  great  want  of  man,  the  produc 
tion  of  food,  is  as  yet  in  its  early  infancy.  In  no  department  of  human  in 
dustry  are  the  triumphs  of  inventors  to  be  more  signally  displayed  than  in 
this  ;  and  although  the  decree  that  man  by  the  sweat  of  his  brow  shall  earn 
his  bread,  will  never  be  removed  ;  yet  the  benefits  which  he  is  to  derive 
through  the  aid  of  machinery,  in  the  planting,  tilling,  and  gathering  of  his 
crops,  and  in  the  application  of  science  to  the  processes  of  agriculture,  are  to 
effect  a  revolution  of  tho  magnitude  of  which  we  can  now  have  no  concep« 
tion.  The  day  is  fast  waning  in  which  the  success  of  the  farmer  is  con 
gidered  as  guaranteed  simply  by  the  exercise  of  plodding  industry.  Agri 
culture  is  rapidly  taking  its  true  position  as  the  noblest  of  all  vocations, 
requiring  for  its  successful  prosecution  the  highest  faculties  of  the  intellect, 
and  yielding,  too,  the  best  of  all  rewards,  vigorous  health,  independence, 
and  the  absence  of  those  temptations  which  are  the  curse  of  the  competi- 


154  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

tive  avooations  of  a  city  life.  All  honor,  then,  to  those  laborers  in  science 
and  invention,  who  are  doing  so  much  to  elevate  the  condition  of  the  agri 
culturist,  and  to  cause  the  earth  to  yield  more  abundantly  the  riches  of 
nature,  for  the  sustenance  and  comfort  of  man. 

Among  the  inventions  of  our  countrymen,  in  aid  of  agriculture,  the  reaper 
of  Cyrus  H.  M'Cormick  stands  at  the  head  of  the  list,  as  a  labor-saving 
machine,  and  as  having  brought  honor  to  the  American  name,  by  the  inge 
nuity  displayed  in  its  construction.  The  inventor  is  a  Virginian  by  birth — 
a  native  of  the  county  of  Rockbridge,  which  is  in  the  heart  of  the  State, 
and  in  that  part  known  as  the  Valley  of  Virginia,  long  famous  for  the  gen 
erous  crops  which  bless  the  labors  of  the  husbandman.  He  commenced 
his  career  as  an  inventor  about  the  year  1830,  his  mind  having  been  given 
that  bent  at  an  early  age  by  his  father,  Robert  M'Cormick,  a  highly  respect 
able  farmer,  of  excellent  mechanical  genius,  who  had  himself  patented 
several  machines,  and  experimented  upon  a  reaping  machine  as  early  as 
1816,  and  again  in  1831.  The  trial  of  this  machine  of  the  elder  M'Cor 
mick  in  1831,  which  was  measurably  successful  in  strait,  untangled  grain, 
satisfied  him  that  it  would  not  answer  any  valuable  purpose  for  ordinary 
harvest  operations,  and  he  accordingly  abandoned  it. 

His  son  Cyrus,  however,  had  even  then  been  employing  his  mind  upon 
the  subject;  for  during  this  same  harvest,  he  had  actually  succeeded  in  :n- 
venting  and  putting  in  operation  a  machine  containing  most  of  the  lead.ug 
features  in  his  present  reaper,  but  wholly  different  from  the  plan  of  that  in- 
rented  by  the  elder  M'Cormick.  It  operated  quite  well  in  cutting  a  por 
tion  of  a  late  crop  of  oats  on  the  farm  of  Mr.  John  Steele,  which  adjoined 
that  of  his  father.  The  circumstances  of  this  trial,  and  a  description  of  the 
machine,  were  published  in  the  spring  of  1834,  in  the  Mechanic's  Magazine, 
of  E.  K.  Minor,  of  New  York. 

Aside  from  this,  Mr.  M'Cormick  was  at  that  period  occupied  with  the 
invention  of  two  plows,  one  of  which,  called  a  "hill-side  plow,"  waa 
patented  in  June,  1831,  and  the  other,  designated  as  a  "self-sharpening,  hori 
zontal  plow,"  was  patented  in  November,  1833.  These  were  both  designed 
for  horizontal  plowing,  and  were  ingeniously  arranged  ;  and  the  last  named, 
is  said  to  be  the  most  simple  and  effective  of  its  kind.  It  has  not  been  ex 
tensively  introduced,  for  the  reason  that  the  reaper  became  of  so  much 
greater  importance,  as  to  consume  the  time  and  attention  of  the  inventor,  to 
the  neglect  of  the  other ;  and  on  the  expiration  of  the  patent,  he  failed  in 
obtaining  a  renewal  by  congress.  Mr.  M'Cormick's  first  patent  for  his  reaper, 
was  obtained  in  June,  1834.  Several  years  elapsed  before  he  had  it  suffi 
ciently  perfected  to  be  fully  satisfied  to  offer  it  to  the  public  extensively  upon 
his  own  responsibility,  which  he  deemed  the  proper  way  to  introduce  it.  This 
lapse  of  time  was  owing  to  the  very  limited  period  given  in  each  year — the 
harvest  season — for  experimenting  upon  it,  and  making  the  improvements 
which  experience  suggested. 

In  the  year  1841,  he  first  advertised  his  reaper  in  the  public  prints  of 
Virginia,  on  a  full  guarantee  of  its  performance.  In  this  original  advertise 
ment,  he  says  that,  "  Having  satisfied  himself  that,  after  several  years  of 
labor  and  attention  in  improving  and  completing  his  inventicn,  he  had 
triumphantly  succeeded  in  effecting  his  object  with  as  much  perfection  aa 


OF  AMERICANS.  155 

the  principle  admits  of,  or  is  now  desirable ;  performing  all  that  would  be 
expected,  viz  :  the  cutting  of  all  kinds  of  small  grain,  in  almost  all  the 
various  situations  in  which  it  may  be  found,  whether  on  level  or  mode 
rately-hilly  lands,  whether  long  or  short,  heavy  or  light,  straight,  tangled, 
or  leaning,  in  the  best  possible  manner,  by  a  machine  operated  by  horse 
power,  with  little  friction  or  strain  upon  any  of  its  parts,  and  without  com 
plication,  and,  therefore  not  subject  to  get  out  of  order,  but  strong  and 
durable — that  operates  with  great  saving  of  labor  and  grain" 

Soon  after  the  advertisement  of  Mr.  M'Cormick,  and  subsequent  to  the 
harvest  of  1842,  numerous  testimonials,  to  the  great  value  of  the  invention, 
were  published  in  the  papers  of  the  State.  One  of  these,  from  Mr.  W.  M. 
Peyton,  an  eminent  agriculturist,  we  insert  for  its  full  description  of  its 
advantages  as  a  labor-saving  machine. 

"  I  have  tested  it  satisfactorily  in  every  grade  and  condition  of  wheat  :  in 
that  which  was  very  light,  as  well  as  that  which  would  have  yielded,  but 
for  the  rust,  from  thirty  to  forty  bushels  per  acre ;  in  that  which  was  erect, 
and  in  that  which  was  tangled  and  fallen,  and  found  it  to  operate  in  every 
instance  with  surprising  neatness  and  efficiency — scarcely  leaving  a  head, 
and  but  slightly  influenced  in  the  number  of  acres  cut  in  a  given  time,  by 
the  condition  of  the  grain.  It  was  found  to  cut  tangled  and  fallen  grain, 
wherever  it  was  not  too  flat  to  be  reached  by  the  sickle,  as  well  as  that 
which  was  standing.  The  neatness  and  completeness  with  which  the  crop 
is  saved,  is  scarcely  conceivable  to  one  who  has  not  witnessed  its  work. 
Those  most  wedded  to  the  cradle,  admit  that  the  reaper  will  save,  on  an 
average,  at  least  one  more  bushel  to  the  acre  in  standing  wheat  than  the 
best  cradling,  while  in  tangled  grain  the  saving  would  be  augmented  double, 
treble,  or  even  quadruple  that  amount.  So  that  the  machine,  which  costs 
only  a  hundred  dollars,  will  pay  for  itself  in  cutting  an  ordinary  crop. 

"The  machine,  too,  is  simple  and  substantial ;  of  course,  not  liable  to  get 
out  of  order ;  and  when,  from  casualty,  deranged  or  broken,  easily  rectified  or 
repaired  by  an  ordinary  mechanic.  It  will  cut  with  facility  fifteen  acres 
per  day  ;  and  when  pushed,  at  least  twenty.  Two  hands  attend  it  with 
ease,  as  rider  and  raker,  relieving  each  other  regularly,  and  five  or  six  will 
bind  the  grain  with  more  ease,  than  they  would  bind  the  same  quantity  of 
grain  after  cradlers  and  rakers,  as  the  machine  leaves  it  strait,  and  in  piles 
large  enough  for  several  sheaves.  It  is  fully  equal  to  five  choice  cradlers, 
who  would  require  five  rakers  and  five  binders  to  follow  them,  making 
fifteen  in  all.  Thus  you  see  there  is  a  saving  of  the  labor  of  eiyht  hands  in 
every  day's  cutting  of  the  reaper.  It  performs  equally  well  on  rolling  and 
undulating  as  on  level  land,  and  by  taking  steep  hills  obliquely,  so  as  to 
graduate  the  ascent,  the  difficulty  with  them  will  in  a  great  degree  be 
obviated." 

Another  prominent  Virginia  farmer,  General  Corbin  Braxton,  also  testified: 
"It  has  been  worked  this  harvest  under  almost  every  disadvantage  which  it 
was  possible  to  bring  to  bear  against  it,  in  consequence  of  the  unprecedented 
weather  we  have  had.  It  will  cut  any  wheat  that  is  not  too  low  for  the  reel 
and  teeth  to  reach  it.  It  does  not  appear  to  me  to  be  as  liable  to  get  out  of 
order  as  a  common  cradle,  and  I  should  think  it  would  be  very  durable. 
The  reaper  has  cut  all  descriptions  of  wheat :  green,  ripe,  rusted  as  badly  as 


156  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

wheat  could  have  it,  lying  and  standing ;  and  I  think  that  every  farmer 
cutting  fifty  acres  of  wheat  would  find  it  to  his  advantage  to  have  one.  No 
weather  has  prevented  the  reaper  from  working,  except  when  the  ground 
was  so  soft  as  to  mire  the  wheels." 

From  this  time  the  reaper  went  into  public  use,  gaining  favor  regularly  as 
it  became  more  widely  known,  until  the  year  1845,  when  a  second  patent 
was  granted  for  improvements  in  the  cutting  apparatus,  and  in  the  method 
of  dividing  and  separating  the  grain  to  be  cut,  from  that  to  be  left  on  the 
field  for  the  next  swath.  In  1847,  Mr.  M'Cormick  obtained  a  third  patent, 
fur  the  improvement  of  so  arranging  his  machine  as  to  be  able  to  carry  the 
man  upon  it,  whose  duty  it  was  to  discharge  the  cut  grain  from  the  plat 
form  of  the  machine  on  the  ground,  out  of  the  track  of  the  horses,  in 
passing  the  next  time. 

With  these  patented  improvements,  together  with  such  others  as  sug 
gested  themselves  from  year  to  year  in  perfecting  the  details,  "  M'Cor 
mick's  Reaper"  has  been  steadily  winning  its  way  into  favor,  and  holding 
its  position  of  superiority  over  all  others.  Its  first  trial  with  a  competitor, 
was  with  Hussey's  Reaper,  at  Richmond,  Virginia,  in  the  harvest  of  1843, 
when  there  was  no  other  machine  of  the  kind  known  in  the  world.  It  was 
a  signal  triumph  for  M'Cormick's  Reaper.  But  the  event  which  more  than, 
anything  else  served  to  give  it  a  wide  reputation,  was  the  honor  it  won  at 
the  "World's  Fair,"  in  London,  in  1853.  When  first  seen  at  the  exhibition 
of  the  Crystal  Palace,  it  was  the  great  butt  of  ridicule  of  the  English  press. 
The  London  Times  sneered  at  it  as  a  curious  affair,  resembling  "a  cross 
between  an  Astley  chariot,  a  tread-mill,  and  a  flying-machine."  When  the 
English  people  had  an  opportunity  of  witnessing  its  working  powers  in  a 
field  of  grain,  their  sneers  were  changed  to  cheers,  and  there  appeared 
almost  no  bounds  to  the  enthusiasm  with  which  they  alluded  to  it.  The 
London  Times  said  it  was  the  most  valuable  article  on  exhibition  from  any 
country,  and  was  of  sufficient  value  to  compensate  for  the  whole  expense  of 
the  World's  Fair.  In  fact  its  triumph  was  the  first  and  most  important 
event  jof  the  exhibition  in  retrieving  the  reputation  of  our  county,  from  the 
ridicule  which  the  meagerness  of  our  contributions  had  called  forth,  com 
pared  with  the  rich,  elegant,  and  large  display  of  fine  goods  and  gew-gaws 
of  other  countries.  Its  success  on  this  occasion  resulted  in  the  award  to  Mr. 
M'Cormick  of  "  The  Great  Council  Medal,"  which  was  the  highest  class 
premium  granted,  and  which  was  given  to  no  other  single  agricultural  im 
plement  at  the  exhibition. 

No  less  signal  was  the  triumph  of  M'Cormick's  Reaper  at  the  Great  In 
dustrial  Exhibition  of  all  Nations,  at  Paris,  in  1855.  It  was  there  brought 
in  competition  with  the  American  machines  of  Hussey  and  Manny — that  of 
Bell's,  of  Scotland,  with  one  or  two  others  of  French  production.  To  it, 
then,  as  a  combined  reaper  and  mower,  upon  the  most  thorough  test  of  its 
powers  made  in  the  field,  in  cutting  wheat,  oats,  and  grass,  was  awarded  the 
only  "  Grand  Medal  of  Honor"  given  to  any  single  agricultural  implement 
on  exhibition.  The  Hon.  Wm.  Elliott,  Commissioner  of  the  State  of  South 
Carolina,  who  was  present,  in  his  report  to  the  governor  of  that  State,  says : 
"  I  had  the  pleasure  of  witnessing  the  trial  of  M'Cormick's  machine,  and 
second  triumph  in  the  field  of  Trappes,  where  model  implements,  selected 


OF  AMERICANS.  157 

from  France  and  England,  were  brought  in  competition  with  it  only  to  test 
its  superiority.  Its  success  was  so  distinguished  as  to  disarm  envy,  and 
bring  down  generous  cheers  from  the  vanquished  parties."  The  "La 
Presse"  the  most  extensively  circulated  newspaper  in  France,  on  this  occa 
sion  devoted  no  less  than  four  columns  to  a  minute  historical  sketch  and 
description  of  the  machine,  in  connection  with  an  account  of  the  extraor 
dinary  results  of  these  trials. 

At  the  Paris  exhibitions  of  1856-7,  the  first  premiums  were  awarded  to 
M'Cormick's  Reaper ;  and  to  the  same  was  awarded  the  first  premium  of 
the  United  States  Agricultural  Society,  in  July,  1857,  at  a  trial  at  Syracuse 
of  about  twenty  of  the  most  prominent  reapers  of  the  United  States. 

The  rapidity  with  which  the  farmer  can,  by  this  machine,  cut  his  grain, 
when  in  the  proper  state,  has  greatly  stimulated  production  in  our  country. 
For  grass-cutting  it  operates  with  equal  advantage,  proportional  to  the 
amount  of  that  crop.  M'Cormick's  Reaper  may  be  said  to  be  to  the  great 
West,  what  Whitney's  cotton  gin  is  to  the  South — a  machine  of  incalculable 
advantages  in  developing  the  resources  of  the  country.  In  the  broad 
prairies  of  the  West  it  has  full  scope  for  its  triumphs  ;  some  four  thousand 
of  them  being  annually  manufactured  at  Chicago,  mainly  for  the  use  of 
the  Western  farmers. 

ISAAC   M.   SINGER,  AND   THE   SEWING   MACHINE. 

The  SEWING  MACHINE  does  great  honor  to  the  inventive  genius  of  our 
countrymen.  This  machine  is  not,  however,  the  result  of  the  ingenuity 
of  one  mind,  but  appears  to  have  been  brought  to  its  present  state  of 
usefulness  by  the  successive  inventions  of  many  individuals,  which, 
when  properly  combined  has  resulted  in  an  invention,  whose  pecuniary 
benefits  cannot  be  measured  by  millions,  and  which  in  the  emanci 
pation  of  the  wives,  mothers,  and  daughters  of  the  land  from  a  most 
unhealthy  kind  of  labor,  is  destined  to  prove  one  of  the  greatest  of  human 
blessings. 

The  magnitude  of  this  invention,  can  hardly  be  appreciated.  It  is  esti 
mated  that  in  civilized  countries  more  than  one  half  of  the  adult  portion  of 
the  human  race  are  almost  wholly  employed  in  the  use  of  the  needle,  and 
much  of  this  sewing  is  of  a  kind  which  rapidly  wears  upon  the  system,  pro 
ducing  premature  disease  and  death.  The  sewing  machine  was  precisely 
the  invention  most  needed  by  the  world. 

The' first  sewing  machine  of  which  there  is  any  account  was  of  French 
invention,  and  was  a  tambour  machine  of  simple  contrivance,  which  was 
used  for  the  purpose  of  ornamenting  the  backs  of  gloves,  and  marking 
cloths.  It  operated  with  one  needle  and  a  single  thread,  making  what  is 
commonly  called  the  single  chain  stitch.  This  machine  was  not  adapted  to 
general  purposes,  the  seam  sewed  by  it  could  readily  be  raveled  out,  and 
therefore  it  never  was  much  used. 

The  next  machine  or  machines  for  sewing,  for  there  were  two  or  more  of 
them,  differing  in  form  and  arrangement,  but  alike  in  their  essential  princi 
ples  of  operation,  were  invented,  constructed,  exhibited,  and  sold  by  WALTER 
HUNT,  of  the  City  of  New- York,  in  the  years  1834  and  1835. 

The  next  sewing  machine  in  order,  and  the  first  upon  which  a  patent  wa* 


158  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

obtained  in  the  United  States,  was  invented  by  JOHN  J.  GREENOUGH,  Esq 
His  patent  bears  date  February  1,  1842.  Mr.  Greenough's  machine  was 
made  to  sew  with  two  threads,  both  of  which  were  entirel}'  passed  through 
the  cloth  at  every  stitch ;  a  mode  of  operation  which  in  actual  practice  pre 
sents  difficulties. 

GEORGE-R.  CORLISS,  of  Greenwich,  N.  Y.,  was  the  inventor  and  patentee  of 
the  next  sewing  machine,  his  patent  bearing  date  December  27,  1843.  This 
was  also  a  machine  which  sewed  with  two  threads  in  a  manner  somewhat 
similar  to  that  of  Mr.  Greenough,  and  was  subject  to  the  like  objections. 

On  the  10th  of  September,  1846,  letters  patent  were  granted  to  Elias 
Howe,  'Jr.,  a  machinist  of  Cambridge,  Massachusetts.  This  machine  had 
been  invented  the  year  previous.  The  prominent  feature  of  this  invention, 
was  the  combination  of  the  needle  and  shuttle.  In  1849,  Lerow  and  Blodget 
obtained  a  patent  on  what  is  called  the  Rotary  Sewing  Machine.  Owing  to 
the  defects  of  these  various  machines,  they  failed  to  come  into  general  use, 
and  the  public  became  so  repeatedly  disappointed  and  deceived,  that  they 
were  prepared  to  regard  any  man  as  an  imposter  who  should  speak  of  offer 
ing  a  sewing  machine,  no  matter  how  perfect  it  should  be.  But  intellect 
was  at  work,  overcoming  the  defects  of  these  previous  attempts,  until  at 
last  ISAAC  M.  SINGER,  a  native  of  Pittstown,  Rensellaer  County,  New  York, 
invented  a  machine,  which  was  so  superior  to  all  its  predecessors  as  to 
convince  the  public  of  the  practicability  of  the  sewing  machine,  for  general 
use  :  and  this  was  just  what  Fulton  did  for  the  steamboat. 

In  October,  1851,  he  exhibited  his  machine  at  the  Fair  of  the  American 
Institute,  and  was  awarded  a  premium  of  the  first  class — a  gold  medal. 
Similar  testimonials  have  been  awarded  to  this  invention  at  seven  fairs  in 
the  various  States.  It  has  rarely  happened  that  any  great  invention,  under 
the  most  favorable  circumstances,  has  made  an  equal  progress  with  this, 
in  so  short  a  time.  The  machines  are  in  most  profitable  use  in  all  parts 
of  the  country,  and  the  world,  and  for  a  great  variety  of  purposes.  They 
are  capable  of  stitching  the  finest  linen  or  heavy  leather,  and  any  kind 
or  quality  of  materials  between  these  extremes,  and  the  work  is  strong  and 
exceedingly  beautiful.  The  Straight  Needle  Sewing  Machine,  has  estab 
lished  its  reputation  as  one  of  the  most  important  labor-saving  instruments 
ever  devised. 

Since  the  first  patent  granted  to  I.  M.  Singer,  for  the  sewing  machine,  on 
the  12th  day  of  August,  1851,  seventeen  other  distinct  patents  have  been 
issued  to  him  in  the  United  States,  upon  the  same  subject.  The  same  im 
provements  have  also  been  patented  in  several  foreign  countries. 

Mr.  Singer  has,  therefore,  "  the  exclusive  right  to  numerous  mechanical 
devices,  without  the  use  of  which  rfo  sewing  machine  can  be  made  to  ope 
rate  to  advantage  ;"  and,  where  used  by  others,  it  is  either  by  a  contract  with 
him  or  by  an  infringement  of  his  legal  rights. 

Scarcely  any  invention  is  ever  made  without  an  infringement  on  the 
rights  of  the  inventor.  Persons  unacquainted  with  patents  are  apt  to  sup 
pose  that  if  a  man  has  a  patent  upon  a  device  in  a  machine,  he  must  there 
fore  have  the  right  to  make  and  sell  such  machine.  This  is  a  great  mistake. 
There  are  at  this  moment  between  one  hundred  and  a  hundred  and  fifty 
patents  in  this  country  on  the  sewing  machine.  These  patents  are,  for  the 


OF  AMERICANS.  159 

most  part,  for  minor  improvements  of  little  practical  importance,  and  the 
law  is  that  no  patentee  of  an  improvement  on  a  machine  can  use  anything 
secured  by  a  previous  patent  without  the  consent  of  the  prior  inventor. 
Ilence  it  follows  that  it  is  now  utterly  impossible  to  make  a  sewing  machine 
of  any  kind  of  any  practical  utility  without  directly  infringing  several  sub 
sisting  patents,  the  validity  of  which  cannot  be  questioned. 

In  the  year  1855,  Singer's  sewing  machine,  received  the  prize,  in  the 
French  National  Exhibition,  in  Paris.  These  machines  are  now  used  by  the 
French  government,  for  the  manufacture  of  the  clothes  of  the" French  army 
and  navy.  A  manufactory  has  been  established  in  Paris,  and  the  right  to 
use  his  patents  in  France  sold  for  100,000  dollars.  On  the  6th  of  February, 
1849,  a  patent  was  granted  to  Charles  Morey  and  Joseph  B.  Johnson,  of 
Massachusetts,  upon  a  machine  which  made  a  seam  with  a  single  thread  by 
means  of  a  needle  and  a  hook,  acting  in  combination ;  and  for  certain  pur 
poses,  it  is  a  very  valuable  invention. 

Beside  these  are  a  large  number  of  inventions,  mostly  worthless,  or  only 
very  limited  in  the  uses  to  which  they  can  be  applied.  The  four  prom 
inent  sewing  machines  before  the  country,  which  can  be  used  for  a  variety 
of  purposes,  are  SINGER'S,  WHEELER  and  WILSON'S,  GROVER  and  BAKER'S, 
HUNT,  WEBSTER  &  Go's.  These  four  machines,  beside  being  covered  by 
various  patents  peculiar  to  each,  are  indebted  to  the  prior  invention  of 
Howe  for  the  needle  used.  For  the  right  to  use  his  patent  needle,  the  four 
pay  Mr.  Howe  more  than  $100,000  per  annum. 

The  sewing  machine  has  already  been  introduced  to  such  an  extent  that 
Borne  calculation  may  be  made  of  its  effect  as  a  social  element.  It  was  pre 
dicted  that  its  use  would  bear  with  peculiar  hardship  upon  the  sewing  girl, 
whose  oppressed  condition  has  long  excited  the  sympathies  of  the  philan 
thropic  ;  but  it  is  evident  this  has  not  been  the  result,  and  the  strong  preju 
dice  which  for  several  years  resisted  the  introduction  of  the  sewing  machine, 
has  been  gradually  overcome.  The  following  incident,  which  occurred  about 
four  years  ago,  is  related  by  SINGER,  and  shows  the  nature  of  the  resistance 
then  experienced  :  "  We  were  sitting  in  our  office  one  pleasant  afternoon, 
when  a  tall  lady  dressed  in  black  entered,  and  with  rapid  step  advanced  to 
the  sewing  machine  on  exhibition.  'Are  you,'  she  asked,  'the  inventor 
of  this  machine  ?'  '  I  am,'  was  the  reply.  '  Then,'  she  rejoined,  with  a 
fierce  expression,  'you  ought  to  be  hung!'  Having  delivered  herself  of 
this  opinion,  she  abruptly  left  the  office." 

It  was  not  anticipated  that  the  price  of  hand  labor  would  advance,  as  the 
machines  were  brought  into  operation.  Yet  such  is  the  fact.  It  is  undenia 
bly  true,  that  the  wages  of  hand  labor  in  the  principal  branches  of  industry 
in  which  sewing  machines  are  most  employed,  has  advanced  nearly  or  quite 
fifty  per  cent.,  within  the  last  four  years.  With  all  the  aid  to  be  derived 
from  the  machines,  many  manufacturers  find  it  difficult  to  procure  their 
work  to  be  done.  The  truth  is  that  the  quantity  of  work  increases  with  the 
capacity  to  perform  it,  and,  consequently,  the  mechanic  will  never  be  unem 
ployed  because  of  the  introduction  of  machinery,  while  in  common  with 
tho  whole  community,  he  will  be  directly  benefited  by  the  cheapening  of 
articles  of  necessity  and  luxury  which  he  may  wish  to  buy. 


160  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

The  sewing  machine  also  stimulates  various  other  branches  of  manufac 
ture.  Among  those  in  connection  with  it  worthy  of  notice,  is  the  great  im 
provement  which  has  taken  place  in  the  quality  of  sewing  silk,  twist,  thread, 
etc.,  made  necessary  by  the  rapid  and  accurate  movement  of  the  sewing 
machine.  We  now  produce  thread  in  this  country,  which  far  exceeds  any 
of  foreign  importation,  in  strength  and  evenness  of  texture.  If  the  foreign 
and  domestic  are  looped  together  and  jerked  asunder,  the  former,  even  of 
the  best  descriptions,  has  been  found  to  yield  in  the  greatest  number  of  in 
stances.  Several  thread  factories  have  been  established  to  meet  the  increased 
demand. 

We  conclude  this  subject  by  quoting  a  few  paragraphs  from  the  pen  of 
an  intelligent  writer  upon  the  sewing  machine,  in  its  social  and  sanitary 
aspects. 

"  We  have  from  examination  a  most  thorough  conviction  of  the  advan 
tages  of  sewing  machines  for  family  use,  and  for  sewing  generally  in  all  its 
varieties.  They  sew  every  kind  of  material,  working  equally  well  upon 
silk,  linen,  woollen,  and  cotton  goods  ;  seaming,  quilting,  gathering,  hem 
ming,  etc.,  with  a  strength  and  beauty  superior  to  any  hand  work.  They 
are  elegant  in  model  and  finish,  simple  and  thorough  in  construction,  quiet 
and  rapid  in  operation  ;  easily  managed ;  and  make  a  firm  and  durable  seam 
equally  beautiful  upon  each  side,  with  great  economy  of  thread.  The  speed 
averages  about  twelve  hundred  stitclies  per  minute,  though  it  may  be  run  at 
double  this.  In  manufacturing  skirts  where  about  ten  stitches  to  the  inch 
are  made,  one  thousand  yards  of  straight  sewing  is  an  average  day's  work  of 
ten  hours.  It  is  sometimes  run  as  high  as  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards  per 
hour.  Fifty  dozens  of  shirt  collars,  or  six  dozens  of  shirt  bosoms  are  a  day's 
work.  They  are  estimated  to  do  the  work  of  twelve  seamstresses.  The  wages 
of  a  good  operator  at  family  sewing,  are,  we  believe,  two  dollars  per  day. 
They  have  done  much  to  elevate  and  extend  the  sphere  of  female  industry. 
The  uses  of  the  needle  have  been  multiplied.  Processes  now  executed  by 
machines  have  been  heretofore  performed  by  various  implements.  The 
cheapening  of  manufactures  has  so  much  increased  their  consumption,  that 
not  only  are  the  interests  of  humanity  subserved,  but  avenues  of  employ 
ment  have  been  opened  to  female  industry  heretofore  occupied  by  men.  It 
is,  however,  rather  from  a  professional  and  sanitary  point  of  view  that  we 
purpose  to  consider  them  particularly. 

The  physical  evils  resulting  from  the  use  of  the  needle  are  of  modem 
date ;  the  few  and  simple  robes  of  ancestral  times,  taxed  but  slightly  the 
wives  and  daughters  of  those  days.  It  is  in  this  period  of  increased  manu 
facture  of  fabrics,  that  the  burden  has  fallen  so  heavily  upon  woman  :  and 
resulted  in  such  frightful  consequences  to  health,  virtue  and  happiness.  We 
are  inclined  to  analyze  these  phenomena  rather  than  dismiss  them  with  vague 
expressions. 

The  attitude  in  hand  sewing  is  unhealthful.  There  is  always  more  or  less 
stooping  of  the  head  and  shoulders,  tending  to  retard  circulation,  respiration, 
digestion,  and  produce  curvature  of  the  spine.  The  erect  position  is  the 
healthy  one.  The  head  should  be  raised  and  the  shoulders  thrown  back  to 
give  the  lungs  full  play.  The  frequent  long  drawn  breath  of  the  seamstress, 


OF  AMERICANS.  161 

evinces  the  cramping  and  confinement  of  the  lungs.  Health  cannot  be  ex 
pected  without  free  respiration.  The  life-giving  element  is  in  the  atmo 
sphere,  and  without  it  in  due  abundance  disease  must  supervene. 

Again,  the  stillness  required  for  hand  sewing  is  destructive  to  health. 
The  hands  and  arms  alone  move  ;  the  body  and  lower  limbs  are  motionless, 
which  tend  to  paralysis.  Confinement  in  the  stacks  would  be  hardly  more 
barbarous.  Strength  and  robustness  must  come  from  exercise.  This  con 
fined  attitude  is  in  violation  of  correct  theories  of  healthy  physical  develop 
ment — the  instincts  of  nature.  Those  accustomed  to  sit  writing  for  hours, 
day  after  day,  can  form  some  idea  of  the  exhausting  nature  of  this  work. 

The  minute  attention  required,  and  the  strain  upon  the  eyes,  are  not  the 
least  evils  resulting  from  hand  sewing.  Attention  cannot  be  intermitted  and 
have  the  work  go  on.  The  eye  must  be  fixed,  in  order  to  measure  the  stitch. 
The  fineness  of  the  needle  and  thread,  the  various  colored  fabrics,  and  the 
precision  that  good  work  requires,  tax  the  eyesight  more  than  any  other 
business.  We  must  reflect,  too,  that  this  labor  is  demanded  under  most 
unfavorable  circumstances  :  dim  lights,  dark  and  close  rooms — day  and 
night  for  years.  Nothing  could  be  better  devised  for  ruining  health.  What 
wonder  that  needle  women  are  pale,  nervous,  and  careworn,  or  that  our 
women  generally  look  old  at  an  early  age  ! 

THE   ATLANTIC   SUB-MARINE   TELEGRAPH. 

The  whole  nation  having  be*m  recently  electrified  by  the  tidings  of  the 
successful  laying  of  the  Atlantic  cable,  a  few  paragraphs  upon  that  enter 
prise  is  inserted  here  as  a  matter  of  history  too  vital  to  be  omitted  in  an 
article  of  this  nature.  While  it  is  true  that  the  cable  has  failed  to  remaiu 
of  any  practical  benefit  as  a  medium  of  communication,  yet  the  great  fact 
remains  demonstrated,  that  it  was  successfully  laid  between  the  two  conti 
nents,  and  telegraphic  communication  actually  sent  through  it  across  the 
broad  Atlantic. 

The  first  actual  working  sub-marine  telegraph  was  an  American  achieve- 
merit.  In  the  year  1846,  Colonel  Samuel  Colt  laid  a  sub-marine  telegraph 
from  New  York  to  Long  Island,  thence  to  Coney  Island,  near  tho  entrance 
of  New  York  Bay,  to  obtain  early  marine  news,  which  worked,  for  a  time, 
satisfactorily.  The  first  permanent  sub- marine  telegraph  was  not  laid  until 
five  years  after,  and  is  that  from  Dover  to  Calais,  connecting  England  with 
France  :  it  is  twenty-five  miles  in  length. 

The  discovery  of  the  properties  of  gutta  percha,  which  were  unknown  a 
few  years  since,  has  alone  rendered  possible  the  Atlantic  telegraph.  ThLs 
gum  is  the  only  substance  known  which  will  form  such  a  coating  around 
the  wire  as  to  perfectly  insulate  it  —  that  is,  by  its  non-conducting  qualities, 
entirely  prevent  the  escape  of  electricity.  This  fact  was  discovered  in  1848, 
by  Samuel  T.  Armstrong,  of  New  York. 

The  Atlantic  cable  weighs  1800  pounds  to  tho  mile,  and  cost  something 
over  a  million  of  dollars.  Its  center  is  composed  of  a  twisted  cord  of  seven 
fino  copper  wires,  coated  with  gutta  percha,  forming  a  Bmall  rope,  three- 


162  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

eighths  of  an  inch  thick  ;  then  coated  with  hempen  twine,  soaked  in  pitch 
and  tar ;  lastly,  an  outer  sheathing  of  eighteen  wires,  each  wire  heing  a 
strand  of  seven  finer  wires,  making  together  126  wires,  over  all  of  which  is 
a  thick  coating  of  gutta  percha.  The  heart  is  twined  together  so  closely  as 
to  produce  contact  throughout.  The  cahlc  will  support,  in  water,  six  miles 
of  its  own  length,  and  is  flexible  enough  to  he  tied  in  a  knot  around  a  man's 
body.  The  greatest  depth  to  which  it  has  sunk  is  2,400  fathoms,  or  14,400 
feet  —  nearly  three  miles.  It  extends  from  Trinity  Bay,  in  Newfoundland, 
to  Valentia  Bay,  in  Ireland,  a  distance  of  2,324  miles  by  the  cable,  and  1,950 
miles  in  an  air  line. 

The  Atlantic  Sub-marine  Telegraph  Company  was  formed  in  the  year 
1854,  by  Cyrus  W.  Field,  a  merchant  of  New  York.  The  first  attempt  to 
lay  the  cable  was  in  the  year  1857,  when  it  parted  after  380  miles  had 
been  submerged.  In  June,  1858,  the  American  war-steamer,  Niagara,  and 
the  British  war-steamer,  Agamemnon,  thrice  met  in  mid  ocean,  spliced  the 
cable,  and  started  for  their  respective  continents,  and  thrice  the  cable  parted  ; 
the  total  loss  of  line  by  these  unsuccessful  trials  having  been  335  miles. 

T.he  final  and  successful  attempt  was  begun  by  these  vessels  at  noon,  on 
the  29th  of  July,  and  at  sunrise,  on  the  5th  of  August,  the  cable  was  laid 
and  landed  between  Valentia  Bay,  Ireland,  and  Trinity  Bay,  Newfound 
land —  the  old  world  and  the  new.  On  the  same  day,  the  American  people 
were  astounded  by  the  news  that  the  cable  had  been  successfully  laid.  It 
was  at  first  discredited  —  it  was  too  great  an  event  for  belief;  but  when  a 
confirmatory  dispatch  came  from  Mr.  Field,  the  whole  nation  broke  out  in 
a  wild  jubilee.  On  the  17th  of  August,  a  congratulatory  message  was  sent 
by  the  Queen  of  England  to  the  President  of  the  United  States,  and  soon 
after  answered.  The  first  messages  through  the  cable  were  transmitted 
with  difficulty,  and  its  electric  condition  became  gradually  worse,  until  no 
intelligible  signals  could  be  transmitted.  Various  causes  have  been  assigned 
for  its  failure,  and  it  is  not  probable  that  those  in  this  cable  can  be  sur 
mounted  ;  but  the  day  is  not  far  distant,  in  the  opinion  of  practical  men, 
when  all  obstacles  will  be  overcome,  and  Europe" and  America  connected  by 
successfully-working  telegraphic  lines  across  the  bed  of  the  Atlantic  ocean. 


REMARKABLE  ADVENTURES 

OF 

ISRAEL   R.    POTTER, 

WHO  WAS  A  SOLDIER  IN  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION,  AND  TOOK  A  DISTINGUISHED 
PART  IN  THE  BATTLE  OF  BUNKER  HILL,  IN  WHICH  HE  RECEIVED  THREE  WOUNDS  ; 
AFTER  WHICH  HE  WAS  TAKEN  PRISONER  BY  THE  BRITISH  AND  CONVEYED  TO  ENG 
LAND,  WHERE  FOR  THIRTY  YEARS  HE  OBTAINED  A  LIVELIHOOD  FOR  HIMSELF  AND 
FAMILY  BY  CRYING  £;  OLD  CHAIRS  TO  MEND,"  THROUGH  THE  STREETS  OF  LONDON. 
HE  DID  NOT  SUCCEED  IN  OBTAINING  A  PASSAGE  TO  HIS  NATIVE  COUNTRY  UNTIL 
THE  YEAR  1823,  WHEN  HE  WAS  IN  THE  SEVENTY-NINTH  YEAR  OF  HIS  AGE,  AND 
AFTER 

AN  ABSENCE  OF  FORTY-EIGHT  YEAKSL 


i  WAS  born  of  reputable  parents  in  the  town  of  Cranston,  State  of 
Rhode  Island,  August  1,  1744.  I  continued  with  my  parents  there,  in  the 
full  enjoyment  of  parental  affection  and  indulgence,  until  I  arrived  at 
the  age  of  eighteen,  when,  having  formed  an  acquaintance  with  tho 
daughter  of  a  Mr.  Richard  Gardner,  a  near  neighbor,  for  whom  (in  the 
opinion  of  my  friends)  entertaining  too  great  a  degree  of  partiality,  I  was. 
reprimanded,  and  threatened  by  them  with  more  severe  punishment,  if  my 
visits  were  not  discontinued.  Disappointed  in  my  intentions  of  forming  an 
union  with  one  whom  I  really  loved,  I  deemed  the  conduct  of  my  parent 
in  this  respect  unreasonable  and  oppressive,  and  formed  the  determination 
to  leave  them,  for  the  purpose  of  seeking  another  home  and  other  friends. 

It  was  on  Sunday,  while  the  family  were  at  meeting,  that  I  packed  up 
as  many  articles  of  my  clothing  as  could  be  contained  in  a  pocket-hand 
kerchief,  which,  with  a  small  quantity  of  provision,  I  conveyed  to  and 
secreted  in  a  piece  of  woods  in  the  rear  of  my  father's  house ;  I  then  re 
turned  and  continued  in  the  house  until  about  nine  in  the  evening,  when, 
with  the  pretense  of  retiring  to  bed,  I  passed  into  a  back  room,  and  from 
thence  out  of  a  back  door,  and  hastened  to  the  spot  where  I  had  deposited 
my  clothes,  etc.  It  was  a  warm  summer's  night,  and  that  1  might  be  ena 
bled  to  travel  with  the  more  facility  the  succeeding  day,  I  lay  down  at  the 
foot  of  a  tree  and  reposed  myself  until  about  four  in  the  morning,  when  I 
arose  and  commenced  my  journey,  traveling  westward,  with  an  intention  of 
reaching,  if  possible,  the  new  countries,  which  I  had  heard  highly  spoken 
of  as  affording  excellent  prospects  for  industrious  and  enterprising  young 
men.  To  evade  the  pursuit  of  my  friends,  by  whom  I  knew  I  should  be 
early  missed  and  diligently  sought  for,  I  confined  my  travel  to  the  woods 
and  shunned  the  public  roads,  until  I  had  reached  the  distance  of  about 
twelve  miles  from  my  father's  house. 

At  noon  the  succeeding  day  I  reached  Hartford,  in  Connecticut,  and  ap- 
11  (163) 


164:  ADVENTURES   AND   ACHIEVEMENTS 

plied  to  a  farmer  in  that  town  for  work,  and  for  whom  I  agreed  to  labor 
for  one  month  for  the  sum  of  six  dollars.  Having  completed  my  month's 
work  to  the  satisfaction  of  my  employer,  I  received  my  money  and  Htarted 
from  Hartford  for  Otter  Creek ;  but,  when  I  reached  Springfield,  I  met  with 
a  man  bound  to  the  Cahos  country,  and  who  offered  me  four  dollars  to 
accompany  him,  of  which  offer  I  accepted  ;  and  the  next  morning  we  left 
Springfield,  and  in  a  canoe  ascended  Connecticut  River,  and  in  about  two 
weeks,  after  much  hard  labor  in  paddling  and  poleing  the  boat  against  tho 
current,  we  reached  Lebanon,  New  Hampshire,  the  place  of  our  destination. 
It  was  with  some  difficulty,  and  not  until  I  had  procured  a  writ  by  tho 
assistance  of  A  respectable  innkeeper  in  Lebanon  by  the  name  of  Hill,  that 
I  obtained  from  my  last  employer  the  four  dollars  which  he  had  agreed  to 
pay  me  for  my  services. 

From  Lebanon,  I  crossed  the  river  to  New  Hartford  (then  New  York), 
where  I  bargained  with  a  Mr.  Brink  of  that  town  for  two  hundred  acres  of 
new  land,  lying  in  New  Hampshire,  and  for  which  I  was  to  labor  for  him 
four  months.  As  this  may  appear  to  some  a  small  consideration  for  so 
great  a  number  of  acres  of  land,  it  may  be  well  here  to  acquaint  the  reader 
with  the  situation  of  the  country  in  that  quarter,  at  that  early  period  of 
its  settlement  —  which  was  an  almost  impenetrable  wilderness,  containing 
but  few  civilized  inhabitants,  far  distantly  situated  from  each  other  and  from 
any  considerable  settlement ;  and  whose  temporary  habitations  with  a  few 
exceptions  \vere  constructed  of  logs  in  their  natural  state  —  the  woods 
abounded  with  wild  beasts  of  almost  every  description  peculiar  to  this 
^country,  nor  were  the  few  inhabitants  at  that  time  free  from  serious  ap 
prehension  of  being  at  some  unguarded  moment  suddenly  attacked  and 
destroyed,  or  conveyed  into  captivity  by  the  savages,  who  from  the  com- 
•mencement  of  the  French  war,  had  improved  every  favorable  opportunity 
.to  cut  off  the  defenseless  inhabitants  of  the  frontier  towns. 

After  the  expiration  of  my  four  months'  labor,  the  person  who  had  pro 
mised  me  a  deed  of  two  hundred  acres  of  land  therefor,  having  refused  to 
fulfill  his  engagements,  I  was  obliged  to  engage  with  a  party  of  his  majesty's 
surveyors  at  fifteen  shillings  per  month,  as  an  assistant  chain-bearer,  to  sur 
vey  the  wild  unsettled  lands  bordering  on  the  Connecticut  River  to  its  source. 

It  was  in  the  winter  season,  and  the  snow  so  deep  that  it  was  impossible  to 
travel  without  snow-shoes.  At  the  close  of  each  day  we  enkindled  a  fire, 
cooked  our  victuals  and  erected  with  the  branches  of  hemlock  a  temporary 
hut,  which  served  us  for  shelter  for  the  night.  The  surveyors  having  com 
pleted  their  business  .returned  to  Lebanon,  after  an  absence  of  about  two 
months.  Receiving  my  wages,  I  purchased  a  fowling-piece  and  ammunition 
therewith,  and  for  the  four  succeeding  months  devoted  my  time  in  hunting 
deer,  beavers,  etc.,  in  which  I  was  very  successful,  as  in  the  four  months  I 
obtained  as  many  skins  of  these  animals  as  produced  me  forty  dollars. 
With  my  money  I  purchased  of  a  Mr.  John  Marsh,  one  hundred  acres  of  new 
land,  lying  on  Water-Quechy  River  (so  called),  about  five  miles  from  Hart 
ford,  New  York.  On  ,this  land  I  went  immediately  to  work,  erected  a 
small  log  hut  thereon,  and  in  two  summers,  without  any  assistance,  cleared 
up  thirty  acres  fit  for  sowing.  In  the  winter  seasons  I  employed  my  time 
in  hunting  and  .entrapping  such  animals  whose  hides  and  furs  wero  esteeraeJ 


OF  AMERICANS. 

of  the  most  value.  I  remained  in  possession  of  my  land  two  years,  and  thec 
disposed  of  it  to  the  same  person  of  whom  I  purchased  it,  at  the  advanced 
price  of  two  hundred  dollars,  and  then  conveyed  my  skins  and  furs  which  I 
had  collected  the  two  preceding  winters,  to  No.  4  (now  Charlestown), 
where  I  exchanged  them  for  Indian  blankets,  wampeag,  and  such  other 
articles  as  I  could  conveniently  convey  on  a  hand-sled,  and  with  which  I 
started  for  Canada,  to  barter  with  the  Indians  for  furs.  This  proved  a  very 
profitable  trip,  as  I  very  soon  disposed  of  every  article  at  an  advance  of 
more  than  two  hundred  per  cent.,  and  received  payment  in  furs  at  a  re 
duced  price,  and  for  which  I  received,  in  No.  4,  two  hundred  dollars,  cash. 
With  this  money,  together  with  what  I  was  before  in  possession  of,  I  now 
set  out  for  home,  once  more  to  visit  my  parents  after  an  absence  of  two 
years  and  nine  months,  in  which  time  my  friends  had  not  been  enabled  to 
receive  any  correct  information  of  me.  On  my  arrival,  so  greatly  aifected 
were  my  parents  at  the  presence  of  a  son  whom  they  had  considered  dead, 
that  it  was  some  time  before  either  could  become  sufficiently  composed  to 
listen  to  or  request  me  to  furnish  them  with  an  account  of  my  travels. 

Soon  after  my  return,  as  some  atonement  for  the  anxiety  which  I  had 
caused  my  parents,  I  presented  them  with  most  of  the  money  that  I  had 
earned  in  my  absence,  and  formed  the  determination  that  I  would  remaiu 
with  them  contented  at  home,  in  consequence  of  a  conclusion  from  the  wel 
come  reception  that  I  met  with,  that  they  had  repented  of  their  opposition, 
and  had  become  reconciled  to  my  intended  union — but,  in  this,  I  soon  found 
that  I  was  mistaken  ;  for,  although  overjoyed  to  see  me  alive,  whom  they 
had  supposed  really  dead,  no  sooner  did  they  find  that  long  absence  had  in 
creased  rather  than  diminished  my  attachment  for  their  neighbor's  daughter, 
than  their  resentment  and  opposition  appeared  to  increase  in  proportion —  in 
consequence  of  which  I  formed  the  determination  again  to  quit  them,  and 
try  my  fortune  at  sea,  as  I  had  now  arrived  at  an  age  in  which  I  had  an 
unquestionable  right  to  think  and  act  for  myself. 

After  remaining  at  home  one  month,  I  applied  for  and  procured  a  berth 

at  Providence,  on  board  the  sloop ,  Captain  Fuller,  bound  for  Grenada. 

After  this  voyage  was  finished,  I  made  several  other  voyages,  the  last  of 
which  was  of  three  years'  duration,  in  a  whaler  to  the  South  Seas. 

I  returned  from  my  last  voyage  perfectly  sick  of  the  sea,  remained  with 
my  friends  at  Cranston  a  few  weeks,  and  then  hired  myself  to  a  Mr.  James 
Waterman,  of  Coventry,  for  twelve  months,  to  work  at  farming.  This  was 
in  the  year  1774,  and  I  continued  with  him  about  six  months,  when  the  diffi 
culties  which  had  for  some  time  prevailed  between  the  Americans  and  Brit 
ish,  had  now  arrived  at  that  crisis  as  to  render  it  certain  that  hostilities 
would  soon  commence  in  good  earnest  between  the  two  nations  ;  in  con 
sequence  of  which,  the  Americans  at  this  period  began  to  prepare  themselves 
for  the  event — companies  were  formed  in  several  of  the  towns  in  New  Eng 
land,  who  received  the  appellation  of  "minute  men,"  and  who  were  to  hold 
themselves  in  readiness  to  obey  the  first  summons  of  their  officers,  to  march 
at  a  moment's  notice.  A  company  of  this  kind  was  formed  in  Coventry, 
into  which  I  enlisted. 

It  was  on  a  Sabbath  morning  that  news  was  received  of  the  destruction 
cf  the  provincial  stores  at  Concord,  and  of  the  massacre  of  our  countrymen 


166  ADVENTUKES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

at  Lexington,  by  a  detached  party  of  the  British  troops  from  Boston  :  and 
I  immediately  thereupon  received  a  summons  from  the  captain,  to  be  pre 
pared  to  march  with  the  company  early  in  the  morning  ensuing.  By  the 
break  of  day  on  Monday  morning,  I  swung  my  knapsack,  shouldered  my 
musket,  and  with  the  company  commenced  my  march  with  a  quick  step 
for  Charlestown,  where  we  arrived  before  sunset,  and  remained  encamped 
in  the  vicinity  until  about  noon  of  the  16th  June  ;  when,  having  been  pre 
viously  joined  by  the  remainder  of  the  regiment  from  Rhode  Island,  to 
which  our  company  was  attached,  we  received  orders  to  proceed  and  join  a 
detachment  of  about  one  thousand  American  troops,  which  had  that  morn 
ing  taken  possession  of  Bunker  Hill,  and  which  we  had  orders  immediately 
to  fortify,  in  the  best  manner  that  circumstances  would  admit  of.  We 
labored  all  night  without  cessation  and  with  very  little  refreshment,  and  by 
the  dawn  of  day  succeeded  in  throwing  up  a  redoubt  of  eight  or  nine  rods 
square.  As  soon  as  our  works  were  discovered  by  the  British  in  the 
morning,  they  commenced  a  heavy  fire  upon  us,  which  was  supported  by  a 
fort  on  Copp's  Hill  ;  we,  however  (under  the  command  of  the  intrepid 
Putnam),  continued  to  labor  like  beavers  until  our  breastwork  was  com 
pleted. 

About  noon,  a  number  of  the  enemy's  boats  and  barges,  filled  with  troop^ 
landed  at  Charlestown,  and  commenced  a  deliberate  march  to  attack  us. 
We  were  now  harangued  by  General  Putnam,  who  reminded  us,  that  ex 
hausted  as  we  were,  by  our  incessant  labor  through  the  preceding  night, 
the  most  important  part  of  our  duty  was  yet  to  be  performed,  and  that 
much  would  be  expected  from  so  great  a  number  of  excellent  marksmen, 
he  charged  us  to  be  cool,  and  to  reserve  our  fire  until  the  enemy  ap 
proached  so  near  as-  to  enable  us  to  see  the  white  of  their  eyes.  When 
within  about  ten  rods  of  our  works,  we  gave  them  the  contents  of  our 
muskets,  which  were  aimed  with  such  good  effect,  as  soon  to  cause  them 
to  turn  their  backs  and  to  retreat  with  a  much  quicker  step  than  that 
with  which  they  approached  us.  We  were  now  again  harangued  by  "  old 
General  Put,"  as  he  was  termed,  and  requested  by  him  to  aim  at  the 
officers,  should  the  enemy  renew  the  attack — which  they  did  in  a  few 
moments,  with  a  reinforcement.  Their  approach  was  with  a  slow  step, 
which  gave  us  an  excellent  opportunity  to  obey  the  commands  of  our  gen 
eral  in  bringing  down  their  officers.  I  feel  but  little  disposed  to  boast  of 
my  own  performances  on  this  occasion,  and  will  only  say,  that  after  de 
voting  so  many  months  .n  hunting  the  wild  animals  of  the  wilderness, 
while  an  inhabitant  of  New  Hampshire,  the  reader  will  not  suppose  me  a 
bad  or  inexperienced  marksman,  and  that  such  were  the  fair  shots  which  the 
epauletted  red-coats  presented  in  the  two  attacks,  that  every  shot  which 
they  received  from  me,  I  am  confident  on  another  occasion  would  have  pro 
duced  me  a  deer-skin. 

So  warm  was  the  reception  the  enemy  met  with  in  their  second  attack, 
that  they  again  found  it  necessary  to  retreat ;  but  soon  after  receiving  a  fresh 
reinforcement,  a  third  assault  was  made,  in  which,  in  consequence  of  our 
ammunition  failing,  they  too  well  succeeded.  A  close  and  bloody  engage 
ment  now  ensued — to  fight  our  way  through  a  very  considerable  body  of  the 
enemy,  with  clubbed  muskets  (for  there  were  not  one  in  twenty  of  us  pro- 


OF  AMERICANS.  167 

vided  with  bayonets)  were  now  the  only  means  left  us  to  escape.  The  con* 
flict,  which  was  a  sharp  and  severe  one,  is  still  fresh  in  my  memory,  and 
cannot  be  forgotten  by  me  while  the  scars  of  the  wounds  which  I  then  re 
ceived,  remain  to  remind  me  of  it.  Fortunately  for  me,  at  this  critical 
moment  I  was  armed  with  a  cutlass,  which  although  without  an  edge  and 
much  rust-eaten,  I  found  of  infinite  more  service  to  me  than  my  musket. 
In  one  instance,  I  am  certain,  it  was  the  means  of  saving  my  life — a  blow 
with  a  cutlass  was  aimed  at  my  head  by  a  British  officer,  which  I  parried 
and  received  only  a  slight  cut  with  the  point  on  my  right  arm  near  the 
elbow,  which  I  was  then  unconscious  of;  but  this  slight  wound  cost  my  an 
tagonist  at  the  moment  a  much  more  serious  one,  which  effectually  dis 
armed  him,  for  with  one  well-directed  stroke  I  deprived  him  of  the  power 
of  very  soon  again  measuring  swords  with  a  Yankee  rebel  !  We  finally, 
however,  should  have  been  mostly  cut  off,  and  compelled  to  yield  to  a  su 
perior  and  better  equipped  force,  had  not  a  body  of  three  or  four  hundred 
Connecticut  men  formed  a  temporary  breastwork,  with  rails,  etc.,  and  by 
this  means  held  the  enemy  at  bay  until  our  main  body  had  time  to  ascend 
the  heights,  and  retreat  across  the  neck.  In  this  retreat  I  was  less  for 
tunate  than  many  of  my  comrades — I  received  two  musket-ball  wounds, 
one  in  my  hip  and  the  other  near  the  ankle  of  my  left  leg.  I  succeeded, 
however,  without  any  assistance  in  reaching  Prospect  Hill,  where  the  main 
body  of  the  Americans  had  made  a  stand  and  commenced  fortifying.  From 
thence  I  was  soon  after  conveyed  to  the  hospital  in  Cambridge,  where  my 
wounds  were  dressed  and  the  bullet  extracted  from  my  hip  by  one  of  tho 
surgeons  ;  the  house  was  nearly  filled  with  the  poor  fellows  who,  like  my 
self,  had  received  wounds  in  the  late  engagement,  and  presented  a  mel 
ancholy  spectacle. 

I  suffered  much  pain  from  the  wound  which  I  received  in  my  ankle ;  the 
bone  was  badly  fractured  and  several  pieces  were  extracted  by  the  surgeon, 
and  it  was  six  weeks  before  I  was  sufficiently  recovered  to  be  able  to  join 
my  regiment  quartered  on  Prospect  Hill,  where  they  had  thrown  up  in- 
trenchments  within  the  distance  of  little  more  than  a  mile  of  the  enemy's 
camp,  which  was  in  full  view,  they  having  intrenched  themselves  on  Bun 
ker  Hill  after  the  engagement. 

On  the  3d  July,  to  the  great  satisfaction  of  the  Americans,  General  Wash 
ington  arrived  from  the  south  to  take  command.  I  was  then  confined  in 
the  hospital,  but  as  far  as  my  observations  could  extend,  he  met  with  a  joy 
ful  reception,  and  his  arrival  was  welcomed  by  every  one  throughout  the 
camp. 

The  British  quartered  in  Boston  began  soon  to  suffer  much  from  tho 
scarcity  of  provisions,  and  General  Washington  took  every  precaution  to 
prevent  their  gaining  a  supply.  From  the  country  all  supplies  could  be 
easily  cut  off,  and  to  prevent  their  receiving  any  from  tories  anfl  otfher  dis 
affected  persons  by  water,  the  general  found  it  necessary  to  equip  two  or 
three  armed  vessels  to  intercept  them  ;  among  these  was  the  brigantit 
Washington  of  ten  guns,  commanded  by  Capt.  Martindale.  As  seamen,  at 
this  time,  could  not  easily  be  obtained,  most  of  them  having  enlisted  in  tho 
land  service,  permission  was  given  to  any  of  the  soldiers  who  should  be 
pleased  to  accept  of  the  offer,  to  man  these  vessels— consequently  myself 


168  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

with  several  others  of  the  same  regiment  went  on  board  of  the  Washington, 
then  lying  at  Plymouth,  and  in  complete  order  for  a  cruise. 

We  set  sail  about  the  8th  December,  and  had  been  out  but  three  days 
when  we  were  captured  by  the  enemy's  ship  Foy,  of  twenty  guns,  who  took 
us  all  out  and  put  a  prize  crew  on  board  the  Washington — the  Foy  pro 
ceeded  with  us  immediately  to  Boston  Bay,  where  we  were  put  on  board 
the  British  frigate  Tartar,  and  orders  given  to  convey  us  to  England. 
When  two  or  three  days  out,  I  projected  a  scheme  (with  the  assistance 
of  my  fellow  prisoners,  seventy-two  in  number)  to  take  the  ship,  in  which 
we  should  undoubtedly  have  succeeded,  as  we  had  a  number  of  resolute 
fellows  on  board,  had  it  not  been  for  the  treachery  of  a  renegade  Englishman, 
who  betrayed  mt.  As  I  was  pointed  out  by  the  fellow  as  the  principal  in  the 
plot,  I  was  ordered  in  irons  by  the  officers  of  the  Tartar,  in  which  situation 
I  remained  until  the  arrival  of  the  ship  at  Portsmouth,  England,  when  I 
was  brought  on  deck  and  closely  examined ;  but  protesting  my  innocence, 
and  what  was  very  fortunate  for  me  in  the  course  of  the  examination,  the 
person  by  whom  I  had  been  betrayed,  having  been  proved  a  British  de 
serter,  his  story  was  discredited  and  I  was  relieved  of  my  irons. 

The  prisoners  were  now  all  thoroughly  cleansed  and  conveyed  to  the  ma 
rine  hospital  on  shore,  where  many  of  us  took  the  small-pox  the  natural  way 
from  some  whom  we  found  in  the  hospital  affected  with  that  disease,  which 
proved  fatal  to  nearly  one  half  our  number.  From  the  hospital  those  of  us 
who  survived  were  conveyed  to  Spithead,  and  put  on  board  a  guard-ship, 
where  I  had  been  confined  with  my  fellow  prisoners  about  a  month,  when  I 
was  ordered  into  the  boat,  to  assist  the  bargemen  (in  consequence  of  the 
absence  of  one  of  their  gang)  in  rowing  the  lieutenant  on  shore.  As  soon 
as  we  reached  the  shore  and  the  officer  landed,  it  was  proposed  by  some  of 
the  boat's  crew  to  resort  for  a  few  moments  to  an  ale-house,  in  the  vicinity, 
to  treat  themselves  to  a  few  pots  of  beer ;  which  being  agreed  to  by  all,  I 
thought  this  a  favorable  opportunity,  and  the  only  one  that  might  present, 
to  escape  from  my  floating  prison,  and  felt  determined  not  to  let  it  pass 
unimproved  ;  accordingly,  as  the  boat's  crew  were  about  to  enter  the  house, 
I  expressed  a  necessity  of  my  separating  from  them  a  few  moments,  to 
which  they,  not  suspecting  any  design,  readily  assented.  As  soon  as  I  saw 
them  all  snugly  in  and  the  door  closed,  I  gave  speed  to  my  legs,  and  ran, 
as  I  then  concluded,  about  four  miles  without  once  halting.  I  steered  my 
course  toward  London,  as  when  there  by  mingling  with  the  crowd  I  thought 
it  probable  that  I  should  be  least  suspected. 

When  I  had  reached  the  distance  of  about  ten  miles  from  where  I  quit 
the  bargemen,  and  beginning  to  think  myself  in  little  danger  of  apprehension 
should  any  of  them  be  sent  by  the  lieutenant  in  pursuit  of  me,  as  I  was 
leisurely  passing  a  public  house,  I  Was  noticed  and  hailed  by  a  naval  officer 
at  the  door  with  "  Ahoy,  what  ship  ?" — "  No  ship,"  was  my  reply,  on 
which  he  ordered  me  to  stop,  but  of  which  I  took  no  other  notice  than  to 
observe  to  him,  that  if  he  would  attend  to  his  own  business  I  would  proceed 
quietly  about  mine.  This  rather  increasing  than  diminishing  his  suspicions 
that  I  was  a  deserter,  garbed  as  I  was,  he  gave  chase.  Finding  myself 
closely  pursued  and  unwilling  again  to  be  made  a  prisoner,  if  possible  to 
escape,  I  had  now  once  more  to  trust  my  legs,  and  should  have  succeeded 


OF  AMERICANS.  169 

had  not  the  officer,  on  finding  himself  likely  to  be  distanced,  set  up  a  cry  of 
"Stop  thief !"  which  Drought  numbers  out  of  their  houses  and  workshops, 
who,  joining  in  the  pursuit,  succeeded  after  a  chase  of  nearly  a  mile  in 
overhauling  me. 

By  the  officer  I  was  conveyed  back  to  the  inn,  and  left  in  custody  of  two 
soldiers — the  former  (previous  to  retiring)  observing  to  the  landlord,  that 
believing  me  to  be  a  true  blooded  Yankee,  requested  him  to  supply  me  at  his 
expense  with  as  much  liquor  as  I  should  call  for.  The  house  was  thronged 
early  in  the  evening  by  many  of  the  "  good  and  faithful  subjects  of  King 
George,"  who  had  assembled  to  take  a  peep  at  the  "  Yankee  rebel"  (as 
they  termed  me),  who  had  so  recently  taken  an  active  part  in  the  rebellious 
war,  then  raging  in  his  majesty's  American  provinces. 

As  for  myself,  I  thought  it  best  not  to  be  reserved,  but  to  reply  readily  to 
all  their  inquiries  ;  for  while  my  mind  was  wholly  employed  in  devising  a 
plan  to  escape  from  the  custody  of  my  keepers,  so  far  from  manifesting  a 
disposition  to  resent  any  of  the  insults  offered  me,  or  my  country,  to  prevent 
anv  suspicions  of  my  designs,  I  feigned  myself  not  a  little  pleased  with 
their.-  observations  and  in  no  way  dissatisfied  with  my  situation.  As  the 
officer  had  left  orders  with  the  landlord  to  supply  me  with  as  much  liquor 
as  I  should  be  pleased  to  call  for,  I  felt  determined  to  make  my  keepen 
merry  at  his  expense,  if  possible,  as  the  best  means  that  I  could  adopt  to 
effect  my  escape. 

The  evening  having  become  now  far  spent  and  the  company  mostly 
retiring,  my  keepers  (who,  to  use  a  sailor's  phrase,  I  was  happy  to  dis 
cover  "half  seas  over")  having  much  to  my  dissatisfaction  furnished  mo 
with  a  pair  of  handcuffs,  spread  a  blanket  by  the  side  of  their  bed  on  which 
I  was  to  repose  for  the  night.  I  feigned  myself  very  grateful  to  them  for 
having  humanely  furnished  me  with  so  comfortable  a  bed,  and  on  which  I 
stretched  myself  with  much  apparent  unconcern,  and  remained  quiet  about 
one  hour,  when  I  was  sure  that  the  family  had  all  retired  to  bed. 

I  then  intimated  to  my  keepers  that  I  was  under  the  necessity  of  re 
questing  permission  to  retire  for  a  few  moments  to  the  back  yard  ;  when 
both  instantly  arose  and  reeling  toward  me  seized  each  an  arm,  and  pro 
ceeded  to  conduct  me  through  a  long  and  narrow  entry  to  the  back  door, 
which  was  no  sooner  unbolted  and  opened  by  one  of  them,  than  I  tripped 
up  the  heels  of  both  and  laid  them  sprawling,  and  in  a  moment  was  at  tho 
garden  wall  seeking  a  passage  whereby  I  might  gain  the  public  road.  A  new 
and  unexpected  obstacle  now  presented,  for  I  found  the  whole  garden  in 
closed  with  a  smooth  brick  wall,  of  the  height  of  twelve  feet  at  least,  and 
was  prevented  by  the  darkness  of  the  night  from  discovering  an  avenue 
leading  therefrom.  In  this  predicament,  my  only  alternative  was  either  tc 
scale  this  wall,  handcuffed  as  I  was,  and  without  a  moment's  hesitation,  or 
to  suffer  myself  to  be  made  a  captive  of  again  by  my  keepers,  who  had 
already  recovered  their  feet  and  were  bellowing  like  bullocks  for  assistance. 
Had  it  not  been  a  very  dark  night,  I  must  certainly  have  been  discovered 
and  retaken  by  them.  Fortunately,  before  they  had  succeeded  in  rallying 
the  family,  in  groping  about  I  met  with  a  fruit  tree  situated  within  ten  or 
twelve  feet  of  the  wall  which  I  ascended  as  expeditiously  as  possible,  and 
by  an  extraordinary  leap  from  the  branches  reached  the  top  of  the  wall,  and 


170  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

was  in  an  instant  on  the  opposite  side.  The  coast  being  now  clear,  I  ran  tc 
the  distance  of  two  or  three  miles,  with  as  much  speed  as  my  situation 
would  admit  of.  My  next  object  now  was  to  rid  myself  of  my  handcuffs, 
which  fortunately  proving  none  of  the  stoutest,  I  succeeded  in  doing  after 
much  painful  labor. 

It  was  now,  as  I  judged,  about  twelve  o'clock,  and  I  had  succeeded  in 
reaching  a  considerable  distance  from  the  inn,  from  which  I  had  made  my 
escape,  without  hearing  or  seeing  anything  of  my  keepers,  whom  I  had  left 
staggering  about  in  the  garden  in  search  of  their  "  Yankee  captive !"  It 
was  indeed  to  their  intoxicated  state,  and  the  extreme  darkness  of  the  night, 
that  I  imputed  my  success  in  evading  their  pursuit.  I  saw  no  one  until 
about  the  break  of  day,  when  I  met  an  old  man  tottering  beneath  the  weight 
of  his  pick-ax,  hoe  and  shovel,  clad  in  tattered  garments,  and  otherwise  the 
picture  of  poverty  and  distress  ;  he  had  just  left  his  humble  dwelling,  and 
was  proceeding  thus  early  to  his  daily  labor  ; — and  as  I  was  now  satisfied 
that  it  would  be  very  difficult  for  me  to  travel  in  the  daytime,  garbed  as  .' 
was,  in  a  sailor's  habit,  without  exciting  the  suspicions  of  his  royal  ma 
jesty's  pimps,  who  (I  had  been  informed)  were  constantly  on  the  lookoul 
for  deserters,  I  applied  to  the  old  man,  miserable  as  he  appeared,  for  a 
change  of  clothing,  offering  those  which  I  then  wore  for  a  suit  of  inferior 
quality  and  less  value.  This  I  was  induced  to  do  at  that  moment,  as  I 
thought  that  the  proposal  could  be  made  with  perfect  safetjr,  for  whatever 
might  have  been  his  suspicions  as  to  my  motives  in  wishing  to  exchange 
my  dress,  I  doubted  not  that  with  an  object  of  so  much  apparent  distress, 
•elf-interest  would  prevent  bis  communicating  them.  The  old  man  however 
appeared  a  little  surprised  at  my  offer,  and  after  a  short  examination  of  my 
pea-jacket,  trowsers,  etc.,  expressed  a  doubt  whether  I  would  be  willing  to  ex 
change  them  for  his  "church  suit,"  which  he  represented  as  something 
worse  for  wear,  and  not  worth  half  so  much  as  those  I  then  wore.  Taking 
courage  however  from  my  assurances  that  a  change  of  dress  was  my  only 
ebject,  he  deposited  his  tools  by  the  side  of  a  hedge,  and  invited  me  to  ac 
company  him  to  his  house,  which  we  soon  reached  and  entered,  where  a 
scene  of  poverty  and  wretchedness  presented,  which  exceeded  everything 
cf  the  kind  that  I  had  ever  before  witnessed.  There  was  but  one  room,  in 
one  corner  of  which  was  a  bed  of  straw  covered  with  a  coarse  sheet,  and 
en  which  reposed  his  wife  and  five  small  children.  The  first  garment  pre 
sented  by  the  poor  old  man,  of  his  best,  or  "  church  suit,"  as  he  termed  it, 
was  a  coat  of  very  coarse  cloth,  containing  a  number  of  patches  of  almost 
every  color  but  that  of  the  cloth  of  which  it  was  originally  made.  The 
next  was  a  waistcoat  and  pair  of  small  clothes,  which  appeared  each  to  have 
received  a  bountiful  supply  of  patches  to  correspond  with  the  coat.  The 
coat  I  put  on  without  much  difficulty,  V.»ut  the  two  other  garments  proved 
much  too  small  forme,  and  when  I  had  succeeded  with  considerable  difficulty 
in  putting  them  on,  they  set  so  tight  as  to  cause  me  some  apprehension  that 
they  might  even  stop  the  circulation  of  blood  !  My  next  exchange  was  my 
buff  cap  for  an  old  rusty  large-brimmed  hat. 

The  old  man  appeared  very  much  pleased  with  his  bargain,  and  rep 
resented  to  his  wife  that  he  could  now  accompany  her  to  church  much  more 
decently  clad.  Jle  immediately  tried  on  the  pea-jacket  and  trowsers,  and 


OF  AMERICANS.  171 

Beemed  to  give  himself  very  little  concern  about  their  size,  although  I  am 
confident  that  one  leg  of  the  trowsers  was  sufficiently  large  to  admit  his 
whole  body — but,  however  ludicrous  his  appearance,  in  his  new  suit,  I  am 
sure  that  it  could  not  have  been  more  so  than  mine,  garbed  as  I  was,  like 
an  old  man  of  seventy  !  From  my  old  friend  I  learned  the  course  that  I 
must  steer  to  reach  London,  the  towns  and  villages  that  I  should  have  to 
pass  through,  and  the  distance  thereto,  which  was  between  seventy  and 
eighty  miles.  He  likewise  represented  to  me  that  the  country  was  filled 
with  soldiers,  who  were  on  the  constant  lookout  for  deserters  from  the  navy 
and  army,  for  the  apprehension  of  whom  they  received  a  stipulated  reward. 

After  enjoining  it  on  the  old  man  not  to  give  any  information  of  me, 
should  he  meet  on  the  road  any  one  who  should  inquire  for  such  a  person, 
I  took  my  leave  of  him,  and  again  set  out  with  a  determination  to  reach 
London,  thus  disguised,  if  possible.  I  traveled  about  thirty  miles  that 
day,  and  at  night  entered  a  barn  in  hope  of  finding  some  straw  or  hay  on 
which  to  repose  for  the  night  for  I  had  not  money  sufficient  to  pay  for  a 
night's  lodging  at  a  public  house,  had  I  thought  it  prudent  to  apply  for  one. 

In  my  expectation  to  find  either  hay  or  straw  in  the  barn,  I  was  sadly 
disappointed,  for  I  soon  found  that  it  contained  not  a  particle  of  either,  and 
after  groping  about  in  the  dark  in  search  of  something  that  might  serve  for 
a  substitute,  I  found  nothing  better  than  an  undressed  sheep-skin.  With 
no  other  bed  on  which  to  repose  my  weari-ed  limbs,  I  spent  a  sleepless 
night,  cold,  hungry  and  weary,  and  impatient  for  the  arrival  of  the  morning's 
dawn^  that  I  might  be  enabled  to  pursue  my  journey. 

By  break  of  day,  I  again  set  out  and  soon  found  myself  within  the 
suburbs  of  a  considerable  village,  in  passing  which  I  was  fearful  there  would 
be  some  risk  of  detection  ;  but  to  guard  myself  as  much  as  possible  against 
suspicion,  I  furnished  myself  with  a  crutch  and  feigning  myself  a  cripple, 
hobbled  through  the  town  without  meeting  with  any  interruption.  In 
two  hours  afterward,  I  arrived  in  the  vicinity  of  another  still  more  conside 
rable  village,  but  fortunately  for  me,  at  the  moment,  I  was  overtaken  by  an 
empty  baggage  wagon,  bound  to  London.  Again  feigning  myself  very 
lame,  I  begged  of  the  driver  to  grant  a  poor  cripple  the  indulgence  to  ride  a 
few  miles,  to  which  he  assenting,  I  concealed  myself  by  lying  prostrate  on 
the  bottom  of  the  wagon,  until  we  had  passed  quite  through  the  village  ; 
when,  finding  the  wagoner  disposed  to  drive  much  slower  than  I  wished  to 
travel,  after  thanking  him  for  the  kind  disposition  which  he  had  manifested 
to  oblige  me,  I  quit  the  wagon,  threw  away  my  crutch  and  traveled  with  a 
speed,  calculated  to  surprise  the  driver  with  so  sudden  a  recovery  of  the  use 
of  my  legs.  The  reader  will  perceive  that  I  had  now  become  almost  an 
adept  ^t  deception,  which  I  would  not  however  have  so  frequently  prac 
ticed,  Had  not  self-preservation  demanded  it. 

As  I  was  passing  through  the  town  of  Staines  within  a  few  miles  of 
London,  about  eleven  o'clock  in  the  forenoon,  I  was  met  by  three  or  four 
British  soldiers,  whose  notice  I  attracted,  and  who  unfortunately  for  me,  dis 
covered  by  the  collar,  which  1  had  not  taken  the  precaution  to  conceal,  that 
I  wore  a  shirt  which  exactly  corresponded  with  those  uniformly  worn  by  his 
majesty's  seamen.  Not  being  able  to  give  satisfactory  account  of  rnysoif,  I 
I  was  made  a  prisoner,  on  suspicion  of  being  a  deserter  from  his  majesty'g 


172  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

aerviee,  and  was  immediately  committed  to  the  round-house— a  prison  ac 
called,  appropriated  to  the  confinement  of  runaways,  and  those  con  vdcted  of 
small  offenses.  I  was  committed  in  the  evening,  and  to  secure  me.  the  more 
effectually,  I  was  handcuffed,  and  left  supperlessi  by  my  unfeeling  jailer,  to 
pass  the  night  in  wretchedness. 

Mv  first  object  was  to  rid  myself  of  my  handcuffs,  which  I  succeeded  in 
doing  after  two  hours'  hard  labor,  by  sawing  them  across  the  gra'uig  of  the 
window.  Having  my  hands  now  at  liberty,  the  next  thing  to  be  done  was 
to  force  the  door  of  my  apartment,  which  was  secured  on  the  outside  by  a 
hasp  and  padlock.  I  devised  many  schemes,  but  for  want  of  tools  to  work 
with,  was  unable  to  carry  them  into  execution.  I,  however,  at  length  suc 
ceeded,  with  the  assistance  of  no  other  instrument  than  the  bolt  of  my 
handcuffs,  with  which,  thrusting  my  arm  through  a  small  window  or  aper 
ture  in  the  door,  I  forced  the  padlock  ;  and  as  there  was  now  no  other  bar 
rier  to  prevent  my  escape,  after  an  imprisonment  of  about  five  hours,  I  was 
once  more  at  large. 

It  was  now,  as  I  judged,  about  midnight ;  and  although  enfeebled  and 
tormented  with  excessive  hunger  and  fatigue — not  having  scarcely  Basted 
food  for  four  days — I  set  out  with  the  determination  of  reaching  £x,ndon,  if 
possible,  early  the  ensuing  morning.  By  break  of  day,  I  roj^hed  and 
passed  through  Brintford,  a  town  of  considerable  note  and  withV  six  milea 
of  the  capital — but  so  great  was  my  hunger  at  this  moment,  that  I  was 
under  serious  apprehension  of  falling  a  victim  to  absolute  stars  -dion,  if  not 
so  fortunate  soon  as  to  obtain  something  to  appease  it.  I  rtcollected  of 
having  read  in  my  youth  accounts  of  the  dreadful  effects  of  hanger,  which 
had  led  men  to  the  commission  of  the  most  horrible  excesses,  but  did  not 
then  think  that  fate  would  ever  thereafter  doom  me  to  an  wmost  similar 
situation. 

A  laborer  I  met,  near  Brintford,  informed  me  that  Sir  Johi?  Millet,  whose 
seat  he  represented  but  a  short  distance,  was  in  the  habit  of  employing 
many  hands  at  that  season  of  the  year  (which  was  in  the  spring  of  1776), 
and  he  doubted  not  but  that  I  might  there  meet  with  employment.  With 
my  spirits  a  little  revived,  at  even  a  distant  prospect  of  obtaining  something 
to  alleviate  my  sufferings,  I  started  in  quest  of  the  seat  of  Sir  John  agreeably 
to  the  directions  which  I  had  received  ;  in  attempting  to  reach  which,  I 
mistook  my  way,  and  proceeded  up  a  graveled  and  beautifully-ornamented 
walk,  which  unconsciously  led  me  directly  to  the  garden  of  the  Princess 
Amelia.  I  had  approached  within  view  of  the  royal  mansion  when  a 
glimpse  of  a  number  of  "red-coats,"  who  thronged  the  yard,  satisfied  me  of 
my  mistake,  and  caused  me  to  make  an  instantaneous  and  precipitate  re 
treat,  being  determined  not  to  afford  any  more  of  their  mess  an  opportu- 
r.itv  of  boasting  of  the  capture  of  a  "  Yankee  rebel."  Indeed  a  wolf  or  a 
bear  of  the  American  wilderness,  could  not  be  more  terrified  or  panic-struck 
at  the  sight  of  a  firebrand,  than  I  then  was  at  that  of  a  British  red-coat  1 

Ha\?»ng  succeeded  in  making  good  my  retreat  from  the  garden  of  her 
highness,  without  being  discovered,  I  took  another  path  which  led  me  to 
where  a  number  of  laborers  were  employed  in  shoveling  gravel,  and  to  whom 
I  repeated  my  inquiry  if  they  could  inform  me  of  any  in  want  of  help,  etc. 
"Why,  in  troth,  friend,"  answered  one  in  a  dialect  peculiar  to  the  laboring 


OF  AMERICANS.  173 

class  of  people  of  that  part  of  the  country,  "me  master,  Sir  John,  hires  a 
goodly  many,  and  as  we've  a  deal  of  work  now,  may-be  he'll  hire  you. 
'Spose  he  stop  a  little  with  us  until  work  is  done,  he  may  then  gang  along, 
and  we'll  question  Sir  John,  whither  him  be  wanting  another  like  us  or  no  !" 

I  found  Sir  John  walking  in  his  front  yard,  in  company  with  several 
gentlemen,  and  on  being  made  acquainted  with  my  business,  his  first  inquiry 
was  whether  I  had  a  hoe,  or  money  to  purchase  one,  and  on  being  answered 
in  the  negative,  he  requested  me  to  call  early  the  ensuing  morning,  and  he 
would  endeavor  to  furnish  me  with  one. 

It  is  impossible  for  me  to  express  the  satisfaction  that  I  felt  at  this  pros 
pect  cf  a  deliverance  from  my  wretched  situation.  1  was  now  by  so  long 
fasting  reduced  to  such  a  state  of  weakness,  that  my  legs  were  hardly  able 
to  support  me,  and  it  was  with  extreme  difficulty  that  I  succeeded  in  reach 
ing  a  baker's  shop  in  the  neighborhood,  where  with  my  four  remaining 
pennies,  which  I  had  reserved  for  a  last  resource,  I  purchased  two  two 
penny  loaves. 

After  four  days  of  intolerable  hunger,  the  reader  may  judge  how  great 
must  have  been  my  joy,  to  find  myself  in  possession  of  even  a  morsel  to  ap 
pease  it.  Although  five  times  the  quantity  of  the  "  staff  of  life"  would 
have  been  insufficient  to  have  satisfied  my  appetite,  yet,  as  1  thought  it  im 
probable  that  I  should  be  indulged  with  a  mouthful  of  anything  to  eat  in 
the  morning,  I  concluded  to  eat  then  but  one  loaf,  and  to  reserve  the  other 
for  another  meal ;  but  having  eaten  one,  so  far  from  satisfying,  it  seemed 
rather  to  increase  my  appetite  for  the  other — the  temptation  was  irresistible, 
the  cravings  of  hunger  predominated,  and  would  not  be  satisfied  until  I  had 
devoured  the  remaining  one. 

The  day  was  now  far  spent,  and  I  was  compelled  to  resort  with  reluctance 
to  a  carriage  house,  to  spend  another  night  in  misery.  I  found  nothing 
therein  on  which  to  repose  my  wearied  limbs  but  the  bare  floor,  which  was 
sufficient  to  deprive  me  of  sleep,  however  much  exhausted  nature  required 
it.  At  eight  o'clock  precisely  all  hands  were  called,  and  preparations  made 
for  a  commencement  of  the  labors  of  the  day.  I  was  furnished  with  a  large 
iron  fork  and  a  hoe,  and  ordered  by  my  employer  to  accompany  them,  and 
although  my  strength  at  this  moment  was  hardly  sufficient  to  enable  me  to 
bear  even  so  light  a  burden,  yet  I  was  unwilling  to  expose  my  weakness,  so 
long  as  it  could  be  avoided — but,  the  time  had  now  arrived  in  which  it  waa 
impossible  for  me  any  longer  to  conceal  it,  and  I  had  to  confess  the  cause  to 
my  fellow  laborers,  so  far  as  to  declare  to  them,  that  such  had  been  my  state 
of  poverty,  that,  with  the  exception  of  the  four  small  loaves  of  bread,  I  had 
not  tasted  food  for  four  days  !  I  was  not,  I  must  confess,  displeased  nor  a 
little  disappointed  to  witness  the  evident  emotions  of  pity  and  commiseration, 
which  this  woeful  declaration  appeared  to  excite  in  their  minds. 

About  eleven  o'clock  we  were  visited  by  our  employer,  Sir  John,  who, 
noticing  me  particularly,  and  perceiving  the  little  progress  I  made  in  my 
labor,  observed,  that  although  I  had  the  appearance  of  being  a  stout  hearty 
man,  yet  I  either  feigned  myself  or  really  was  a  very  weak  one.  On  which 
it  was  immediately  observed  by  one  of  my  friendly  fellow  laborers,  that  it 
was  not  surprising  that  I  lacked  strength,  as  I  had  eaten  nothing  of  con- 
tequence  for  four  days  !  Mr.  Millet,  who  appeared  at  first  little  disposed  to 


174:  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

credit  the  fact,  on  being  assured  by  me  that  it  was  really  so,  put  a  shilling 
into  my  hand,  and  bid  me  go  immediately  and  purchase  to  that  amount  in 
bread  and  meat — a  request  which  the  reader  may  suppose  I  did  not  hesitate 
to  comply  with. 

My  repast  being  over,  one  of  the  men  was  ordered  by  my  hospitable 
friend  to  provide  for  me  a  comfortable  bed  in  the  barn,  where  I  spent  the 
n:ght,  on  a  couch  of  clean  straw,  more  sweetly  than  ever  I  had  done  in 
the  days  of  my  better  fortune.  I  arose  early,  much  refreshed,  and  was  pre 
paring  after  breakfast  to  accompany  the  laborers  to  their  work,  which  was 
no  sooner  discovered  by  Sir  John,  than,  smiling,  he  bid  me  return  to  my 
couch  and  there  remain  until  I  was  in  a  better  state  to  resume  my  labors. 
Indeed,  the  generous  compassion  and  benevolence  of  this  gentlemen  was 
unbounded. 

After  having  on  that  day  partook  of  an  excellent  dinner,  which  had  been 
provided  expressly  for  me,  and  the  domestics  having  been  ordered  to  retire, 
I  was  not  a  little  surprised  to  hear  myself  thus  addressed  by  him.  "  My 
honest  friend,  I  perceive  that  you  are  a  seafaring  man,  and  your  history 
probably  is  a  secret  which  you  may  not  wish  to  divulge  ;  but,  whatever  cir 
cumstances  may  have  attended  you,  you  may  make  them  known  to  me  with 
the  greatest  safety,  for  I  pledge  my  honor  I  will  never  betray  you." 

Having  experienced  so  many  proofs  of  the  friendly  disposition  of  Mr. 
Millet,  I  could  not  'hesitate  a  moment  to  comply  with  his  request,  and 
without  attempting  to  conceal  a  single  fact,  made  him  acquainted  with  every 
circumstance  that  had  attended  me  since  my  first  enlistment  as  a  soldier. 
After  expressing  his  regret  that  there  should  be  any  of  his  countrymen 
found  so  void  of  the  principles  of  humanity,  as'  to  treat  thus  an  unfortunate 
prisoner  of  war,  he  assured  me  that  so  long  as  I  remained  in  his  employ  he 
would  guarantee  my  safety — adding,  that  notwithstanding  (in  consequence 
of  the  unhappy  differences  which  then  prevailed  between  Great  Britain  and 
her  American  colonies)  the  inhabitants  of  the  latter  were  denominated  rebels, 
yet  they  were  not  without  their  friends  in  England,  who  wished  well  io 
their  cause,  and  would  cheerfully  aid  them  whenever  an  opportunity  should 
present.  He  represented  the  soldiers  whom  it  had  been  reported  to  me 
were  constantly  on  the  lookout  for  deserters,  as  a  set  of  mean  and  con 
temptible  wretches,  little  better  than  a  lawless  banditti,  who,  to  obtain  the 
fee  awarded  by  government  for  the  apprehension  of  a  deserter,  would  betray 
their  best  friends. 

Having  been  generously  supplied  with  a  new  suit  of  clothes  and  other 
necessaries  by  Mr.  Millet,  I  contracted  with  him  for  six  months,  to  super 
intend  his  strawberry  garden,  in  the  course  of  which  so  far  from  being  mo 
lested,  I  was  not  suspected  by  even  his  own  domestics  of  being  an  American. 
At  the  expiration  of  the  six  months,  by  the  recommendation  of  my  hos 
pitable  friend,  I  got  a  berth  in  the  garden  of  the  Princess  Amelia,  where, 
although  among  my  fellow  laborers  the  American  rebellion  was  not  unfre- 
quently  the  topic  of  their  conversation,  and  the  "  d — d  Yankee  rebels,"  as 
they  termed  them,  frequently  the  subjects  of  their  vilest  abuse,  I  was  Iitt3e 
suspected  of  being  one  of  that  class  whom  they  were  pleased  thus  to 
denominate.  I  must  confess  that  it  was  not  without  some  difficulty,  that  I 
was  enabled  to  surpress  indignant  feelings. 


OF  AMERICANS.  175 

I  remained  in  the  employ  of  the  princess  about  three  months,  and  then, 
in  consequence  of  a  misunderstanding  with  the  overseer,  I  hired  myself  to  a 
farmer  in  a  small  village  adjoining  Brintford,  where  I  had  not  been  three 
weeks  employed  before  rumor  was  afloat  that  I  was  a  Yankee  prisoner  of 
war.  From  whence  the  report  arose,  or  by  what  occasioned,  I  never  could 
learn.  It  no  sooner  reached  the  ears  of  the  soldiers,  than  they  were  on  the 
alert,  seeking  an  opportunity  to  seize  my  person.  Fortunately,  I  was  ap 
prised  of  their  intentions  before  they  had  time  to  carry  them  into  effect.  I 
was  however  hard  pushed,  and  sought  for  by  them  with  that  diligence  and 
perseverance  that  certainly  deserved  a  better  cause.  I  had  many  hair 
breadth  escapes,  and  most  assuredly  should  have  been  taken,  had  it  not  been 
for  the  friendship  of  those  whom  I  suspect  felt  not  less  friendly  to  the  cause 
of  my  country,  but  dare  not  publicly  avow  it.  I  was  at  one  time  traced  by 
the  soldiers  in  pursuit  of  me  to  the  house  of  one  of  this  description,  in  whose 
garret  1  was  concealed,  and  was  at  that  moment  in  bed.  They  entered  and 
inquired  for  me,  and  on  being  told  that  I  was  not  in  the  house,  they  in 
sisted  on  searching,  and  were  in  the  act  of  ascending  the  chamber  stairs  for 
that  purpose,  when,  seizing  my  clothes,  I  passed  up  through  the  scuttle,  and 
reached  the  roof  of  the  house,  and  thence  half-naked,  passed  to  those  of  the 
adjoining  ones,  to  the  number  of  ten  or  twelve,  and  succeeded  in  making 
my  escape  without  being  discovered. 

Being  continually  harassed  by  night  and  day  by  the  soldiers,  and  driven 
from  place  to  place,  without  an  opportunity  to  perform  a  day's  work,  I  was 
advised  by  one  whose  sincerity  I  could  not  doubt,  to  apply  for  a  berth  as  a 
laborer  in  a  garden  of  his  royal  majesty,  situated  in  the  village  of  Quew,  a 
few  miles  from  Brintford  ;  where,  under  the  protection  of  his  majesty,  it 
was  representad  to  me  that  I  should  be  perfectly  safe,  as  the  soldiers  dare 
not  approach  the  royal  premises,  to  molest  any  one  therein  employed. 

The  overseer,  ignorant  even  that  I  was  an  American,  concluded  to  receive 
me  on  trial.  It  was  here  that  I  had  not  only  frequent  opportunities  to  see 
his  royal  majesty  in  person,  in  his  frequent  resorts  to  this,  one  of  his  country 
retreats,  but  once  had  the  honor  of  being  addressed  by  him.  The  fact  was, 
that  I  had  not  been  one  week  employed  in  the  garden,  before  the  suspicion 
of  my  being  either  a  prisoner  of  war,  or  a  spy,  in  the  employ  of  the  Ameri 
can  rebels,  was  communicated,  not  only  to  the  overseer  and  other  persons 
employed  in  the  garden,  but  even  the  king  himself!  As  I  was  one  day 
busily  engaged  with  three  others  in  graveling  a  walk,  I  was  unexpectedly 
accosted  by  his  majesty  :  who,  with  much  apparent  good  nature,  inquired  of 
me  of  what  country  I  was.  "An  American  born,  may  it  please  your  ma 
jesty,"  was  my  reply,  taking  off  my  hat,  which  he  requested  me  instantly 
to  replace  on  my  head.  "Ah  !"  continued  he,  with  a  smile,  "an  American, 
a  stubborn,  a  very  stubborn  people  indeed  !  And  what  brought  you  to  this 
country,  and  how  long  have  you  been  here  ?"  "  The  fate  of  war,  your  ma 
jesty.  I  was  brought  to  this  country  a  prisoner  about  eleven  months  since." 
And,  thinking  this  a  favorable  opportunity  to  acquaint  him  with  a  few  of 
rr.y  grievances,  I  briefly  stated  to  him  how  much  I  had  been  harassed  by 
the  soldiers.  "  While  here  employed,  they  will  not  trouble  you,"  was  the 
only  reply  he  made  and  passed  on.  The  familiar  manner  in  which  I  wag 
interrogated  by  his  majesty,  had,  I  must  confess,  a  tendency  in  some  degree 


176  ADVENTUEES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

to  prepossess  me  in  his  favor.  I  at  least  suspected  him  to  possess  a  dispo 
sition  less  tyrannical,  and  capable  of  better  views  than  had  been  imputed  to 
him ;  and  as  I  had  frequently  heard  it  represented  in  America,  that  uninflu 
enced  by  such  of  his  ministers,  as  unwisely  disregarded  the  reiterated  com 
plaints  of  the  American  people,  he  would  have  been  foremost  to  have  re 
dressed  their  grievances,  of  which  they  so  justly  complained. 

I  continued  in  the  service  of  his  majesty's  gardener  at  Quew  about  four 
months,  when  the  season  having  arrived  in  which  the  work  of  the  gardener 
required  less  laborers,  I,  with  three  others,  was  discharged ;  and  the  day 
after  engaged  myself  for  a  few  months,  to-  a  farmer  in  the  town  and  neigh 
borhood  where  I  had  been  last  employed — but,  not  one  week  had  expired 
before  the  old  story  of  my  being  an  American  prisoner  of  war,  etc.,  was  re 
vived  and  industriously  circulated,  and  the  soldiers,  eager  to  obtain  the  prof 
fered  bounty,  like  a  pack  of  blood-hounds  were  again  on  the  track  seeking 
an  opportunity  to  surprise  me.  The  house  wherein  I  had  taken  up  my 
abode,  was  several  times  thoroughly  searched  by  them,  but  I  was  always  so 
fortunate  as  to  discover  their  approach  in  season. 

I  had  been  strongly  of  the  opinion  by  what  I  had  myself  experienced, 
that  America  was  not  without  her  friends  in  England,  and  those  who  were 
her  well-wishers  in  the  important  cause  in  which  she  was  at  that  moment 
engaged  ;  an  opinion  which  I  think  no  one  will  disagree  with  me  in  saying, 
was  somewhat  confirmed  by  a  circumstance  of  that  importance  as  entitles  it 
to  a  conspicious  place  in  my  narrative.  At  a  moment  when  driven  almost 
to  a  state  of  despondency,  by  continual  alarms  and  fears  of  falling  into  the 
hands  of  a  set  of  desperadoes,  who  for  a  very  small  reward  would  willingly 
have  undertaken  the  commission  of  almost  any  crime  ;  I  received  a  message 
from  a  gentleman  of  respectability  of  Brintford,  J.  Woodstock,  Esq.,  re 
questing  me  to  repair  immediately  to  his  house. 

I  reached  his  house  about  eight  o'clock  in  the  evening,  aud  after  re 
ceiving  from  him  at  the  door  assurances  that  I  might  enter  without  fear  or 
apprehension  of  any  design  on  his  part  against  me,  I  suffered  myself  to  be 
introduced  into  a  private  chamber,  where  were  seated  two  other  gentlemen, 
who  appeared  to  be  persons  of  no  mean  rank,  and  proved  to  be  no  other 
than  Home  Tooke  and  James  Bridges,  Esqs. — names  which  ought  to  be 
dear  to  every  true  American. 

Finding  me  firmly  attached  to  the  interest  of  my  country,  so  much  so  as 
to  be  willing  to  sacrifice  even  my  life  if  necessary  in  her  behalf,  they  began 
to  address  me  with  less  reserve  ;  and  after  bestowing  the  highest  encomiums 
on  my  countrymen,  for  the  bravery  which  they  had  displayed  in  their  recent 
engagements  with  the  British  troops  as  well  as  for  their  patriotism  in  pub 
licly  manifesting  their  abhorrence  and  detestation  of  the  ministerial  party  in 
England,  who  to  alienate  their  affections  and  to  enslave  them,  had  endea 
vored  to  subvert  the  British  constitution,  they  inquired  of  me  if,  to  promote 
the  interests  of  my  country,  I  should  have  any  objection  to  take  a  trip  to 
Paris,  on  an  important  mission,  if  my  passage  and  other  expenses  were  paid, 
and  a  generous  compensation  allowed  me  for  my  trouble ;  and  which  in  all 
probability  would  lead  to  the  means  whereby  I  might  be  enabled  to  return 
to  my  country — to  which  I  replied  that  I  should  have  none.  After  having 
enjoined  upon  me  to  keep  everything  which  they  had  communicated,  a 


OF  AMERICANS.  177 

profound  secret,  they  presented  me  with  a  guinea,  and  a  letter  for  a  gentle 
men  in  White  Waltam,  a  country  town  about  thirty  miles  from  Brintford, 
which  they  requested  me  to  reach  as  soon  as  possible,  and  there  remain  un 
til  they  should  send  for  me,  and  by  no  means  to  fail  to  arrive  at  the  precise 
hour  that  they  should  appoint. 

After  partaking  of  a  little  refreshment,  I  set  out,  at  twelve  o'clock  at 
night,  and  reached  White  Waltam  at  half  past  eleven  the  succeeding  day, 
and  immediately  waited  on  and  presented  the  letter  to  the  gentleman  to 
whom  it  was  directed,  and  who  gave  me  a  very  cordial  reception,  ai.d 
whom  I  soon  found  was  as  real  a  friend  to  America's  cause  as  the  three 
gentlemen  in  whose  company  I  had  last  been.  It  was  from  him  that  I  re 
ceived  the  first  information  of  the  evacuation  of  Boston  by  the  British 
troops,  and  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  by  the  American  Congress. 
He  indeed  appeared  to  possess  a  knowledge  of  almost  every  important 
transaction  in  America,  since  the  memorable  battle  of  Bunker  Hill. 

I  remained  in  the  family  of  this  gentleman  about  a  fortnight,  when  I  re 
ceived  a  letter  from  'Squire  Woodcock,  requesting  me  to  be  at  his  house, 
without  fail,  precisely  at  two  o'clock  the  morning  ensuing.  In  compliance 
with  which  I  packed  up  and  started  immediately  for  Brintford,  and  reached 
the  house  of  'Squire  Woodcock  at  the  appointed  hour.  I  found  there,  in 
company  with  the  latter,  two  gentlemen  whose  names  I  have  before  men 
tioned,  and  by  whom  the  object  of  my  mission  to  Paris  was  now  made 
known  to  me — which  was  to  convey  in  the  most  secret  manner  possible  a 
letter  to  Dr.  Franklin.  Everything  was  in  readiness,  and  a  chaise  ready 
harnessed  which  was  to  convey  me  to  Charing  Cross,  waiting  at  the  door.  I 
was  presented  with  a  pair  of  boots,  made  expressly  for  me,  and  for  the  safe 
conveyance  of  the  letter  of  which  I  was  to  be  the  bearer,  one  of  them  con 
tained  a  false  heel,  in  which  the  letter  was  deposited,  and  was  to  be  thus 
conveyed  to  the  doctor.  After  again  repeating  my  former  declarations,  that 
whatever  might  be  my  fate,  they  should  never  be  exposed,  I  departed,  and 
was  conveyed  in  quick  time  to  Charing  Cross,  where  I  took  the  post-coach 
for  Dover,  and  from  thence  was  immediately  conveyed  in  a  packet  to  Calais, 
and  in  fifteen  minutes  after  landing,  started  for  Paris  ;  which  I  reached  in 
safety,  and  delivered  to  Dr.  Franklin  the  letter  of  which  I  was  the  bearer. 

What  were  the  contents  of  this  letter  I  was  never  informed  and  never 
knew,  but  had  little  doubt  that  it  contained  important  information  relative 
to  the  views  of  the  British  cabinet,  as  regarded  the  affairs  of  America ;  and 
although  I  well  knew  that  a  discovery,  while  in  the  British  dominions, 
would  have  proved  equally  fatal  to  me  as  to  the  gentlemen  by  whom  I  wa* 
employed,  yet,  I  most  solemnly  declare,  that  to  be  serviceable  to  my  coun 
try  at  that  important  period,  was  much  more  of  an  object  with  me,  than  the 
reward  which  I  had  been  promised,  however  considerable  it  might  be.  My 
interview  with  Dr.  Franklin  was  a  pleasing  one ;  for  nearly  an  hour  he  con 
versed  with  me  in  the  most  agreeable  and  instructive  manner,  and  listened 
to  the  tale  of  ray  sufferings  with  much  apparent  interest,  and  seemed  dis 
posed  to  encourage  me  with  the  assurance  that  if  the  Americans  should  suc 
ceed  in  their  grand  object,  and  firmly  establish  their  independence,  thoy 
would  not  fail  to  remunerate  their  soldiers  for  their  services.  But,  alas  !  as 
regards  myself,  these  assurances  Jhave  not  as  yet  been  verified. 


178  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

After  remaining  two  days  in  Paris,  letters  were  delivered  to  me  by  the 
doctor,  to  convey  to  the  gentlemen  by  whom  I  had  been  employed,  and 
which  for  their  better  security,  as  well  as  my  own,  I  deposited  as  the  other, 
in  the  heel  of  niy  boot ;  in  which  manner,  to  the  great  satisfaction  of  my 
friends,  I  reached  Brintford,  in  safety,  and  without  exciting  the  suspicion  of 
any  one  as  to  the  important,  although  somewhat  dangerous,  mission  that  I 
had  been  engaged  in.  I  remained  secreted  in  the  house  of  'Squire  Wood 
cock  a  few  days,  and  then  by  his  and  the  two  other  gentlemen's  request, 
made  a  second  trip  to  Paris,  and  in  reaching  which  and  in  delivering  my 
letters,  was  equally  as  fortunate  as  in  my  first.  If  I  should  succeed  in  re 
turning  in  safety  to  Brintford  this  trip,  I  was,  agreeable  to  the  generous  pro 
posal  of  Doctor  Franklin,  to  return  immediately  to  France,  from  whence  ha 
was  to  procure  me  a  passage  to  America.  But,  although  in  my  return  I  met 
with  no  difficulty,  yet,  as  if  fate  had  selected  me  as  a  victim  to  endure  the 
miseries  and  privations  which  afterward  attended  me,  but  three  hours  before 
I  reached  Dover  to  engage  a  passage  for  the  third  and  last  time  to  Calais,  all 
intercourse  between  the  two  countries  was  prohibited. 

My  flattering  expectations  of  being  enabled  soon  to  return  to  my  native 
country,  and  once  more  to  meet  and  enjoy  the  society  of  my  friends,  after 
an  absence  of  more  than  twelve  months,  being  thus  by  an  unforeseen  cir 
cumstance  completely  destroyed,  I  returned  immediately  to  the  gentlemen 
by  whom  I  had  been  last  employed  to  advise  with  them  what  it  would  be 
best  for  me  to  do,  in  my  then  unpleasant  situation — for  indeed,  as  all  pros 
pects  were  now  at  an  end  of  meeting  with  an  opportunity  very  soon  to  re 
turn  to  America,  I  could  not  bear  the  idea  of  remaining  any  longer  in  a 
neighborhood  where  I  was  so  strongly  suspected  of  being  a  fugitive  from 
justice  and  under  continual  apprehension  of  being  retaken,  and  immured 
like  a  felon  in  a  dungeon. 

By  these  gentlemen  1  was  advised  to  repair  immediately  to  London, 
where,  employed  as  a  laborer,  if  I  did  not  imprudently  betray  myself,  they 
thought  there  was  little  probability  of  my  being  suspected  of  being  an 
American.  This  advice  I  readily  accepted  as  the  plan  was  such  a  one  as 
exactly  accorded  with  my  opinion. 

I  ought  here  to  state  that  before  I  set  out  for  London,  I  was  entrusted  by 
these  gentlemen  with  five  guineas,  which  I  was  requested  to  convey  and  dis« 
tribute  among  a  number  of  Americans,  then  confined  as  prisoners  of  war, 
in  one  of  the  city  prisons. 

I  reached  London  late  in  the  evening,  and  the  next  day  engaged  board  at 
five  shillings  per  week,  at  a  public  house  in  Lombard  street,  where,  under  a 
fictitious  name,  I  passed  for  a  farmer  from  Lincolnshire.  My  next  object 
was  to  find  my  way  to  the  prison  where  were  confined  as  prisoners  of  war  a 
number  of  my  countrymen,  and  among  whom  I  was  directed  to  distribute 
the  five  guineas  with  which  I  had  been  entrusted  for  that  purpose  by 
their  friends  at  Brintford.  I  found  the  prison  without  much  difficulty,  but 
it  was  with  very  considerable  difficulty  that  I  gained  admittance,  and  not 
until  I  had  presented  the  turnkey  with  a  considerable  fee  would  he  consent 
to  indulge  me.  The  reader  will  suppose  that  I  must  have  been  very  much 
surprised,  when,  as  soon  as  the  door  of  the  prisoner's  apartment  was  opened, 
and  I  had  passed  the  threshold,  to  hear  one  of  them  exclaim,  with  much 


OF  AMERICANS.  179 

apparent  astonishment,  "  Potter !  is  that  you !  how  in  the  name  of  heaven 
came  you  here  !"  An  exclamation  like  this  by  one  of  a  number  to  whom 
I  supposed  myself  a  perfect  stranger,  caused  me  much  uneasiness  for  a  few 
moments,  as  I  expected  nothing  less  than  to  recognize  in  this  man,  some 
one  of  my  old  shipmates,  who  had  undoubtedly  a  knowledge  of  the  fact 
of  my  being  a  prisoner  of  war,  and  having  been  confined  as  such  on 
board  the  guard  ship  at  Spithead.  But,  in  this  I  soon  found  to  my  satisfac 
tion  that  I  was  mistaken,  for  after  viewing  for  a  moment  the  person  by  whom 
I  had  been  thus  addressed,  I  discovered  him  to  be  no  other  than  my  old 
friend  Sergeant  Singles,  with  whom  I  had  been  intimately  acquainted  in 
America.  As  the  exclamation  was  in  presence  of  the  turnkey,  lest  I 
should  have  the  key  turned  upon  me,  and  be  considered  as  lawful  a  pris 
oner  as  any  of  the  rest,  I  hinted  to  my  friend  that  he  certainly  mistook  mo 
(a  Lincolnshire  farmer)  for  another  person,  and  by  a  wink  which  he  received 
from  me  at  the  same  moment,  gave  him  to  understand  that  a  renewal  of  our 
acquaintance  or  an  exchange  of  civilities  would  be  more  agreeable  to  me  at 
any  other  time.  I  now,  as  I  had  been  requested,  divided  the  money  as 
equally  as  possible  among  them,  and  to  prevent  the  suspicions  of  the  keeper, 
I  represented  to  them,  in  a  feigned  dialect  peculiar  to  the  laboring  people  of 
the  Shire-towns,  that,  "  me  master  was  owing  a  little  trille  or  so  to  a  rebel 
trader  of  one  of  his  majesty's  American  provinces,  and  was  'quested  by  him 
to  pay  the  balance  to  his  brother  Yankee  rebels  here  imprisoned." 

I  found  the  poor  fellows,  fifteen  in  number,  confined  in  a  dark  filthy 
apartment  of  about  eighteen  feet  square;  and  which  I  could  not  perceivo 
contained  anything  but  a  rough  plank  bench  of  about  ten  feet  in  length,  and 
a  heap  of  straw  with  one  or  two  tattered,  filthy  looking  blankets  spread 
thereon,  which  was  pr'obably  the  only  bedding  allowed  them.  For  four  or 
.ve  days,  after  1  reached  London,  I  did  very  little  more  than  walk  about  the 
•ity,  viewing  such  curiosities  as  met  my  eye  ;  when,  reflecting  that  reroain- 
ng  thus  idle,  I  should  not  only  be  very  soon  out  of  funds,  but  should  run 
the  risk  of  being  suspected  and  apprehended  as  belonging  to  one  of  the 
numerous  gangs  of  pickpockets,  etc.,  which  infest  the  streets  oi  the  city ;  I 
applied  to  an  intelligence  office  for  a  coachman's  berth,  which  I  was  so 
fortunate  as  to  procure,  at  fifteen  shillings  per  week.  My  employer, 
J.  Hyslop,  Esq.,  although  rigid  in  his  exactions,  was  punctual  in  his  pay 
ments,  and  by  my  strict  prudence  and  abstinence  from  the  numerous  diver 
sions  of  tho  city,  I  was  enabled  in  the  six  months  which  I  served  him,  to  lav 
op  more  cash  than  what  I  had  earned  the  twelve  months  preceding.  The 
next  business,  in  which  I  engaged  was  that  of  brickmaking,  and  which 
together  with  that  of  gardening,  I  pursued  in  the  summer  seasons  almost 
exclusively  for  five  years ;  in  all  which  time  I  was  not  once  suspected  of 
being  an  American. 

Despairing  of  meeting  with  a  favorable  opportunity  to  return  to  America, 
mntil  the  conclusion  of  peace,  and  the  prospects  of  a  continuation  of  the 
war  being  as  great  then  (by  what  I  could  learn)  as  at  any  period  from  its 
commencement,  I  became  more  reconciled  to  my  situation,  and  contracted  an 
intimacy  with  a  young  woman  whose  parents  were  poor  and  respectable-,  and 
who  I  soon  after  married.  I  took  a  small  ready-furnished  chamber  in  Red 
Cross  street,  where  with  the  fruits  cf  my  hard  earnings,  I  was  enabled  to 
12 


180  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

live  tolerably  comfortable  for  three  or  four  years — when,  by  sickness  and 
other  unavoidable  circumstances,  I  was  doomed  to  endure  miseries  uncom 
mon  to  human  nature. 

In  the  winter  of  1781,  news  was  received  in  London  of  the  surrender  of 
the  army  of  Lord  Gornwallis,  to  the  French  and  American  forces !  Tho 
receipt  of  news  of  an  event  so  unexpected  operated  on  the  British  ministers 
and  members  of  Parliament,  like  a  tremendous  clap  of  thunder.  Deep  sor 
row  was  evidently  depicted  in  the  countenances  of  those  who  had  been 
the  most  strenuous  advocates  for  the  war — never  was  there  a  time  in  which 
I  longed  more  to  exult,  and  to  declare  myself  a  true-blooded  Yankee. 

In  September  1783,  the  glorious  news  of  a  definitive  treaty  of  peace  hav 
ing  been  signed  between  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain,  was  publicly 
announced  in  London.  An  opportunity  indeed  now  presented  for  me  to 
return  once  more  to  my  native  country,  after  so  long  an  absence,  had  I  pos 
sessed  the  means  ;  but  such  was  the  high  price  demanded  for  a  passage,  and 
such  had  been  my  low  wages,  and  the  expenses  attending  the  support  of 
even  a  small  family  in  London,  that  I  found  myself  at  this  time  in  pos 
session  of  funds  hardly  sufficient  to  defray  the  expense  of  my  own  passage, 
and  much  less  that  of  my  wife  and  child. 

To  make  the  best  of  my  hard  fortune,  I  became  as  resigned  and  reconciled 
to  my  situation  as  circumstances  would  admit  of.  I  continued  to  work  for 
very  small  wages,  for  three  or  four  years  after  the  peace — but  still  found 
my  prospects  of  a  speedy  return  to  my  country,  by  no  ways  flattering.  The 
peace  had  thrown  thousands  who  had  taken  an  active  part  in  the  war,  out 
of  employment ;  London  was  thronged  with  them — who,  in  preference  to 
starving,  required  no  other  consideration  for  their  labor  than  an  humble 
living,  which  had  a  lamentable  effect  in  reducing  the  wages  of  the  laboring 
•class  of  people ;  who,  previous  to  this  event  were  many  of  them  so  ex- 
iremely  poor,  as  to  be  scarcely  able  to  procure  the  necessaries  of  life  fox 
-their  impoverished  families. 

Among  this  class  I  must  rank  myself,  and  from  this  period  ought  I  to 
date  the  commencement  of  my  greatest  miseries,  which  never  failed  to  at 
tend  me  in  a  greater  or  less  degree  until  that  happy  moment,  when  favored 
by  providence,,  I  was  permitted  once  more  to  visit  the  peaceful  shores  ol 
the  land  of  -my  nativity. 

Having  in  vain  sought  for  more  profitable  business,  I  was  induced  to 
apply  to  an  acquaintance  for  instruction  in  the  art  of  chair  bottoming,  and 
which  I  partially  obtained  from  him  for  a  trifling  consideration. 

It  was  now  (which  was  in  the  year  1789)  that  I  assumed  a  line  of  busi 
ness  very  different  from  that  in  which  I  had  ever  before  been  engaged. 

Fortunately  for  me,  I  possessed  strong  lungs,  which  I  found  very  neces 
sary  in  an  employment  the -success  of  which  depended,  in  a  great  measure, 
in  being  enabled  to  drown  the  voices  of  others,  engaged  in  the  same  occu 
pation,  by  my  own.  "  Old  chairs  to  mend,"  became  now  my  constant  cry 
through  the  streets  of  London,  from  morning  to  night :  and  although  j 
found  my  business  not  so  profitable  as  I  could  have  wished,  yet  it 
yielded  a  tolerable  support  for  my  family  some  time,  and  probably  would 
have  continued  so  to  have  done,  had  not  the  almost  constant  illness  cf  my 
.children,  rendered  the  expenses  of  my  family,  much  greater  than  they 


OF  AMERICANS.  181 

otherwise  would  have  been.  Thus  afflicted  by  additional  cares  and  expense, 
although  I  did  everything  in  my  power  to  avoid  it,  I  was  obliged  to  alleviate 
the  sufferings  of  my  family,  to  contract  some  trifling  debts  which  it  was  not 
in  my  power  to  discharge. 

I  now  became  the  victim  of  additional  miseries — I  was  visited  by  a  bailiff 
employed  by  a  creditor,  who  seizing  me  with  the  claws  of  a  tiger,  dragged 
me  from  my  poor  afflicted  family  and  inhumanly  thrust  me  into  prison  ! 

Fortunately  for  me,  at  this  melancholy  moment,  my  wife  enjoyed  good 
health,  and  it  was  to  her  praiseworthy  exertions  that  her  poor  helpless  chil 
dren,  as  well  as  myself,  owed  our  preservation  from  a  state  of  starvation  ! 

After  having  for  four  months  languished  in  a  horrid  prison,  I  was  liberated 
therefrom  a  mere  skeleton ;  the  mind  afflicted  had  tortured  the  body,  so 
much  is  the  one  in  subjection  to  the  other.  I  returned  sorrowful  and  de 
jected  to  my  afflicted  family,  whom  I  found  in  very  little  better  condition. 

We  now,  from  necessity,  took  up  our  abode  in  an  obscure  situation  near 
Moorfields ;  where,  by  my  constant  application  to  business,  I  succeeded  in 
earning  daily  an  humble  pittance  for  my  family,  barely  sufficient  however  to 
satisfy  the  cravings  of  nature  ;  and  to  add  to  my  afflictions,  some  one  of  my 
family  was  almost  constantly  indisposed. 

However  wretched  my  situation,  there  were  many  others  at  this  period, 
with  whom  I  was  particularly  acquainted,  whose  sufferings  were  greater  if 
possible  than  my. own ;  and  whom  want  and  misery  drove  to  the  commission 
of  crimes,  that  in  any  other  situation  they  would  probably  not  have  been 
guilty  of. 

While  hundreds  were  daily  becoming  the  wretched  victims  of  hunger  and 
etarvation,  I  was  enabled  by  my  industry  to  obtain  a  morsel  each  day  for 
my  family ;  although  this  morsel,  which  was  to  be  divided  among  four, 
would  many  times  have  proved  insufficient  to  have  satisfied  the  hunger  of 
one.  I  seldom  evei  failed  from  morning  to  night  to  cry  "old  chairs  to  mend," 
through  the  principal  streets  of  the  city,  but  many  times  with  very  little 
success — if  I  obtained  four  chairs  to  rebottom  in  the  course  of  one  day,  I 
considered  myself  fortunate  indeed,  but  instances  of  such  good  luck  wero 
very  rare ;  it  was  more  frequent  that  I  did  not  obtain  a  single  one,  and  after 
crying  the  whole  day  until  I  made  myself  hoarse,  I  was  obliged  to  return  to 
my  poor  family  at  night  empty  handed. 

So  many  at  one  time  engaged  in  the  same  business,  that  had  I  not  resorted 
to  other  means  my  family  must  inevitable  have  starved — while  crying  "old 
chairs  to  mend,"  I  collected  all  the  old  rags,  bits  of  paper,  nails  and  broken 
glass  which  I  could  find  in  the  streets,  and  which  I  deposited  in  a  bag, 
that  I  carried  with  me  for  the  purpose — these  produced  me  a  trifle,  and 
that  trifle  when  other  resources  failed,  procured  me  a  morsel  of  bread,  or  a 
few  pounds  of  potatoes,  for  my  poor  wife  and  children. 

In  February,  1792,  war  was  declared  by  Great  Britain  against  the  Repub 
lic  of  France.  So  many  poor  people  enlisted  into  the  army,  that  it  greatly 
improved  the  condition  of  those  left  behind.  I  no  longer  found  it  necessary 
to  collect  the  scrapings  <of  the  streets  a?  I  had  been  obliged  to  do  for  tho 
many  months  past  I  was  now  enabled  to  purchase  for  my  family  two  or 
three  pounds  of  fresh  meat  each  week,  an  article  to  which,  with  one  or  two 
exceptions,  we  had  been  strangers  for  more  than  a  year — having  subsisted 


182  ADVENTUKES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

principally  on  potatoes,  oat-meal  bread,  and  salt  fish,  and  sometimes  but 
rarely  however,  were  enabled  to  treat  ourselves  to  a  little  skim  milk. 

Had  not  other  afflictions  attended  me,  I  should  not  have  had  much  cause 
to  complain  of  very  extraordinary  hardships  or  privations,  from  this  period 
until  the  conclusion  of  the  war  in  1807 ; — my  family  had  increased,  and  to 
increase  my  cares  there  was  scarcely  a  week  passed  but  that  some  one  of 
them  was  seriously  indisposed — of  ten  children  of  which  I  was  the  father; 
I  had  the  misfortune  to  bury  seven  under  five  years  of  age,  and  two  mere 
after  they  had  arrived  to  the  age  of  twenty — my  last  and  only  child  now 
living,  it  pleased  the  Almighty  to  spare  unto  me,  to  administer  help  and 
comfort  to  his  poor  afflicted  parent,  and  without  whose  assistance  I  should, 
so  far  from  having  been  enabled  once  more  to  visit  the  land  of  my  nativity, 
ere  this  have  paid  the  debt  of  nature  in  a  foreign  land,  and  that  too  by  a 
death  no  less  horrible  than  that  of  starvation  ! 

As  my  life  was  unattended  with  any  very  extraordinary  circumstance, 
except  the  one  just  mentioned,  from  the  commencement  of  the  war,  until 
the  re-establishment  of  monarchy  in  France,  and  the  cessation  of  hostilities 
on  the  part  of  Great  Britain,  in  1807,  I  shall  commence  on  the  narration  of 
my  unparalleled  sufferings,  from  the  latter  period,  until  that  when  by  the 
kind  interposition  of  Providence,  I  was  enabled  finally  to  obtain  a  passage 
to  my  native  country  ;  and  to  bid  an  adieu,  and  I  hope  and  trust  a  final  one, 
to  that  island,  where  I  had  endured  a  complication  of  miseries  beyond  the 
power  of  description. 

The  peace  produced  similar  effects  to  that  of  1783 — thousands  were 
thrown  out  of  employ  and  the  streets  of  London  thronged  with  soldiers 
seeking  means  to  earn  an  humble  subsistence.  The  cry  of  "  old  chairs  to 
mend,"  and  that  too  at  a  very  reduced  price,  was  reiterated  through  tho 
streets  of  London  by  numbers  who  but  the  month  before  were  at  Waterloo 
fighting  the  battles  of  their  country — which,  so  seriously  affected  my  business 
in  this  line,  that  to  obtain  food,  and  that  of  the  most  humble  kind  for  my 
family,  I  was  obliged  once  more  to  have  recourse  to  the  collecting  of  scraps 
of  rags,  paper,  glass,  and  such  other  articles  of  however  trifling  value  that  I 
could  find  in  the  streets. 

The  tenement  which  I  at  this  time  rented,  and  which  was  occupied  by 
ray  family,  was  a  small  and  wretched  apartment  of  a  garret,  and  for  which  I 
had  obliged  myself  to  pay  sixpence  per  day,  which  was  to  be  paid  at  the 
close  of  every  week  ;  and  in  case  of  failure,  agreeably  to  the  laws  or  customs 
of  the  land,  my  furniture  was  liable  to  be  seized.  In  consequence  of  my 
illness,  and  other  misfortunes,  I  fell  six  weeks  in  arrears  for  rent,  and  having 
returned  one  evening  with  my  wife  and  son,  from  the  performance  of  our 
daily  task,  my  kind  readers  may  judge  what  my  feelings  must  have  been  to 
find  our  room  stripped  of  every  article,  of  however  trifling  value,  that  it 
contained.  Alas,  O  heavens  I  to  what  a  state  of  wretchedness  were  we  now- 
reduced  !  If  there  was  anything  wanting  to  complete  our  misery,  this  addi 
tional  drop  to  the  cup  of  our  afflictions,  more  than  sufficed.  Although  the 
real  value  of  all  that  they  had  taken  from  me,  or  rather  robbed  me  of  wculd 
not  if  publicly  disposed  of  have  produced  a  sum  probably  exceeding  five 
dollars  ;  yet  it  was  our  all,  except  the  few  tattered  garments  that  we  had  on 
our  backs,  and  were  serviceable  and  all  important  to  "is  in  our  impoverished 


OF  AMERICANS.  183 

situation.  Not  an  article  of  bedding  of  any  kind  was  left  us  on  which  to 
repose  at  night,  or  a  chair  or  stool  on  which  we  could  rest  our  wearied  limbs  1 
but,  as  destitute  as  we  were,  and  naked  as  they  had  left  our  dreary  apart 
ment,  we  had  nc  other  abiding  place. 

To  add  to  our  distress  my  poor  wife  fell  very  sick.  The  attendance  that 
her  helpless  situation  now  demanded,  it  was  not  within  my  power  to  afford 
her,  as  early  the  next  day  I  was  reluctantly  driven  by  hunger  abroad  in 
search  of  something  that  might  serve  to  contribute  to  our  relief.  I  left  my 
unfortunate  companion,  attend  by  no  other  person  but  our  little  son,  desti- 
tutt  of  fuel  and  food,  and  stretched  on  an  armful  of  straw,  which  I  had  been 
so  fortunate  as  to  provide  myself  with  the  day  preceding  ; — the  whole 
produce  of  my  labors,  this  day  (which  I  may  safely  say  was  the  most  mel 
ancholy  one  of  my  life)  amounted  to  no  more  than  one  shilling  !  which  I 
laid  out  to  the  best  advantage  possible,  in  the  purchase  of  a  few  of  the 
necessaries,  which  the  situation  of  my  sick  companion  most  required.  Thus 
situated,  I  was  induced  to  make  my  application  to  the  overseer  for  assist 
ance,  representing  to  him  the  deplorable  situation  of  my  family,  who  were 
actually  starving  for  the  want  of  that  sustenance  which  it  was  not  in  my 
power  to  procure  for  them.  The  hard-hearted  official  thereupon  said  that 
I  was  a  vile  impostor,  who  was  seeking  by  imposition  to  obtain  that  support 
in  England,  which  my  own  country  had  withheld  from  me — that  the 
American  Yankees  had  fought  for  and  obtained  their  independence,  and  yet 
were  not  independent  enough  to  support  their  own  poor ! — that  Great 
Britain  would  find  enough  to  do,  were  she  to  afford  relief  to  every  d — d 
Yankee  vagabond  that  should  apply  for  it !  Fortunately  for  this  abusive 
British  scoundrel,  I  possessed  not  now  that  bodily  strength  and  activity, 
which  I  could  once  boast  of,  or  the  villian  (whether  within  his  majesty's 
dominions  or  not)  should  have  received  on  the  spot  a  proof  of  "  Yankee 
independence"  for  his  insolence. 

I  succeeded  finally  in  persuading  some  gentlemen  to  use  their  influence 
to  have  my  poor  wife  removed  to  the  hospital.  But  it  was  too  late.  She 
lingered  a  few  days  in  a  state  of  perfect  insensibility,  and  then  closed  her 
eyes  forever  on  a  world,  where  for  many  years,  she  had  been  the  unhappy 
subject  of  almost  constant  affliction. 

My  situation  was  now  truly  a  lonely  one,  bereaved  of  my  wife,  and  all 
my  children  except  one  ;  who,  although  but  little  more  than  seven  years  of 
age,  was  a  child  of  that  sprightliness  and  activity,  as  to  possess  himself  with 
a  perfect  knowledge  of  the  chair-bottoming  business,  and  by  which  he  earned 
not  only  enough  (when  work  could  be  obtained)  to  furnish  himself  with 
food,  but  contribute  much  to  the  relief  of  his  surviving  parent,  when  con 
fined  by  illness  and  infirmity. 

When  my  health  would  permit,  I  seldom  failed  to  visit  daily  the  most 
public  streets  of  the  city,  and  from  morning  to  night  cry  for  old  chairs  to 
mend — accompanied  by  my  son  Thomas.  If  we  were  so  fortunate  as  to 
obtain  a  job  of  work  more  than  we  could  complete  in  the  day,  with  the  per. 
mission  of  the  owner,  I  would  convey  the  chairs  on  my  back  to  my  huml> 
dwelling,  and  with  the  assistance  of  my  little  son,  improve  the  evening  to 
complete  the  work,  which  would  produce  us  a  few  halfpennies  to  purchase 
something  for  our  breakfast  the  next  morning.  But  it  was  very  seldom  that 


184  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

instances  of  this  kind  occurred,  as  it  was  more  frequently  the  case  that,  after 
crying  for  old  chairs  to  mend  the  whole  day,  we  were  obliged  to  return, 
hungry  and  weary,  and  without  a  single  halfpenny  in  our  pockets,  to  our 
humble  dwelling,  where  we  were  obliged  to  fast  until  the  succeeding  day— 
and  indeed  there  were  some  instances  in  which  we  were  compelled  to  fast 
two  or  three  days  successively,  without  being  able  to  procure  a  single  job  of 
work.  The  rent  I  had  obliged  myself  to  pay  every  night,  and  frequently 
when  our  hunger  was  such  as  hardly  to  be  endured,  I  was  obliged  to  reserve 
the  few  pennies  that  I  was  possessed  of  to  apply  to  this  purpose. 

In  our  most  starving  condition,  when  every  other  plan  failed,  my  little 
son  would  adopt  the  expedient  of  sweeping  the  public  causeways  leading 
from  one  walk  to  the  other,  where  he  would  labor  the  whole  day,  with_  the 
expectation  of  receiving  no  other  reward  than  what  the  generosity  of  gentle 
men,  who  had  occasion  to  cross,  would  induce  them  to  bestow  in  charity,  and 
which  seldom  amounted  to  more  than  a  few  pennies.  Sometimes  the  poor 
boy  would  toil  in  this  way  the  whole  day,  without  being  so  fortunate  as  to 
receive  a  single  halfpenny — it  was  then  he  would  return  home  sorrowful 
and  dejected,  and  while  he  attempted  to  conceal  his  own  hunger,  with  teara 
in  his  eyes,  would  lament  his  hard  fortune  in  not  being  able  to  obtain  some 
thing  to  appease  mine.  While  he  was  thus  employed  I  remained  at  home, 
but  not  idle,  being  as  busily  engaged  in  making  matches,  with  which  (when 
he  returned  home  empty  handed)  we  were  obliged,  as  fatigued  as  we  were, 
to  visit  the  markets  to  expose  for  sale,  and  where  we  were  obliged  some 
times  to  tarry  until  eleven  o'clock  at  night,  before  we  could  meet  with  a 
single  purchaser. 

Having  one  stormy  night  of  a  Saturday,  visited  the  market  with  my  son 
for  this  purpose,  and  after  exposing  ourselves  to  the  chilling  rain  until  past 
ten  o'clock,  without  being  able  either  of  us  to  sell  a  single  match,  I  advised 
the  youth,  being  thinly  clad,  to  return  home,  feeling  disposed  to  tarry 
myself  a  while  longer,  in  hopes  that  better  success  might  attend  me,  as 
having  already  fasted  one  day  and  night,  it  was  indispensably  necessary  that 
I  should  obtain  something  to  appease  our  hunger  the  succeeding  day  (Sun 
day)  or  what  seemed  almost  impossible,  to  endure  longer  its  torments  !  I 
remained  until  the  clock  struck  eleven,  the  hour  at  which  the  market 
closed,  and  yet  had  met  with  no  better  success!  It  is  impossible  to  de 
scribe  the  sensation  of  despondency  which  overwhelmed  me  at  thia 
moment !  I  now  considered  it  as  certain  that  I  must  return  home  with 
nothing  wherewith  to  satisfy  our  craving  appetities — and  with  my  mind 
filled  with  the  most  heart-rending  reflections,  I  was  about  to  return,  when, 
Heaven  seemed  pleased  to  interpose  in  my  behalf,  and  to  send  relief  when 
I  little  expected  it.  Passing  a  beefstall  I  attracted  the  notice  of  the  butcher, 
who  viewing  me  probably  as  I  was,  a  miserable  object  of  pity,  emaciated  by 
long  fastings,  and  clad  in  tattered  garments,  from  which  the  water  was  fast 
drippling,  and  judging  no  doubt  by  my  appearance,  that  on  no  one  could 
charity  be  more  properly  bestowed,  he  threw  into  my  basket  a  beefs  heart, 
with  the  request  that  I  would  depart  with  it  immediately  for  my  home,  if 
any  I  had  !  I  will  not  attempt  to  describe  the  joy  that  I  felt  on  this  occa 
sion,  in  so  unexpectedly  meeting  with  that  relief  which  my  situation  so 
"nuch  required.  I  hastened  home  with  a  much  lighter  heart  than  what  I 


OF  AMERICANS.  185 

had  anticipated  ;  and  when  I  arrived  the  sensations  of  joy  exhibited  by  my 
little  son  on  viewing  the  prize  that  I  bore,  produced  effects  as  various  as 
extraordinary  ;  he  wept,  then  laughed  and  danced  with  transport. 

In  long  and  gloomy  winter  evenings,  when  unable  to  furnish  myself  with 
any  other  light  than  that  emitted  by  a  little  fire  of  sea-coal,  I  would  attempt 
to  drive  away  melancholy  by  amusing  my  son  with  an  account  of  my 
native  country,  and  of  the  many  blessings  there  enjoyed  by  even  the  poorest 
class  of  people — of  their  fair  fields  producing  a  regular  supply  of  bread — 
their  covenient  houses,  to  which  they  could  repair  after  the  toils  of  the  day, 
to  partake  of  the  fruits  of  their  labor,  safe  from  the  storms  and  the  cold,  and 
where  they  could  lay  down  their  heads  to  rest  without  any  to  molest  them 
or  to  make  them  afraid.  Nothing  could  have  been  better  calculated  to  ex 
cite  animation  in  the  mind  of  the  poor  child,  than  an  account  so  flattering  of 
a  country  which  had  given  birth  to  his  father,  and  to  which  he  had  re 
ceived  my  repeated  assurances  he  should  accompany  me  as  soon  as  an  op 
portunity  should  present.  After  expressing  his  fears  that  the  happy  day 
was  yet  far  distant,  with  a  deep  sigh,  he  would  exclaim,  "  Would  to  God  it 
was  to-morrow !" 

About  a  year  after  the  decease  of  my  wife,  I  was  taken  extremely  ill,  inso 
much  that  at  one  time  my  life  was  despaired  of,  and  had  it  not  been  for  tho 
friendless  and  lonely  situation  in  which  such  an  event  would  have  placed 
my  son,  I  should  have  welcomed  the  hour  of  my  dissolution,  and  viewed  it 
as  a  consummation  rather  to  be  wished  than  dreaded  ;  for  so  great  had  been 
my  sufferings  of  mind  and  body,  and  the  miseries  to  which  I  was  still  ex 
posed,  that  life  had  really  become  a  burden  to  me — indeed,  I  think  it  would 
have  been  difficult  to  have  found  on  the  face  of  the  earth  a  being  moro 
wretched  than  I  had  been  for  the  three  years  past. 

During  my  illness  my  only  friend  on  earth  was  my  son  Thomas,  who  dii 
everything  to  alleviate  my  wants  within  the  power  of  his  age  to  do.  Some 
times  by  crying  for  old  chairs  to  mend  (for  he  had  become  as  expert  a  work 
man  at  this  business  as  his  father),  and  sometimes  by  sweeping  the  cause 
ways,  and  by  making  and  selling  matches,  he  succeeded  in  earning  each  day 
a  trifle  sufficient  to  procure  for  me  and  himself  an  humble  sustenance. 

From  the  moment  that  I  had  informed  him  of  the  many  blessings  en 
joyed  by  my  countrymen  of  every  class,  I  was  almost  constantly  urged  by 
my  son  to  apply  to  the  American  consul  for  a  passage.  It  was  in  vain  that 
I  represented  to  him,  that  if  such  an  application  was  attended  with  success, 
and  the  opportunity  should  be  improved  by  me,  it  must  cause  our  sepa 
ration,  perhaps,  forever ;  as  he  would  not  be  permitted  to  accompany  m« 
at  the  expense  of  government. 

At  length,  having  learned  the  place  of  residence  of  the  American  consul, 
and  fearful  of  the  consequences  of  delay,  he  would  give  me  no  peace  until 
I  promised  that  I  would  accompany  him  there  the  succeeding  day,  if  my 
strength  would  admit  of  it ;  for  although  I  had  partially  recovered  from  a 
severe  fit  of  sickness,  yet  I  was  still  so  weak  and  feeble  as  to  be  scarcely 
able  to  walk. 

My  son  did  not  forget  to  remind  me  early  the  next  morning  of  my  pro 
mise,  and  to  gratify  him,  more'  than  with  an  expectation  of  meeting  with 
much  success,  I  set  out  with  him,  feeble  as  I  was,  for  the  consul's.  I  wai 


186  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

never  before  so  sensible  of  the  effects  of  my  long  suffering — which  had 
produced  that  degree  of  bodily  weakness  and  debility,  as  to  leave  me  scarcely 
strength  sufficient  to  move  without  the  assistance  of  my  son ;  who,  when 
lie  found  me  reeling  or  halting  through  weakness,  would  support  me  until 
I  had  gained  sufficient  strength  to  proceed. 

Although  the  distance  was  but  two  miles,  yet  such  was  the  state  of  my 
weakness,  that  although  we  started  early  in  the  morning,  it  was  half  past 
three  o'clock  p.  M.  when  we  reached  the  consul's  office,  when  I  was  so  much 
exhausted  as  to  be  obliged  to  ascend  the  steps  on  my  hands  and  knees. 

Fortunately  I  found  the  consul  in,  and  after  I  had  told  my  story,  which 
at  first  he  would  scarcely  believe,  he  informed  me  that  he  would  procure 
me  a  passage  at  government  expense  :  but  that  my  son,  being  a  British  born 
subject,  could  not  go  with  me.  But  that  he  would  send  my  son  at  his  own 
expense,  provided  1  would  agree  on  his  arrival  in  America  to  his  living  with 
&  connection  of  his.  To  this  I  joyfully  consented,  and  my  son  took  passage 
the  next  day  on  the  London  packet  for  Boston,  while  I,  being  too  infirm  to 
take  the  voyage,  was  boarded  at  a  public  inn  at  the  consul's  expense  until 
my  health  should  be  in  a  measure  re-established. 

In  eight  weeks,  I  was  so  far  recruited  by  good  living,  as,  in  the  opinion 
of  the  consul,  to  be  able  to  endure  the  fatigues  of  a  passage  to  my  native 
country,  and  which  was  procured  for  me  on  board  the  ship  Criterion  bound 
to  New- York.  We  set  sail  on  the  5th  April,  1823,  and  after  a  passage  of 
forty-two  days,  arrived  safe  at  our  port  of  destination.  Such  were  my  pleas 
ing  sensations  as  we  entered  the  harbor,  caused  by  the  reflection  that  on  the 
morrow  I  should  be  permitted  to  walk  once  more  on  American  ground, 
after  an  absence  of  almost  fifty  years,  that  it  was  in  vain  that  I  attempted 
to  close  my  eyes  in  sleep.  Never  was  the  morning's  dawn  so  cheerfully 
welcomed  by  me ;  and  as  my  feet  touched  the  shore,  I  did  not  forget  to 
offer  up  my  unfeigned  thanks  to  that  Almighty  Being,  who  had  not  only 
sustained  me  during  my  heavy  afflictions  abroad,  but  had  finally  restored 
me  to  my  native  country. 

From  New  York,  I  went  to  Boston,  and  there  met  my  son.  By  his  earnest 
request,  I  visited  Bunker  Hill,  which  he  had  a  curiosity  to  view,  having 
heard  it  so  frequently  spoken  of  by  me  while  in  London,  as  the  place  where 
the  memorable  battle  was  fought,  and  in  which  I  received  my  wounds.  I 
continued  in  Boston  about  a  fortnight,  and  then  set  out  on  foot  to  visit  once 
more  my  native  State.  My  son  accompanied  me  as  far  as  Roxbury.  It 
may  not  be  improper  here  to  acquaint  my  readers,  that  as  I  had  left  my 
father  possessed  of  very  considerable  property,  and  of  which,  at  his  decease, 
1  thought  myself  entitled  to  a  portion  equal  to  that  of  the  other  children, 
which  (as  my  father  was  very  economical  in  the  management  of  his  affairs) 
I  knew  could  not  amount  to  a  very  inconsiderable  sum.  It  was  to  obtain 
this,  if  possible,  that  I  became  extremely  anxious  to  visit  immediately  the 
place  of  my  nativity.  Accordingly,  the  day  after  I  arrived  in  Providence,  I 
hastened  to  Cranston,  to  seek  my  connections,  if  anywhere  to  be  found  ;  and, 
if  not,  to  seek  among  the  most  aged  of  the  inhabitants,  some  one  who  had 
not  forgotten  me,  and  who  might  be  able  to  furnisn  me  with  the  sought  for 
information.  But,  alas,  too  soon  were  blasted  my  hopeful  expectations  of 
finding  something  in  reserve  forme,  that  might  have  afforded  me  an  humble 


OF  AMERICANS.  1ST 

support,  the  few  remaining  years  of  my  life.  It  was  by  a  distant  connection 
ihat  I  was  informed  that  my  brothers  had  many  years  since  removed  to  a 
distant  part  of  the  country — that  having  credited  a  rumor  in  circulation  of 
my  death,  at  the  decease  of  my  father,  had  disposed  of  the  real  estate  of 
which  he  died  possessed,  and  had  divided  the  proceeds  equally  among 
themselves  !  This  was  another  instance  of  adverse  fortune  that  I  had  not 
anticipated  !  It  was  indeed  a  circumstance  so  foreign  from  my  mind  that  I 
felt  myself  for  the  first  time,  unhappy,  since  my  return  to  my  native  country, 
and  even  believed  myself  now  doomed  to  endure  among  my  own  countrymen 
(for  whose  liberties  I  had  fought  and  bled)  miseries  similar  to  those  that 
had  attended  me  for  many  years  in  Europe.  With  these  gloomy  forebod 
ings,  I  returned  to  Providence,  and  contracted  for  board  with  the  gentleman 
at  whose  house  I  had  lodged  the  first  night  of  my  arrival  in  town,  and  to 
whom  for  the  kind  treatment  that  I  have  received  from  him,  and  his  family, 
I  shall  feel  till  death  under  the  deepest  obligations  that  gratitude  can 
dictate ;  for  I  can  truly  say  of  him,  that  I  was  a  stranger  and  he  took  mo 
in  ;  I  was  hungry  and  naked,  and  he  fed  and  clothed  me. 

As  I  had  never  received  any  remuneration  for  services  rendered,  and 
hardships  endured  in  the  cause  of  my  country,  I  was  now  obliged,  as  my 
last  resort,  to  petition  Congress  to  be  included  in  that  number  of  the  few 
surviving  soldiers  of  the  Revolution,  for  whose  services  they  had  been 
pleased  to  grant  pensions — and  I  would  to  God  that  I  could  add,  fortho 
honor  of  my  country,  that  the  application  met  with  its  deserving  success — 
but,  although  accompanied  by  the  deposition  of  a  respectable  gentleman 
satisfactorily  confirming  every  fact  therein  stated — yet  on  no  other  prin 
ciple,  than  that  I  ivas  absent  from  the  country  when  the  pension  law  passed — 
my  petition  was  rejected  !  Reader,  I  have  been  for  thirty  years,  as  you 
will  perceive  by  what  I  have  stated  in  the  foregoing  pages,  subject,  in  a 
foreign  country,  to  almost  all  the  miseries  with  which  poor  human  nature  is 
capable  of  being  afflicted — yet,  in  no  one  instance  did  I  ever  feel  so  great 
a  degree  of  depression  of  spirits,  as  when  the  fate  of  my  petition  was 
announced  to  me ! 

To  conclude  :  Although  I  may  be  again  unfortunate  in  a  renewal  of  my 
application  to  government,  for  that  reward  to  which  my  services  so  justly  en 
title  me,  yet  I  feel  thankful  that  I  am  privileged,  after  enduring  so  much, 
to  spend  the  remainder  of  my  days  among  those  who  I  am  confident  are 
possessed  of  too  much  humanity  to  see  me  suffer ;  and  which  I  am  sensible 
I  owe  to  the  divine  goodness,  which  graciously  condescended  to  support  me 
under  my  numerous  afflictions,  and  finally  enabled  me  to  return  to  my  na 
tive  country  in  the  79th  year  of  my  age.  For  this  I  return  unfeigned 
thanks  to  the  Almighty  ;  and  hope  to  give  during  the  remainder  of  my  life, 
convincing  testimonies  of  the  strong  impression  which  those  afflictions  made 
on  my  mind,  by  devoting  myself  sincerely  to  the  duties  of  religion. 


The  preceding  narrative  of  one  of  the  more  humble  sutferers  from  cur 
revolutionary  contest,  we  trust,  has  been  found  interesting.  A  literary 
gentleman  wrote  down  his  memoirs  from  his  lips,  as  here  given,  slightly 


188  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

nbridged.  These  were  published  in  a  small  book,  with  a  title  nearly  iden 
tical  with  that  which  heads  this  article.  A  friend  at  our  elbow,  recollects 
when  a  boy — more  than  thirty  years  since — seeing  a  little,  crooked,  long- 
bearded  old  man,  leaning  on  a  cane,  accompanied  by  a  young  lad,  traveling 
about  the  country,  peddling  this  "Life  and  Remarkable  Adventures."  Of 
his  subsequent  history,  we  are  uninformed ;  but  he  must  long  ere  this  have 
been  gathered  to  his  fathers — and  a  neglected  spot,  in  some  isolated  country 
church-yard,  is,  probably  the  resting-place  of  the  mortal  remains  of  ISRAEL 
R.  POTTER,  "a  native  of  Cranston,  Rhode  Island,  who  was  a  soldier  in  the 
American  Revolution." 


THE 

TWO      ORATORS 

OF 

OUR   REVOLUTIONARY    ERA; 


JAMES  OTIS,  OF  MASSACHUSETTS,  AND  PATRICK  HENRY,  OP  VIRGINIA 


ORATORY  is  an  art  more  practiced  by  the  American,  than  by  any  other 
people  ;  and  because  by  none  is  it  so  much  required.  The  nature  of  their 
institutions  demands  it,  the  business  of  government  being  with  all,  and  open 
to  all  for  public  discussion.  Their  facility  in  extemporaneous  oratory  is  the 
surprise  of  other  people.  That  American  embassador  and  historian  who 
astonished  English  gentlemen  at  a  public  dinner  in  their  country,  by  the 
force  and  polished  beauty  of  an  unexpected,  unprepared  speech,  only  sup 
plied  an  example  of  what  others  of  his  countrymen  could  have  equaled. 

We  give  in  these  pages  sketches  of  two  of  the  most  eminent  orators  of  the 
era  of  our  revolution — JAMES  OTIS  and  PATRICK  HENRY.  The  history  of 
the  latter  has  been  made  widely  known  by  the  genius  of  Wirt,  but  of  tho 
former  few  memorials  remain  :  many  whose  eyes  trace  these  lines,  herein, 
for  the  first  time,  learn  his  name.  Yet  before  the  year  1770,  no  American, 
excepting  Dr.  Franklin,  was  so  well  known,  and  so  often  named  in  the 
colonies  and  in  England.  His  papers  have  all  perished,  none  of  his  speeches 
were  recorded,  and  he  himself  was  cut  off  just  on  the  eve  of  the  revolution, 
so  that  his  name  is  not  associated  with  familiar  public  documents.  It  is 
owing  to  this  that  the  most  learned,  eloquent,  and  influential  man  of  the 
time  is  now  so  little  known,  that  the  following  language  of  President  Adams 
seemed  exaggerated,  although  Chief  Justice  Dana,  and  other  eminent  char 
acters,  used  commendation  equally  strong.  Says  President  Adams :  "  I 
have  been  young,  and  now  am  old,  and  I  solemnly  say,  I  have  never  known 
a  man  whose  love  of  his  country  was  more  ardent  or  sincere ;  never,  one 
who  suffered  so  much  ;  never,  one  whose  services  for  any  ten  years  of  his 
life  were  so  important  and  essential  to  the  cause  of  his  country,  as  those  of 
Mr.  Otis,  from  1760  to  1770." 

JAMES  OTIS  was  the  son  of  Colonel  James  Otis,  and  was  born  at  West 
Barnstable,  Massachusetts,  February  5,  1724.  He  was  educated  at  Harvard, 
studied  law,  and  settled  in  Boston,  where  he  soon  attained  to  the  highest 
rank  in  his  profession. 

He  came  upon  the  stage  at  a  time  when  the  mother  country  had  deter 
mined  to  enforce  her  "Acts  of  Trade," — laws  of  parliament  which  bore  with 
crushing  force  upon  the  industry  and  enterprise  of  the  colonies,  especially 


190  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

those  of  New  England.  These  people  were  descended  from  that  virtuous, 
but  stern  and  inflexible  part  of  the  English  nation,  who,  determined  not  to 
bear  the  chains  of  religious  and  kingly  tyranny,  had  sought  and  found  a 
home  in  the  wilds  of  a  new  continent  at  a  vast  expense  of  blood  and  suffer 
ing.  They  owed  nothing  to  the  royal  government  but  their  charter,  yet  the 
moment  they  began  to  overcome  the  first  great  trials  of  their  new  settle 
ment,  they  were  doomed  to  submit  to  a  system  of  restrictive  laws,  calculated 
to  crush  them  to  poverty.  Having  no  great  staple  of  agriculture,  the  only 
resource  for  accumulating  the  comforts  and  luxuries  of  life  were  commerce 
and  manufactures ;  but  here  their  exertions  were  impeded  by  these  laws. 
These  forbade  them  to  manufacture,  because  the  manufactures  of  England 
would  be  injured  ;  they  were  restricted  in  their  commerce,  because  the 
English  shipping-interest  would  suffer.  Even  the  fish  they  caught  off  their 
own  coast,  they  were  not  allowed  to  sell  for  French  and  Spanish  molasses, 
because  the  English  sugar  colonies  in  the  West  Indies  would  be  thus 
deprived  of  the  monopoly  of  supplying  them  with  the  finny  tribe.  They 
could  not  import  teas  from  Holland,  because  it  interfered  with  the  East 
India  Company  ;  in  fine,  they  could  not  trade  with  Spain  and  Portugal,  cor 
with  any  other  nation.  Everything  brought  to  the  colonies  must  be  in 
English-built  ships,  owned  in  England,  and  manned  by  English  sailors. 
The  boasted  protection  of  the  mother  country  was,  to  use  the  language  of 
Sir  Edmund  Burke,  "perfect  uncompensated  slavery." 

Immediately  after  the  conquest  of  Canada,  in  1760,  the  custom-house 
officers,  in  compliance  with  instructions  from  England,  began  to  take 
measures  to  strictly  enforce  all  these  obnoxious  laws,  some  of  which  had 
remained  a  dead  letter.  As  a  preliminary  measure,  an  order  in  council  was 
received  to  carry  into  effect  these  laws  of  trade,  and  to  apply  to  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  province  for  writs  of  assistance,  a  species  of  search  warrant  to  be 
granted  to  the  officers  of  customs,  to  search  for  goods  on  which  duties  had 
not  been  paid. 

Hutchinson,  the  Lieutenant  Governor  of  the  province,  was  at  this  juncture 
appointed  by  the  crown  Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court ;  thus,  for  the 
time,  having  united  in  his  one  person  the  highest  judicial  and  executive 
offices  in  the  province.  This  extraordinary  power  conferred  upon  one  man, 
evinced  the  unfriendly  designs  of  government,  and  was  a  cause  of  just  alarm 
to  all  reflecting  minds.  Otis  was  at  this  time  Advocate  General  :  believing 
these  laws  were  illegal  and  tyrannical,  he  refused  to  give  his  official  assist 
ance,  and  at  once  resigned  his  office,  which  was  not  only  very  lucrative, 
but,  if  filled  by  an  incumbent  of  a  compliant  spirit,  led  to  the  highest  favors 
from  the  crown. 

The  merchants  of  Boston  and  Salem  engaged  Otis  and  Thatcher  to  make 
their  defense.  The  trial  took  place  in  February,  1761,  in  the  council 
chamber  of  the  old  Town  House  in  Boston,  before  Lieutenant  Governor 
Hutchinson,  as  Chief  Justice,  with  four  Associate  Judges.  The  court  was 
crowded  with  the  most  eminent  citizens,  deeply  solicitous  in  the  cause 

The  case  was  opened  for  government  by  Mr.  Gridley,  the  old  law  tutor  of 
Otis,  and  very  ably  argued  :  in  all  his  points  he  made  his  reasoning  depend 
upon  this  consideration — "  if  the  parliament  of  Great  Britain  is  the  sove 
reign  legislator  of  the  British  Empire,  then,  etc."  He  was  replied  to  by  MJE, 


OF  AMERICANS.  19] 

Thatcher,  in  an  ingenious,  sensible  speech,  delivered  with  great  mildress. 
"  But,"  in  the  language  of  President  Adams,  "  Otis  was  a  flame  of  fire  ;  with 
a  promptitude  of  classical  allusions,  a  depth  of  research,  a  rapid  summary  of 
historical  events  and  dates,  a  profusion  of  legal  authorities,  a  prophetic 
glance  of  his  eyes  into  futurity,  and  a  rapid  torrent  of  impetuous  eloquence, 
he  hurried  away  all  before  him.  American  Independence  was  then  and 
there  born.  The  seeds  of  patriots  and  heroes  were  then  and  there  sown. 
Every  man  of  an  immense,  crowded  audience,  appeared  to  me  to  go  away 
as  I  did,  ready  to  take  up  arms  against  writs  of  assistance.  Then  and  there 
was  the  first  scene  of  tlie  first  act  of  opposition,  to  the  arbitrary  claims  of  Great 
Britain.  Then  and  there  the  child  INDEPENDENCE  was  born.  In  fifteen 
years,  t.  e.  in  1776,  he  grew  up  to  manhood,  and  declared  himself  free." 

In  opening  this  case,  Otis  said,  "I  will  to  my  dying  day  oppose  with  all 
the  powers  and  faculties  God  has  given  me,  all  such  instruments  of  slavery 
on  the  one  hand,  and  villainy  on  the  other,  as  is  this  writ  of  assistance.  It 
appears  to  me  the  worst  instrument  of  arbitrary  power,  the  most  destructive 
of  English  liberties  and  the  fundamental  principles  of  law,  that  ever  was 
found  in  an  English  law  book."  Pie  then  went  on  to  speak  of  his  resigning 
his  office  of  Advocate  General,  that  he  might  argue  this  cause,  of  the  enemies 
he  thereby  had  made,  and  how  from  his  very  soul  he  despised  them.  "  Let," 
added  he,  "the  consequences  be  what  they  will,  I  am  determined  to  proceed. 
The  only  principles  of  public  conduct  that  are  worthy  of  a  gentleman  or  a 
man,  are  to  sacrifice  estate,  ease,  health,  and  applause,  and  even  life,  to  the 
sacred  calls  of  his  country.  These  manly  sentiments,  in  private  life,  make 
the  good  citizen ;  in  public  life,  the  patriot  and  the  hero.  I  do  not  say  that, 
when  brought  to  the  test,  I  shall  be  invincible.  I  pray  God  that  I  may 
never  be  brought  to  the  melancholy  trial,  but  if  ever  I  should,  it  will  then 
be  known  how  far  I  can  reduce  to  practice,  principles  which  I  know  to  be 
founded  in  truth."  He  then  proceeded  with  the  subject  of  the  writ,  which 
the  officers  of  the  revenue  were  afraid  to  use  without  the  sanction  of  the 
Superior  Court.  That  it  was  impossible  to  devise  a  more  outrageous  instru 
ment  of  tyranny,  one  which  naturally  led  to  such  enormous  abuses. 

"This  writ,"  said  he,  "being  general,  is  illegal.  I  admit  that  special 
writs  of  assistance,  to  search  special  places,  may  be  granted  to  certain  persons 
on  oath ;  but  I  deny  that  the  writ  now  prayed  for  can  be  granted.  In  tho 
first  place  the  writ  is  universal,  being  directed  to  all  and  singular  justices, 
sheriffs,  constables,  and  all  other  officers,  and  subjects  ;  so  that  it  is  in  short 
directed  to  every  subject  in  the  king's  dominions.  Everyone  with  this  writ 
may  be  a  tyrant  in  a  legal  manner,  also,  may  control,  imprison,  or  mnrder 
any  one  within  the  realm.  In  the  next  place,  it  is  perpetual — there  is  no 
return.  A  man  is  accountable  to  no  person  for  his  doings.  Every  man  may 
reign  secure  in  his  petty  tyranny,  and  spread  terror  and  desolation  around 
him,  until  the  trump  of  the  archangel  shall  excite  different  emotions  in  his 
soul.  By  this  writ  not  only  deputies,  but  their  menial  servants,  in  the  day 
time,  may  enter  our  houses,  shops,  etc.,  at  will,  and  command  all  to  assist 
them  ;  and  thus  lord  it  over  us.  What  is  this  but  to  have  the  curse  of 
Canaan  with  a  witness  on  us ;  to  be  the  servant  of  servants,  the  most  despi 
cable  of  God's  creation  ?  Now,  one  of  the  most  essential  branches  of  English 
liberty,  is  the  freedom  of  one's  house.  A  man's  house  is  his  castle ;  and 


192  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

while  he  is  quiet,  he  is  as  well  guarded  in  it,  as  a  prince  is  in  his.  This 
writ,  if  declared  legal,  would  totally  annihilate  privilege.  Custom-house 
officers,  with  their  menials,  may  enter  our  houses  when  they  please,  may 
break  locks,  bars,  and  everything  in  their  way ;  and  whether  they  break 
through  malice  or  revenge,  no  man,  no  court  can  inquire.  Bare  suspicion 
without  oath  is  sufficient."  He  cited  some  facts  in  proof  of  this,  and  then 
went  on  to  show,  by  an  old  statute,  that  any  person,  as  well  as  the  custom 
house  officers,  had  this  power.  "  What  a  scene,"  said  he,  "  does  this  open  ? 
Every  man,  prompted  by  revenge,  ill  humor,  or  wantonness,  to  inspect  the 
inside  of  his  neighbor's  house,  may  get  a  writ  of  assistance.  Others  will  ask 
it  from  self-defense.  One  arbitrary  act  will  provoke  another,  until  society 
be  involved  in  tumult  and  in  blood." 

His  argument  lasted  about  five  hours,  and  the  summary  of  it  can  now 
only  be  given  in  the  words  of  President  Adams,  scraps  of  which  only  have 
we  room  to  insert.  He  divided  it  into  five  parts  :  "  1.  He  began  with  an 
exordium,  mainly  personal.  2.  A  dissertation  on  the  rights  of  man  in  a 
state  of  nature.  He  asserted  that  every  man,  merely  natural,  was  an  inde 
pendent  sovereign,  subject  to  no  law,  but  the  law  written  on  his  heart,  and 
revealed  to  him  by  his  Maker,  in  the  constitution  of  his  nature,  and  the  in 
spiration  of  his  understanding  and  his  conscience.  His  right  to  his  life,  his 
liberty,  no  created  being  could  rightfully  contest.  Nor  was  his  right  to  his 
property  less  incontestible.  The  club  that  he  had  snapped  from  a  tree,  for 
a  staff,  or  for  defense,  was  his  own.  His  bow  and  arrow  were  his  own  ;  if 
with  a  pebble  he  had  killed  a  partridge  or  a  squirrel,  it  was  his  own.  No 
creature,  man  or  beast,  had  a  right  to  take  it  from  him.  If  he  had  taken 
an  eel,  or  a  smelt,  or  a  sculpion,  it  was  his  property.  In  short,  he  sported 
upon  this  topic  with  so  much  wit  and  humor,  and,  at  the  same  time,  with 
so  much  indisputable  truth  and  reason,  that  he  was  not  less  entertaining 
than  instructive.  He  asserted  that  these  rights  were  inherent  and  inalien 
able.  That  they  never  could  be  surrendered  or  alienated,  but  by  idiots  or 
madmen,  and  all  such  acts  were  void,  and  not  obligatory  by  the  laws  of  God 
and  man.  Nor  were  the  poor  negroes  forgotten.  Not  a  Quaker  in  Philadel 
phia,  or  Mr.  Jefferson  of  Virginia,  ever  asserted  the  rights  of  negroes  in 
stronger  terms.  Young  as  I  was,  and  ignorant  as  I  was,  I  shuddered  at  the 
doctrine  he  taught ;  and  I  have  all  my  life  shuddered,  and  still  shudder  at 
the  consequences  that  may  be  drawn  from  such  premises.  Shall  we  say 
that  the  rights  of  masters  and  servants  clash,  and  can  be  decided  only  by 
force  ?  I  adore  the  idea  of  gradual  abolitions  !  but  who  shall  decide  how 
fast  or  how  slowly  these  abolitions  shall  be  made  ? 

3.  From  individual  independence  he  proceeded  to  association.  If  it  was 
inconsistent  with  the  dignity  of  human  nature,  to  say  that  men  were  gre 
garious  animals,  like  wild  geese,  it  would  surely  offend  no  delicacy  to  say, 
they  were  social  animals  by  nature ;  that  there  were  natural  sympathies, 
and,  above  all,  the  sweet  attraction  of  the  sexes,  which  must  soon  draw 
them  together  in  little  groups,  and  by  degrees,  in  larger  congregations,  for 
mutual  assistance  and  defense.  And  this  must  have  happened  before  any 
formal  covenant,  by  express  words  or  signs,  was  concluded.  When  general 
councils  and  deliberations  were  commenced,  the  objects  could  be  no  other  than 
the  mutual  defense  and  security  of  every  individual  for  his  life,  his  liberty, 


OF  AMERICANS.  193 

And  his  property.  To  suppose  them  surprised  by  fraud,  or  compelled  by 
force  into  any  other  compact,  could  confer  no  obligation  of  obedience. 
Every  man  had  a  right  to  trample  it  under  foot  whenever  he  pleased.  In 
short,  he  asserted  their  rights  to  be  derived  only  from  nature,  and  the 
author  of  nature  ;  that  they  were  inherent,  inalienable,  and  indefeasible  by 
any  laws,  facts,  contracts,  covenants,  or  stipulations,  which  man  could 
devise. 

4.  These  principles  and  rights  were  brought  into  the  English  constitu 
tion  as  fundamental  laws.     And  under  this  head  he  went  back  to  the  old 
Saxon  laws,  and  to  Magna  Charta,  and  the  fifty  confirmations  of  it  in  parlia 
ment.     He  asserted  that  the  security  of  these  rights  to  life,  liberty,  and 
property,  had  been  the  object  of  all  those  struggles  against  arbitrary  power, 
temporal  and  spiritual,  civil  and  political,  military  and  ecclesiastical,  in  every 
age.     He  asserted   that  our  ancestors,  as  British  subjects,  and   we  their 
descendants,  as  British  subjects,  were  entitled  to  all  those  rights,  by  the 
British  constitution,  as  well  as  by  the  laws  of  nature,  and  our  provincial 
charter. 

5.  He  then  examined  the  Acts  of  Trade,  one  by  one,  and  demonstrated, 
that  if  they  were  considered  as  revenue  laws,  they  destroyed  all  our  security 
of  property,  liberty,  and  life,  every  right  of  nature,  and  the  English  con 
stitution,  and  the  charter  of  the  English  province. 

He  then  proceeded  to  enlarge  upon  the  odious  Navigation  Act,  as  the 
first  in  order  among  those  acts,  which  were  now  to  be  enforced  by  the  Writs 
of  Assistance.  The  main  provisions  of  this  act  prohibited  importations  to 
these  colonies,  excepting  in  British-built  ships,  manned  by  British  sailors, 
and  no  goods  of  foreign  production  could  be  brought,  even  in  English  ship 
ping,  excepting  from  the  countries  that  produced  them.  The  Navigation 
Act,  however,  was  wholly  prohibitory,  it  abounded  with  penalties  and  for 
feitures,  but  it  imposed  no  taxes.  The  distinction,  therefore,  was  vastly 
great  between  this  and  the  Acts  of  Trade.  Though  no  revenue  was  to  be 
derived  from  this  act,  still  it  was  intended  to  be  enforced  by  these  writs, 
and  houses  were  to  be  broken  open  and  ransacked  under  their  authority  to 
enforce  it.  He  discussed  most  amply  all  the  effects  which  the  Acts  of 
Navigation  produced  upon  the  colonies. 

From  the  Navigation  Act  he  passed  to  the  Acts  of  Trade,  and  these,  he 
contended,  imposed  taxes,  enormous,  burdensome,  intolerable  taxes ;  and 
on  this  topic  he  gave  full  scope  to  his  talent,  for  powerful  declamation,  and 
invective  against  the  tyranny  of  taxation  without  representation.  From  the 
energy  with  which  Otis  urged  this  position,  that  taxation  without  represen 
tation  is  tyranny,  it  came  to  be  a  common  maxim  in  the  mouth  of  every  one, 
And  with  him  it  formed  the  basis  of  all  his  speeches  and  political  writings  ;  he 
builds  all  his  opposition  to  arbitrary  measures  from  this  foundation,  and 
perpetually  recurs  to  it  through  his  whole  career,  as  the  great  constitutional 
theme  cf  liberty,  and  as  the  fundamental  principle  of  all  opposition  to 
arbitrary  power. 

He  showed  by  many  sound  and  striking  observations,  how  unjust,  op 
pressive,  and  impracticable,  were  these  Acts  of  Trade  ;  that  they  never  had 
been,  and  never  could  be  executed;  and  asserted,  what  must  then  havo 
boeu  considered  rather  extravagant,  though  it  was  doubtless  true,  '  That  if 


194:  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

the  king  of  Great  Britain,  in  person,  were  encamped  on  Boston  Common,  at 
the  head  of  twenty  thousand  men,  with  all  his  navy  on  our  coast,  he  would 
not  be  able  to  execute  these  laws.  They  would  be  resisted  or  eluded.'  lie 
further  advanced  principles,  while  commenting  on  the  Sugar  Act,  that  must 
have  been  heard  by  his  audience  with  very  strong,  but  very  different  emo 
tions,  when  he  asserted  this  act  Ho  be  a  revenue  law,  a  taxation  law,  made 
by  a  foreign  legislature,  without  our  consent,  and  by  a  legislature  who  had 
no  feeling  for  us,  and  whose  interest  prompted  them  to  tax  us  to  the  quick.' 

The  last  ground  taken  by  him  in  commenting  on  these  later  Acts  of 
Trade,  was  their  incompatibility  with  the  charter  of  the  colony.  In  advert 
ing  to  the  history  of  the  charters  and  the  -colony,  he  fell  naturally  on  the 
merit  of  its  founders,  in  undertaking  so  perilous,  arduous,  and  almost  des 
perate  an  enterprise;  in  'disforesting  bare  creation;'  in  conciliating  and 
necessarily  contending  with  Indian  natives ;  in  purchasing,  rather  than  con 
quering  a  quarter  of  the  globe,  at  their  own  expense,  by  the  sweat  of  their 
own  brows,  at  the  hazard  and  sacrifice  of  their  own  lives ;  without  the 
smallest  aid,  assistance,  or  comfort,  from  the  government  of  England,  or 
from  England  itself  as  a  nation  :  on  the  contrary,  meeting  with  constant 
jealousy,  envy,  intrigue  against  their  charter,  their  religion,  and  all  their 
privileges.  He  reproached  the  nation,  parliament  and  king  with  injustice, 
il liberality,  ingratitude,  and  oppression,  in  their  conduct  toward  this  country, 
in  a  style  of  oratory  I  never  heard  equaled  in  this  or  any  other  country." 

After  the  close  of  his  argument,  the  court  decided  that  it  could  see  no 
foundation  for  the  writ;  but  as  the  practice  in  England  was  unknown,  they 
would  adjourn  the  question  until  the  next  term.  It  was  never  again  there 
agitated,  but  it  was  generally  understood  that  the  court  secretly  granted  tho 
writs.  It  was  of  no  avail,  for  the  custom-house  officers  never  dared  to  ex 
ecute  them.  No  cause  in  the  annals  of  colonial  jurisprudence  had  ever 
given  rise  to  such  powerful  argument.  When  the  profound  learning  of  the 
advocate,  the  powers  of  wit,  fancy,  and  pathos,  with  which  he  could  co 
piously  illustrate  that  learning  and  the  ardent  character  of  his  eloquence  are 
considered  ;  when  we  reflect  upon  the  personal  sacrifices  he  made  to  appear 
on  the  occasion,  the  deep  foresight  he  had  of  the  oppression  and  tyranny 
that  would  have  followed  the  success  of  this  hateful  application — when  all 
these  circumstances  are  recalled,  the  power  and  magnificence  of  this  oration 
may  be  imagined.  With  a  knowledge  of  the  topics  that  were  involved,  and 
the  fearless  energy  with  which  they  were  developed  and  elucidated,  the 
time  when,  and  the  circumstances  under  which  they  occurred,  we  need  not 
be  surprised  at  the  declaration  of  President  Adams:  "I  do  say,  in  the 
most  solemn  manner,  that  Mr.  Otis'  oration  against  writs  of  assistance 
breathed  into  this  nation  tho  breath  of  life." 

Beside  the  great  public  anxiety  in  regard  to  the  results  of  this  trial,  sonio 
incidents  of  a  personal  nature,  of  an  interesting  character  were  attendant 
upon  it.  Otis  was  the  pupil  of  Gridley,  the  attorney  for  the  officers  of 
customs.  He  felt  for  his  character  a  high  respect,  and  sincere  gratitude  for 
his  instructions ;  and  he  never  lost  sight  of  these  feelings  on  this  occasion. 
"  It  was,"  says  President  Adams,  "  a  moral  spectacle,  more  affecting  to  mo 
than  any  I  ever  witnessed  on  the  stage,  to  observe  a  pupil  treating  his  master 
with  all  the  deference,  respect,  esteem,  and  affection  of  a  sou  to  a  father,  and 


OF  AMERICANS.  195 

that  without  the  least  affectation ;  while  he  baffled  and  confounded  all  his 
authorities,  confuted  all  his  arguments,  and  reduced  him  to  silence  ! " 

The  crown,  by  its  agents,  accumulated  construction  upon  construction, 
and  inference  upon  inference,  as  the  giants  heaped  Pelion  upon  Ossa.  He 
dashed  this  whole  building  to  pieces,  and  scattered  the  pulverized  atoms  to 
tho  four  winds ;  and  no  judge,  lawyer,  or  crown-officer  dared  to  say,  why  do 
ye  so  ?  Such  was  the  storm  of  indignation  he  raised,  that  even  Hutchinson, 
who  had  been  appointed  on  purpose  to  sanction  this  writ,  dared  not  utter  a 
word  in  its  favor ;  and  Mr.  Gridley,  himself,  seemed  to  exult  inwardly  at 
the  glory  and  triumph  of  his  pupil. 

From  this  moment  a  new  epoch  in  political  affairs  arose.  Political  parties 
became  more  distinctly  founded.  The  right  of  the  British  parliament  to  im 
pose  taxes,  was  openly  denied.  "  Taxation  without  representation  is 
tyranny,"  at  once  became  the  maxim  and  watchword  of  all  the  friends  of 
liberty.  Otis,  who  had  never  before  interfered  in  public  affairs,  forthwith 
became  the  idol  of  the  patriots,  and  the  terror  and  vengeance  of  their  royal 
enemies.  He  was  almost  unanimously  chosen  to  the  legislature  in  the  en 
suing  May,  and  continued  a  member  of  that  body  for-  several  years.  "  On 
the  week  of  the  election  of  Otis,"  says  President  Adams,  "  I  happened  to  be 
at  Worcester  attending  court.  When  the  news  arrived  from  Boston,  you 
can  have  no  idea  of  the  consternation  among  the  government  people.  Chief 
Justice  Buggies  said,  on  that  day,  '  Out  of  this  election  will  arise  a  d — d 
faction,  which  will  shake  this  province  to  its  foundation.' " 

In  1762,  a  bill  was  brought  before  the  legislature,  to  exclude  the  Judges, 
of  the  Superior  Court  from  being  members  thereof;  it  was  lost  by  a  majority 
of  seven  votes.  The  object  of  this  was  to  prevent  Hutchinson  from  uniting 
in  his  person  an  office  as  Legislator,  in  addition  to  his  employments  of 
Lieutenant  Governor  and  Chief  Justice.  Otis  •  demonstrated  with  unan 
swerable  arguments  the  incompatibility  of  these  offices,  and  the  dangerous 
abuses  which  must  follow  from  such  a  violation  of  the  whole  spirit  of  a  free 
government.  It  is  a  striking  proof  (says  Mr.  Tudor,  in  his  Life  of  Otis,,  from 
which  this  article  is  derived)  of  the  progress  that  has  been  since  made  in 
the  science  of  constitutions,  that  a  principle  could  not  then  be  sustained  in  a 
legislative  body,  which  is  now  felt  by  every  citizen,  to  form  the  basis  of  all 
political  liberty  and  civil  security,  viz  :  the  separation  of  the  legislative, 
judicial,  and  executive  functions. 

At  the  session  of  September,  1762,  Bernard,  the  governor  of  the  province, 
sent  in  a  message,  informing  them  that  he  had  increased  the  armament  of 
the  Massachusetts  sloop,  which  had  been  sent  out  to  protect,  the  fisheries 
from  the  ravages  of  the  French  cruisers.  This  message  gave  rise  to  a  re 
markable  discussion,  and  this  trifling  expenditure,  without  the  knowledge 
of  the  legislature,  may  be  considered  as  one  of  the  preparatory  causes  of 
the  revolution.  Through  the  dissemination  of  the  great  principles  laid 
down  by  Otis  in  his  speech  on  the  writs,  viz  :  that  "  taxation  without  repre 
sentation  was  tyranny,"  and  that  expenditures  of  public  money,  without  ap 
propriations  by  the  representatives  of  the  people,  were  arbitrary,  unconstitu 
tional,  and,  therefore,  tyrannical,  the  people  had  become  watchfully  jealous 
of  every  encroachment  on  their  rights.  The  public  began  to  look  at  prin 
ciples,  and  to  resist  every  insidious  precedent  inflexiblv. 
13 


196  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

This  state  of  feeling  in  America  is  thus  finely  described  by  Burke.  "  I* 
other  countries  the  people,  more  simple,  of  a  less  mercurial  cast,  judge  of  an 
ill  principle  in  government  only  by  an  actual  grievance  ;  here  they  antici 
pate  the  evil,  and  judge  of  the  pressure  of  the  grievance  by  the  badness  of 
the  principle.  They  augur  misgovernment  at  a  distance,  and  snuff  the 
approach  of  tyranny  in  every  tainted  breeze." 

Such  was  the  superiority  of  Otis  over  every  other  member  of  the  house  in 
talents,  information,  and  energy,  that  ho  at  once  took  the  lead  ;  and  in  bit 
written  reply,  as  chairman  to  the  committee  on  this  message,  gave  utterance 
to  the  following  bold  sentiments  : 

"It  is  in  effect  taking  from  the  house  their  most  darling  privilege,  the 
right  of  originating  taxes.  It  is,  in  short,  annihilating  one  branch  of  the 
legislature.  And  when  once  the  representatives  of  the  people  give  up  thii 
privilege,  the  government  will  very  soon  become  arbitrary.  No  necessity 
can  be  sufficient  tp  justify  a  house  of  representatives  in  giving  up  such  a 
privilege  ;  for  it  would  be  of  little  consequence  to  the  people,  whether  thej 
were  subject  to  George,  or  Louis,  the  king  of  Great  Britain,  or  the  French 
king,  if  both  were  arbitrary,  as  both  would  be,  if  both  could  levy  taxes  with 
out  parliament."  "Treason!  Treason!"  here  broke  in  a  member,  just  in 
the  same  way  as  Patrick  Henry,  three  years  later,  was  interrupted.  The 
answer  closed  with  an  appeal  to  the  executive,  that  as  he  regarded  the  peace 
•and  welfare  of  the  province,  he  should  take  no  such  unauthorized  measure* 
in  the  future. 

This  reply  was  passed  and  sent  into  the  governor.  His  excellency  re 
turned  it  forthwith  with  a  letter,  complaining  of  the  disrespectful  manner  in 
which  his  majesty  had  been  spoken  of.  The  house  finally  acceded  to  hii 
request,  and  expurged  the  so  considered  sacrilegious  and  traitorous  passage. 
•Other  messages  passed  between  the  parties,  but  without  any  satisfaction  to 
either. 

After  the  adjournment  Otis  wrote  a  pamphlet- history  of  the  whole  matter, 
justifying  their  course.  This  production  was  the  original  source  from  which 
all  subsequent  arguments  against  taxation  were  derived.  The  great  princi 
ples  of  constitutional  liberty  are  shown  to  rest  at  last  on  this  basis,  that  taxa 
tion  and  represe-  .ation  are  inseparable.  The  specious  pretenses  of  public 
welfare,  the  maak  to  hide  the  encroachments  of  arbitrary  power  are  all  torn 
away;  and  the  vigilance  of  a  clear-sighted  statesman  is  exhibited  in  the  utmost 
plainness  and  energy.  "How  many  volumes,"  says  President  Adams,  "are 
-concentrated  in  this  little  pamphlet,  the  production  of  a  few  hurried  hours. 
Look  over  the  Declarations  of  Rights  and  Wrongs,  issued  by  congress  in 
1774.  Look  into  the  Declaration  of  Independence  in  1776.  Look  into  the 
writings  of  Dr.  Price  and  Dr.  Priestly.  Look  into  all  the  French  constitu 
tions  of  government ;  and,  to  cap  the  climax,  look  into  Mr.  Thomas  Paine's 
Common  Sense,  Crisis,  and  Rights  of  Man  ;  what  can  you  find  that  is  not  to 
be  found  in  solid  substance  in  this  vindication  of  the  House  of  Repre 
sentatives." 

The  reader  will,  perhaps,  be  interested  by  a  quotation  or  two  from  thii 
vindication  0f  'Otis.  The  first  line  we  take,  is  one  which,  afterward  being 
adopted  into  oar  Declaration  of  Independence,  is  recognized  as  the  most 
glorious  idea  in  that  great  instrument : 


OF  AMERICANS.  197 

Ood  made  all  men  naturally  equal. 

The  ideas  of  earthly  superiority,  pre-eminence,  and  grandeur,  are  educated, 
at  least,  acquired,  not  innate. 

Kings  were — and  plantation  governors  should  be — made  for  the  good  of 
the  people,  and  not  the  people  for  them. 

No  government  has  a  right  to  make  hobby-horses,  asses,  and  slaves  of  the 
•object ;  nature  having  made  sufficient  of  the  two  former  for  all  the  lawful 
purposes  of  man,  from  the  harmless  peasant  in  the  field,  to  the  most  refined 
politician  in  the  cabinet ;  but  none  of  the  last  [slaves],  which  infallibly 
proves  they  are  unnecessary. 

Though  most  governments  are,  in  fact,  arbitrary,  and,  consequently,  the 
curse  and  scandal  of  human  nature,  yet  none  are  by  right  arbitrary. 

The  more  elevated  the  person  who  errs,  the  stronger,  sometimes,  the 
obligation  to  refute  him ;  for  the  errors  of  great  men  are  often  of  very 
dangerous  consequences  to  themselves,  as  well  as  to  the  little  ones  below 
them. 

The  world  ever  has  been,  and  ever  will  be,  pretty  equally  divided  be 
tween  those  two  parties,  vulgarly  called  the  winners  and  losers;  or,  to  speak 
more  precisely,  between  those  who  are  discontented  that  they  have  no 
power,  and  those  who  think  they  can  never  have  enough." 

In  the  year  1764,  the  alarm  throughout  the  colonies  began  to  be  excessive, 
as  it  was  evident  that  the  mother  country  was  taking  measures  to  strictly 
enforce  the  Navigation  Acts,  and  the  Acts  of  Trade.  Town  meetings  were 
held  in  Boston,  Salem,  and  all  the  other  principal  ports  in  which  instructions 
were  given  to  their  representatives  to  resist  all  attempts  to  tax  them  with 
out  their  consent.  These  memorials  were  referred  to  a  committee  of  the 
legislature,  of  which  Otis  was  chairman,  and  upon  them  he  made  a  very 
able  report  upon  the  injustice  of  taxation,  "  without  the  voice  of  one  Ameri 
can  in  parliament  ?  "  "  If,"  said  he,  "  we  are  not  represented,  we  are  slaves: 
nay,  the  British  colonists  will  be  in  a  worse  condition  than  those  of  any 
other  province  ;  for,  besides  maintaining  internal  provincial  governments 
among  themselves,  they  must  pay  toward  the  support  of  the  national,  civil, 
and  military  government  in  Great  Britain.  Now  it  is  conceived  that  no 
people  on  earth  are  doubly  taxed  for  the  support  of  governmept." 

Shortly  after  this,  Otis  published  a  pamphlet  entitled,  "The  Rights  of 
the  British  Colonies  asserted  and  proved,"  which  attracted  much  attention. 
He  also  wrote,  in  1765,  a  scathing  answer  to  the  servile  "  Halifax  libel," — a 
published  letter  from  "a  gentleman  in  Halifax  to  his  friend  in  Rhode 
Island,"  in  which  the  plan  of  representation  was  ridiculed,  and  British  taxa 
tion  defended  ;  accompanied  by  miserable  sneers  and  insolence  against  the 
colonists,  as  an  inferior  race  of  men,  who  ought  to  be  submissive  to  the 
English  parliament.  In  the  same  year,  Otis  produced  another  work,  in  a 
letter  form  :  "  Considerations  on  behalf  of  the  Colonists."  It  is  spirited  and 
able,  and  is  the  last  written  by  him  :  its  chief  topics  are  taxation  and  repre 
sentation,  and  it  was  given  as  an  answer  to  an  English  publication,  by  a  Mr. 
J — s.  "  Remember,  Britons,"  said  he,  therein,  "  when  you  shall  be  taxed 
without  your  consent,  and  tried  without  a  jury,  and  have  an  army  quartered 
in  private  families,  you  will  have  little  to  hope  or  to  fear !" 

The  Stamp  Act  had  been  passed,  and  the  crisis  so  imminent,  that  those 


198  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

questions  were  of  vital  importance.  The  man-ner  in  which,  that  odious  act 
was  received  by  the  colonists,  is  too  well  known  for  relation  here.  In 
October  of  this  year  the  famous  Stamp  Act  Congress,  composed  of  delegates 
from  nine  colonies,  met  in  New  York  ;  and  of  this  body  no  member  stood 
higher  for  energy  and  talents  than  Mr.  Otis.  Their  remonstrances  led  to  tho 
lepeal  of  the  hated  act. 

The  next  year,  1766,  and  several  successive  years,  Boston  was  represented 
fn  the  legislature  by  Samuel  Adams,  John  Hancock,  Thomas  Gushing,  and 
James  Otis ;  and  these  four  gentlemen  exercised  a  wide  influence  in  a'£  the 
events  which  led  to  American  Independence.  Otis  and  Gushing  only  lived 
to  see  the  dawn  of  their  country's  prosperity  ;  Adams  and  Hancock  wero 
destined  to  outlive  the  period  of  trial.  John  Hancock  was  the  most 
wealthy  merchant  in  the  province,  and  one  of  the  most  elegant  and  accom 
plished  men  of  his  time.  In  private  life,  he  was  renowned  for  his  benevo 
lence  and  hospitality,  and  in  public  life,  for  his  noble  spirit.  He  was  con 
sulted  when  it  was  contemplated  to  burn  Boston,  to  expel  the  enemy.  He 
answered,  that  although  the  great  part  of  his  fortune  consisted  in  buildings 
within  it,  yet  if  its  destruction  would  be  useful  to  his  country,  it  should  be 
set  on  fire  forthwith.  He  was  not  remarkable  as  an  orator  ;  but  as  a  presi 
dent  of  a  public  body,  he  was  unsurpassed.  In  1776,  he  had  the  honor  to 
be  president  of  that  immortal  assembly  which  signed  the  Declaration  of  In 
dependence.  His  bold  signature  to  that  instrument  is  familiar  to  every  one. 
As  he  laid  down  his  pen,  he  exclaimed  :  "  There,  the  British  ministry  can 
read  that  name  without  spectacles  ;  let  them  double  their  reward,"  referring 
to  a  reward  that  had  been  offered  for  him  and  Samuel  Adams  :  they  being 
considered  arch-rebels.  He  died  in  1793,  at  the  age  of  fifty-six  years,  and 
would  have  died  poor,  so  entirely  had  he  neglected  his  private  affairs  in  his 
country's  good,  but  for  his  originally  immense  fortune. 

Samuel  Adams  was  one  of  the  most  remarkable  men  of  his  day.  From 
his  earliest  youth  his  attention  was  drawn  to  political  affairs.  In  1743,  on 
taking  the  degree  of  Master  of  Arts  at  Harvard,  he  proposed  the  question, 
"Whether  it  be  lawful  to  resist  the  supreme  magistrate,  if  the  common 
wealth  cannot  be  otherwise  preserved  ?  "  and  took  the  affirmative.  In  the 
legislature  he  was  upon  every  committee,  had  a  hand  in  writing  or  revising 
every  report,  a  share  in  the  management  of  every  political  meeting,  and  a 
voice  in  all  the  measures  against  the  tyrannical  plans  of  the  administrations. 
The  people  found  him  one  of  their  most  steadfast  friends,  the  government, 
one  of  its  most  inveterate  opponents.  When  his  character  was  known  in 
England,  and  it  was  also  understood  he  was  poor,  the  partisans  of  the 
ministry  wrote  and  inquired  of  Hutchinson,  in  a  spirit  of  vexation,  why  he 
did  not  silence  him  by  a  good  fat  berth.  That  official  replied  :  "  Such  is 
the  obstinacy  and  inflexible  disposition  of  the  man,  that  he  never  can  be 
conciliated  by  any  office  or  gift  whatsoever," — information  which  they  could 
scarcely  credit — so  different  was  it  from  their  experience  in  such  matters. 
Adams  was  clerk  of  the  Massachusetts'  Assembly  for  ten  years.  Step  by 
step,  and  inch  by  inch,  he  fought  the  enemies  of  popular  liberty,  and  was 
the  most  active  of  the  patriots  of  Boston  in  inciting  the  people  to  throw 
overboard  the  tea,  in  1773.  When  General  Gage,  in  1774,  sent  to  dissolve 
tho  colonial  assembly,  ho  found  the  door  locked  :  the  key  was  in  Samud 


OF  AMERICANS.  199 

Adams'  pocket.  After  he  had  received  warning  at  Lexington,  the  night  of 
the  18th  of  April,  1775,  of  the  intended  British  expedition,  as  he  proceeded 
to  make  his  escape  though  the  fields,  he  exclaimed,  when  the  day  dawned  : 
"  This  is  a  fine  day  ! "  "  Very  pleasant,  indeed,"  answered  one  of  his  com 
panions,  supposing  he  alluded  to  the  beauty  of  the  morning.  "I  mean," 
he  replied,  "it  is  a  glorious  day  for  America!"  .A  few  days  before  tho 
battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  Gage  offered  a  pardon  to  all  rebels  excepting  Samuel 
Adams  and  John  Hancock,  "whose  offenses  are  of  too  flagitious  a  nature 
to  admit  of  any  other  consideration  than  of  condign  punishment."  This 
virulent  proscription,  intended  to  be  their  ruin,  widely  extended  their  fame. 

As  a  member  of  the  Continental  Congress,  he  was  an  earnest  advocate  of 
the  revolution,  which  declared  the  colonies  free  and  independent  States  ; 
and  when  some  members  faltered  through  fear  of  failure,  the  stern  Puritan 
exclaimed  :  "I  should  advise  persisting  in  our  struggle  for  liberty,  though 
it  were  revealed  from  heaven  that  nine  hundred  and  ninety-nine  were  to 
perish,  and  only  one  out  of  a  thousand  survive  and  retain  his  liberty  !  One 
such  free  man  must  possess  more  virtue,  and  enjoy  more  happiness  than  a 
thousand  slaves  ;  and  let  him  propagate  his  like,  and  transmit  to  them  what 
he  hath  so  nobly  preserved." 

The  very  faults  of  his  character  rendered  his  services  more  useful,  by  con 
fining  his  exertions  to  a  single  point,  and  preventing  their  b'eing  weakened 
by  indulgence  arid  liberality  toward  different  opinions.  There  was  a  tinge 
of  bigotry  and  narrowness  both  in  his  politics  and  religion.  He  was  a  strict 
Calvanist,  and  full  of  the  feelings  of  the  ancient  Puritans.  He  was  simple 
and  frugal  in  his  habits,  which  led  him  to  despise  all  royal  luxury  and  pa 
rade.  He  had  all  the  animosities  and  all  the  firmness  that  could  qualify  a 
man  to  be  the  asserter  of  the  rights  of  the  people.  So  inflexible  was  he  in 
his  principles,  that  sooner  than  pay  an  illegal  tax  of  a  sixpence,  he  would 
have  been  condemned  as  a  traitor,  and  mounted  the  scaffold.  He  succeeded 
Hancock  as  governor,  and  died  in  1803,  at  the  age  of  eighty-two  years. 
Notwithstanding  his  many  years  of  eminent  service,  he  must  have  been 
buried  at' the  public  expense,  if  the  afflicting  death  of  an  only  son  had  not 
remedied  this  honorable  poverty. 

Such  were  the  men  associated  with  Otis  in  these  years  of  struggle,  pre 
ceding  the  war,  wifch  the  officials  of  the  crown.  The  most  important  of  the 
state  papers  of  this  period  were  drawn  up  by  Otis  and  revised  by  Adams. 

Otis,  whose  great  learning,  keen  preception,  bold  and  powerful  reasoning, 
made  him  the  primary  source  of  almost  every  measure,  generally  gave  tho 
first  draught.  Adams,  who  saw  to  everything,  and  blended  great  caution 
with  excessive  watchfulness  and  exertion,  revised,  corrected,  and  polished, 
where  it  might  be  requisite,  though  the  aim  at  fine  writing  was  too  paltry  a 
matter,  compared  with 'the  magnitude  of  the  cause  in  which  they  were  en 
gaged,  to  excite  a  moment's  solicitude. 

In  the  summer  of  1769,  Otis  published  some  very  severe  strictures  upon 
the  conduct  of  the  Commissioners  of  Customs.  Happening  in  alone  on 
evening  into  a  coffee-house  where  Robinson,  one  of  those  commissioners, 
and  a  number  of  British  officers  were  sitting,  an  altercation  ensued,  when  the 
lights  were  blown  out,  and  the  party,  armed  with  bludgeons,  pounced  upon 
him.  He  escaped  death,  but  to  meet  a  worse  fate.  His  brain  was  injured 


200  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

and  his  reason  dethroned.  A  verdict  of  ten  thousand  dollars  was  awarded 
as  damages  in  a  civil  suit  against  Eobinson.  Otis,  in  a  lucid  interval,  very 
magnanimously  forgave  the  base  ruffian,  and  refused  to  receive  a  dollar  of 
the  damages  awarded  him.  For  many  years,  all  through  the  scenes  of  the 
revolution,  the  patriot  lived  on,  with  his  great  intellect  in  ruins,  compara- 
tively  useless  to  the  world,  and  a  deep  grief  to  his  friends.  When  at  timeg 
the  cloud  was  lifted  from  his  reason,  he  talked  calmly  of  death,  and  ex 
pressed  a  desire  to  die  by  a  stroke  of  lightning.  His  wish  was  gratified. 
On  the  23d  of  May,  3783,  he  stood  leaning  on  his  cane  at  the  door  of  a 
friend's  house  in  Andover,  watching  the  sublime  spectacle  of  an  approaching 
thunder-cloud,  when  suddenly  a  bolt  leaped  from  it,  like  a  swift  messenger 
from  God  to  his  spirit,  and  killed  him  instantly.  Thus  perished  one  of  the 
master-spirits  of  his  time,  of  whom  few  memorials  remain  ;  but  enough  to 
show  that  the  future  historians  of  the  United  States,  in  considering  the 
foundations  of  American  Independence,  must  inscribe  a  chief  corner-stone 
with  the  name  of  JAMES  OTIS. 

PATRICK  HENRY. 

PATRICK  HENRY,  the  second  son  of  John  and  Sarah  Henry,  and  one  of 
nine  children,  was  born  on  the  29th  of  May,  1736,  at  the  family  seat,  called 
Studley,  in  Hanover  county,  Virginia.  At  the  age  of  ten  years  he  was  taken 
from  the  school  where  he  learned  to  read  and  write,  and  taught  Latin  by 
his  father,  who  had  opened  a  grammar-school  in  his  own  house.  At  the 
same  time  he  acquired  some  proficiency  in  mathematics.  Passionately  ad 
dicted  to  the  sports  of  the  field,  he  could  not  brook  the  toil  and  confinement 
of  study.  And  the  time  which  should  thus  have  been  employed,  was  often 
passed  in  the  forest  with  his  gun,  or  over  the  brook  with  his  angling-rod. 
"His  companions  frequently  observed  him  lying  along,  under  the  shade  of 
some  tree  that  overhung  the  sequestered  stream,  watching  for  hours,  at  tho 
same  spot,  the  motionless  cork  of  his  fishing-line,  without  one  encouraging 
symptom  of  success,  and  without  any  apparent  source  of  enjoyment,  unless 
he  could  find  it  in  the  ease  of  his  position,  or  in  the  illusion  of  hope  ;  or, 
which  is  most  probable,  in  the  stillness  of  the  scene,  or  the  silent  workings 
of  his  own  imagination."  This  love  of  solitude  in  his  youth,  was  a  marked 
trait  in  his  character. 

The  wants  of  a  large  family  compeled  his  father  to  find  employment  for 
his  sons.  At  the  age  of  fifteen,  Patrick  was  put  behind  the  counter  of  a 
country  merchant,  and  the  year  following,  entered  into  business  with  his 
elder  brother,  William,  with  whom  was  to  devolve  its  chief  management ; 
but  such  were  his  idle  habits,  that  he  left  the  burden  of  the  concern  to 
Patrick,  who  managed  wretchedly.  The  drudgery  of  business  became  in 
tolerable  to  him,  and  then  too,  "  he  could  not  find  it  in  his  heart,"  to  dis 
appoint  any  one  who  came  for  credit ;  and  he  was  very  easily  satisfied  with 
apologies  for  non-payment.  He  sought  relief  from  his  cares  by  having  re 
course  to  the  violin,  flute,  and  reading.  An  opportunity  was  presented  of 
pursuing  his  favorite  study  of  the  human  character,  and  the  character  of 
every  customer  underwent  his  scrutiny. 

One  year  put  an  end  to  the  mercantile  concern,  and  the  two  or  three 


OF  AMERICAN&  201 

following  Patrick  was  engaged  in  settling  up  its  affairs.     At  eighteen  years 
of  age  he  married  Miss  Shelton,  the  daughter  of  a  neighboring  farmer  of 
respectability,  and  commenced  cultivating  a  small  farm ;  but  his  aversion  to 
•ystematic  labor,  and  want  of  skill,  compelled  him  to  abandon  it  at  the  end 
of  two  years.     Selling  off  all  his  little  possessions  at  a  sacrifice,  he  again  em 
barked  in  the  hazardous  business  of  merchandise.     His  old  business  habits 
•till  continued,  and  not  unfrequently  he  shut  up  his  store  to  indulge  in  th« 
favorite  sports  of  his  youth.     His  reading  was  of  a  more  serious  character ; 
history,  ancient  and  modern,  he  became  a  proficient  in.     Livy,  however,  was 
his  favorite ;  and  having  procured  a  copy,  he  read  it  through  at  least  once  a 
year  in  the  early  part  of  his  life.     In  a  few  years  his  second  mercantile  ex 
periment  left  him  a  bankrupt,  and  without  any  friends  enabled  to  assist  him 
further.     All  other  means  failing,  he  determined  to  try  the  law.     His  un 
fortunate  habits,  unsuitable  to  so  laborious  a  profession,  and  his  pecuniary 
situation  unfitting  him  for  an  extensive  course  of  reading,  led  every  one  to 
•uppose   that   he  would   not  succeed.     With   only  six  weeks'    study,  he 
obtained  a  license  to  practice,  he  being  then  twenty-four  years  of  age.     He 
was  then  not  only  unable  to  draw  a  declaration  or  a  plea,  but  incapable,  it 
is  said,  of  the  most  common  and  simple  business  of  his  profession.     It  was 
not  until  his  twenty-seventh  year,  that  an  opportunity  occurred  for  a  trial  of 
his  strength  at  the  bar.     In  the  meantime  the  wants  and  distresses  of  his 
family  were  extreme.    They  lived  mostly  with  his  father-in-law,  Mr.  Shelton, 
who  then  kept  a  tavern  at  Hanover  court-house.     Whenever  Mr.  Shelton 
was  from  home,  Henry  took  his  place  in  the  tavern.     The  occasion  on  which 
his  genius  first  broke  forth,  was  the  controversy  between  the  clergy  and  the 
legislature  and  people  of  the  State,  relating  to  the  stipend  claimed  by  the 
former.     The  cause  was  popularly  known  as  the  parsons'  cause.     A  decision 
of  the  court  on  a  demurrer  in  favor  of  the  claims  of  the  clergy,  had  left  noth 
ing  undetermined  but  the  amount  of  damages  in  the  cause  which  was  pend 
ing.     Soon  after  the  opening  of  the  court,  the  cause  was  called.     The  scene 
which  ensued  is  thus  vividly  described  by  Wirt : 

"  The  array  before  Mr.  Henry's  eyes  was  now  most  fearful.  On  the  bench 
sat  more  than  twenty  clergymen,  the  most  learned  men  in  the  colony,  and 
the  most  capable,  as  well  as  the  severest  critics,  before  whom  it  was  possible 
for  him  to  have  made  his  debut.  The  court-house  was  crowded  with  an  over 
whelming  multitude,  and  surrounded  with  an  immense  and  anxious  throng, 
who,  not  finding  room  to  enter,  were  endeavoring  to  listen  without,  in  the 
deepest  attention. 

But  there  was  something  still  more  awfully  disconcerting  than  all  this ; 
for  in  the  chair  of  the  presiding  magistrate  sat  no  other  person  than  his  owu 
father.  Mr.  Lyons  opened  the  cause  very  briefly  :  in  the  way  of  argument 
he  did  nothing  more  than  explain  to  the  jury,  that  the  decision  upon  the 
demurrer  had  put  the  act  of  1758  entirely  out  of  the  way,  and  left  the  law 
of  1748  as  the  only  standard  of  their  damages ;  he  then  concluded  with  a 
highly- wrought  eulogium  on  the  benevolence  of  the  clergy. 

And  now  came  on  the  first  trial  of  Patrick  Henry's  strength.  No  one  had 
ever  heard  him  speak,  and  curiosity  was  on  tiptoe.  He  rose  very  awkwardly, 
and  faltered  much  in  his  exordium.  The  people  hung  their  heads  at  so 
unpromising  a  commencement ;  the  clergy  were  observed  to  exchange  sir 


202  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

looks  with  each  other ;  and  his  father  is  described  as  having  almost  sunk 
with  confusion  from  his  sent. 

But  these  feelings  were  of  short  duration,  and  soon  gave  place  to  others 
of  a  very  different  character.  For  now  were  those  wonderful  faculties  which 
he  possessed,  for  the  first  time,  developed  ;  and  now  was  first  witnessed  that 
mysterious  and  almost  supernatural  transformation  of  appearance,  which  the 
fire  of  his  own  eloquence  never  failed  to  work  in  him.  For  as  his  mind 
rolled  along,  and  began  to  glow  from  its  own  action,  all  the  exuvice  of  the 
clown  seemed  to  shed  themselves  spontaneously. 

His  attitude,  by  degrees,  became  erect  and  lofty.  The  spirit  of  his  geniua 
awakened  all  his  features.  His  countenance  shone  with  a  nobleness  and  gran 
deur  which  it  had  never  before  exhibited.  There  was  a  lightning  in  his  eyes 
which  seemed  to  rivet  the  spectator.  His  action  became  graceful,  bold  and 
commanding ;  and  in  the  tones  of  his  voice,  but  more  especially  in  his  em 
phasis,  there  was  a  peculiar  charm,  a  h*agic,  of  which  any  one  who  ever 
heard  him  will  speak  as  soon  as  he  is  named,  but  of  which  no  one  can  give 
any  adequate  description.  They  can  only  say  that  it  struck  upon  the  ear 
and  upon  the  heart,  in  a  manner  which  language  cannot  tell.  Add  to  all  these, 
his  wonder-working  fancy,  and  the  peculiar  phraseology  in  which  he  clothed 
its  images ;  for  he  painted  to  the  heart  with  a  force  that  almost  petrified  it. 
In  the  language  of  those  who  heard  him  on  this  occasion,  '  he  made  their 
blood  run  cold,  and  their  hair  to  rise  on  end.' 

It  will  not  be  difficult  for  any  one  who  ever  heard  this  most  extraordinary 
man,  to  believe  the  whole  account  of  this  transaction,  which  is  given  by  his 
surviving  hearers ;  and  from  their  account,  the  court-house  of  Hanover 
county  must  have  exhibited  on  this  occasion,  a  scene  as  picturesque,  as  has 
been  ever  witnessed  in  real  life. 

They  say  that  the  people,  whose  countenances  had  fallen  as  he  arose,  had 
heard  but  a  very  few  sentences  before  they  began  to  look  up ;  then  to  look 
at  each  other  with  surprise,  as  if  doubting  the  evidence  of  their  own  senses ; 
then,  attracted  by  some  strong  gesture,  struck  by  some  majestic  attitude, 
fascinated  by  the  spell  of  his  eye,  the  charm  of  his  emphasis,  and  the  varied 
and  commanding  expression  of  his  countenance,  they  could  look  away  no 
more. 

In  less  than  twenty  minutes,  they  might  be  seen  in  every  part  of  the 
house,  on  every  bench,  in  every  window,  stooping  forward  from  their  stands, 
in  death-like  silence  ;  their  features  fixed  in  amazement  and  awe  ;  all  their 
senses  listening  and  riveted  upon  the  speaker,  as  if  to  catch  the  last  strain  of 
some  heavenly  visitant.  The  mockery  of  the  clergy  was  soon  turned  into 
alarm  ;  their  triumph  into  confusion  and  despair ;  and  at  one  burst  of  his 
rapid  and  overwhelming  invective,  they  fled  from  the  bench  in  precipitation 
and  terror.  As  for  the  father,  such  was  his  surprise,  such  his  amazement, 
such  his  rapture,  that,  forgetting  where  he  was,  and  the  character  which  he 
was  filling,  tears  of  ecstacy  streamed  down  his  chocks,  without  the  power  or 
inclination  to  repress  them. 

The  jury  seem  to  have  been  so  completely  bewildered,  that  they  lost  sight, 
not  only  of  the  act  of  1748,  but  that  of  1758  also ;  for  thoughtless  even  of 
the  admitted  right  of  the  plaintiff,  they  had  scarcely  left  the  bar,  when  they 
returned  with  a  verdict  of  one  penny  damages.  A  motion  was  made  for  a 


OF  AMERICANS.  203 

new  trial ;  but  the  courfc,  too,  had  now  lost  the  equipoise  of  their  judgment, 
and  overruled  the  motion  by  a  unanimous  vote.  The  verdict  and  judgment 
overruling  the  motion,  were  followed  by  redoubled  acclamations,  from  within 
and  without  the  house. 

The  people,  who  had  with  difficulty  kept  their  hands  off  their  champion, 
from  the  moment  of  closing  his  harange,  no  sooner  saw  the  fate  of  the  cause 
finally  sealed,  than  they  seized  him  at  the  bar,  and  in  spite  of  his  own  exer 
tions,  and  the  continued  cry  of  'order'  from  the  sheriffs  and  the  court,  they 
bore  him  out  of  the  court-house,  and  raising  him  on  their  shoulders,  carried 
him  about  the  yard,  in  a  kind  of  electioneering  triumph. 

I  have  tried  much  to  procure  a  sketch  of  this  celebrated  speech.  But 
those  of  M.r.  Henry's  hearers  who  survive,  seem  to  have  been  bereft  of  their 
senses.  They  can  only  tell  you,  in  general,  that  they  were  taken  captive ; 
and  so  delighted  with  their  captivity,  that  they  followed  implicitly,  whither 
soever  he  led  them  :  that,  at  his  bidding,  their  tears  flowed  from  pity,  and 
their  cheeks  flushed  with  indignation  :  that  when  it  was  over,  they  felt  as  if 
they  had  just  awaked  from  some  ecstatic  dream,  of  which  they  were 
unable  to  recall  or  connect  the  particulars.  It  was  such  a  speech  as  they 
believed  had  never  before  fallen  from  the  lips  of  man." 

From  this  time  Mr.  Henry's  star  was  in  the  ascendant,  and  he  at  once  roso 
to  the  head  of  his  profession  in  that  section.  In  the  autumn  of  176  i,  having 
removed  to  Koundabout,  in  Louisa  county,  he  was  employed  to  argue  a  case 
before  a  committee  on  elections  of  the  House  of  Burgesses.  He  distin 
guished  himsell  by  a  brilliant  display  on  the  right  of  suffrage.  Such  a  burst 
of  eloquence  from  a  man  of  so  humble  an  appearance,  struck  the  committee 
with  amazement,  and  not  a  sound,  but  from  his  lips,  broke  the  deep  silence 
of  the  room. 

In  1765,  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  House  of  Burgesses,  when  ho 
introduced  his  celebrated  resolutions  on  the' Stamp  Act.  Among  his  papers 
there  was  found,  after  his  decease,  one  sealed  and  thus  indorsed  : 

"  Inclosed  are  the  resolutions  of  the  Virginia  Assembly,  in  1765,  concern 
ing  the  Stamp  Act.  Let  my  executors  open  this  paper."  On  the  back  of 
the  paper  containing  the  resolutions  was  the  following  indorsement :  "  The 
within  passed  the  House  of  Burgesses  in  May,  1765.  They  formed  the  first 
opposition  to  the  Stamp  Act,  and  the  scheme  of  taxing  America  by  the 
British  parliament.  All  the  colonies,  either  through  fear,  or  the  want  of 
opportunity  to  form  an  opposition,  or  from  influence  of  some  kind  or  other, 
had  remained  silent.  I  had  been  for  the  first  time  elected  a  burgess  a  few 
days  before,  was  young,  inexperienced,  unacquainted  with  the  forms  of  the 
house,  and  the  members  who  composed  it.  Finding  the  men  of  weight 
averse  to  opposition,  and  the  commencement  of  the  tax  at  hand,  and  that  no 
person  was  likely  to  step  forth,  I  determined  to  venture  ;  and  alone,  unaided 
and  unassisted,  on  the  blank  leaf  of  an  old  law-book,  wrote  the  within. 
Upon  offering  them  to  the  house,  violent  debates  ensued.  Many  threats 
were  uttered,  and  much  abuse  cast  on  me  by  the  parties  for  submission. 
After  a  long  and  warm  contest,  the  resolutions  passed  by  a  very  small 
majority,  perhaps  one  or  two  only.  The  alarm  spread  throughout  America 
with  astonishing  quickness,  and  the  ministerial  party  were  overwhelmed. 
The  great  noint  of  resistance  to  British  taxation  was  universally  established 


204  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

in  the  colonies.  This  brought  on  the  war,  which  finally  separated  the  two 
countries,  and  gave  independence  to  ours.  Whether  this  will  prove  a  bless 
ing  or  a  curse,  will  depend  upon  the  use  our  people  make  of  the  blessings 
which  a  gracious  God  hath  bestowed  on  us.  If  they  are  wise,  they  will  be 
great  and  happy.  If  they  are  of  a  contrary  character,  they  will  be  miserable. 
Righteousness  alone  can  exalt  them  as  a  nation.  Reader,  whoever  thou  art, 
remember  this ;  and  in  thy  sphere,  practice  virtue  thyself,  and  encourage  it 
in  others.—?.  HENRY." 

It  was  in  the  midst  of  the  above-mentioned  debate,  that  he  exclaimed,  in 
tones  of  thunder,  "  Caesar  had  his  Brutus — Charles  the  First  his  Cromwell— 
and  George  the  Third  — ('  Treason  ! '  cried  the  speaker — '  Treason  !  treason  ! ' 
echoed  from  every  part  of  the  house.  Henry  faltered  not  for  a  moment ; 
taking  a  loftier  attitude,  and  fixing  on  the  speaker  an  eye  of  fire,  he  finished 
his  sentence  with  the  firmest  emphasis) — may  profit  by  their  example.  If 
this  be  treason,  make  the  most  of  it.*'  Henceforth  Mr.  Henry  was  the  idol 
of  the  people  of  Virginia,  and  his  influence,  as  one  of  the  great  champions 
of  liberty,  extended  throughout  America.  In  1769,  he  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  of  the  general  court.  Without  that  legal  learning,  which  study  alone  can 
supply,  he  was  deficient  as  a  mere  lawyer ;  but  before  a  jury,  in  criminal 
cases  particularly,  his  genius  displayed  itself  most  brilliantly.  His  deep 
knowledge  of  the  springs  of  human  action,  his  power  of  reading  in  the 
flitting  expressions  of  the  countenance  what  was  passing  in  the  hearts  of  his 
hearers,  has  rarely  been  possessed  by  any  one  in  so  great  a  degree.  In  1767 
or  '68,  Mr.  Henry  removed  back  to  Hanover,  and  continued  a  member  of 
the  House  of  Burgesses  until  the  close  of  the  revolution,  acting  upon  its 
most  important  committees,  and  infusing  a  spirit  of  bold  opposition  in  iU 
members  to  the  pretensions  of  Britain.  He  was  a  delegate  to  the  first 
Colonial  Congress,  which  assembled  September  4,  1774,  at  Philadelphia. 

On  the  20th  of  April,  1775,  (less  than  one  month  prior  to  the  battle  of 
Lexington),  the  Virginia  assembly  of  delegates  met  for  the  second  time,  and 
in  the  old  church,  St.  Johns,  which  is  still  standing  in  the  town  of  Rich 
mond.  In  the  session  of  the  year  previous,  that  body,  while  remonstrating 
with  great  feeling  against  their  grievances,  nevertheless  avowed  their  deter 
mination  to  support  his  majesty,  King  George  III,  with  their  lives  and  for 
tunes.  These  sentiments  still  influenced  many  of  the  leading  members. 
Not  so  Patrick  Henry.  He  saw  no  alternative  but  abject  submission,  or 
heroic  resistance. 

On  the  morning  of  the  23d  of  March,  resolutions  were  offered,  still  breath 
ing  the  spirit  of  loyalty  to  the  crown.  These  were  "gall  and  wormwood" 
to  Mr.  Henry.  The  house  required  being  wrought  up  to  a  bolder  tone.  He 
thereupon  moved  a  series  of  resolutions,  to  the  effect  that  a  militia  force  be 
raised,  and  the  colony  be  put  in  a  state  of  defense,  to  prevent  the  further 
violation  of  their  liberties  with  which  they  were  threatened. 

When  these  resolutions  were  read,  a  general  thrill  of  horror  ran  through 
the  asrsmbly.  They  were  considered  rash  and  unadvised.  Some  of  the 
ablest  of  the  members  arose  and  spoke  against  them.  They  felt  that  with  a 
little  more  patience  their  long  series  of  oppressions  would  be  remedied,  that 
they  were  too  feeble  to  cope  with  the  power  of  Great  Britain,  and  that  ruin 
to  their  country  would  inevitably  follow  an  armed  resistance.  When  Mr 


OF  AMERICANS.  205 

Henry  replied,  he  delivered  that  unsurpassed  speech,  so  familiar  to  us  all  in 
our  schoolboy  days.     Says  Wirt : 

"He  arose  at  this  time  with  a  majesty  unusual  to  him  in  an  exordium 
and  with  all  that  self-possession  by  which  he  was  so  invariably  distinguished 
'No  man,'  he  said,  'thought  more  highly  than  he  did  of  the  patriotism,  as 
well  as  abilities,  of  the  very  worthy  gentlemen  who  had  just  addressed  the 
house.  But  different  men  often  saw  the  same  subject  in  different  lights  , 
and,  therefore,  he  hoped  it  would  not  be  thought  disrespectful  to  those 
gentlemen,  if,  entertaining  as  he  did,  opinions  of  a  character  very  opposite 
to  theirs,  he  should  speak  forth  his  sentiments  freely,  and  without  reserve. 

1  This,'  he  said,  '  was  no  time  for  ceremony.  The  question  before  this 
house  was  one  of  awful  moment  to  the  country.  For  his  own  part,  he  con 
sidered  it  as  nothing  less  than  a  question  of  freedom  or  slavery.  And  in 
proportion  to  the  magnitude  of  the  subject,  ought  to  be  the  freedom  of  the 
debate.  It  was  only  in  this  way  that  they  could  hope  to  arrive  at  truth, 
and  fulfill  the  great  responsibility  which  they  held  to  God  and  their  country. 
Should  he  keep  back  his  opinions  at  such  a  time,  through  fear  of  giving 
offense,  he  should  consider  himself  as  guilty  of  treason  toward  his  country, 
and  of  an  act  of  disloyalty  toward  the  Majesty  of  heaven,  which  he  revered 
above  all  earthly  kings. 

'Mr.  President,'  said  he,  '  it  is  natural  to  man  to  indulge  in  the  illusions 
of  hope.  We  are  apt  to  shut  our  eyes  against  a  painful  truth — and  listen  to 
the  song  of  that  siren,  till  she  transforms  us  into  beasts.  Is  this,'  he  asked, 
•the  part  of  wise  men,  engaged  in  a  great  and  arduous  struggle  for  liberty  ? 
Were  we  disposed  to  be  of  the  number  of  those,  who,  having  eyes,  see  not, 
and  having  ears,  hear  not  the  things  which  so  nearly  concern  their  temporal 
salvation  ?  For  his  part,  whatever  anguish  of  spirit  it  might  cost,  he  was 
willing  to  know  the  whole  truth  ;  to  know  the  worst,  and  to  provide  for  it. 

'  He  had,'  he  said,  '  but  one  lamp  by  which  his  feet  were  guided  ;  and 
that  was  the  lamp  of  experience.  He  knew  of  no  way  of  judging  of  the 
future  but  by  the  past.  And  judging  by  the  past,  he  wished  to  know  what 
there  had  been  in  the  conduct  of  the  British  ministry  for  the  last  ten  years, 
to  justify  those  hopes  with  which  gentlemen  had  been  pleased  to  solace 
themselves  and  the  house  ?  Is  it  that  insidious  smile  with  which  our  peti 
tion  has  been  lately  received  ?  Trust  it  not,  sir ;  it  will  prove  a  snare  to 
your  feet.  Suffer  not  yourself  to  be  betrayed  with  a  kiss. 

'  Ask  yourselves  how  this  gracious  reception  of  our  petition  comports  with 
those  warlike  preparations  which  cover  our  waters  and  darken  our  land.  Are 
fleets  and  armies  necessary  to  a  work  of  love  and  reconciliation  ?  Have  we 
shown  ourselves  so  unwilling  to  be  reconciled,  that  force  must  be  called  in 
to  win  back  our  love  ?  Let  us  not  deceive  ourselves,  sir.  These  are  the 
implements  of  war  and  subjugation — the  last  arguments  to  which  kings 
resort. 

'  I  ask  gentlemen,  sir,  what  means  this  martial  array,  if  its  purpose  be  not 
to  force  us  to  submission  ?  Can  gentlemen  assign  any  other  possible  motive 
for  it  ?  Has  Great  Britain  any  enemy  in  this  quarter  of  the  world,  to  call 
for  all  this  accumulation  of  navies  and  armies  ?  No,  sir,  she  has  none. 
They  are  meant  for  us :  they  can  be  meant  for  no  other.  They  are  sent 
over  to  bind  and  rivet  upon  us  those  chains  which  the  British  ministry  have 


206  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

been  so  long  forging.  And  what  have  we  to  oppose  them  ?  Shall  we  try 
argument  ?  Sir,  we  have  been  trying  that  for  the  last  ten  years.  Have  we 
anything  new  to  offer  upon  the  subject  ?  Nothing.  We  have  held  the 
subject  up  in  every  light  of  which  it  is  capable  :  but  it  has  been  all  in  vain. 
Shall  we  resort  to  entreaty  and  humble  supplication  ?  What  terms  shall 
we  find  which  have  not  been  already  exhausted  ? 

'Let  us  not,  1  beseech  you,  sir,  deceive  ourselves  longer.  Sir,  we  have 
done  everything  that  could  be  done  to  avert  the  storm  which  is  now  coming 
on.  We  have  petitioned — we  have  remonstrated — we  have  supplicated — 
we  have  prostrated  ourselves  before  the  throne,  and  have  implored  its  inter 
position  to  arrest  the  tyrannical  hands  of  the  ministry  and  parliament.  Our 
petitions  have  been  slighted  ;  our  remonstrances  have  produced  additional 
violence  and  insult ;  our  supplications  have  been  disregarded  ;  and  we  have 
been  spurned,  with  contempt,  from  the  foot  of  the  throne. 

'In  vain,  after  these  things,  may  we  indulge  the  fond  hope  of  peace  and 
reconciliation.  There  is  no  longer  any  room  for  liope.  If  we  wish  to  be  free — 
if  we  mean  to  preserve  inviolate  those  inestimable  privileges  for  winch  we 
have  been  so  long  contending — if  we  mean  not  basely  to  abandon  the  noble 
struggle  in  which  we  have  been  so  long  engaged,  and  which  we  have 
pledged  ourselves  never  to  abandon,  until  the  glorious  object  of  our  contest 
shall  be  obtained! — we  must  fight! — I  repeat  it,  sir,  we  must  fight!  An 
appeal  to  arms  and  to  the  God  of  hosts,  is  all  that  is  left  us ! 

'They  tell  us,  sir,'  continued  Mr.  Henry,  'that  we  are  weak — unable  to 
cope  with  so  formidable  an  adversary.  But  when  shall  we  be  stronger. 
Will  it  be  the  next  week,  or  the  next  year  ?  Will  it  be  when  we  are  totally 
disarmed,  and  when  a  British  guard  shall  be  stationed  in  every  house  ? 
Shall  we  gather  strength  by  irresolution  and  inaction  ?  •  Shall  we  acquire 
the  means  of  effectual  resistance  by  lying  supinely  on  our  backs,  and  hug 
ging  the  delusive  phantom  of  hope,  until  our  enemy  shall  have  bound  us 
hand  and  foot  ?  Sir,  we  are  not  weak,  if  we  make  a  proper  use  of  those 
means  which  the  God  of  nature  hath  placed  in  our  power. 

1  Three  millions  of  people  armed  in  the  holy  cause  of  liberty,  and  in  such 
a  country  as  that  which  we  possess,  are  invincible  by  any  force  which  our 
enemy  can  send  against  us.  Besides,  sir,  we  shall  not  fight  our  battles 
alone.  There  is  a  just  God,  who  presides  over  the  destinies  of  nations,  and 
who  will  raise  up  friends  to  fight  our  battles  for  us.  The  battle,  sir,  is  not 
to  the  strong  alone  ;  it  is  to  the  vigilant,  the  active,  the  brave.  Besides, 
sir,  we  have  no  election.  If  we  were  base  enough  to  desire  it,  it  is  now  too 
late  to  retire  from  the  contest.  There  is  no  retreat  but  in  submission  and 
slavery  !  Our  chains  are  forged.  Their  clanking  may  be  heard  on  the 
plains  of  Boston  !  The  war  is  inevitable — and  let  it  come  !  I  repeat  it,  sir, 
let  it  come ! 

4  It  is  vain,  sir,  to  extenuate  the  matter.  Gentlemen  may  cry  peace, 
peace — but  there  is  no  peace.  The  war  is  actually  begun  !  The  next  gale 
that  sweeps  from  the  north  will  bring  to  our  ears  the  clash  of  resounding 
arms!  Our  brethren  are  already  in  the  field  !  Why  stand  we  here  idle  ? 
What  is  it  that  gentlemen  wish?  What  would  they  have  ?  Is  life  so 
dear,  or  peace  so  sweet,  as  to  be  purchased  at  the  price  of  chains  and 
slavery  ?  Forbid  it,  Almighty  God  ! — I  know  not  what  course  others  may 


OF  AMERICANS.  207 

take ;  but  as  for  me,'  cried  he,  with  both  his  arms  extended  aloft,  his  brows 
knit,  every  feature  marked  with  the  resolute  purpose  of  his  soul,  and  his 
voice  swelled  to  its  boldest  note  of  exclamatiou — *  Give  me  Liberty,  or  give 
me  Death  ! '  * 

He  took  his  seat.  No  murmur  of  applause  was  heard.  The  effect  was 
too  deep.  After  the  trance  of  a  moment,  several  members  started  from  their 
seats.  The  cry,  '  to  arms  !'  seemed  to  quiver  on  every  lip,  and  gleam  from 
every  eye.  Eichard  H.  Lee  arose  and  supported  Mr.  Henry,  with  his  usual 
spirit  and  elegance.  But  his  melody  was  lost  amid  the  agitations  of  that 
ocean,  which  the  master-spirit  of  the  storm  had  lifted  up  on  high.  That 
supernatural  voice  still  sounded  in  their  ears,  and  shivered  along  their 
arteries.  They  heard,  in  every  pause,  the  cry  of  liberty  or  death.  They 
became  impatient  of  speech,  their  souls  were  on  fire  for  action. 

Upon  Lord  Dunmore's  seizing  the  gunpowder  at  Williamsburg,  in  the 
night  after  the  battle  of  Lexington,  Henry  summoned  volunteers  to  meet 
him  ;  and  marching  down  toward  the  capitol,  compelled  the  agent  of  Dun- 
more  to  give  a  pecuniary  compensation  for  it.  This  was  the  first  military 
movement  in  Virginia.  The  colonial  convention  of  1775,  elected  him  the 
colonel  of  the  first  regiment,  and  the  commander  of  "  all  the  forces  raised, 
and  to  be  raised  for  the  defense  of  the  colony."  Soon  resigning  his  com 
mand,  he  was  elected  a  delegate  to  the  convention,  and  not  long  after,  in 
1776,  the  first  governor  of  the  commonwealth,  an  office  he  held,  by  succes 
sive  re-elections,  until  1779,  when,  without  any  intermission,  he  was  no 
longer  constitutionally  eligible  While  holding  that  office  he  was  signally 
serviceable  in  sustaining  public  spirit  during  the  gloomiest  period  of  the 
revolution,  providing  recruits,  and  crushing  the  intrigues  of  the  tories. 

On  leaving  the  office  of  governor,  he  served  until  the  end  of  the  war  in 
the  legislature,  when  he  was  again  elected  governor,  until  'the  state  of  his 
affairs  caused  him  to  resign  in  the  autumn  of  1786.  Until  1794,  he  regularly 
attended  the  courts,  where  his  great  reputation  obtained  for  him  a  lucrative 
business.  "  In  1788  he  was  a  member  of  the  convention  of  Virginia,  which 
so  ably  and  eloquently  discussed  the  constitution  of  the  United  States.  He 
employed  his  masterly  eloquence,  day  after  day,  in  opposition  to  the  pro 
posed  constitution.  His  hostility  to  it  proceeded  entirely  from  an  apprehen 
sion  that  the  federal  government  would  swallow  the  sovereignty  of  the 
States ;  and  that  ultimately  the  liberty  of  the  people  would  be  destroyed,  or 
crushed,  by  an  overgrown  arid  ponderous  consolidation  of  political  power. 
The  constitution  having  been  adopted,  the  government  organized,  and 
Washington  elected  president,  his  repugnance  measurably  abated.  The 
chapter  of  amendments  considerably  neutralized  his  objections  :  but,  never 
theless,  it  is  believed  that  his  acquiescence  resulted  more  from  the  con 
sideration  of  a  citizen's  duty,  confidence  in  the  chief  magistrate,  and  a  hope- 


*  Now  and  then  a  sentence  is  originated  on  occasions  of  momentous  public  interest, 
which  so  vividly  expresses  a  great  idea,  that  it  is  at  once  seized  upon,  and  becomes  im 
mortal.  "  Give  me  Liberty,  or  give  me  Death!  "  will  never  be  lost.  It  is  of  the  same 
character  with  ''Opposition  to  Tyrants  is  obedience  to  God!"  Other  examples  less 
startling,  but  not  less  appropriate,  are  of  move  recent  origin.  "Your  Strength  is  in  you* 
Wrongs! "  "My  Goods  are  for  sale — not  my  Principles!  " 


208  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

ful  reliance  on  the  wisdom  and  virtue  of  the  people,  rather  than  from  JUIJT 
material  change  in  his  opinions." 

In  1794,  Mr.  Henry  retired  from  the  bar.  In  1796  the  post  of  governor 
was  once  more  tendered  to  him,  and  refused.  In  1798  the  strong  and 
animated  resolutions  of  the  Virginia  Assembly,  in  opposition  to  the  alied 
and  sedition  laws,  which  laws  he  was  in  favor  of,  'conjured  up  the  most 
'rightful  visions  of  civil  war,  disunion,  blood,  and  anarchy  ;  and  under  the 
impulse  of  these  phantoms,  to  make  what  lie  considered  a  virtuous  effort  for 
his  country,  he  presented  himself  in  Charlotte  county  as  a  candidate  for  the 
House  of  Delegates,  at  the  spring  election  of  1799,'  although  he  had  retired 
to  private  life  three  years  previously. 

On  this  occasion  he  encountered  the  eccentric  John  Randolph,  who  had 
presented  himself  as  a  candidate  for  congress,  and  opposed  these  measures 
Mr.  Henry  advocated.  They  met  at  the  court-house,  and  supported  a  long 
and  animated  discussion.  Mr.  Henry  was  then  in  his  sixty-seventh  year ; 
the  measure  of  his  fame  was  full ;  the  late  proceedings  of  the  Virginia 
Assembly,  in  relation  to  the  alien  and  sedition  laws,  had  filled  him  with 
alarm — "  had  planted  his  pillow  with  thorns,  and  he  had  quitted  his  retire 
ment  to  make  one  more,  his  last  effort  for  his  country."  Enfeebled  by  age 
and  ill-health,  with  a  linen  cap  on  his  head,  he  mounted  the  hustings,  and 
commenced  with  difficulty ;  but  as  he  proceeded,  his  eye  lighted  up  with  its 
wonted  fire,  his  voice  assumed  its  wonted  majesty ;  gradually  accumulating 
strength  and  animation,  his  eloquence  seemed  like  an  avalanche  threatening 
to  overwhelm  his  adversary.  Many  present  considered  it  his  best  effort. 
In  the  course  of  the  speech,  Mr.  Henry  said,  "  The  alien  and  sedition  laws 
were  only  the  fruits  of  that  constitution,  the  adoption  of  which  he  opposed. 
...  If  we  are  wrong,  let  us  all  go  wrong  together,"  at  the  same  time  clasp 
ing  his  hands  and  waving  his  body  to  the  right  and  left.  His  auditory  un 
consciously  waved  with  him.  As  he  finished  he  literally  descended  into  the 
arms  of  the  obstreperous  throng,  and  was  borne  about  in  triumph,  when  Dr. 
John  H.  Rice  exclaimed,  "  The  sun  has  set  in  all  his  glory  !  " 

As  Mr.  Henry  left  the  stand,  Mr.  Randolph,  with  undaunted  courage, 
arose  in  his  place.  He  was  then  about  twenty-six  years  of  age — a  mere  boy 
from  college,  who  had,  probably,  never  yet  addressed  a  political  assembly — 
of  a  youthful  and  unprepossessing  appearance.  The  audience,  considering 
it  presumptuous  for  him  to  speak  after  Mr.  Henry,  partially  dispersed,  and 
an  Irishman  present,  exclaimed,  "Tut!  tut!  it  won't  do,  it's  nothing  but 
the  bating  of  an  old  tin  pan  after  hearing  a  fine  church-organ."  But  if  ''the 
sun  of  the  other  had  set  in  all  his  glory,"  his  was  about  to  rise  with,  perhaps, 
an  equal  brilliancy.  He  commenced :  "  his  singular  person  and  peculiar 
aspect ;  his  novel,  shrill,  vibratory  intonations ;  his  solemn,  slow-marching, 
and  swelling  periods  ;  his  caustic  crimination  of  the  prevailing  political  party ; 
his  cutting  satire  ;  the  tout  ensemble  of  his  public  debut,  soon  calmed  the 
tumultuous  crowd,  and  inclined  all  to  listen  to  the  strange  orator,  while  he 
replied  at  length  to  the  sentiments  of  their  old  favorite.  When  he  had  con 
cluded,  loud  huzzas  rang  through  the  welkin. 

This  was  a  new  event  to  Mr.  Henry.  He  had  not  been  accustomed  to  a 
rival,  and  little  expected  one  in  a  beardless  boy  :  for  such  was  the  aspect  of 
the  champion  who  now  appeared  to  contend  for  the  palm  which  he  wai 


OF  AMERICANS.  209 

wont  to  appropriate  to  himself.  He  returned  to  the  stage  and  commenced  a 
second  address,  in  which  he  soared  above  his  usual  vehemence  and  majesty. 
Such  is  usually  the  fruit  of  emulation  and  rivalship.  He  frequently  ad 
verted  to  his  youthful  competitor  with  parental  tenderness  ;  complimented  hii 
rare  talents  with  the  liberality  of  profusion ;  and,  while  regretting  what  he 
deprecated  as  the  political  errors  of  youthful  zeal,  actually  wrought  himself 
and  audience  into  an  enthusiasm  of  sympathy  and  benevolence  that  issued 
in  an  ocean  of  tearg.  The  gesture,  intonations,  and  pathos  of  Mr.  Henry, 
operated  like  an  epidemic  on  the  transported  assembly.  The  contagion 
was  universal.  An  hysterical  phrensy  pervaded  the  audience  to  such  a 
degree,  that  they  were  at  the  same  moment  literally  weeping  and  laughing. 
At  this  juncture  the  speaker  descended  from  the  stage.  Shouts  of  applause 
rent  the  air,  and  were  echoed  from  the  skies.  The  whole  spectacle  as  it 
really  was,  would  not  only  mock  every  attempt  at  description,  but  would 
almost  challenge  the  imagination  of  any  one  who  had  not  witnessed  it. 

Mr.  Henry  was  elected  by  his  usual  commanding  majority,  and  the  most 
formidable  preparations  were  made  to  oppose  him  in  the  assembly.  But 
"  the  disease,  which  had  been  preying  upon  him  for  two  years,  now  hastened 
to  its  crisis ;  and  on  the  6th  of  June,  1799,  this  friend  of  liberty  and  man 
was  no  more. 

By  his  first  wife  he  had  six  children,  and  by  his  last,  six  sons  and  three 
daughters.  He  left  them  a  large  landed  property.  He  was  temperate  and 
frugal  in  his  habits  of  living,  and  seldom  drank  anything  but  water.  Ha 
was  nearly  six  feet  in  height,  spare,  and  raw-boned,  and  with  a  slight  stoop 
in  his  shoulders  ;  his  complexion  dark  and  sallow ;  his  countenance  grave, 
thoughtful,  and  penetrating,  and  strongly  marked  with  the  lines  of  profound 
reflection,  which  with  his  earnest  manner,  and  the  habitual  knitting'  and 
contracting  of  his  brows,  gave  at  times  an  expression  of  severity. 

In  private  life,  Mr.  Henry  was  as  amiable  as  he  was  brilliant  in  his  public 
career.  He  was  an  exemplary  Christian,  and  his  illustrious  life  was  greatly 
ornamented  by  the  religion  which  he  professed.  In  his  will  he  left  the 
following  testimony  respecting  the  Christian  religion  :  "  I  have  now  dis 
posed  of  all  my  property  to  my  family.  There  is  one  thing  more  I  wish  I 
could  give  them,  and  that  is  the  Christian  religion.  If  they  have  that,  and 
I  had  not  given  one  shilling,  they  would  be  rich;  and  if  they  have  not  that, 
and  I  had  given  them  the  whole  world,  they  would  be  poor." 

We  continue  this  article  with  the  statement  of  some  facts  and  a  few 
anecdotes. 

When  fourteen  years  of  age,  Mr.  Henry  went  with  his  mother  in  a  car 
riage  to  the  Fork  Church,  in  Hanover,  to  hear  preach  the  celebrated  Samuel 
Davies,  afterward  president  of  Princeton  College.  His  eloquence  made  a 
deep  impression  on  his  youthful  mind,  and  he  always  remarked,  he  was  the 
greatest  orator  he  ever  heard.  When  a  member  of  the  Continental  Con 
gress,  he  said,  the  first  men  in  that  body  were  Washington,  Richard  Henry 
Lee,  and  Roger  Sherman  ;  and  later  in  life,  Roger  Sherman  and  Georgo 
Mason,  the  greatest  statesmen  he  ever  knew.  When  governor,  he  had 
printed  and  circulated  in  Richmond,  at  his  own  expense,  Soame  Jenyns* 
View  of  Christianity,  and  Butler's  Analogy  of  Natural  and  Revealed 
Religion.  Sherlock's  sermons,  he  affirmed,  was  the  work  which  removed 


210  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

all  his  doubts  of  the  truth  of  Christianity  ;  a  copy  of  which,  until  a  short 
time  since,  was  in  the  possession  of  his  children,  filled  with  marginal  notes. 
He  read  it  every  Sunday  evening  to  his  family,  after  which  they  all  joined 
in  sacred  music,  while  he  accompanied  them  on  the  violin.  He  never 
quoted  poetry.  His  quotations  were  from  the  Bible,  and  his  illustrations 
from  the  Bible,,  ancient  and  modejn  history.  He  was  opposed  to  the  adop 
tion  of  the  federal  constitution,  because  he  thought  it  gave  too  much  power 
to  the  general  government ;  and  in  conversation  with  a  friend,  he  remarked 
with  emphasis  ;  '•  The  President  of  the  United  States  will  always  come  in 
at  the  head  of  a  party.  He  will  be  supported  in  all  his  acts  by  a  party. 
You  do  not  now  think  much  of  the  patronage  of  the  president ;  but  the  day 
is  coming  when  it  will  be  tremendous,  and  from  this  power  the  country 
may  sooner  or  later  fall." 

In  the  British  debt  cause,  of  which  Wirt  gives  a  full  account,  Mr.  Henry 
made  great  preparation.  He  shut  himself  up  in  his  office  for  three  days, 
during  which  he  did  not  see  his  family  ;  his  food  was  handed  by  a  servant 
through  the  office-door.  The  Countess  of  .Huntington,  then-in  this  country, 
was  among  the  auditors,  and  remarked,  after  hearing  the  arguments  of  the 
several  speakers,  "That  if  every  one  of  them  had  spoken  in  Westminster 
Hall,  they  would  have  been  honored  with  a  peerage."  Mr.  Henry  had  a 
diamond  ring  on  his  finger,  and  while  he  was  speaking,  the  countess  ex 
claimed  to  the  judge,  Iredell — who  had  never  before  heard  him — "  The 
diamond  is  blazing ! "  "  Gracious  God  ! "  replied  he,  "  he  is  an  orator, 
indeed."  In  this  cause  he  injured  his  voice  so  that  it  never  recovered  its 
original  power. 

The  following  anecdote  was  related  by  President  Madison,  at  the  conclu 
sion  of  the  late  war,  to  a  party  of  gentlemen  assembled  at  his  residence  in 
Washington.  In  the  revolutionary  war,  certificates  were  given  by  the  legis 
lature  to  the  Virginia  line  on  continental  establishment,  stating  the  amount 
due  to  them,  which  was  to  be  paid  at  a  future  time.  The  necessities  of  the 
soldiers,  in  many  instances,  compelled  them  to  part  with  the  certificates  to 
speculators  fora  trivial  sum.  Madison  brought  a  bill  before  the  legislature 
to  put  a  stop  to  it.  lie  had  previously  asked  Mr.  Henry  if  he  was  willing 
to  support  it.  The  reply  was  "  Yes  ; "  but  having  no  further  communication 
with  him  on  the  subject,  Mr.  Madison  feared  he  had  forgotten  the  circum 
stance.  After  the  bill  was  read,  he  turned  to  where  Mr.  Henry  sat,  with  an 
anxious  eye,  upon  which  the  latter  immediately  arose  and  addressed  the 
house.  Mr.  Madison  said,  that  upon  that  occasion  he  was  particularly 
eloquent.  His  voice  reminded  him  of  a  trumpeter  on  the  field  of  battle, 
calling  the  troops  to  a  charge.  He  looked  alternately  to  the  house  and  the 
audience,  and  saw  they  were  with  the  orator ;  and,  at  the  conclusion,  one  of 
the  chief  speculators  in  tickets,  then  in  the  galleries,  exclaimed,  in  an 
audible  voice  :  "  That  bill  ought  to  pass  ! " — it  did  pass,  and  unanimously. 

Many  years  ago  (writes  the  Rev.  Dr.  Speece),  I  was  at  the  trial,  in  one  of 
our  District  Courts,  of  a  man  charged  with  murder.  The  case  was  briefly 
this  :  the  prisoner  had  gone,  in  execution  of  his  office  as  constable,  to  arrest 
a  slave  who  had  been  guilty  of  some  misconduct,  and  bring  him  to  justice. 
Expecting  opposition  in  the  business,  the  constable  took  several  men  with 
him,  some  of  them  armed.  They  found  the  slave  on  the  plantation  of  his 


OF  AMERICANS.  211 

master,  within  view  of  the  house,  and.  proceeded  to  seize  and  bind  him. 
His  mistress,  seeing  the  arrest,  came  down  and  remonstrated  vehemently 
against  it.  Finding  her  efforts  unavailing,  she  went  off  to  a  barn  where  her 
husband  was,  who  was  presently  perceived  running  briskly  to  the  house.  It 
was  known  he  always  kept  a  loaded  rifle  over  his  door.  The  constable  now 
desired  his  company  to  remain  where  they  were,  taking  care  to  keep  the 
slave  in  custody,  while  he  himself  would  go  to  the  house  to  prevent 
mischief.  He  accordingly  ran  toward  the  house.  When  he  arrived  within 
a  short  distance  of  it,  the  master  appeared,  coming  out  of  the  door  with  his 
rifle  in  his  hand.  Some  witnesses  said  that  as  he  came  to  the  door  he  drew 
the  cock  of  the  piece,  and  was  seen  in  the  act  of  raising  it  to  the  position  of 
firing.  But  upon  these  points,  there  was  not  an  entire  agreement  in  the 
evidence.  The  constable,  standing  near  a  small  building  in  the  yard,  at 
this  instant  fired,  and  the  fire  had  a  fatal  effect.  No  previous  malice  was 
proved  against  him ;  and  his  plea  upon  the  trial  was,  that  he  had  taken  the 
life  of  his  assailant  in  necessary  self-defense. 

A  great  mass  of  testimony  was  delivered.  This  was  commented  upon 
with  considerable  ability  by  the  lawyer  for  the  commonwealth,  and  by 
another  lawyer  engaged  by  the  friends  of  the  deceased  for  the  prosecution. 
The  prisoner  was  also  defended,  in  elaborate  speeches,  by  two  respectable  ad 
vocates.  These  proceedings  brought  the  day  to  a  close.  The  general  whisper 
through  a  crowded  house  was,  that  the  man  was  guilty  and  could  not  be 
saved. 

About  dusk  candles  were  brought,  and  Henry  arose.  His  manner  was 
exactly  that  which  the  British  Spy  describes  with  so  much  felicity  :  plain, 
simple,  and  entirely  unassuming.  'Gentlemen  of  the  jury/  said  he,  'I 
dare  say  we  are  all  very. much  fatigued  with  this  tedious  trial.  The  prisoner 
at  the  bar  has  been  well  defended  already  ;  but  it  is  my  duty  to  offer  you 
some  further  observations  in  behalf  of  this  unfortunate  man.  I  shall  aim  at 
brevity.  But  should  I  take  up  more  of  your  time  than  you  expect,  I  hope 
you  will  hear  me  with  patience,  when  you  consider  that  BLOOD  is  concerned." 

I  cannot  admit  the  possibility  that  any  one  who  never  heard  Henry  speak 
should  be  made  fully  to  conceive  the  force  of  impression  which  he  gave  to 
these  few  words,  "blood  is  concerned"  I  had  been  on  my  feet  through  the 
day,  pushed  about  in  the  crowd,  and  was  excessively  weary.  I  was  strongly 
of  opinion,  too,  notwithstanding  all  the  previous  defensive  pleadings,  that 
the  prisoner  was  guilty  of  murder ;  and  I  felt  anxious  to  know  how  the 
matter  would  terminate.  Yet  when  Henry  had  uttered  these  words,  my 
feelings  underwent  an  instantaneous  change ;  I  found  everything  within  me 
answering  at  once,  yes,  since  blood  is  concerned,  in  the  name  of  all  that  is 
righteous,  go  on  ;  we  will  hear  you  with  patience  until  the  rising  of  to 
morrow's  sun.  This  bowing  of  the  soul  must  have  been  universal ;  for  the 
profoundest  silence  reigned,  as  if  our  very  breath  had  been  suspended.  The 
spell  of  the  magician  was  upon  us,  and  we  stood  like  statues  around  him. 
Under  the  torch  of  his  genius,  every  particular  of  the  story  assumed  a  new 
aspect,  and  his  cause  became  continually  more  bright  and  promising.  At 
length  he  arrived  at  the  fatal  act  itself.  *  You  have  been  told,  gentlemen, 
that  the  prisoner  was  bound  by  every  obligation  to  avoid  the  supposed 
necessity  of  firing,  by  leaping  behind  a  house  near  which  he  stood  at  that 
14 


ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

moment.  Had  he  been  attacked  with  a  club,  or  with  stones,  the  argument 
would  have  been  unanswerable,  and  1  should  feel  myself  compelled  to  give 
up  the  defense  in  despair.  But  surely  I  need  not  tell  you,  gentlemen,  how 
wide  is  the  difference  between  sticks  or  stones,  and  double-triggered  loaded 
rifles  cocked  at  your  breast.'  The  effect  of  this  terrific  image,  exhibited  in 
this  great  orator's  peerless  manner,  cannot  be  described.  I  dare  not  attempt 
to  delineate  the  paroxysm  of  emotion  which  it  excited  in  every  heart.  The 
result  of  the  whole  was,  that  the  prisoner  was  acquitted ;  with  the  perfect 
approbation,  I  believe,  of  the  numerous  assembly  who  attended  the  trial. 
What  was  it  that  gave  such  transcendent  force  to  the  eloquence  of  Henry  ? 
His  reasoning  powers  were  good  :  but  they  have  been  equaled,  and  more 
than  equaled,  by  those  of  many  other  men.  His  imagination  was  exceed 
ingly  quick,  and  commanded  all  the  stores  of  nature  as  materials  for  illus 
trating  his  subject.  His  voice  and  delivery  were  inexpressibly  happy.  But 
his  most  irresistible  charm  was  the  vivid  feeling  of  his  cause  with  which  he 
spoke.  Such  feeling  infallibly  communicates  itself  to  the  breast  of  the 
hearer. 


\'\  f 


c   z 

II 


. 

2'    J  fc  5 


•  ?s 

-=  v  f 


\\ 


IJ! 


ACHIEVEMENTS 


OF    THE 


AMERICAN  TEMPERANCE  REFORMERS, 

A  HISTORICAL  SKETCH. 


"  WHAT  WILL  YOU  TAKE  TO  DRINK?  "  united  to  a  significant  toss  of  the 
head,  and  an  unmistakable  angular  glance  from  the  eye  toward  well  filled 
decanters ;  was  a  question  and  an  action  of  almost  universal  occurrence  in 
every  house  in  our  land,  within  the  memory  of  many  whose  heads  have 
not  even  yet  become  gray. 

And  then  came  the  step  up  to  the  sideboard  ;  the  passing  of  the  sugar- 
bowl  and  the  water  pitcher ;  the  cranch  and  the  whirl  of  the  toddy  stick  in 
the  tumbler ;  the  decanting  of  the  stimulant  ;  the  pause  of  anticipation  as 
the  glass  was  held  momentarily  in  the  hand ;  succeeded  by  the  raising  of 
the  same  to  the  lips,  with  the  usual  accompaniments  of  crooked  elbow, 
thrown  back  head,  open  mouth — all  ending  by  the  final  smack  of  satis 
faction,  as  the  empty  goblet  was  laid  down  to  make  its  moist,  round 
mark  on  the  tray. 

The  imbibing  of  alcoholic  liquids  was  then  general  among  the  American 
people.  They  were  considered  a  necessity  of  life  ;  a  certain  panacea  for  all 
ills  ;  a  crowning  sheaf  to  all  blessings  :  good  in  sickness  and  in  health  ;  good 
in  summer  to  dispel  the  heat,  and  in  winter  to  dispel  the  cold  ;  good  to 
help  on  work,  and  more  than  good  to  help  on  a  frolic.  So  good  were  they 
considered  that  their  attributed  merits  were  fixed  by  pleasant  names.  The 
first  dram  of  the  morning  was  an  "eye-opener;"  duly  followed  by  the 
"  eleven  o'clocker,"  and  the  "  four  o'clocker ; "  while  the  very  last  was  a 
"night-cap ;"  after  which  as  one  laid  himself  in  sheets,  he  was  supposed  to 
drink  no  more  that  day,  unless,  indeed,  he  was  unexpectedly  called  up  at 
night,  when,  of  course,  he  prudently  fortified  himself  against  taking  cold. 
Do  n't  imagine  that  these  were  all  the  drinks  of  the  day — by  no  means. 
The  decanter  stood  ready  at  all  times  on  the  sideboard  ;  if  a  friend  had 
called,  he  had  been  welcomed  by  "the  social  glass  ;  "  if  one  had  departed, 
a  pleasant  journey  was  tendered  in  "a  flowing  bumper''?  if  a  bargain  had 
been  made,  it  was  rounded  by  a  liquid  "  clincher ; "  if  a  wedding  had  come 
off,  ".a  long  and  prosperous  life  "  was  drank  to  the  happy  pair ;  if  a  funeral 
had  ensued,  then  alcoholic  mixtures  were  a  source  of  "  consolation  in  afflic 
tion."  Drinking  all  the  way  from  the  cradle  to  the  grave,  seemed  the 
grand  rule.  Dinah,  the  black  nurse,  as  she  swaddled  the  new-born  in 
fant,  took  her  dram  ;  and  Uncle  Bob,  the  aged  gray-haired  sexton,  with  the 
weak  and  watery  eyes,  and  bent,  rheumatic  body,  soon  as  Le  had  thrown  the 

(213) 


ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

last  spade  full  of  earth  upon  the  little  mound  over  the  remains  of  a  fellow- 
mortal,  turned  to  the  neighboring  bush,  on  which  hung  his  green  baize  jacket, 
for  a  swig  at  the  bottle  ;  after  which  he  gathered  up  his  tools,  and  slowly, 
and  painfully  hobbled  homeward,  to  attend  to  his  duties  to  the  living. 
Everybody,  even  Congressmen,  drank  ;  and,  what  is  queer,  no  one  CL%I  fix 
the  precise  date  at  which  they  left  off.  The  deacon  drank,  and  it  is  said  the 
parson,  that  good  old  man,  after  finishing  a  round  of  social  visits,  not  unfre- 
quently  returned  to  his  own  dwelling,  so  "mellowed"  by  the  soothing  in 
fluences  of  the  "cordial"  welcomes  of  his  parishioners,  as  to  really 'feel  that 
this  was  not  such  a  very  bad  world  after  all. 

Before  we  enter  upon  the  subject  of  this  article,  we  wish  to  preface  it 
with  a  few  facts  upon  Alcohol. 

Alcohol,  as  extracted  from  fermented  liquor,  was  unknown  to  the  world 
until  about  the  year  1000.  When  this  process  was  first  accomplished  in 
Arabia,  no  person  knew  what  this  product  of  distillation  was ;  nor  was  there 
any  language  that  had  for  it  even  a  name.  They  however  called  it  Alco 
hol  ;  and  that  is  now  the  chemical  name  in  every  country.  This  word  had 
previously  been  used  in  Arabia  as  the  name  of  a  fine  powder,  which  the 
ladies  used  to  give  a  brilliance  to  their  complexions.  Alcohol  was  soon 
ascertained  to  be  a  poison,  and  no  one  then  thought  of  using  it  as  a  drink. 
About  the  year  X230,  it  began  to  be  used  in  the  south  of  Europe,  as  a  medi 
cine,  and  from  thence,  its  use  gradually  extended,  for  that  purpose,  over 
various  parts  of  the  civilized  world.  Judging  from  its  immediate  effects, 
it  was  thought  to  increase  life  ;  and  was  denominated  aqua  vitje,  water  of 
life.  Theoricus,  not  long  after,  wrote  a  treatise  upon  its  wonderful  curative 
power;  in  which  he  says,  "It  sloweth  age,  it  strengtheneth  }-outh,  it  help- 
eth  digestion,  it  cutteth  flegme,  it  abandoneth  melancholic,  it  relisheth  the 
heart,  it  lighteneth  the  mind,  it  quickeneth  the  spirits,  it  cureth  the  hydrop- 
sia,  it  healeth  the  strangurie,  it  pounceth  the  stone,  it  expelleth  gravell, 
it  puffeth  away  ventositie,  it  keepeth  and  preserveth  the  head  from  whirl 
ing,  the  eyes  from  dazzling,  the  tong  from  lisping,  the  mouth  from  snaffling, 
the  teeth  from  chattering,  and  the  throat  from  rattling;  it  keepeth  the 
weasan  from  stiffling,  the  stomach  from  wambling,  and  the  heart  from 
swelling ;  it  keepeth  the  hands  from  shivering,  the  sinews  from  shrinking, 
the  veins  from  crumbling,  the  bones  from  aching,  and  the  marrow  from 
soaking." 

Such  were  supposed  to  be  its  wonderful  virtues ;  and  many  began  to 
think  they  could  not  live  without  it.  Ulstadius,  another  writer,  ascribes  to 
it  this  most  singular  praise  ;  he  says,  "  It  will  burn,  being  kindled."  And 
this  he  considers  as  demonstrative  of  its  peculiar  excellence.  It  was  not 
therefore  strange,  with  such  views  of  its  power  as  a  medicine,  that  men 
should  begin  to  conclude  that  it  must  also  do  good  in  health,  especially 
when  they  were  peculiarly  exposed,  and  under  severe  labor  ;  nor  that  they 
should  introduce  the  use  of  it  for  the  purpose  of  preventing,  as  well  as 
curing  diseases.  This  was  the  case,  particularly  in  the  mines  in  Hungary ; 
and  afterward,  in  1581,  it  was  introduced  by  the  English  as  a  kind  of  cor 
dial  for  their  soldiers,  while  engaged  in  war  in  the  Netherlands,  and  finally 
spread,  as  a  common  beverage,  among  all  nations. 

No  nation  ever  adopted  its  use  without  its  producing  an  untold  amount 


OF  AMERICANS.  215 

of  crime  and  woe,  more  fatal  than  the  most  malignant  pestilence  ;  yet,  unti' 
within  a  brief  period,  men  were  blind  to  the  evil,  and  constantly,  everywhere, 
increased  its  use,  under  the  idea  that  they  were  promoting  their  own  bene 
fit.  Some  of  the  reasons  for  this  delusion,  and  the  causes  why  the  quantity 
used  was  continually  increasing,  are  given  by  an  intelligent  writer.  "  Such 
is  the  nature  of  alcohol,  that  its  first  effect  on  the  human  s}Tstem  is  a  quick- 
sning  of  action  ;  animation,  excitement.  This,  by  a  fundamental  law  of  our 
nature  is  a  source  of  pleasure.  This  present  pleasure,  men  mistake  for  real 
good.  It  also  arouses  for  a  moment  the  reserved  and  dormant  energies  of 
the  system,  which  are  not  needed,  and  were  not  designed  for  ordinary 
healthful  action,  but  were  intended  for  special  emergencies ;  and  which  can 
not  be  drawn  out  and  used,  on  ordinary  occasions,  without  necessarily  short 
ening  human  life.  This  awakening  of  dormant  energy,  men  mistake  for 
an  increase  of  real,  permanent  strength. 

The  system,  by  this  poison,  having  been  over-excited,  becomes  deranged  ; 
and  having  been  over- worked,  without  any  new  strength  communicated,  it 
is  of  course  weakened,  and  therefore  soon  flags ;  becomes  tired,  and  is  ex 
hausted.  Now,  according  to  another  fundamental  law,  there  is  pain,  lan 
guor,  and  inexpressible  fineasiness  spread  through  the  system,  as  suffering 
nature  under  the  awful  abuse  which  has  been  practiced  upon  her,  cries  out 
for  help.  A  man  cannot  thus  chafe,  irritate,  and  exhaust  his  system,  and 
not  afterward  feel  uneasiness,  any  more  than  he  can  put  his  hand  into  the 
fire  and  not  feel  pain.  He  violates  a  natural  law,  and  must  find  the  way  of 
transgressors  to  be  hard.  Hence  arise  two  motives  to  drink  again.  One  is, 
to  obtain  the  past  pleasure,  and  the  other  is  to  remove  the  present  pain. 
But  as  the  system  is  unstrung  and  partly  worn  out,  and  is  also  lower  down 
than  it  was  before,  the  same  quantity  will  not,  the  next  time,  raise  it  up  so 
high  ;  or  cause  the  wearied  organ?  to  lacve  so  briskly.  Of  course  it  will 
not  fully  answer  the  purpose  ;  will  not  give  so  much  present  pleasure,  or 
produce  so  much  effect  as  before.  Hence  the  motive  to  increase  the  quan 
tity  ;  and  for  the  same  reason,  in  future,  to  increase  it  more,  and  still  more. 
As  every  repetition  increases  the  difficulty,  and  also  throws  new  obstacles  in 
the  way  of  its  removal,  the  temptation  to  increase  the  quantity,  grows 
stronger  and  stronger.  The  natural  life  of  the  system  constantly  diminishes, 
and  of  course,  in  order  to  seem  to  live,  what  there  is,  must  be  mo're  and  more 
highly  roused,  till,  in  one  half,  one  quarter,  or  one  eighth  of  the  proper  time, 
the  whole  is  exhausted,  and  the  man  sinks  prematurely  to  the  grave. 

There  is  another  principle  which  tends  also  strongly  to  the  same  result. 
The  more  any  man  partakes  of  "this  unnatural  pleasure  which  alcohol  occa 
sions,  the  less  susceptible  he  becomes  of  the  natural  and  innocent  -pleasures, 
occasioned  by  the  use  of  nourishing  food  and  drink;  by  the  view  and 
contemplation  of  the  works  of  creation  and  providence  :  by  the  exercise 
of  the  social  affections,  and  the  discharge  of  the  various  duties  of  life, 

From  the  above,  it  is  evident  that  the  deranged  and  exhausted  state  of 
the  system,  from  which  the  uneasiness,  when  not  under  the  excitement  o 
alcohol,  springs,  and  which  causes  the  hankering  or  thirst  after  the  poison, 
is  not  a  natural  state  ;  nor  is  that  appetite  a  natural  appetite. 

Such  are  some  of  the  reasons  why  men  who  begin  to  drink  alcohol,  and 
receive  from  it  nothing  but  injury,  nevertheless,  not  only  continue  to  drink 


216  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

it,  but  to  drink  it  in  greater  and  greater  quantity.  Let  us  now  consider  how 
it  causes  death.  Alcohol  is  a  substance  which  is,  in  its  nature,  unfit  for  the 
purpose  of  nutrition.  It  is  not  in  the  power  of  the  animal  economy  to  de 
compose  it,  and  change  it  into  blood,  or  flesh,  or  bones,  or  anything  by  which 
the  human  body  is,  or  can  be  nourished,  strengthened,  and  supported. 
When  taken  into  the  stomach,  it  is  sucked  up  by  absorbent  vessels,  aud 
carried  into  the  blood ;  and  with  that  is  circulated  through  the  whole  sys 
tem,  and,  to  a  certain  extent,  is  then  thrown  off  again.  But  it  is  alcohol 
when  taken,  it  is  alcohol  in  the  stomach,  ib*  is  alcohol  in  the  arteries,  and 
veins,  and  heart,  and  lungs,  and  brain,  and  among  all  the  nerves,  and  tissues, 
and  fibers  of  the  whole  body,  and  it  is  alcohol  when,  after  having  pervaded 
and  passed  through  the  whole  system,  it  is  thrown  off  again.  Give  it  even 
to  a  dog,  and  take  the  blood  from  his  foot,  and  distil.it,  and  you  have  alco 
hol,  the  same  which  the  dog  drank.  Take  the  blood  from  the  arm,  the 
foot,  or  the  head,  of  the  man  who  drinks  it,  and  distil  that  blood,  and  you  have 
alcohol.  You  may  take  it  from  the  brain,  strong  enough,  on  the  application 
of  fire,  in  an  instant  to  blaze.  Not  a  bloodvessel,  however  minute,  not  a 
thread  of  the  smallest  nerve  in  the  whole  animal  machinery,  escapes  its  influ 
ence.  It  enters  the  organs  of  the  nursing  mother,  which  prepare  the  delicate 
food  for  the  sustenance  and  growth  of  her  child.  It  is  taken  into  the  circu 
lation,  and  passes  through- the  whole  system  of  the  child  ;  having  through 
its  whole  course,  produced,  not  only  on  the  mother,  but  also  on  the  child, 
the  appropriate  effects  of  the  drunkard's  poison.  This  is  a  reason,  why,  after 
the  mother  has  taken  it,  the  babe,  although  before  restless,  sleeps  all  night 
like  a  drunkard  ;  and  a  reason,  also,  why  such  children,  .if  they  live,  often 
have  an  appetite  for  spirit,  and  are  so  much  more  likely  than  other  children 
to  become  drunkards.  This  is  a  reason,  also,  why,  when  the  parents  have 
been  in  the  habit  of  freely  taking  it,  their  children  are  so  much  smaller, 
and  less  healthy  than  other  children ;  have  less  keenness  and  strength  of 
eye-sight ;  firmness  of  nerve,  or  ability  of  body  and  mind  to  withstand  the 
attacks  of  disease,  and  the  vicissitudes  of  climates,  and  seasons ;  and  also  a 
reason  why  they  have  less  inclination  and  less  talent  for  great  bodily,  and 
mental  achievements.  By  the  operation  of  laws  which  no  man  can  repeal, 
or  withstand,  the  iniquities  of  the  fathers  are  thus  naturally  visited  upon 
the  children*,  from  generation  to  generation. 

Were  the  human  body  transparent,  and  the  operations  of  its  organs  in 
sustaining  life,  visib>e,  every  man  might  see  that  nature  itself,  teaches  that 
the  drinking  of  alcohol  cannot  be  continued  by  a  man  without  hastening 
his  death. 

The  receptacle  for  food  is  the  stomach  and  intestines.  From  these  after 
being  changed,  first  into  chyme,  and  then  into  chyle,  it  is  taken  up  by  ab 
sorbent  vessels  and  carried  into  the  blood,  and  conveyed  to  the  right  side  of 
the  heart.  From  that  it  is  sent  to  the  lungs ;  and  by  coming  into  contact 
with  the  air,  and  taking  out  of  it  what  it  needs,  in  order,  with  what  it  has, 
to  nourish  the  body,  it  is  sent  back  again  to  the  left  side  of  the  heart.  From 
that,  it  is  sent,  in  arteries,  or  tubes,  prepared  for  that  purpose,  to  all  parts  of 
the  body,  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  the  nourishment  which  it  contains, 
and  which  each  part  needs,  to  its  proper  place.  Along  on  the  lines  of  these 
tubes  or  canals,  through  which  the  blood  with  its  treasure  flows,  is  a  vast 


OF  AMERICANS.  217 

multitude  of  little  organs,  or  waiters,  whose  office  is,  each  one  to  take  out 
of  the  blood,  as  it  comes  along,  that  kind  and  quantity  of  nourishment 
which  it  needs  for  its  own  support,  and  also  for  the  support  of  that  part  of 
the  body  which  is  committed  to  its  care.  And  although  exceedingly 
minute  ana  delicate,  they  are  endowed  by  their  Creator,  with  the  wonderful 
power  of  doing  this,  and  also  of  abstaining  from,  or  expelling  and  throwing 
back  into  the  common  mass,  what  is  unsuitable,  or  what  they  do  not  want, 
to  be  carried  to  some  other  place  where  it  may  be  needed  ;  or,  if  it  is  not 
needed  anywhere,  and  is  good  for  nothing,  to  be  thrown  out  of  the  body  as 
a  nuisance. 

For  instance,  the  organs  placed  at  the  end  of -the  fingers,  when  the  blood 
comes  there,  take  out  of  it  what  they  need  for  their  support,  and  also  what 
is  needed  to  make  finger  nails  ;  while  they  will  cautiously  abstain  from, 
or  repel  that  which  will  only  make  hair,  and  let  it  go  on  to  the  head. 
And  the  organs  on  the  head  carefully  take  out  that  which  they  need  for 
their  support  and  also  that  which  will  made  hair,  or,  in  common  language, 
cause  it  to  grow  ;  while  they  will  cautiously  abstain  from  that  which  is 
good  for  nothing,  except  to  make  eye-balls,  and  let  it  go  to  the  eyes,  and 
even  help  it  on.  And  the  organs  ahout  the  eye,  will  take  that  and  work  it 
up  into  eyes,  or  cause  them  to  grow.  And  so  throughout  the  whole.  And 
there  is  among  all  the  millions  and  millions  of  these  workers,  day  and 
night,  all  diligent  in  business,  the  most  entire  and  everlasting  harmony. 
And  there  is  also  the  most  delicate  and  wonderful  sympathy.  If  one  mem 
ber  suffer,  all  the  members  instinctively  suffer  with  it ;  and  if  one  member 
rejoice,  all  the  members  rejoice  with  it. 

And  when  the  blood  has  gotten  out  to  the  extremities,  and  been  to  all 
parts  of  the  system,  and  left  its  treasures  along  on  the  way,  as  they  were 
needed,  for  freely  it  has  received  and  freely  it  gives  ;  then  there  is  another 
set  of  tubes,  or  channels,  prepared  to  take  the  blood,  and  with  it  what  was 
not  needed,  or  was  good  for  nothing,  or  had  been  used  till  it  was  worn  out, 
back  to  the  right  side  of  the  heart.  From  this  it  is  sent  again  with  its  load 
to  the  lungs,  for  the  purpose,  by  expiration,  of  throwing  off  what  is  not 
needed,  and  what,  if  retained,  would  only  be  a  burden  and  do  mischief; 
and 'also,  by  inspiration,  of  taking  in  a  new  store,  and  setting  out  again  on 
its  journey  around  the  system.  And  to  give  it  good  speed,  the  heart,  like 
a  steam  engine,  worked,  not  by  fires  which  men  can  kindle,  but  by  the 
breath  of  the  Almighty,  keeps  constantly  moving,  day  and  night,  summer 
and  winter,  through  storms  and  sunshine,  sickness  and  health,  as  long  as 
life  doth  last. 

All  the  organs  of  the  human  body  have  as  much  work  to  do,  as  is  consis 
tent  with  permanently  healthful  action,  and  with  the  longest  continuance  of 
human  life,  when  men  take  nothing  but  suitable  food  and  drink.  And  if, 
in  addition  to  this,  you  take  alcohol,  and  thus  throw  upon  them  the  addi 
tional  labor  of  rejecting  and  throwing  off  the  poison,  and  at  the  same  time, 
as  by  the  taking  of  it  you  certainly  will,  weaken  and  exhaust  their  energies, 
you  necessarily  shorten  their  duration,  and  commit  suicide  as  really  as  if 
you  did  it  with  arsenic,  a  pistol,  or  a  halter.  It  also  greatly  increases  the 
violence  of  diseases  which  arise  from  other  causes,  and  often  produces  death, 
:n  cases  in  which,  had  not  alcohol  been  used,  a  cure  might  have  been  easily 


218  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

and  speedily  effected.  Nor  is  this  all.  There  is  another  set  of  organs,  the 
nerves,  whose  office  is  to  furnish  sensibility  to  the  human  system.  For 
this  purpose  they  are  spread  over  the  surface  of  the  whole  body,  and  in 
such  vast  numbers  and  variety,  that  you  cannot  stick  into  the  skin,  the  point 
even  of  the  finest  needle,  and  not*  strike  some  of  them,  and  thus  occasion 
pain.  They  seem  to  form  the  link  between  the  body  and  the  mind,  and  to 
be  the  medium  through  which  each  reciprocally  and  instantly  acts  upon 
the  other.  Of  course  whatever  affects  them,  affects  not  only  the  body  but 
also  the  soul,  and  the  influence  which  one  has  upon  the  other. 

Their  seat  is  the  brain.  From  this  they  derive  excitement,  and  power  to 
communicate  it  to  all  parts  of  the  system.  And  in  order  to  furnish  this  ex 
citement,  the  brain  itself  must  be  excited.  And  what  it  needs  for  this  pur 
pose,  is  that,  and  that  only,  which  is  furnished  by  arterial  blood,  when  men 
take  nothing  but  suitable  food,  and  drink,  exercise,  rest,  and  sleep.  For 
this  excitement  it  eagerly  waits,  and  this  it  joyfully  receives ;  and  cheer 
fully,  with  the  rapidity  almost  of  lightning,  communicates  to  every  part, 
spreading  a  glow  of  animation,  and  making  even  existence  a  source  of  con 
stant  and  exquisite  delight.  But  as  it  stands  waiting  to  receive,  and  in 
stantly  and  joyfully  to  communicate,  the  bread  and  the  milk  of  Heaven, 
you  throw  in  alcohol,  and  thus  instead  of  bread,  give  it  serpents ;  instead  of 
milk,  scorpions  ;  and  they  go  hissing  and  darting  their  serpent,  scorpion-like 
influence  through  the  whole  man,  body  and  soul ;  turning  husbands  into 
demons,  and  fathers  into  fiends. 

Finally  alcohol  so  affects  the  understanding  that  moral  considerations  are 
less  clearly  perceived ;  and  it  so  affects  the  heart,  that  moral  obligation  is 
less  powerfully  felt.  It  causes  the  conscience  to  lie  more  dormant,  and  the 
imagination  to  be  more  extensively  and  deeply  polluted,  and  polluting.  It 
corrupts  the  very  source  and  springs  of  moral  action,  and  brings  a  man  pe 
culiarly,  in  all  respects,  under  the  power  of  the  devil.  Mental  iniquity, 
from  which  the  mind,  when  not  poisoned,  instinctively  recoils,  becomes, 
when  it  is,  the  element  of  its  delicious  revel ;  and  crimes,  from  the 
thought  of  which  it  before  started  back  with  abhorrence,  it  now  commits 
with  greediness." 

The  business  of  distillation  first  commenced  in  our  country  at  Boston, 
about  the  year  1700,  when  West  India  molasses  was  converted  into  New- 
England  rum.  In  1794,  distilleries,  chiefly  for  grain,  had  become  numerous  in 
the  United  States,  especially  in  Western  Pennsylvania,  a  rich  grain-growing 
region.  In  1815,  the  number  of  distilleries  had  increased  to  forty  thousand, 
consuming,  in  successive  years,  more  than  ten  million  bushels  of  bread-stuffs, 
and  pouring  over  the  land  more  than  thirty  millions  of  gallons  of  ardent 
spirits  distilled  from  grain,  and  more  than  ten  million  gallons  distilled  from 
molasses. 

With  the  mass  of  the  population,  distilleries  were  a  long  time  considered 
a  blessing  to  the  country.  They  furnished,  it  was  said,  a  ready  market  foi 
the  surplus  grain  ;  they  gave  a  new  value  to  the  orchard,  whose  superabun 
dant  fruit  could  at  once  be  converted  into  brandy  ;  they  brought  ready 
employ  to  the  carpenter,  the  cooper,  the  carrier,  and  furnished  the  nation 
with  an  excellent  article,  which  it  was  importing  from  Holland  and  the 
West  Indies  at  great  cost.  Pious  men,  deacons  of  churches,  owned  and 


OF  AMERICANS.  219 

labored  in  them,  without  loss  of  character.  Many  a  neighborhood  was 
filled  with  joy  that  an  immense  distillery  was  to  be  built,  and  a  spring 
given  to  business  which  would  bring  riches  to  every  family." 

Ardent  spirits,  for  other  than  medicinal  purposes,  were  not  used  in  the 
early  settlement  of  our  country.  This  fatal  error  that  they  were  useful  for 
men  in  health,  did  not  prevail  among  the  mass  of  our  people  until  after  the 
American  Revolution.  Spirituous  liquors  were  furnished  to  the  arm}*"  by 
government,  under  the  fatal  delusion  that  they  were  of  service  in  mitigating 
the  hardships  to  which  the  soldiers  were  subject.  The  consequence  was, 
that  at  the  close  of  the  war,  they  were  carried  into  the  community,  and  ex 
tended  through  the  country.  From  habits  oLintemperance  formed  during 
the  war,  very  many  of  the  soldiers  became  wandering  vagabonds,  so  that,  for 
a  generation  after,  if  a  miserable  drunken  beggar  stopped  at  one's  door,  he 
was  often  alluded  to  as  an  "  old  soldier." 

At  the  close  of  the  first  l^ilf  century  of  our  national  existence,  viz :  by 
the  year  1826,  this  diseased  appetite  had  become  so  prevalent  as  to  demand, 
annually,  for  its  gratification,  more  than  sixty  millions  of  gallons  of  spiritu 
ous  liquors. 

Notwithstanding  the  general  indifference  to  the  mass  of  evils  arising 
from  this  source,  a  few  clear  sighted  and  benevolent  individuals,  from 
time  to  time,  ventured  to  give  to  the  world  their  opinions  and  expe 
riences  on  the  subject.  Beside  these,  there  were  remarkable  examples  of 
literary  and  scientific  names,  of  the  highest  authority,  in  favor  of  abstaining 
from  all  stimulating  drinks :  among  whom  it  is  sufficient  to  name  Sir 
Isaac  Newton,  Milton,  Locke,  Dr.  Johnson,  the  philanthropic  Howard, 
with  the  venerable  John  Wesley,  who  not  only  abstained  himself,  but 
made  it  a  condition  of  membership  in  his  church,  that  all  who  belonged  to 
it  should  abstain  from  either  using,  making,  trafficking,  or  dealing  in  spirit 
uous  liquors. 

In  1813,  years  before  the  great  Temperance  Reform,  an  association  was 
formed  in  Boston,  under  the  name  of  "  The  Massachusetts  Society  for  the 
Suppression  of  Intemperance."  The  object,  as  expressed  in  the  constitution, 
was,  "To  discountenance  the  too  free  use  of  ardent  spirits,  and  its  kindred 
vices,  profaneness  and  gaming,  and  to  encourage  and  promote  temperance 
and  general  morality."  As  this  society  allowed  the  use  of  ardent  spirits  as 
a  beverage,  it  was  of  no  avail  as  a  temperance  society. 

It  was  then  the  general  impression,  that  ardent  spirits,  if  not  absolutely  ne 
cessary,  were  at  least  of  great  use  and  importance  as  a  support  during  labor  ; 
and  that,  moderately  used,  they  were  an  innocent  stimulus.  So  deceived  wero 
the  community,  that  the  trade  was  thought  to  be  proper.  It  was  licensed 
by  government,  and  sanctioned  by  the  Christian  churches.  The  crimes  and 
misery  arising  from  alcoholic  drinks,  were  attributed  to  the  abuse  of  what  was 
considered,  in  itself,  moderately  used,  beneficial  to  man.  The  great  dis 
covery  at  length  came  forth  like  the  light  of  a  new  day,  that  the  temperate 
members  of  society,  were  the  chief  agents  in  promoting  and  perpetuating 
intemperance.  And  it  was  perfectly  evident  that  unless  a  new  movement, 
could  be  started,  on  a  new  plan,  and  one  which  should  be  equal  in  time  and 
place  with  the  evil — one  which  should  strike  at  the  root  and  exterminate 
it — drunkenness  would  always  continue.  At  length  associated  effort  was 


220  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

brought  to  bear  upon  the  torrent  of  evil,  and  "  THE  PLEDGE,"  the  great 
instrument  of  reform,  came  into  use. 

The  first  Temperance  Pledge  of  which  we  have  any  knowledge  (at  least 
in  modern  times),  was  one  drawn  up  by  Micajah  Pendleton,  of  Nelson 
County,  Virginia,  in  the  year  1800.  It  was  designed  only  for  his  own 
family,  and  was  a  total  abstinence  pledge.  Through  his  influence,  other 
families  in  Virginia,  adopted  the  same  in  their  households.  The  first  Tem 
perance  Society,  was  organized  in  Moreau,  Saratoga  County,  New  York,  in 
the  year  1808.*  The  pledge  and  constitution  were  prepared,  and  the  move 
ment  inaugurated  by  Dr.  Billy  J.  Clark,  and  the  Rev.  Lebbeus  Armstrong 
Forty-seven  male  members  signed  the  pledge,  and  organized  the  society, 
called  "  the  Moreau  and  Northumberland  Temperance  Society."  The  fourth 
article  of  their  constitution,  provided  that  no  member  should  drink  rum, 
gin,  whisky,  wine,  or  any  distilled  spirits.  A  fine  of  twenty-five  cents  was 
imposed  for  every  violation  of  the  pledge.  The  Rev.  Lebbeus  Armstrong 
delivered  the  address  at  their  first  quarterly  meeting.  In  1810,  this  society 
sent  out  one  thousand  circulars  giving  an  account  of  the  rise,  progress,  and 
objects  of  their  body  ;  transmitting  many  of  them  to  eminent  gentlemen  in 
Europe. 

The  first  general  movement  in  the  cause,  was  in  1811,  when  Dr.  Rush,  of 
Philadelphia,  presented  printed  copies  of  his  "Inquiry,"  to  the  members  of 
the  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  in  session  there.  A 
committee  was  appointed  on  the  subject,  and  the  initiatory  steps  taken  to 
pervade  the  whole  land  with  a  feeling  of  alarm,  at  the  prevalence  of  intem 
perance.  But  years  elapsed  before  the  public  mind  was  sufficiently  enlight 
ened  to  embrace  the  great  idea.. 

In  1825,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Justin  Edwards  wrote  an  essay  entitled,  "The  Well 
Conducted  Farm,"  exhibiting  the  result  of  an  experiment  upon  an  exten 
sive  farming  establishment,  in  Worcester  County,  Massachusetts,  which 
showing  the  great  superiority  of  labor  without  alcoholic  stimulants,  pro 
duced  a  strong  impression  on  the  public  mind.  The  next  year,  the  AMEK- 
ICAN  TEMPERANCE  SOCIETY  was  formed  at  Boston,  and  on  the  principle  of 
"the  pledge,"  the  invention  of  Micajah  Pendleton,  twenty-six  years  pre 
viously.  '  • 

Among  the  most  powerful  of  the  early  advocates  of  the  reformation, 
were  Rev.  Mr.  Hewitt,  Dr.  Lyman  Beecher,  Dr.  Edwards,  E.  C.  Delavan, 
Theodore  Frelinghuysen,  Dr.  Channing,  and  numerous  others,  who,  by  ser 
mons,  tracts,  public  meetings,  and  periodicals,  spread  their  views  far  and 
wide  throughout  the  country. 

The  sermons  of  Dr.  Beecher,  exerted  a  powerful  influence  in  helping  on 
the  cause  in  this  early  day.  In  one  of  these,  he  says,  "  Can  we  lawfully 
amass  property  by  a  course  of  trade  which  fills  the  land  with  beggars,  and 
widows,  and  orphans,  and  crimes ;  which  peoples  the  graveyard  with  pre 
mature  mortality,  and  the  world  of  woe,  with  the  victims  of  despair? 
Could  all  the  forms  of  evil  produced  in  the  land  by  intemperance  come 
upon  us  in  one  horrid  array,  it  would  appall  the  nation,  and  put  an  end  to 
the  traffic  in  ardent  spirits.  If  in  every  dwelling  built  by  blood,  the  stone 
from  the  wall  should  utter  all  the  cries  which  the  bloody  traffic  extorts,  and 
the  beam  out  of  the  timber  should  echo  them  back,  who  would  build 


OF  AMERICANS.  221 

such  a  house?  and  who  would  dwell  in  it?  What  if,  in  every  part  of  the 
dwelling,  from  the  cellar  upward,  through  all  the  halls  and  chambers,  bab 
blings,  and  contentions,  and  voices,  and  groans,  and  shrieks,  and  wailinga 
were  heard  day  and  night?  What  if  the  cold  blood  oozed  out,  and  stood  in 
drops  upon  the  walls,  and,  by  preternatural  art,  all  the  ghastly  skulls  and 
bones  of  the  victims  destroyed  by  intemperance,  should  stand  upon  the 
walls,  in  horrid  sculpture,  within  and  without  the  building — who  would 
rear  such  a  building?  What  if,  at  eventide,  and  at  midnight,  the  airy  forms 
of  men  destroyed  by  intemperance,  were  dimly  seen  haunting  the  distil 
leries  and  stores  where  they  received  their  bane — following  the  track  of  the 
ship  engaged  in  the  commerce — walking  upon  the  waves — flitting  athwart 
the  deck — sitting  upon  the  rigging — and  sending  up  from  the  hold  Vithin, 
'and  from  the  waves  without,  groans,  and  loud  laments,  and  wailings  ! 
Who  would  attend  such  stores?  Who  would  labor  in  such  distilleries? 
Who  would  navigate  such  ships? 

0 !  were  the  sky  over  our  heads  one  great  whispering  gallery,  bringing 
down  about  us  all  the  lamentation  and  woe  which  intemperance  creates, 
and  the  firm  earth  one  sonorous  medium  of  sound,  bringing  up  around 
us,  from  beneath,  the  wailings  of  the  damned,  whom  the  commerce  in  ar 
dent  spirits  had  sent  thither  ;  these  tremendous  realities,  assailing  our  sense, 
would  invigorate  our  conscience,  and  give  decision  to  our  purpose  of  refor 
mation.  But  these  evils  are  as  real  as  if  the  stone  did  cry  out  of  the  wall, 
and  the  beam  answered  it ;  as  real  as  if,  day  and  night,  wailings  were  heard 
in  every  part  of  the  dwelling,  and  blood  and  skeletons  were  seen  upon 
every  wall ;  as  real  as  if  the  ghostly  forms  of  departed  victims  flitted  about 
the  ship  as  she  passed  over  the  billows,  and  showed  themselves  nightly 
about  stores  and  distilleries,  and  with  unearthly  voices,  screamed  in  our  ears 
their  loud  lament.  They  are  as  real  as  if  the  sky  over  our  heads  collected 
and  brought  down  about  us  all  the  notes  of  sorrow  in  the  land  ;  and  the 
firm  earth  should  open  a  passage  for  the  wailings  of  despair  to  come  up 
from  beneath." 

A  little  later  in  the  history  of  the  reformation,  when  many  good  men 
still  clung  to  the  belief  that  the  moderate  use  of  ardent  spirits  was  proper, 
a  public  speaker  of  the  time  thus  sang  the  praises  of  alcohol. 

" It  is  a  pleasant  cordial;  a  cheerful  restorative;  the  first  friend  of  the 
infant ;  the  support  of  the  enfeebled  mother  ;  a  sweet  luxury  given  by  the 
parent  to  the  child  ;  the  universal  token  of  kindness,  friendship,  and  hospi 
tality.  It  adorns  the  sideboards  and  .tables  of  the  rich,  and  enlivens  the 
social  circles  of  the  poor;  goes  with  the  laborer  as  his  most  cheering  com 
panion  ;  accompanies  the  mariner  in  his  long  and  dreary  vovage ;  enlivens 
tho  carpenter,  the  mason,  the  blacksmith,  the  joiner,  as  they  ply  their  trade  ; 
follows  the  merchant  to  his  counter,  the  physician  to  his  infected  rooms,  the 
lawyer  to  his  office,  and  the  divine  to  his  study,  cheering  all  and  comforting 
all.  It  is  the  life  of  our  trainings,  and  town-meetings,  and  elections,  and 
bees,  and  raisings,  and  harvests,  and  sleighing  parties.  It  is  the  best  domes 
tic  medicine,  good  for  a  cold  and  a  cough,  for  pain  in  the  stomach  and 
weakness  in  the  limbs,  loss  of  appetite  and  rheumatism,  and  is  a  great  sup 
port  in  old  age.  It  makes  a  market  for  our  rye  and  apples ;  sustains  one 


222  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

hundred  thousand  families  who  are  distilling  and  vending,  and  pours  annu 
ally  millions  of  dollars  into  our  national  treasury." 

This  public  speaker  was  the  Rev.  John  Marsh.  He  was  using  the  argu 
ments  of  the  friends  of  moderate  drinking,  only  the  more  effectually  to 
present  a  mass  of  statistics  and  facts  which  the  industry  of  those  of  tem 
perance  had  collected.  As  they  are  given  in  a  vivid  manner,  we  quote 
them  below: 

"  Look,  my  countrymen,  at  the  ravages  of  intemperance.  Fix  your  eye 
on  its  waste  of  property. 

At  the  lowest  calculation,  it  has  annually  despoiled  us  of  a  hundred 
millions  of  dollars — of  thirty  millions  for  an  article  which  is  nothing  worth, 
and  seventy  or  eighty  millions  more  to  compensate  for  the  mischiefs  that 
article  has  done — money  enough  to  accomplish  all  that  the  warmest  patriot 
could  wish  for  his  country,  and  to  fill,  in  a  short  period,  the  world  with 
Bibles,  and  a  preached  Gospel.  What  farmer  would  not  be  roused,  should 
a  wild  beast  come  once  a  year  into  his  borders  and  destroy  the  best  cow  in 
his  farmyard?  But  six  and  a  fourth  cents  a  day  for  ardent  spirits,  wastes 
twenty-two  dollars  eighty-one  cents  a  year,  and  in  forty  years  nearly  one 
thousand  dollars,  which  is  a  thousand  times  as  much  as  scores  of  drunkards 
are  worth  at  their  burial. 

See  the  pauperism  it  has  produced.  We  have  sung  of  our  goodly  heri 
tage,  and  foreign  nations  have  disgorged  their  exuberant  population  that 
they  might  freely  subsist  in  this  land  of  plenty.  But  in  this  granary  of  the 
world  are  everywhere  seen  houses  without  windows,  fields  without  tillage, 
barns  without  roofs,  children  without  clothing,  and  penitentiaries  and  alms- 
houses  filled  to  overflowing ;  and  a  traveler  might  write — BEGGARS  MADE 
HERE.  We  are  groaning  under  our  pauperism,  and  talking  of  taxes,  and 
hard  times,  and  no  trade ;  but  intemperance  has  stalked  through  our  land 
and  devoured  our  substance.  It  has  entered  the  houses  of  our  unsuspecting 
inhabitants  as  a  friend,  and  taken  the  food  from  their  tables,  and  the 
clothing  from  their  beds,  and  the  fuel  from  their  fire,  and  turned  their  lands 
over  to  others,  and  drove  them  from  their  dwellings  to  subsist  on  beggary 
and  crime,  or  drag  out  a  miserable  existence  in  penitentiaries  and  alms- 
houses.  Two  thirds,  or  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand,  of  the  wretched 
tenants  of  these  abodes  of  poverty  in  the  United  States,  were  reduced  by 
intemperance.  So  themselves  confess.  It  was  rum,  brandy,  arid  whisky, 
that  did  it.  And  the  Prison  Discipline  report  tells  of  fifty  thousand  cases 
of  imprisonment  for  debt  annually  in  the  United  States,  in  consequence  of 
the  use  of  ardent  spirits.  0,  its  sweeps  of  property  can  never -be  known ! 

Look  at  the  crime  it  has  occasioned. 

It  is  said  that  there  is  a  spring  in  China  which  makes  every  man  that 
drinks  it  a  villain.  Eastern  tales  are  founded  on  some  plain  matter  of  fact. 
This  spring  may  be  some  distillery  or  dram-shop ;  for  this  is  the  natura. 
effect  of  alcohol.  It  breaks  down  the  conscience,  quickens  the  circulation, 
increases  the  courage,  makes  man  flout  at  law  and  right,  and  hurries  him  to 
the  perpetration  of  every  abomination  and  crime.  Excite  a  man  by  this 
fluid,  and  he  is  bad  enough  for  anything.  He  can  lie,  and  steal,  and  fight, 
and  swear,  and  plunge  the  dagger  into  the  bosom  of  his  nearest  friend.  No 
vice  is  too  filthy,  no  crime  too  tragical  for  the  drunkard.  The  records  of 


OP  AMERICANS.  223 

our  courts  tell  of  acts,  committed  under  the  influence  of  rum,  which  curdle 
the  blood  in  our  veins.  Husbands  batcher  their  wives  ;  children  slaughter 
their  parents.  Far  the  greater  part  of  the  atrocities  committed  in  our  land, 
proceed  from  its  maddening  power.  'I  declare,  in  this  public  manner,  and 
with  the  most  solemn  regard  to  truth,'  said  Judge  Rush,  some  years  ago, 
in  a  charge  to  a  grand  jury,  'that  I  do  not  recollect  an  instance  since  my 
being  concerned  in  the  administration  of  justice,  of  a  single  person  being 
put  on  his  trial  for  manslaughter,  which  did  not  originate  in  drunkenness ; 
and  but  few  instances  of  trial  for  murder,  where  the  crime  did  not  spring 
from  the  same  unhappy  cause.'  Of  eight  hundred  and  ninety-five  com 
plaints  presented  to  the  police  court  in  Boston  in  one  year,  four  hundred 
were  under  the  statute  against  common  drunkards.  Of  one  thousand  and 
sixty-one  cases  of  criminal  prosecution  in  a  court  in  North  Carolina,  more 
than  eight  hundred  proceeded  from  intemperance.  Five  thousand  com 
plaints  are  made  yearly  in  New  York  to  the  city  police,  of  outrages  com 
mitted  by  intoxicated  persons  ;  and  the  late  city  attorney  reports,  that,  of 
twenty-two  cases  of  murder  which  it  had  been  his  duty  to  examine, 
every  one  of  them  had  been  committed  in  consequence  of  intemperate 
drinking.  'Nine-tenths  of  all  the  prisoners  under  my  care,'  says  Captain 
Pillsbury,  warden  of  the  Connecticut  state  prison,  'are  decidedly  intempe 
rate  men,  and  were  brought  to  their  present  condition,  directly  or  indirectly, 
through  intoxicating  liquor.  Many  have  confessed  to  me  with  tears,  that 
they  never  felt  tempted  to  the  commission  of  crime,  thus  punishable,  but 
when  under  the  influence  of  strong  drink.'  And  the  Prison  Discipline  re 
port  states,  '  that  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  thousand  criminals  com 
mitted  to  our  prisons  in  a  single  year,  ninety-three  thousand  seven  hundred 
and  fifty  were  excited  to  their  commission  of  crime  by  spirituous  liquors.' 
Look  at  its  destruction  of  intellect. 

It  reduces  man  to  a  beast,  to  a  fool,  to  a  devil.  The  excessive  drinker 
first  becomes  stupid,  then  idiotic,  then  a  maniac.  Men  of  the  finest  geniuses, 
most  acute  minds,  and  profound  learning,  have  dwindled  under  the  touch 
of  this  withering  demon  to  the  merest  insignificance,  and  been  hooted  by 
boys  for  their  silly  speeches,  and  silly  actions,  or  chained  in  a  madhouse  as 
unsafe  in  society.  Of  eighty-seven  admitted  into  the  New  York  hospital 
in  one  year,  the  insanity  of  twenty-seven  was  occasioned  by  ardent  spirits  ; 
and  the  physicians  of  the  Pennsylvania  hospital,  report  that  one  third  of  the 
insane  of  that  institution  were  ruined  by  intemperance.  What  if  one  sixth 
of  our  maniacs  were  deprived  of  their  reason  by  the  bite  cf  the  dogs,  the 
friendly  inmates  of  our  houses,  or  by  some  vegetable  common  on  our  tables  ; 
who  would  harbor  the  dangerous  animal,  or  taste  the  poisonous  vegetable? 
But  one  third  of  our  maniacs  are  deranged  by  alcohol.  Indeed,  every 
drunkard  is  in  a  temporary  delirium  ;  and  no  man  who  takes  even  a  little 
into  his  system,  possesses  that  sound  judgment,  or  is  capable  of  that  patient 
investigation,  or  intellectual  effort,  which  would  be  his  without  it.  Just  in 
proportion  as  man  comes  under  its  influence,  he  approximates  to  idiotism 
or  madness. 

Look  at  its  waste  of  health  and  life. 

The  worm  of  the  still  never  touches  the  brute  creation,  but,  as  if  the 
most  venomous  of  all  beings,  it  seizes  the  noblest  prey.  It  bites  man  : 


224  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

and  where  it  once  leaves  its  subtle  poison,  farewell  to  health — farewell  to 
long  life.  The  door  is  open,  and  in  rush  dyspepsia,  jaundice,  dropsy,  gout, 
obstructions  of  the  liver,  epilepsy — the  deadliest  plagues  let  loose  on  fallen 
man — all  terminating  in  delirium  tremens  or  mania  a  potu,  a  prelude  to  the 
eternal  buffetings  of  foul  spirits  in  the  world  of  despair.  One  out  of  every 
orty,  or  three  hundred  thousand  of  our  population  have  taken  up  their 
bode  in  the  lazar-house  of  drunkenness,  and  thirty  thousand  die  annually 
the  death  of  the  drunkard.  These  sweeps  of  death  mock  all  the  ravages  of 
war,  famine,  pestilence,  and  shipwreck.  The  yellow  fever  in  Philadelphia, 
in  1793,  felt  to  be  one  of  the  greatest  curses  of  heaven,  destroyed  but  four 
thousand.  In  our  last  war  with  Great  Britain,  the  sword  devoured  but  five 
hundred  a  year ;  intemperance  destroys  two  hundred  a  week.  Shipwrecks 
destroy  suddenly,  and  the  country  groans  when  forty  or  fifty  human  beings 
are  suddenly  engulfed  in  the  ocean  ;  but  more  than  half  of  all  the  sudden 
deaths  occur  in  fits  of  intoxication.  It  needed  not  a  fable  to  award  the 
prize  of  greatest  ingenuity  in  malice  and  murder  to  the  demon  who  in 
vented  brandy,  over  the  demon  who  invented  war. 
And  look  at  its  waste  of  human  happiness. 

Yes,  look — look  for  yourselves.  The  woes  of  drunkenness  mock  all 
description.  Some  tell  of  the  happiness  of  drinking.  0,  if  there  is  a 
wretched  being  on  earth,  it  is  the  drunkard.  His  property  wasted,  his  char 
acter  gone,  his  body  loathsome,  his  passions  wild,  his  appetite  craving  the 
poison  that  kills  him,  his  hopes  of  immortality  blasted  forever ;  it  is  all 

'  Me  miserable, 
Which  way  I  fly  is  hell,  myself  am  hell.' 

And  his  family.  I  can  never  look  at  it  but  with  feelings  of  deepest  an 
guish. 

'Domestic  happiness,  thou  only  bliss 
Of  Paradise  that  hast  escaped  the  fall,' 

thou  art  shipwrecked  here.  Sorrow,  woe,  wounds,  poverty,  babblings,  and 
contention,  have  entered  in  and  dwell  here.  Yet  we  have,  three  hundred 
thousand  such  families  in  the  land  ;  and  if  each  family  consists  of  four  in 
dividuals,  more  than  a  million  persons  are  here  made  wretched  by  this 
curse  of  curses." 

The  Temperance  Pteformation  progressed  beyond  the  expectations  of  the 
most  sanguine.  In  six  years  from  the  commencement  of  the  reform,  viz  : 
in  1832,  there  were,  in  the  United  States,  over  four  thousand  temperance 
societies,  with  over  half  a  million  of  members ;  one  thousand  five  hundred 
distilleries  had  ceased  distilling,  and  four  thousand  merchants  had  ceased  to 
traffic  in  the  poison.  It  was  also  estimated  that  a  million  and  a  half  of 
persons  had  abstained  from  the  use  of  ardent  spirits,  and  that  twenty 
thousand  families  were  in  ease  and  comfort,  which  otherwise  would  have 
been  in  poverty  or  cursed  with  a  drunken  inmate. 

A  vear  later  these  statistics  had  nearly  doubled,  and  it  was  estimated  that 
there  were  seven  hundred  vessels  afloat  on  the  ocean,  in  which  ardent  spirits 
were  not  used.  This  year,  the  American  Congressional  Temperance 
Society,  was  formed  at  Washington,  with  Hon.  Lewis  Cass,  Secretary  of  War, 


OF  AMERICANS.  225 

OB  president.  A  few  months  previously  the  issue  of  ardent  spirits  to  the 
army  had  been  prohibited.  The  United  States  Temperance  Convention 
met  in  Philadelphia,  in  May  1833.  Seldom  had  a  body  of  men  assembled 
of  greater  weight  of  character,  and  of  higher  and  better  influence  in  the 
country.  It  was  composed  of  over  four  hundred  delegates,  and  from 
twenty-one  States.  It  strikes  us  as  singular,  as  showing  how  little  progress 
had  then  been  made  in  the  views  of  the  friends  of  temperance,  that  they 
should  have  "a  long  and  animated  debate,"  upon  a  resolution  "which  ex 
pressed  the  sentiment,  that  the  traffic  in  ardent  spirits  to  be  used  as  a  \)ev- 
rage,  is  morally  wrong,  and  ought  to  be  universally  abandoned."  It  was 
"  passed  after  a  long  and  animated  discussion  ; "  and,  says  a  writer  of  the 
time,  "  had  the  convention  done  nothing  else,  but  after  examination  ex 
pressed  their  opinion  on  this  point,  they  had  done  a  deed  which  would 
have  marked  them  as  benefactors  of  their  country." 

Up  to  this  period,  and  for  a  year  or  two  later,  all  the  temperance  societies 
had  been  organized  on  the  principle  of  the  voluntary  pledge,  which  inter 
dicted  the  use  of  distilled  liquors  as  a  beverage.  It  allowed  the  use  of  wine, 
cider,  and  malt  liquors.  Thus  the  reform  stood  until  a  society  in  Lancashire, 
England,  perceiving  the  defect  of  what  is  now  called  the  old  pledge,  adopted 
what  was  named  the  tee-total  principle — total  abstinence  from  all  kinds  of 
intoxicating  beverages.  The  word  tee,  is  one  of  the  provincialisms  of  Lan 
cashire,  signifying  there  the  same  as  "going  the  whole  figure"  signifies 
here.  A  member  at  one  of  their  meetings  said,  "We  must  have  a  tee-to 
tal  abstinence  from  every  kind  of  drink  that  will  produce  drunkenness,  if 
we  wish  to  get  rid  of  drunkenness  itself;"  and  from  this  circumstance 
came  the  word. 

This  idea,  once  started,  soon  became  the  basis  on  which  the  reform  was 
conducted,  and  in  the  year  1834,  many  of  our  societies  changed  the  words 
of  their  pledge  from  "ardent  spirits,"  to  "intoxicating  liquors."  In  1835,  it 
was  adopted  by  the  American  Temperance  Society.  In  1836,  the  American 
Temperance  Union  was  formed,  on  the  principle  of  total  abstinence  ;  since 
which  period  it  has  been  the  leading  society  of  the  land.  The  pledge  of 
the  Union  is  : 

"WE,  THE  UNDERSIGNED,  DO  AGREE  THAT  WE  WILL  NOT  USE  INTOXICA 
TING  LIQUORS  AS  A  BEVERAGE,  NOR  TRAFKIC  IN  THEM  J  THAT  WE  WILL  NOT 
PROVIDE  THEM  AS  AN  ARTICLE  OF  ENTERTAINMENT,  OR  FOR  PERSONS  IN  OUR 
EMPLOYMENT,  AND  THAT,  IN  ALL  SUITABLE  WAYS,  WE  WILL  DISCOUNTE 
NANCE  THEIR  USE  THROUGHOUT  THE  COMMUNITY." 

The  tee-total  pledge  met  at  first  with  much  opposition,  and,  in  many  cases, 
from  those  who  had  been  very  active  in  their  advocacy  of  the  old  pledge. 
The  principle,  however,  eventually  overcame  opposition  to  such  a  degree, 
that  every  temperance  society  in  the  land  adopted  it. 

We  present  the  arguments  for  and  objections  to  total  abstinence  as  given 
by  a  writer  of  the  time. 

"To  the  adoption  of  this  pledge,  one  objection  offered,  was,  that  temper 
ance  men,  having  signed  the  former  pledge,  would,  as  light  shone  and  duty 
was  manifest,  become  right  in  their  practice  ;  but  it  was  found  that  all  did 
not  become  right,  and  that  such  as  did  not,  hung  as  a  millstone  upon  the 
cause  ;  that  by  their  use  of  wine,  beer,  and  cider,  they  exposed  the  cause  tc 


226  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

reproach,  themselves  to  intemperance,  and  kept  the  miserable  inebriate  in 
his  drunkenness. 

Another  was,  that  it  was  not  necessary  to  accomplish  the  desired  result. 
But  it  was  found  that  it  was  necessary  ;  that  the  yeomanry  of  the  country 
would  not  give  up  their^jum  and  whisky,  while  temperance  men  in  the 
higher  ranks  drank  wine  ;  that  no  drunkard  could  be  reformed  and  saved, 
except  on  the  principle  of  total  abstinence  from  all  that  intoxicates ;  and 
that  the  mass  of  young  men  in  the  higher  walks  of  life,  in  colleges,  in 
counting-houses,  in  the  learned  professions,  who  became  drunkards,  became 
so  on  wine,  and  not  on  distilled  spirits. 

Another  was,  that  it  destroyed  the  simplicity  of  the  obligation  under 
which  temperance  men  had  acted  with  great  harmony  and  success.  But 
the  pledge  of  total  abstinence  from  all  that  intoxicates  is  a  much  more 
simple  pledge  ;  far  more  intelligible,  and  one,  as  experience  has  proved,  under 
which  all  who  will,  may  gather  with  much  greater  harmony  and  success. 

Another  was,  that  there  is  no  call  for  such  banishment  of  wine,  beer,  and 
the  like,  from  society,  as  there  is  for  the  banishment  of  distilled  spirits. 
But  alcohol  is  in  all  fermented  liquors,  producing  the  same  effects  in  kind 
in  the  system  as  when  separated  by  the  process  of  distillation.  Nearly  alt 
the  wines  of  commerce  are  brandied  ;  and  much  of  the  foreign  wine,  and 
wines  of  home  manufacture,  are  nothing  but  distilled  spirits  and  drugs. 
Burton  ale,  according  to  Brande's  table,  has  eight  per  cent,  of  alcohol,  the 
intoxicating  principle  ;  cider,  ten ;  Champagne  wine,  eighteen ;  Sherry, 
nineteen  ;  Madeira,  twenty-four  ;  Port,  twenty-three ;  Lissa,  twenty-six  ; 
one-half  of. what  iff  found  in  whisky,  gin,  rum,  and  brandy;  while  beer, 
prepared  as  it  often  is  by  nux  vomica,  cocculus  indicus,  and  grains  of  para 
dise,  is  little  behind  the  strongest  drinks  in  its  fatal  tendency.  For  five 
thousand  years,  wine  was  the  great  source  of  drunkenness  among  the  nations  ; 
and  who  can  deny  that  there  was  an  amount  of  the  horrid  vice,  under 
various  forms,  far  exceeding  all  human  conception. 

Another  was,  that  it  was  at  variance  with  the  permission  of  the  sacred 
volume  to  drink  wine,  and  subversive  of  a  divine  ordinance.  But  it  had 
no  relation  to  a  divine  ordinance,  being  only  a  pledge  to  abstain  from  all 
intoxicating  drink,  as  a  beverage  ;  to  which  every  man  has  a  right,  ev^n 
though  there  were  a  permission  to  use  it.  No  command  of  God  makes  it 
a  duty  to  eat  flesh,  though  it  is  permitted.  And  hence  Paul  was  at  liberty 
to  say,  "  It  is  good  neither  to  eat  flesh  nor  to  drink  wine,  nor  anything 
whereby  thy  brother  stumbleth  ; "  nor  in  so  abstaining  would  he  reproach 
the  Saviour,  or  subvert  a  divine  ordinance. 

Another  was,  that  it  was  altogether  impracticable.  But  it  has  been 
found  to  be  not  at  all  impracticable,  but  to  be  far  easier  gaining  signatures  to 
the  pledge  of  entire  abstinence  from  all  that  intoxicates,  than  it  was  origin 
ally  to  the  pledge  from  ardent  spirits. 

Another  was,  that  it  would  throw  off  from  the  temperance  ranks  the 
higher  classes,  he  would  not  give  up  their  wine ;  and  the  farmers  who 
would  not  yield  their  cider.  But  it  was  found  that  many  of  the  higher 
classes  were  glad  of  a  change  in  the  habits  of  society,  which  would  save 
their  sons  from  ruin  ;  and  that  such  farmers  as  had  ceased  using  ardent 
spirits,  did  not  want  to  be  burned  up  with  cider,  and  rejoiced  in  a  change 


OF  AMERICANS.  227 

which  saved  them  great  toil,  without  profit,  in  the  autumnal  season ;  and 
scenes  of  riot  and  drunkenness  in  their  households,  during  the  long  even 
ings  of  winter. 

Another  was,  that  it  would  create  a  division  in  the  temperance  ranks,  and 
destroy  all  activity.  But  if  it  has  created  a  division,  it  has  divided  men 
who  are  resolved  to  extirpate  drunkenness  from  me  earth,  cost  what  it 
may,  from  such  as  plead  for  a  little  self-indulgence,  and  who,  by  that  indul 
gence,  are  palsied  in  their  efforts  ;  and,  instead  of  ruining  the  cause,  it  has 
raised  up  an  army  who  are  rushing  on  to  victory." 

The  discussion  of  the  total  abstinence  pledge,  included,  also,  what  was 
called,  in  the  popular  language  of  the  day,  "  the  wine  question."  Tho 
Hon.  Theodore  Frelinghuysen,  was  among  the  most  judicious  in  his  advo 
cacy  of  the  new  principle. 

"The  great  principle,"  said  he,  "contended  for,  is  the  moral  expediency 
of  this  pure  standard.  Let  it  be  granted  that  men  may  lawfully  drink 
•wine ;  that  in  Palestine  where  grapes  hung  upon  the  boughs  in  the  greatest 
profusion,  men  did  drink  wine  ;  that  our  Saviour  himself  drank  wine,  and 
sanctioned  it  by  his  example ;  yet  how  different  are  the  circumstances  in 
which  we  find  ourselves  at  this  day.  Then  there  was  no  such  thing  as  ar 
dent  spirits,  by  which  men  were  brutalized  and  destroyed,  both  body  and 
soul ;  and  it  might  not  have  been  necessary  then  to  abstain  from  that  which  in 
our  day  we  look  upon  as  a  temptation  and  a  snare,  leading  men  directly  to 
intemperance.  But  now  the  case  presents  itself  to  us  in  this  light.  A  great 
moral  power  which  may  be  exercised  to  promote  the  welfare  of  our  follow 
men,  is  offered  to  us  in  this  total  abstinence  principle.  In  a  spirit  of  benig 
nant  feeling  toward  our  race,  we  adopt  it.  We  abstain  from  that  which  we 
might  use  lawfully  and  without  injury  to  ourselves,  hoping,  thereby,  by  our 
example,  to  benefit  others." 

At  a  later  time  he  said,  "Let  example  plead  for  the  sake  of  a  bleeding 
world.  One  says,  '  I  am  not  responsible,  I  am  temperate,  I  drink  moderately. 
If  others  drink  to  excess,  I  am  not  responsible  for  their  conduct.'  That 
principle  never  had  its  origin  in  the  word  of  God,  or  in  a  generous  bosom. 
There  is  not  an  individual  who  hears  me,  whose  example  is  not  going  forth 
and  influencing  others,  for  good  or  ill.  When  we  meet  in  the  judgment, 
one  of  the  first  matters  that  will  come  up  there  will  be  the  influence 
which  our  example  has  exerted  upon  others.  And,  when  the  subject  of 
wine  comes  up  here,  how  will  the  precepts  of  the  gospel  lead  mo  to  dispose 
of  it?  If  my  example  is  in  danger  of  leading  others  astray,  I  must  aban 
don  it;  for 'it  is  good  neither  to  eat  flesh  nor  drink  wine,  nor  anything 
whereby  thy  brother  stumbleth,  or  is  offended,  or  is  made  weak.'  " 

"  The  fact,"  says  another,  "  that  our  Lord,  by  a  miracle,  produced  wine  at 
the  marriage  of  Cana,  in  Galilee,  is  urged  as  an  invincible  argument  against 
total  abstinence  from  alcoholic  drinks.  But  this,  like  every  other  reason  of 
the  kind,  is  based  upon  the  groundless  assumption,  that  the  term  wine 
always  refers  to  the  same  kind  of  intoxicating  drink  ;  whereas,  history, 
science,  and  even  modern  usage,  show  that  such  a  conclusion  is  altogether 
false.  Among  the  Jews,  Greeks,  and  Romans,  there  were  various,  descrip 
tions  of  wines.  There  were  the  drugged,  fermented,  and  poisonous  wines, 
injurious  to  the  bodies,  and  stupefying  to  the  minds  of  those  who  drank 
15 


228  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

them ;  and  there  were  also  the  sweet,  delicious,  nutrient,  or  delightfully 
acid  wines,  which  would  delight  and  please  every  palate,  would  nourish 
the  frame,  quench  thirst,  refresh  and  cool  the  weary,  and  injure  no  one. 
Now,  we  ask  the  reader  to  judge,  which  of  the  two  the  benevolent  Re 
deemer  was  most  likely  to  produce? 

"  In  Greece,  Rome,  and  Palestine,  it  was  customary  to  boil  down  their 
wines  into  a  kind  of  syrup.  Columella,  Pliny,  and  other  Roman  writers, 
tell  us  that  in  Italy  and  Greece  it  was  common  to  boil  their  wines.  These 
liquors  must  have  been  syrups,  and  every  chemist  knows  that  if  they 
were  thick  syrups,  they  could  not  have  undergone  the  process  of  the  ^nous 
fermentation.  The  practice  of  evaporating  the  juice  of  the  grape,  must 
have  been  adopted  by  the  Jews  in  Palestine,  as  a  wise  precaution  against 
the  heat  of  the  country,  for  by  this  operation  a  considerable  portion  of  the 
water  was  boiled  away,  the  solid  and  saccharine  substances  of  the  grape 
were  brought  into  a  thicker  consistence,  and  the  acetous  fermentation  pre 
vented.  This  historical  fact  respecting  the  boiling  of  grape  juice,  furnishes 
us  with  proof  that  the  wines  of  Palestine  were  not  alcoholic,  or  did  not 
obtain  their  inebriating  power  from  vinous  fermentation.  Yet  it  is  not 
intended  to  affirm  that  thy  were  all  destitute  of  an  intoxicating  principle. 
Other  substances  beside  alcohol  possess  inebriating  and  stupefying,  or  mad 
dening  properties.  In  the  sacred  volume,  we  have  several  allusions  to 
such  medicine  or  deleterious  drugs.  In  Psalm  Ix.  3,  we  read  of  "the  wine 
of  astonishment  or  giddiness  ; "  Ixxv,  8,  of  wine,  "  red,  and  full  of  mixture." 
Is.  li,  17,  mentions  the  "cup  of  trembling  and  giddiness."  In  Prov.  xxiii, 
30,  we  read  of  those  who  go  to  "seek  mixed  wine."  The  wine  mentioned 
Prov.  xxxi,  4-7,  was  a  soporific  drink.  The  wine  mixed  with  myrrh  and 
gall,  or  a  species  of  laudanum,  offered  to  our  Lord,  was  intended  to  produce 
stupefaction,  and  therefore  he  would  not  drink." 

The  next  question  that  came  up  was  the  propriety  of  granting  licenses  to 
eell  ardent  spirits.  Laws  of  this  kind  had  been  in  force  from  the  early  set 
tlement  of  the  country.  The  first  license  law  of  Massachusetts  was  passed 
in  1646.  In  April,  1638,  the  legislature  of  that  State  passed,  by  a  ma 
jority  of  more  than  two  thirds,  what  was  termed  the  "fifteen  gallon -law." 
It  forbade  the  retailing  of  any  spirituous  liquors,  under  a  penalty  of  twenty 
dollars,  excepting  by  apothecaries  and  physicians,  specially  licensed,  and 
they  were  not  permitted  to  sell  in  a  less  quantity  than  fifteen  gallons.  The 
sales  were  only  to  be  made  for  use  in  the  arts,  or  for  medicinal  purposes ; 
and  none  were  to  be  drank  on  the  premises  where  sold.  The  legislatures  of 
Tennessee,  Connecticut,  Rhode  Island,  and  New  Hampshire,  also  passed 
laws  designed  to  more  closely  restrict,  and  in  some  cases  to  prevent  entirely, 
the  sale  of  ardent  spirits,  to  be  used  as  a  beverage.  Up  to  this  period,  the 
friends  of  temperance  had  relied  for  success,  upon  an  appeal  to  the  moral 
sense  of  the  community — to  "moral  suasion."  What  was  the  practical  an 
swer  to  this,  on  the  part  of  the  manufacturers  and  dealers  in  ardent  spirits? 
"  Pooh  ! "  said  they,  "  we  have  millions  upon  millions  of  money  invested  in 
our  trade,  which  yields  us  a  handsome  profit ;  and  do  you  think  your 
whining  and  weeping,  can  induce  us  to  abandon  this  trade?  Your  sons, 
fathers,  and  husbands  are  not  obliged  to  drink.  If  they  will  drink  what  is 
that  to  us.?  Mind  your  own  business." 


OF  AMERICANS.  229 

Coercioi],  or  "  legal  suasion,"  then  failed  to  accomplish  the  desired  ends. 
First  came  secret  evasion,  and  then  open  violation  of  these  laws,  until  they 
were  either  repealed  or  remained  a  dead  letter  on  the  statute  books. 

An  incident  which  occurred  at  a  general  militia  muster  somewhere  in 
Massachusetts,  gained  considerable  notoriety  at  the  time,  as  an  amusing 
evasion  of  the  fifteen  gallon  law.  On  a  tent  at  the  ground,  was  a  show  bill 
as  below : 


GREAT  CURIOSITY. 

THE    STRIPED    PIO. 


o  le  seen  here  —  Admittance  6%  cts. 


Crowds  flocked  to  see  the  wonder,  and  what  was  curious  to  the  unini 
tiated,  many  were  not  contented  with  a  single  visit,  but  made  repeated  calls 
in  the  course  of  the  day — often  taking  their  friends  with  them — and  as  they 
came  out,  were  in  a  jovial  humor ;  some  of  them  at  length  showed  such  an 
uproarious  hilarity,  as  to  draw  the  attention  of  the  authorities  to  the  spot. 
On  entering,  they  found  a  common  white  pig  painted  in  black  stripes,  zebra 
like:  near  him  stood  a  table  well  provided  with  New  England  rum,  brandy, 
gin,  etc.,  which  the  owner  of  the  show  had  provided,  at  his  own  expense, 
for  the  refreshment  of  the  curiosity-seekers.  There  being  no  law  in  Massa 
chusetts  against  exhibiting  a  common  pig  daubed  with  black  paint,  nor  none 
against  giving  away  alcoholic  stimulants,  the  exhibitor  suffered  no  harm; 
indeed,  he  was  said  by  some  to  '  have  brought  his  pig  to  a  good  market. 

The  political  campaign  of  1840,  sometimes  called  "  the  Hard  Cider  Cam 
paign"  which  resulted  in  the  election  of  General  Harrison  to  the  presidency, 
occasioned  a  pause  in  the  Temperance  movement.     It  is  said  that  some  oppo 
nent  had  declared  he  was  unfit  for  the  office,  because  he  never  had  the  ability 
to  raise  himself  beyond  the  occupancy  of  a  log-cabin,  in  which  he  lived  very 
coarsely,  with  no  better  beverage  than  hard  cider.     It  was  an  unfortunate 
charge  for  the  wishes  of  the  accuser.     The  taunt  of  his  being  a  poor  man, 
and  living  in  a  log-cabin,  was  seized  upon  by  his  political  friends,  as  evidence 
of  his  incorruptibility  in  the  many  responsible  stations  he  had  held  ;  and 
4  the  log-cabin  "  became  at  once  the  symbol  of  the  Whig  party.     Thousands 
)f  these  were  forthwith  erected  all  over  the   land,  as  rallying  points   for 
oolitical  meetings.     Miniature  cabins  were  carried  in  political  processions, 
ind  in  some  cases  barrels  labeled  "  hard  cider." 
The  public  mind  cannot  be  simultaneously  excited  on  two  subjects,  nor 


230  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

long  upon  one.  In  the  whirl  of  this  memorable  campaign,  everything  else 
was  for  the  time  forgotten  ;  and  although  perhaps  not  much  hard  cider  was 
drank,  yet  it  is  to  be  presumed  that  poor  whisky,  rum,  and  other  coarse 
forms  of  alcoholic  drinks,  in  unusual  quantities,  ministered  to  and  increased 
the  wild  furor  of  the  day. 

*  Principles  never  die ; "  although  great  reforms  may  be  temporarily 
crushed,  yet,  often  at  the  very  moment  of  the  lowest  depression,  unseen 
causes  are  originating,  destined  to  impart  an  unwonted  vigor  to  the  right. 
Such  was  now  the  case,  for  this  very  year  gave  birth  to  the  Washingtoniaa 
phase  of  the  Temperance  Reform.  Heretofore,  the  cure  of  those  far  gone  in 
habits  of  inebriety  was  generally  thought  hopeless  !  The  main  object  of  the 
pledge  had  been  preservation  not  cure.  It  is  true  that  many  inebriates  signed 
the  old  pledge.  This  proved  of  little  avail  while  alcoholic  wines  were 
allowed ;  and  when  the  new  pledge  was  instituted  they  were  still  without 
the  countenance  of  their  former  boon  associates  in  their  new  relation,  and  in 
most  cases  relapsed  into  their  old  habits. 

When  the  Temperance  Reformation  arose,  "there  were  supposed  to  be  in 
the  United  States  not  less  than  three  hundred  thousand  common  drunkards. 
The  most  of  them  were  husbands  and  fathers.  Many  had  large  families. 
Their  houses  were  generally  known  by  the  broken  door-yard  fence ;  the 
fallen  gate  ;  the  windows  stuffed  with  old  hats  and  rags  ;  the  clapboards 
dangling  in  the  air ;  the  barns  held  up  by  props  and  stripped  of  their  boards, 
which  had  been  used  for  fuel ;  a  half-starved  horse  standing  in  the  street 
and  several  ragged  children,  who,  without  hats  or  shoes,  spent  their  days  in 
dragging  brush-wood  from  the  neighboring  forests,  or  in  begging  pennies 
from  door  to  door,  to  buy  their  mother  a  loaf  of  bread. 

In  the  interior,  little  was  visible  either  of  neatness  or  comfort.  No  bed  but 
one  of  straw,  laid  on  knotted  ropes  ;  here  a  show  of  a  table,  and  there  a 
broken  chair.  A  half  dozen  broken  plates,  rusty  knives  and  forks,  and  iron 
spoons  ;  a  mug  for  cider,  and  a  bottle  for  rum.  Neither  carpet  nor  plaster 
ing  was  there — if  it  was  winter,  the  snow  would  often  lie  upon  the  bed,  and 
the  mother  and  her  children  be  seen  huddled  together  over  a  few  embers, 
as  their  only  refuge.  Night  would  come,  but  no  sound  of  a  father's  voice 
with  comfortable  food  to  cheer  and  gladden.  The  children  would  cry  them 
selves  to  sleep.  The  mother  would  sit  and  "  watch  the  moon  go  down," 
till  distant  footsteps  -were  heard,  and  horrid  oaths  vented  at  not  finding  the 
door,  causing  her  heart  to  quail ;  and  a  monster  in  human  shape,  but  the 
father  of  her  children,  would  burst  upon  her,  and  perhaps  drive  her  out  in 
the  cold  and  dreary  night,  even  in  a  pitiless  storm,  compelling  her  to  leave 
her  babes  to  his  neglect  or  cruelties. 

These  were  homes  witnessed  in  almost  every  neighborhood.  The  inhabit 
ants  were  accustomed  to  the  spectacle  as  a  necessary  appendage  to  their 
village,  as  the  church,  the  school-house,  the  tavern,  the  dram-shop,  or  the 
comfortable  home  of  the  sober  and  the  frugal ;  and  it  attracted  no  particular 
notice,  unless  there  went  forth,  at  midnight  hour,  a  cry  of  murder  :  and  then, 
for  a  little  season,  all  thought  something  must  be  done  ;  the  wife  must  swear 
the  peace  upon  her  husband,  and  he,  by  authority,  be  sent  to  jail.  But  thia 
she  would  not  do  ;  he  was  her  husband  ;  he  promised  to  reform,  and  thinga 
would  be  left  to  pass  on  much  as  before. 


OF  AMERICANS.  231 

From  this  very  class  originated  a  movement  which  astonished  the  cjuntry, 
and  lifted  the  Temperance  Reform  up  to  a  point  it  had  never  previously 
attained.  On  the  evening  of  Friday,  April  2d,  1840,  six  men  of  intem 
perate  habits  met  at  Chase's  Tavern,  in  Baltimore,  to  gratify  their  appetite 
for  strong  drink.  They  were  Win.  K.  Mitchell,  a  tailor;  John  T.  Hoss,  a 
carpenter ;  David  Anderson,  a  blacksmith  ;  George  Steers,  a  wheelwright ; 
Jas.  McCurly,  a  coachmaker;  and  Archibald  Campbell,  a  silverplater. 
"  Thus  they  met  as  they  had  often  met  before  ;  but  neither  seemed  inclined 
to  call  for  the  subtle  poison  that  had  so  many  times  stolen  away  their  reason. 
Soon  the  feelings  of  each  became  known  to  the  others,  and  they  felt  a  sudden 
hope  springing  up  in  their  minds — a  hope  in  the  power  of  association.  Sad 
experience  had  proven  to  each  one  of  that  little  company,  that  alone  he 
could  not  stand.  But  together,  shoulder  to  shoulder,  hand  to  hand,  and 
heart  to  heart,  they  felt  that  though  the  struggle  would  be  hard,  they  could, 
and  they  would  conquer  I 

In  that  moral  pest-house  then,  while  inhaling  with  every  breath  the 
tempting  fumes  of  the  potations  they  loved,  did  this  little  band  pledge 
themselves  to  each  other,  never  again  to  drink  any  kind  of  intoxicating 
drink — spirits,  wine,  malt,  or  cider." 

They  organized  themselves  into  a  society,  and  called  it  the  Washington 
Temperance  Society.  Then  they  went  to  some  of  their  old  companions,  told 
them  what  they  had  done,  and  invited  them  to  join  their  society.  A  few 
were  found  to  break  away  from  their  bondage  and  unite  with  them.  Thus 
their  power  and  influence  became  increased.  Others  soon  followed  the 
example,  and  it  was  not  long  before  the  society  numbered  over  one  hundred 
members,  each  one  of  whom  had  been  for  years  in  the  habit  of  drinking,  and 
most  of  them  occasionally  to  intoxication. 

All  this  time,  each  member  was  using  all  his  powers  of  reasoning  and  per 
suasion  to  induce  his  old  companions  to  come  in.  Some  would,  on  the  nights 
of  their  meetings,  station  themselves  near  the  grog-shops  they  had  formerly 
been  in  the  habit  of  visiting,  and  intercept  those  whom  they  knew,  before 
they  had  reached  the  doors  they  were  seeking.  Then  they  would  reason 
with  them,  and  persuade  them  to  come  to  the  society  ;  if  not  to  join,  at  least 
to  hear.  In  this  way  numbers  were  added.  Such  members  as  had  no 
work,  were  aided  as  far  as  possible,  and  efforts  were  made  to  procure  work 
for  them." 

And  thus  the  reformation  went  on.  Their  meetings  were  conducted  by 
the  relation  of  the  experience  of  the  speakers.  Neither  of  these  original  six 
became  distinguished  speakers,  but  the  president,  Wm.  K.  Mitchell,  a  man. 
of  rare  genius,  vigorous  intellect,  and  commanding  influence,  threw  into  the 
association  a  power,  which  soon  caused  it  to  be  felt  through  the  whole  city. 
The  thrilling  tales  narrated  by  the  reformed,  as  they  signed  the  pledge,  were 
widely  spread  abroad,  and  by  the  close  of  1840,  thousands  had  flocked  to 
their  standard,  many  of  whom  had  been  miserable  slaves  to  the  intoxica 
ting  cup. 

One  of  these,  John  H.  W.  Hawkins,  a  hatter  by  trade,  was  reduced,  at  the 
age  of  twenty-two,  to  extreme  drunkenness.  He  wandered  far  off  from  his 
friends  to  the  West,  where  he  suffered  every  evil  from  poverty,  degradation, 
and  vice — lived  years  in  Baltimore,  without  providing  food  or  clothing  for 


232  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS. 

his  family,  a  living  death  to  them.  His  wife  would  sit  up  for  him  until 
midnight,  and  watch  to  see  whether  he  came  home  drunk  or  sober ;  often 
would  he  fall  prostrate  in  his  hall,  ^nd  his  little  daughter  would  cover  him 
with  a  blanket  until  morning  light.  This  individual  soon  became  a  powerful 
public  speaker.  He  traveled  through  the  country  relating  his  experience, 
and  was  the  means  of  saving  thousands  from  the  drunkard's  fate.  In  the 
course  of  two  years  he  succeeded  in  attaining  the  signatures  of  more  than 
eighty  thousand  persons  to  the  pledge.  "  On  the  15th  of  June,  1840,"  said 
he,  in  one  of  his  public  addresses,  "  I  drank  and  suffered  awfully — I  can't 
tell  how  much  I  suffered  in  mind — in  body  everything,  but  in  mind  more. 
I  drank  dreadfully  the  two  first  weeks  of  June — bought  by  the  gallon,  and 
drank,  and  drank,  and  was  about  taking  my  life — drunk  all  the  time.  On 
the  14th,  I  was  a  wonder  to  myself ;  astonished  I  had  my  mind  left,  and 
yet  it  seemed,  in  the  goodness  of  God,  uncommonly  clear.  I  lay  in  bed 
long  after  my  wife  and  daughter  were  up,  and  my  conscience  drove  me  to 
madness.  I  hated  the  darkness  of  the  night ;  and  when  light  came,  I  hated 
the  light.  I  hated  myself — my  existence.  I  asked  myself,  '  Can  I  refrain  ; 
is  it  possible  ?'  Not  a  being  to  take  me  by  the  hand,  and  lead  or  help  me 
along,  and  say  you  can.  I  was  friendless  ;  without  help  or  light ;  an  outcast. 
My  wife  came  up  stairs,  and  knew  I  was  suffering,  and  asked  me  to  go  down 
to  breakfast.  I  had  a  pint  of  whisky,  and  thought  I  would  drink  ;  and  yet 
I  knew  it  was  life  or  death  with  me  as  I  decided.  Well,  I  told  my  wife  I 
would  come  down  presently.  Then  my  daughter  came  up  and  asked  me 
down.  I  always  loved  her — more  because  she  was  the  drunkard's  friend — 
my  only  friend. 

"  She  said,  '  Father,  don't  send  me  after  whisky  to-day.'  I  was  tormented 
before,  but  this  was  an  unexpected  torture.  I  told  her  to  leave  the  chamber, 
and  she  went  down  crying,  and  said  to  her  mother,  'Father  is  angry  with 
me.'  Wife  came  up  again,  and  asked  me  to  take  some  coffee  ;  I  told  her  I 
did  not  want  anything  of  her,  and  covered  myself  in  the  bed.  I  soon  heard 
some  one  enter  the  room,  and  I  peeped  out  and  saw  it  was  my  daughter.  I 
then  thought  of  my  past  life  ;  my  degradation  ;  misery  of  my  friends  ;  and 
felt  bad  enough.  So  I  called  her  and  said,  '  Hannah,  I  am  not  angry  with 
you,  and  I  shall  not  drink  any  more.'  She  cried,  and  so  did  I.  I  got  up 
and  went  to  the  cupboard,  and  looked  at  the  enemy,  and  thought,  'Is  it 
possible  I  can  be  restored  ? '  and  then  turned  my  back  upon  it.  Several 
times,  while  dressing,  I  looked  at  the  bottle,  but  thought  I  should  be  lost  if 
I  yielded.  Poor  drunkard  !  there  is  hope  for  you.  You  cannot  be  worse  ofi 
than  I  was;  not  more  degraded,  or  more  of  a  slave  to  appetite.  You  can 
reform  if  you  will.  Try  it — try  it !  I  felt  badly,  I  tell  you. 

"Well,  Monday  night  I  went  to  the  Society  of  Drunkards,  and  there  I 
found  all  my  old  bottle  companions.  I  did  not  tell  anybody  1  was  going, 
not  even  my  wife.  I  had  got  out  of  difficulty,  but  did  not  know  how  long 
I  would  keep  out.  The  six-pounders  of  the  society  were  there.  We  had 
fished  together ;  got  drunk  together.  You  could  not  break  us  up  when 
drunk.  We  stuck  like  brothers,  and  so  we  do  now,  we  are  sober.  One 
said,  here  is  Hawkins,  the  'regulator,'  the  old  bruiser ;  and  they  clapped  me 
and  laughed,  as  you  do  now.  But  there  was  no  laugh  or  clap  in  me.  I 
was  too  sober  and  solemn  for  that.  The  pledge  was  read  for  my  accommoda- 


OF  AMERICANS.  233 

tion.  They  did  not  say  so,  and  yet  I  knew  they  all  looked  over  my 
shoulder  to  see  me  write  my  name.  I  never  had  such  feelings  before.  It 
•was  a  great  battle.  I  once  fought  the  battle  at  North  Point,  and  helped  to 
run  away  too,  but  now  there  was  no  running  away.  I  found  the  society 
had  a  large  pitcher  of  water  ;  drank  toasts,  and  told  experiences.  There  I 
laid  my  plan  ;  I  did  not  intend  to  be  a  drone.  Alcohol  promised  me  every 
thing,  but  I  found  him  a  great  deceiver,  and  now  I  meant  to  do  him  all  the 
harm  I  could. 

"  At  eleven  I  went  home.  When  I  stayed  out  late,  I  always  went  home 
drunk.  Wife  had  given  me  up  again,  and  thought  I  would  be  home  drunk 
again,  and  she  began  to  think  about  breaking  up  and  going  home  to  mother's. 
My  yard  is  covered  with  brick,  and  as  I  went  over  the  brick,  wife  listened, 
as  she  told  me,  to  determine  whether  the  gate-door  opened  drunk  or  sober, 
for  she  could  tell,  and  it  opened  sober  and  shut  sober ;  and  when  I  entered, 
my  wife  was  standing  in  the  middle  of  the  room,  to  see  me  as  I  came  in. 
She  was  astonished,  but  I  smiled  and  she  smiled,  as  I  caught  her  keen  black 
eye.  I  told  her  quick  ;  I  could  not  keep  it  back.  '  I  have  put  my  name  to 
the  temperance  pledge,  never  to  drink  as  long  as  I  live.'  It  was  a  happy 
time.  I  cried,  and  she  cried  ;  we  could  not  help  it,  and  crying  waked  up 
our  daughter,  and  she  cried  too.  I  tell  you  this,  that  you  may  know  how 
happy  the  reformation  of  a  drunkard  makes  his  family.  I  slept  none  that 
night,  my  thoughts  were  better  than  sleep.  Next  morning  I  went  to  see 
my  mother,  old  as  she  was.  I  must  go  to  see  her  and  tell  her  of  our  joy. 
She  had  been  praying  twenty  years  for  her  drunken  son.  Now,  she  said, 
*  It  is  enough,  I  am  ready  to  die.'  It  made  all  my  connections  happy." 

Possessed  of  a  clear,  strong,  and  mellow  voice,  and  having  unusually 
warm  affections  ;  being  entirely  willing  to  relate  the  whole  of  his  bitter 
experience,  and  doing  it,  not  in  a  spirit  of  boasting,  but  contrition,  he  soon 
became  a  prominent  speaker ;  and  under  his  addresses,  large  and  intelligent 
audiences  were  often  in  tears.  In  the  course  of  the  ensuing  winter,  he 
attended  the  anniversary  of  the  Maryland  State  Temperance  Society,  at 
Annapolis,  and  related  his  experience  before  the  members  of  the  State 
Legislature,  with  much  effect ;  the  house,  it  is  said,  were  dissolved  in  tears. 
In  the  following  March,  he,  with  four  other  reformed  men  from  Baltimore, 
came,  by  invitation,  to  New  York,  where,  under  the  relation  of  their  per 
sonal  experience,  before  immense  crowds,  commenced  the  Washingtonian 
Reform  of  that  city.  At  the  first  meeting,  while  Mr.  Hawkins  was  speak 
ing,  in  the  Green  Street  Methodist  Church,  a  poor  drunkard  cried  out  in  the 
gallery,  "  Can  I  be  saved,  too  ? "  "  Yes,"  said  Mr.  Hawkins,  "  you  can. 
Come  down  and  sign  the  pledge."  With  a  little  solicitation,  the  man  came 
down,  and,  supported  by  two  others,  came  up  to  the  altar  and  signed  the 
pledge.  The  victory  was  now  gained.  The  work  of  redemption  among 
poor  drunkards  commenced.  Another  uttered  forth  the  feelings  of  his 
heart,  and  was  induced  to  come  down  and  sign  the  pledge.  Five  or  six 
others  of  the  miserable  class  soon  followed,  and  some  thirty  or  forty  besides, 
well  known  as  hard  drinkers  or  drunkards.  It  was  the  first  fruits  of  a 
great  harvest. 

On  another  occasion,  he  said  :  "  Go  to  Baltimore  and  see  our  now  happy 
wives  and  families.  Only  look  at  our  procession  on  the  5th  of  April,  when 


234  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

we  celebrated  our  anniversary.  Two  thousand  men,  nearly  half  of  them 
reformed  within  a  year,  followed  by  two  thousand  boys  of  all  ages,  to  give 
assurance  to  the  world  that  the  next  generation  shall  all  be  sober.  But 
where  were  our  wives  on  that  occasion  ?  At  home,  shut  up  with  hungry 
children  in  rags  as  a  year  ago  ?  No,  no  !  but  in  carriages,  riding  round  tho 
streets  to  see  their  sober  husbands  ! 

My  family  were  in  a  hack,  and  I  carried  apples,  cakes,  etc.,  to  them,  and 

wife  said,  '  How  happy  all  look ;  why,  husband,  there  is all  dressed 

up — and  only  think,  I  saw  old in  the  procession,  as  happy  and  smart 

as  any  of  them  ; '  and  so  she  went  on  telling  me  who  she  had  seen,  And 
where  do  you  think  the  grog-sellers'  wives  were  ?  Were  they  out  ?  Not 
they!  Some  of  them  peeped  out  from  behind  their  curtains!  We  cut 
down  the  rum  tree  that  day  in  Baltimore,  under  ground  ;  not  on  the  top  of 
the  ground,  leaving  a  stump,  but  under  ground,  roots  and  all ! " 

Of  the  dangers  and  results  of  the  drinking  usages  of  society,  and  the 
horrid  traffic  in  intoxicating  liquors,  he  spoke  .with  an  honest  but  just  indig- 
nation>  showing  talents  of  no  ordinary  character. 

"  This  drinking  has  killed  more  men,  women,  and  children,  than  war, 
pestilence,  and  all  other  evils  together.  You  cannot  bring  upon  man  so 
awful  a  curse  as  alcohol ;  it  cannot  be  done ;  no  machinery  or  invention  of 
death  can  work  like  it.  Is  there  a  moderate  drinker,  who  says  he  can  use 
'a  little,'  or  'much,'  and  'quit  when  he  pleases?'  I  tell  him  from  ex 
perience,  he  can't  do  it.  Well,  he  can  if  he  tvitt,  but  HE  WON'T  WILL,  that  is 
the  difficulty,  and  there  is  the  fatal  mistake.  Does  he  want  to  know 
whether  he  can  ?  I  ask  him  to  go  without  his  accustomed  morning  bitters, 
or  his  eleven  o'clock,  to-morrow,  and  he  will  find  how  he  loves  it !  Wo 
have  come  up  out  of  the  gutter  to  tell  him  how  he  loves  it,  and  how  he 
may  escape.  It  is  the  moderate  use — the  little,  the  pretty  drink,  the  gen 
teel  and  fashionable,  that  does  the  mischief — the  moderate  drinker  is  train 
ing  to  take  the  place  of  the  drunkard. 

This  making  the  drunkard  by  a  thousand  temptations  and  inducements, 
and  then  shutting  him  up  in  prison,  is  a  cruel  and  horrible  business.  You 
make  the  drunkard,  and  then,  if  he  cornes  into  your  house,  you  turn  him 
out ;  let  him  come  to  the  church,  and  you  turn  him  out ;  friends  cast  him 
off;  the  grog-seller  turns  him  out  when  his  money  is  gone,  or  midnight 
comes.  When  he  serves  his  time  out  in  the  prison,  he  is  turned  out  with 
the  threat  of  flogging  if  he  is  ever  caught  again  :  and  yet  you  keep  open  the 
place  where  he  is  entangled  and  destroyed.  You  are  bound  to  turn  the 
whole  tide  of  public  opinion  against  the  traffic.  The  seller  will  pour  down 
your  son's  throat  a  tide  of  liquor,  and  you  do  so  to  his  son  and  he  would 
cut  your  throat.  Ask  him  if  he  is  willing  you  should  make  his  daughter  a 
drunkard,  and  why  should  he  make  your  son  one  ?  " 

Two  others  of  these  Baltimore  reformers,  Messrs.  Pollard  and  Wright, 
were  plain,  uneducated  men,  but  great  inebriates.  Their  victories  in  New 
York,  New  Jersey,  Delaware,  Pennsylvania,  and  Virginia,  almost  surpassed 
belief.  They  attended  over  five  hundred  meetings,  and  obtained  above 
sixty  thousand  signatures  to  the  pledge.  A  third,  Mr.  Vickers,  once  one  of 
the  most  abandoned  of  men,  so  debased  as  to  leave  his  wife  and  five  children 
eighteen  months  without  a  dollar  to  feed  or  clothe  them,  and  who  was  so 


OF  AMERICANS.  235 

reduced  and  changed,  that  when  he  finally  came  home  his  wife  did  not 
know  him  ;  this  man,  by  his  history  and  powerful  appeals,  kindled  up  a 
flame  which  spread  over  all  the  West,  and  he  himself  witnessed  the  signa 
tures  of  seventy  thousand  names  to  the  pledge. 

Another,  George  Haydock,  an  inhabitant  of  Hudson,  N.  Y.,  who  seemed 
to  embody  in  himself  all  the  ravages  of  alcohol  over  body,  mind,  and  heart ; 
who  had  been  bereft  by  this  destroyer,  in  blasting  rocks,  of  one  leg  and  one 
eye,  and  was  viewed  as  perfectly  irreclaimable,  gathered  over  eight  thousand 
signatures  to  the  pledge — of  which  at  least  one  thousand  were  from  common 
drunkards. 

Another  remarkable  instrument  in  this  work  was  Joseph  Hayes,  of  Bath, 
Maine,  of  whom  it  was  a  proverb,  "drunk  as  old  Hayes."  His  poverty, 
destitution,  and  debasement,  were  the  most  extreme.  He  had  one  garment, 
for  which  no  name  could  be  given.  The  hat  which  he  wore  through  the 
cold  winter  was  made  of  straw.  Boots  he  had  none,  and  his  shoes  were  in 
very  bad  order.  But  with  an  uncommon  vigor  of  intellect  and  powerful 
frame,  he  traversed,  as  a  perfectly  reformed  man,  many  parts  of  the  State, 
waging  an  exterminating  war  with  his  old  enemy  ;  extensively  reclaiming 
inveterate  drunkards,  and  breaking  up  the  most  profitable  fiquor  establish 
ments. 

In  New  Haven,  Conn.,  lived  a  Mr.  Abel  Bishop,  than  whom,  perhaps,  no 
man  ever  passed  through  a  more  horrid  fever  of  delirium  tremens  and  lived. 
Men  were  about  him,  in  his  apprehension,  to  flay  him  alive.  He  saw  them 
begin  to  cut  his  flesh  with  saws,  and  to  pull  off  his  skin  in  strings,  and  hang 
them  on  wires.  At  other  times,  it  seemed  to  him  a  cage  of  wild  beasts  were 
let  loose  upon  him.  At  one  moment  he  thought  his  breast  was  full  of 
anima's  :  he  asked  a  young  man  to  draw  them  out,  which  he  did,  and  every 
time  he  drew  one  out  a  horrid  sensation  of  faintness  came  over  him.  At 
another  time,  he  thought  his  comrades  were  assaulting  him  with  hooks, 
which  they  endeavored  to  strike  into  his  flesh.  He  would  stand  on  the 
defensive,  fighting  till  the  sweat  from  his  body  would  stand  in  puddles  on 
the  floor.  This  man,  reformed  by  this  new  instrumentality,  became  himself 
a  public  advocate  of  the  cause,  visited  most  of  the  counties  in  tho  State, 
and,  by  his  relation  of  the  awful  consequences  of  rum  drinking  in  his  own 
case,  everywhere  produced  great  results. 

Even  in  death,  two  years  later,  the  influence  of  Mr.  Bishop  still  worked 
for  good.  On  the  day  after  his  decease,  a  young  man  of  promise,  but  fast 
forming  intemperate  habits,  came,  at  the  instigation  of  a  friend,  into  the  shop 
where  that  coffin  was  making,  and  expressed  a  wish  to  sign  the  pledge. 
The  pledge  was  read  to  him.  With  an  oath,  he  declared  he  would  not  thus 
give  up  his  liberty  ;  and  yet,  said  he,  if  I  do  not  come  to  it,  I  shall  soon 
want  a  coffin  myself.  Whose  coffin  is  this  ?  The  maker  told  him,  and 
gave  him  in  brief  the  history  of  Mr.  Bishop,  his  dreadful  careei,  his  delirium, 
his  reform,  his  labors,  his  triumph  and  happy  death.  Give  me,  said-  the 
much-affected  young  man,  a  pen.  He  took  it,  and  there,  over  Mr.  Bishop's 
coffin,  sigtled  the  pledge. 

In  every  part  of  the  Union,  the  meetings  of  the  reformed  men  became  the 
great  attraction  of  the  time.  Curiosity  drew  to  them  the  most  abandoned 
drunkards,  and  the  most  heartless  of  the  retailers  of  alcoholic  drinks.  The 


236  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

latter  eyed  the  reformed  with  a  peculiar  malignancy,  that  can  be  only  ex 
pressed  by  the  term  hellish.  Signing  the  pledge,  they  stigmatized  as 
"signing  away  of  one's  liberty."  Invective,  ridicule,  and  every  appliance 
\vhich  malice  and  selfishness  combined  could  invent,  were  used  to  recover 
their  lost  customers.  The  reformed  man,  who  had  scarcely  power  to  stand 
alone,  was  too  often  again  enticed  to  ruin.  Many  a  wife,  and  many  a 
daughter,  as  was  attested  by  the  history  of  the  times,  has,  on  bended  knees, 
and  with  streaming  eyes,  besought  some  one  of  these  men  to  withhold  the 
fatal  draught  from  a  husband  or  a  father,  and  been  denied  with  a  laugh  of 
fiendish  exultation  :  nay,  worse,  driven  away  with  blows.  To  such  men, 
these  meetings  of  the  Washingtonians  were  viewed  with  anything  but 
pleasurable  emotions.  Not  unfrequently  they  witnessed  one  of  their  cus 
tomers,  in  a  state  of  inebriation,  stagger  up  and  sign  the  pledge,  as  is  illus 
trated  in  our  engraving ;  and,  furthermore,  often  under  these  circumstances 
had  the  after  disappointment,  with  all  their  arts,  of  not  being  able  again 
to  lure  him  within  the  embrace  of  their  snaky,  slimy  coil. 

The  mental  power  of  the  reformed,  in  many  cases,  burst  forth  to  the  sur 
prise  of  all  who  knew  them.  "  Men,  who  for  years  had  been  lost  to  the 
world,  and  where  known,  known  only  as  stupid,  sottish,  imbecile  drunkards, 
in  many  instances  exhibited  rare  powers  of  public  address,  and  for  hours 
commanded  the  attention  of  large  and  intelligent  audiences,  producing  con 
viction  where  all  argument  before  had  failed,  exciting  sympathies  where 
none  had  before  existed,  and  producing  an  almost  complete  revolution  in 
society.  Their  self-respect  and  moral  sense,  too,  rose  at  once  as  from  a, 
night  of  oblivion.  Men  who  were  lost  to  all  sense  of  shame  ;  who  were  seen 
day  by  day  ragged,  filthy,  unshaven  ;  who  cared  not  who  were  their  asso 
ciates,  how  low  their  condition  ;  who  would  even  make  their  bed  with  the 
swine  :  men  who  would  lie  and  steal,  became  well  dressed,  respected  them 
selves  and  their  standing  in  society,  abhorred  vicious  company  and  vicious 
conduct,  and  felt  again,  and  perhaps  far  more  deeply  than  ever  before,  that 
they  were  moral  and  accountable  beings,  and  responsible  for  all  their  conduct 
to  the  great  Author  of  their  existence.  There  was  also  a  happy  restoration  of 
natural  affection.  The  moment  the  dramshop  was  renounced,  that  moment  the 
heart  turned  back  to  its  long-forsaken  home,  to  the  abused  wife,  and  to  the 
wretched  children.  There  were  found  objects  of  attachment,  which  melted 
the  long  brutalized  spirit,  and  there  was  shown  a  devotion  to  their  interests, 
a  willingness  to  labor  for  them,  and  a  determination  to  provide  for  their 
future  welfare,  soothing  the  sorrows  and  afflictions  that  were  hurrying  them 
to  the  grave.  From  these  various  results  of  the  reformation  of  an  untold 
number  of  drunken  husbands,  fathers,  and  sons,  there  was  an  actual  relief 
of  domestic  misery  and  creation  of  domestic  happiness  probably  never  before 
realized  from  any  one  occurrence  since  the  world  began. 

The  miserable  men,  who  were  throughout  the  country,  especially  in  the 
iarge'cities,  the  subjects  of  this  reform,  were  at  first  without  decent  clothing, 
without  food  or  employment,  and  their  families  were  destitute,  afflicted, 
and  exposed  to  the  worst  temptations.  Though  the  drunkard  had  ever 
been  cast  off  as  an  odious  being,  and  his  poor  unfortunate  family  had  been 
left  to  partake  of  his  poverty  and  degradation,  yet  the  moment  he  seemed 
to  make  a  bold  and  honest  resolution  to  rise,  the  sympathies  of  many  were 


OF  AMERICANS.  237 

moved  toward  him.  First,  the  reformed  rnen  themselves  who  sought  hitn 
out  and  took  him  by  the  hand,  who  led  him  to  the  Temperance  meeting 
and  encouraged  him  to  sign  the  pledge,  did  what  they  could  to  minister  to 
his  necessities.  In  their  temporary  asylum,  in  some  sail  loft,  they  washed, 
and  combed,  and  nurtured  him,  but  they  could  not  clothe  him.  Appeals  in 
their  behalf  were  made  to  the  public,  and  some  feeble  aid  was  rendered ; 
but  system  was  needed,  and  the  heart  of  woman  was  touched.  Ladies 
combined  in  several  cities  in  associations,  properly  called  Martha  Washing 
ton  Societies,  taking  the  work  of  supplying  the  wants  of  the  reformed  into 
their  own  hands,  and  the  result  was  of  the  most  heart-cheering  character. 

Whenever  the  reformed  men  made  a  public  manifestation  of  their  joy  and 
gratitude  at  their  wonderful  escape  from  the  fangs  of  the  monster  which 
ground  them  in  the  dust,  they  were  at  once  met  with  a  most  enthusiastic 
response  from  almost  the  entire  community.  At  their  first  public  procession 
hi  Baltimore,  on  the  5th  of  April,  1841,  the  whole  city  came  out  to  seo 
what  new  thing  this  was,  and  to  bid  them  God  speed  in  their  glorious 
enterprise. 

The  next  year,  at  New  York,  on  the  29th  of  March,  at  Cincinnati  on  the 
5th,  and  at  Philadelphia  on  the  12th  of  April,  the  anniversary  of  the  com 
mencement  of  the  Washington  movement  was  celebrated  by  grand  tri 
umphant  Temperance  processions  ;  which,  had  they  been  surpassed  by  those 
of  a  civic  character,  which,  it  is  believed,  they  seldom  have,  contained 
elements  of  moral  sublimity  deeply  affecting.  Hundreds  and  thousands 
looked  upon  these  reformed  men,  numbering  in  each  of  the  cities  many 
thousands,  waving  their  appropriate  banners  in  glorious  triumph  over  the 
worst  of  human  foes,  and  asserting  before  the  world  their  dignity  and  happi 
ness  as  free  and  sober  men,  and  bade  them  onward  to  their  wonderful  enter 
prise.  The  following  notice  from  a  Cincinnati  paper,  affords  a  specimen 
of  the  enthusiastic  and  sympathetic  feeling  in  each  of  the  three  great 
cities. 

"  When  the  column  had  arrived  on  Vine  above  Third  street,  they  were 
received  by  the  Juvenile  Temperance  Society  of  the  Ninth  Street  Baptist 
Church.  The  band  in  front  ceased  playing,  and  the  juveniles  commenced 
singing  a  most  delightful  Temperance  hymn.  The  effect  was  electrical. 
Many  a  cheek  was  bedewed  with  tears,  in  that  column — tears  that  could 
not  be  restrained.  As  we  turned  into  Fourth  street  from  Vine,  we  found 
the  juvenile  societies  posted  on  the  left,  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach  clown 
the  street — occupying  the  whole  of  the  sidewalk  almost  to  Western-Row  ; 
and  as  the  front  of  the  column  came  opposite  to  each  society,  they  com 
menced  their  Temperance  songs,  prepared  for  the  occasion,  with  great  spirit 
and  overwhelming  effect.  Every  heart  seemed  to  be  moved  by  this,  to 
most,  unexpected  welcome.  The  column  marched  along  this  line  with 
uncovered  heads,  while  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  street  every  inch  of 
pavement,  every  window,  and  even  the  roofs  of  the  houses,  where  it  was 
practicable,  were  occupied  with  ladies,  who  welcomed  the  procession  with 
their  joyous  smiles,  the  waving  of  handkerchiefs,  and  every  possible  ex 
pression  of  their  approbation.  Along  the  whole  line  of  march  the  streets 
were  crowded  with  delighted  and  eager  spectators.  When  the  procession 
arrived  at  the  park,  it  was  received  by  the  ladies  of  the  Martha  Washington 


238  ADVENTURES  A1STD  ACHIEVEMENTS 

Society,  who  were  posted  on  the  north  side  of  the  park.  Here  was  another 
scene  of  great  excitement  and  interest.  Every  side  of  the  park,  and  every 
street  leading  to  it,  were  crowded  to  overflowing — all  anxious  to  witness 
every  movement  of  this  great  moral  pageant." 

At  this  important  era,  Dr.  Thomas  Sewall,  an  eminent  physician  and  dis 
tinguished  philanthropist  of  the  City  of  Washington,  exhibited  to  the  public 
a  series  of  plates,  representing,  from  actual  dissections,  the  influence  of 
alcohol  upon  the  human  stomach  ;  the  state  of  the  stomach  of  the  perfectly 
temperate  man,  of  the  moderate  drinker,  of  the  habitual  drunkard,  of  the 
drunkard  after  a  debauch,  and  of  the  drunkard  dying  of  delirium  tremens. 
The  exhibition  was  accompanied  with  a  lecture  upon  the  pathology  of 
drunkenness,  which  was  listened  to  with  deep  attention  by  three  thousand 
citizens  of  Washington,  and  many  members  of  the  national  government 
Copies  of  these  plates  were  extensively  circulated  everywhere,  and  proved 
of  great  service  in  imparting  correct  knowledge  on  the  subject. 

The  effect  of  the  exhibition  in  Washington  was  electrical,  and  in  a  few 
weeks  it  excited  the  friends  of  total  abstinence  in  Congress  to  unite  in  a  Con 
gressional  Total  Abstinence  Society.  The  Congressional  Temperance  Society 
formed  ten  years  before,  on  the  principle  of  abstinence  from  the  use  of 
ardent  spirits,  was  respectable  and  useful  in  its  day.  But  while  other  in 
toxicating  drinks  were  continued  in  use,  especially  the  wines  of  commerce, 
highly  brandied,  intemperance  was  not  surpressed  even  among  its  members, 
and  in  a  few  years  it  languished  and  died.  The  time  had  now  come  for  an 
organization  on  the  principle  of  total  abstinence  from  all  intoxicating 
liquors  as  a  beverage.  Such  a  society  was  formed  on  the  9th  of  February, 
1842.  More  than  eighty  members  of  Congress  united  with  the  society,  by 
signing  the  total  abstinence  pledge. 

A  new  feature  at  this  period,  was  the  formation  of  Children's  Temperance 
Societies,  called  the  Cold  Water  Army.  In  the  year  1841,  in  the  single  State 
of  Massachusetts,  thirty-five  thousand  badges,  and  twelve  hundred  chil 
dren's  banners  were  sold.  In  Sunday  schools,  too,  all  over  the  land,  vast 
multitudes  enlisttd  under  the  Temperance  standard.  These  gathered  by 
thousands  on  the  Fourth  of  July,  and  on  other  occasions,  and  marched 
forth  singing : 

"  With  banner  and  with  badge  we  come — 
^  Away  the  bowl,  away  the  bowl," 

To  some  beautiful  grove,  there  to  partake  of  a  plentiful  repast  in  joy  and 
thanksgiving.  That  department  of  Temperance  action  derived  new  interest 
from  the  Washingtonian  Reform.  With  their  father,  the  children  of  the 
drunkard  had  been  outcasts  from  society.  They  had  no  place  in  the  day- 
school  or  the  Sabbath-school.  Ragged  and  filthy,  they  had  been  left  to 
roam  about  the  miserable  habitation  of  their  parent ;  and  bring  rum  from  the 
store  for  a  drunken  father,  or  drag  brush  from  the  woods  for  a  broken-hearted 
mother.  But  relief  came.  A  jubilee  was  proclaimed  for  thousands  on 
thousands.  The  drunken  father  was  reformed,  and  the  children  were  in  a 
pew  world.  They  were  clothed  and  fed,  and  found  a  place  in  the  public 
school.  Other  children  sympathized  with  them,  and  if  there  was  one  selected 


OF  AMERICANS.  239 

to  carry  the  banner  on  the  public  festival,  it  often  was  the  drunkard's  son,  or 
the  drunkard's  daughter. 

Another  feature  of  the  times,  was  the  immense  number  of  hotels  which 
sprang  up  all  over  the  land,  conducted  on  the  Temperance  principle.  One  of 
the  good  stories  told  by  the  Washingtonians,  was  of  a  man  who  was  in  the 
country  on  a  visit,  where  they  had  no  liquor.  He  got  up  two  hours  before 
breakfast,  and  wanted  his  bitters.  None  to  be  had  ;  of  course  he  felt  bad. 
"  How  far  is  it  to  a  tavern  ?  "  he  asked.  "  Four  miles."  So  off  the  thirsty 
soul  started — walked  four  miles  in  a  pleasant  frame  of  mind,  arrived  at  the 
tavern — and  found  it  was  a  Temperance  house. 

The  Temperance  Reform  was,  by  no  means,  confined  to  our  country.  In 
the  year  1842,  it  was  estimated  there  were  ten  milliaiis  of  teetotallers  on  the 
globe.  Early  in  the  history  of  the  reform,  Temperance  missionaries  had 
gone  out  from  our  country  to  various  parts  of  the  world.  Temperance  soci 
eties  were  established  in  Canada ;  in  Great  Britain,  in  Sweden,  and  other 
parts  of  Europe  ;  in  South  Africa,  and  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  ;  in  the  East 
Indies,  and  Australia ;  in  the  West  Indies,  and  in  the  Sandwich  Islands. 
Our  countryman,  the  Rev.  Robert  Baird,  visited  most  of  the  northern  coun 
tries  of  Europe  ;  and  it  is  said,  the  result  of  his  labors  led  to  the  reduction  or 
shutting  up  of  not  less  than  forty  thousand  distilleries. 

In  August,  1846,  a  grand  gathering  of  the  friends  of  Temperance,  took 
place  at  London,  under  the  title  of  "  THE  WORLD'S  TEMPERANCE  CONVEN 
TION."  No  less  than  three  hundred  delegates,  appointed  by  their  respective 
Temperance  Societies,  in  various  parts  of  the  world,  attended  it — thirty  of 
whom  crossed  the  Atlantic,  from  our  country,  for  the  special  purpose.  As 
King  Oscar  of  Sweden  and  his  amiable  consort  had,  through  the  solicitations 
of  Dr.  Baird,  done  so  much  for  the  Temperance  cause  in  Sweden,  they 
united  in  an  address  to  the  crowned  heads  of  Europe,  in  the  hope  that 
others  might  follow  the  example  of  the  Swedish  monarch. 

Another  great  event  of  the  same  year,  was  the  decision  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States  at  Washington,  on  the  License  question,  which 
had  been  waited  for  by  friends  and  enemies  of  the  cause  with  the  greatest 
interest.  The  constitutionality  of  State  laws  prohibiting  the  traffic  in  in 
toxicating  liquors  without  license,  had  been  doubted  and  denied,  and  by 
appeal  had  been  carried  from  State  courts  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
nation.  There  it  was  ably  argued  by  distinguished  counsel,  and  after  much 
delay,  preventing  and  retarding  prosecutions  for  the  violation  of  license  laws 
in  several  States,  the  court  unanimously  affirmed  to  the  States  the  right  of 
"regulating  the  trade  in,  and  licensing  the  sale  of  ardent  spirits."  The 
decision  was  received  by  the  friends  of  Temperance  throughout  the  whole 
country  with  great  rejoicings. 

At  this  period,  comparatively  few  common  drunkards  were  found  in  any 
part  of  our  country.  Where  twenty  years  previously  were  from  fifty  to 
seventy  in  a  village  or  town,  now  only  here  and  there  was  an  individual  of 
that  class.  This  of  course  does  not  refer  to  the  masses  of  drunken  men  and 
•women  in  the  cities,  mostly  of  the  very  lowest  class  of  foreigners,  idle, 
vicious,  and  abandoned  wretches.  The  Washingtonian  movement  in  a  few 
years  had,  in  a  measure,  spent  its  force,  for  the  want  of  the  material  on 
which  to  operate  ;  and  prevention,  not  cure,  again  became  the  leading  question 


240  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

In  addition  to  the  regular  Temperance  Societies,  the  various  orders  of 
Rechabites,  Sons,  and  Daughters,  and  Cadets  of  Temperance,  Templars, 
Good  Samaritans,  etc.,  arose  and  spread  over  the  United  States  and  British 
America.  The  most  numerous  of  these  was  the  order  of  Sons.  In  1850, 
they  had  thirty-five  grand  divisions,  five  thousand  eight  hundred  and  ninety- 
four  subordinate  divisions,  and  about  three  hundred  thousand  members. 
The  order  was  elective,  and  had  secret  pass- words  for  admittance  to  the:r 
meetings.  Weekly  payments  were  required  of  the  members,  which  gave 
abundant  means  for  the  erection  of  halls,  and  for  the  relief  of  distress.  Its 
Fourth  National  Jubilee,  or  meeting  of  the  National  Division,  held  at 
Boston,  June  11,  1850,  was  attended  by  thousands,  from  various  States  of 
the  Union,  clothed  in  their  regalia,  and  forming  a  splendid  pageant.  The 
Cadets  of  Temperance  were  a  younger  order  of  the  Sons,  who,  at  maturity, 
were  to  pass  into  that  order.  They  enlisted,  on  the  principle  of  total  absti 
nence  from  intoxicating  liquor,  and  also  from  tobacco,  a  large  number  of 
lads  throughout  the  country. 

The  year  1851  was  signalized  by  the  passage  of  the  celebrated  MAINE 
LIQUOR  LAW.  From  one  extremity  of  the  country  to  the  other,  the  enact 
ment  of  the  law  filled  the  public  mind  with  amazement.  That  a  State  of 
such  magnitude,  by  an  overwhelming  vote  of  both  branches  of  its  legisla 
ture,  should  expel  a  business  so  vast,  affecting  so  many  interests,  and  cut 
ting  off  at  once  the  indulgence  of  an  appetite  stronger,  in  a  multitude  ot 
cases,  than  the  appetite  for  food,  seemed  almost  incredible.  Distillers  and 
brewers,  importers  and  venders,  were  panic  struck  ;  yet  none  believed  the 
law  could  be  enforced,  or  would  remain  more  than  a  year  upon  the  statute 
book  of  the  State. 

For  three  years  previously,  the  State  of  Maine  had  an  entirely  prohibitory 
statute.  No  man  could  engage  in  the  liquor  trade  without  a  liability  to 
pains  and  penalties.  But  in  a  thousand  ways  the  law  was  evaded.  Convic 
tions  were  difficult.  Prosecutions  became  infamous.  With  the  liquor  in 
possession,  the  vender  had  the  sympathy  of  men  who  wished  for  the  indul 
gence  of  appetite,  and  found  no  difficulty  in  making  himself  rich  without 
serious  exposure.  To  the  Hon.  Neal  Dow,  a  citizen  of  Portland,  and  long 
an  advocate  of  the  Temperance  enterprise,  belongs  the  honor  of  proposing  a 
law  which  should  not  only  forbid  the  traffic  in  spirituous  and  intoxicating 
liquors  as  a  beverage,  but  which  should  declare  them,  when  offered  for  sale, 
confiscated  to  the  State,  and  consign  them  to  destruction. 

This  famous  law  was  comprised  in  sixteen  sections.  As  a  matter  of 
interest  to  the  reader,  we  give  in  the  language  of  an  able  writer  the  intent 
of  the  law,  and  the  grounds  upon  which  it  was  defended. 

"  The  grand  feature  of  the  Maine  Law,  consists  in  the  fact,  that  it  docs 
not  aim  to  regulate  and  limit  the  manufacture  and  sale  of  intoxicating 
liquors  to  be  used  as  a  beverage,  but  to  PROHIBIT  them  altogether.  It  is> 
not  a  regulating,  but  a  prohibitory  law ;  and  in  this  respect  differs  from  the 
License  System.  It  makes  the  liquor  business  a  crime,  for  which  tht 
offender  is  liable  to  be  punished.  It  confiscates  these  liquors  to  the  State 
when  kept  for  sale,  and  directs  them  to  be  destroyed.  It  outlaws  them  a? 
an  article  of  commerce  within  the  limits  of  the  State.  Its  aim  is  to  break 
down  the  traffic,  and  thus  relieve  the  community  from  the  terrible  evilf 


OF  AMERICANS. 

consequent  upon  its  continuance.  It  does  not  make  the  sale  unlawful, 
when  the  article  is  to  be  used  for  medicinal  or  mechanical  purposes  ;  but  by 
stringent  provisions  limits  the  sale  to  these  uses,  directing  the  appointment 
of  agents  therefor,  who  are  placed  under  bonds  to  conform  strictly  to  the 
provisions  of  the  statute.  Prohibition,  exclusion,  outlawry,  and  not  protec 
tion  or  regulation — this,  then,  is  the  grand  principle  of  the  Maine  Law,  armed 
with  a  sufficient  number  of  minor  provisions  to  give  force  and  certainty  to 
the  principle.  Nearly  all  previous  legislation  had  proceeded  upon  the 
assumption  that  the  traffic  is  an  evil  to  be  regulated,  which  is  the  theory  of 
the  License  System  :  this  proceeds  upon  the  assumption,  that  it  is  an  evil  to 
be  suppressed  or  removed  altogether.  It  is  the  "  summit-level  of  entire  pro 
hibition." 

The  principle  of  the  Maine  Law  is  the  only  one  adapted  to  the  result. 
Theoretically  the  question  is  a  very  simple  one.  Intemperance  and  its  evils 
depend  on  two  causes — the  supply  of  intoxicating  beverage,  and  the  con 
sumption.  Eemove  either,  and  the  vice  is  dead.  There  is  a  difficulty  in 
directly  attacking  the  consumption  by  law,  in  saying  to  a  man  under  the 
solemnity  of  a  statute,  that  he  shall  not  make  use  of  alcoholic  beverage. 
This  would  be  a  kind  of  sumptuary  legislation,  likely  to  defeat  itself,  im 
practicable  in  its  operation,  and  at  war  with  those  notions  of  personal  liberty, 
which  are  so  thoroughly  rooted  in  the  American  mind.  Hence  if  the  arm 
of  law  is  to  be  interposed  at  all,  it  must  operate  upon  the  SUPPLY  ;  and  this 
is  the  direction  of  all  the  legislation  that  has  ever  been  attempted  on  the 
subject.  The  supply  is  the  only  point  where  law  can  make  its  agency 
felt. 

In  respect,  then,  to  the  supply,  you  may  take  one  of  three  grounds.  The 
first  is  to  have  no  law  on  the  subject,  leaving  every  man  to  manufacture  or 
sell  as  much  as  he  pleases,  to  conduct  the  liquor  business  just  as  he  does  any 
other,  that  is  neither  regulated  nor  restrained  by  law.  Upon  its  face  this  is 
no  remedy  for  the  evil  :  it  simply  does  nothing,  and  leaves  the  whole  matter 
to  the  instincts  of  profit  and  appetite.  A  man  may  advocate  this  ground  ; 
yet  he  will  not  be  so  absurd  as  to  call  it  a  remedy. 

The  second  ground  is  that  of  regulation,  which  is  the  license  system  in  its 
different  phases.  This  system  admits  that  the  traffic  is  an  evil  too  serious 
to  be  open  to  all,  and  that  it  must,  therefore,  be  limited  to  a  few  persons, 
licensed  by  law  to  conduct  it,  and  protected  by  law  in  doing  so.  Now  it  is 
a  sufficient  objection  to  this  system,  to  say,  that,  in  practical  effect,  it  is,  ever 
has  been,  and  always  must  be,  a  failure.  It  has  been  tried  in  various  forms, 
and  for  a  long  series  of  years ;  and  this  has  been  the  uniform  result.  It 
never  did,  and  never  can  reach  the  evil,  as  the  most  abundant  facts  conclu 
sively  show.  Though  it  professedly  undertakes  to  limit  the  number  of  the 
suppliers,  it  does  not  limit  the  supply  :  this  keeps  pace  with  the  demand, 
and  by  generating  an  appetite,  creates  and  increases  that  demand.  It  is  the 
sober  truth,  that  under  every  form  of  the  license  system,  there  has  always 
been  liquor  enough  in  market  to  supply  all  the  drinkers  who  want  it,  and 
can  pay  for  it.  The  system  therefore  amounts  to  nothing  as  a  remedy  :  it 
creates  a  monopoly  to  do  a  bad  business,  on  the  pretense  of  limiting  it,  without 
accomplishing  this  result.  It  protects,  by  legalizing,  the  evil  it  seeks  to 
curtail.  Under  it  grogshops,  especially  in  cities,  are  almost  as  thick  as  the 


242  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

locusts  of  Egyyt,  at  all  times  sufficient  in  number  to  keep  the  drinkers  per 
fectly  supplied. 

The  third  ground  is  that  of  the  Maine  Law  ;  and,  as  we  have  already 
said,  it  is  a  total  prohibition  of  the  supply,  except  when  the  article  is  to  be 
used  for  medicinal  or  mechanical  purposes.  Its  penalties,  in  the  way  of 
fines,  confiscation  and  imprisonment,  are  intended  to  be  sufficiently  search 
ing  and  severe  to  carry  this  point.  It  is  a  thorough,  radical,  and  stringent 
effort  to  destroy  the  liquor-traffic,  and  in  this  way,  dry  up  the  fountain 
whence  issue  the  desolating  streams  of  intemperance.  It  proposes  no  terms 
with  the  business ;  it  makes  no  compromise  with  it :  its  deliberate  and  un 
disguised  aim  is  destruction,  and  not  regulation  or  toleration. 

Now,  it  must  be  evident  to  every  reflecting  mind,  that  this  kind  of  legis 
lation,  if  we  have  any,  is  of  the  right  sort.  It  is  adapted,  as  no  other  has 
been,  and  as  no  other  can  be,  to  do  the  work  so  far  as  law  can  do  it  at  all. 
If  you  want  to  have  intemperance  tolerated  and  continued,  then  the  license 
system  will  answer  the  purpose  :  but  if  you  wish  to  banish  the  vice  by 
removing  its  means,  then  the  Maine  Law,  or  some  other  or>e  of  similar 
aim  and  stringency,  must  be  the  instrument.  You  cannot  reach  the 
result  without  the  use  of  law  :  neither  can  you  do  so  by  any  system  of 
legislation  that  falls  short  of  this  mark.  If  we  have  a  legal  remedy,  we 
must  have  one  that  will  do  the  work  :  and  this  feature  is  the  glory  of  the 
Maine  Law. 

The  principle  of  the  Maine  Law,  is  a  perfectly  legitimate  exercise  of  the 
powers  that  belong  to  civil  society.  By  this  we  mean  that  every  State  iu 
this  confederac}'  is  fully  competent  to  enact  such  a  law  :  it  comes  within  the 
province  of  what  is  called  the  police  power  of  the  State. 

The  general  doctrine  which  lies  at  the  foundation  of  the  powers  claimed 
and  exercised  by  the  Maine  Law,  is  this  :  Society  has  a  right  to  exist,  and 
to  protect  itself  against  whatever  is  adapted  seriously  to  harm  or  destroy  it. 
It  has  the  right  to  consult  its  own  welfare,  and  use  the  requisite  means. 
The  individual  living  in  its  bosom,  and  enjoying  its  protection,  is  not  so  free 
that  he  may  do.  what  he  pleases,  make  any  use  of  his  property  which  he 
pleases,  without  reference  to  the  effects  upon  others.  The  late  Professor 
Stuart  very  properly  observes  :  "Every  society  of  men,  united  to  protect 
each  other's  rights,  and  to  secure  the  peace,  and  safety,  and  happiness  of  the 
whole,  have  the  right  to  do  what  is  necessary  to  accomplish  these  ends.  It 
is  the  common  law  of  our  nature,  and  of  all  the  nations  of  men.  Who 
oven  questions  the  principle,  whether  a  community  has  a  right  to  abate  a 
nuisance  ?  Of  course  it  is  their  right,  and  duty,  too,  to  judge  and  determine 
what  is  a  nuisance.  What  has  Maine  done  more  than  this?"  This  is 
gound  doctrine. 

This  doctrine,  moreover,  was  most  fully  affirmed  by  the  justices  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  when  giving  their  decision  in  a  suit 
brought  to  test  the  constitutionality  of  certain  prahibitory  laws  passed  by 
Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  and  New  Hampshire.  Chief  Justice  Taney 
held  the  following  language  :  "  If  any  State  deems  the  retail  and  internal 
traffic  in  ardent  spirits  injurious  to  its  fcitizens,  and  calculated  to  produce 
idleness,  vice  or  debauchery,  I  see  nothing  in  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States  to  prevent  it  from  regulating  or  restraining  the  traffic,  or  from  pro 


OF  AMERICANS.  243 

nibiting  it  altogether,  if  it  thinks  proper."  With  this  opinion  the  other 
justices  of  the  court  fully  concurred. 

Let  it  be  distinctly  observed  also,  that  the  principle  of  the  Maine  Law 
claims  no  greater  power  than  has  always  been  conceded  and  assumed  in  tho 
License  System.  This  system  says  to  the  many,  that  they  shall  not  engage 
in  the  liquor-traffic ;  while,  at  the  same  time,  for  a  paltry  tax,  it  grants  the 
privilege  to  ih&few.  Now.  clearly,  if  the  State  has  power  to  prohibit  the 
traffic  in  respect  to  one  half  or  nine  tenths  of  her  citizens,  she  has  equal 
power  to  prohibit  it  in  respect  to  all ;  if  she  may  make  the  business  un 
lawful,  except  when  licensed,  if  she  may  confer  the  right  to  sell,  then  she 
may  withhold  that  license,  and  make  the  traffic  unlawful  to  all  her  citizens  ; 
and  whether  she  shall  do  the  one  or  the  other,  is  not  a  question  of  power, 
but  of  expediency  and  duty.  Hence,  as  you  perceive,  the  Maine  Law  does 
not  claim  or  exercise  any  new  power  on  the  part  of  the  State. 

But  it  may  be  said,  that  this  law  confiscates  and  destroys  private  property 
when  kept  and  used  contrary  to  the  provisions  of  the  statute.  This  is  true. 
Remember,  however,  that  this  is  part  of  the  penalty  for  the  crime  of  such 
keeping  and  using,  and,  of  course,  affects  none  but  the  man  who  breaks  the 
law.  If  he  were  a  law-abiding  citizen,  the  penalty  would  not  harm  the  hair 
of  his  head.  Those  who  lose  their  property  by  seizure  and  confiscation,  are 
those,  and  those  only,  who  use  it  unlawfully.  The  tools  and  implements 
of  a  counterfeiter  are  seized  and  destroyed,  being  forfeited  by  their  unlawful 
use.  The  fact  that  the  confiscated  property  is  not  put  into  the  public 
treasury,  but  destroyed  by  the  State,  does  not  in  the  slightest  degree  enhance 
the  pecuniary  damage  of  the  individual.  He  simply  loses  it,  as  a  penalty 
inflicted  for  violating  the  law  of  the  land. 

In  the  light  of  this  reasoning,  the  principle  of  the  Maine  Law  is  a  per 
fectly  legitimate  exercise  of  the  powers  belonging  to  civil  society.  It  under 
takes  to  abate  and  remove  a  nuisance ;  and  this  is  my  answer  to  the  objec 
tion  that  it  interferes  with  the  property  rights  of  the  individual.  He  has  no- 
right  to  create  or  perpetuate  a  nuisance. 

The  principle  of  the  Maine  Law  ought  to  be  put  in  action  by  every  civil 
community  that  is  burdened  and  cursed  with  the  liquor-traffic.  We  have 
stated  its  end — the  thing  which  it  aims  to  do  :  we  have  also  shown  that  it 
is  the  only  system  adapted  to  this  end  :  we  have  farther  considered  the 
powers  of  civil  society  to  do  such  a  work.  Now  we  take  the  ground  that  it 
is  the  duty  of  society  thus  to  act.  The  body  politic  has  duties  to  perform, 
as  well  as  rights  to  exercise.  Look  at  this  point  a  moment. 

Civil  society  established,  and  operating  through  government  as  its  agent, 
is  a  moral  person,  legitimately  the  subject  of  duty,  and  bound  by  its  obliga 
tion.  This  is  a  fundamental  axiom  of  political  ethics  ;  and  it  certainly  is  a 
Christian  principle.  The  State  can  do  wrong :  the  State  is  bound  to  do 
right  :  the  principles  of  morality  for  the  State  and  the  individual  are  the 
same.  The  Sta'te  is  morally  bound  to  provide  for  its  own  welfare — to  con 
duct  over  all  its  citizens  an  impartial  and  wholesome  legislation — to  enact  and 
execute  such  laws  as  are  adapted  to  promote  the  virtue,  happjress,  arid 
general  thrift  of  the  whole  community.;  while,  at  the  same  time,  they  ought 
not  to  be  tyrannical  and  oppressive  toward  any  class.  The  State  exists,  not 
for  a  monopoly  of  benefits,  but  for  the  general  good — not  to  license  crime, 
16 


ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

or  patronize  public  evils,  but  to  exert  its  legitimate  powers  for  their  sup 
pression. 

We  have,  in  this  country,  a  great  and  towering  evil,  in  the  manufacture 
ai:d  sale  of  intoxicating  liquors — an  evil  which,  though  profitable  to  the  few, 
is  nevertheless  working  untold  mischief  to  the  many.  It  burdens  the  land 
\vith  taxation,  pauperism,  and  crime,  impairing  all  the  interests  of  the  body 
politic,  and  really  profitable  to  none.  This  is  not  fancy,  but  fact :  the  statis 
tics  and  testimony  have  often  been  gathered,  and  they  are  such  as  no  honest 
and  impartial  mind  can  reject.  We  know  in  this  age,  as  our  fathers  did 
not  so  well  know,  what  are  the  consequences  of  the  liquor  business.  Take 
a  single  statement.  "  President  Everett  computes,  that  the  use  of  alcoholic 
beverages  has  cost  the  United  States  directly,  in  ten  years,  $1,200,000,000 ; 
has  burned,  or  otherwise  destroyed,  $5,000,000  more  of  property  ;  has 
destroj'ed  three  hundred  thousand  lives  ;  sent  one  hundred  and  fifty  thou 
sand  to  our  prisons,  and  one  hundred  thousand  children  to  the  poor-houses  ; 
caused  one  thousand  five  hundred  murders,  two  thousand  suicides,  and  has 
bequeathed  to  the  country  one  million  of  orphan  children."  Call  this 
exaggeration  if  you  choose ;  yet  no  man,  with  his  eyes  half  open,  having  a 
sound  head  and  an  honest  heart,  will  deny  the  enormous  extent  of  the  evil 
incident  to  the  liquor- traffic,  fostered  by  it,  and  growing  out  of  it. 

What,  then,  is  the  duty  of  civil  society  ?  Was  there  ever  a  case  that 
called  more  loudly  for  effectual  legislation  ?  Shall  government  suppress 
lotteries,  gambling,  and  counterfeiting ;  outlaw  mad-dogs,  and  abate  nui 
sances  ;  establish  and  execute  quarantine  laws  for  the  public  health  ;  and  yet 
'leave  alcohol  to  run  at  large  ?  Shall  it  prohibit  minor  evils,  and  yet  be  in 
different  to  the  greater  one  ?  Shall  it  forsake  the  line  of  duty  just  when 
the  argument  becomes  most  powerful,  and  the  plea  for  action,  loudest  ? 
'Shall  it  fold  its  arms  in  such  premises  ?  Then,  it  will  not  perform  its  duty 
to  God  or  -man.  If  there  be  any  case  for  legal  interposition,,  this  is  such  a 
case. 

But  it  may  be  said,  this  is  a  moral  question,  and  ought  to  be  left  to  moral 
suasion.  So  is  gambling  a  moral  question.  Will  you  leave  that  to  mo'ral 
suasion  ?  Counterfeiting  is  a  moral  question.  Will  you  trust  it  to  a  dis 
pensation  of  argument,  merely  ?  Murder  is  a  moral  question  :  and  will  you 
leave  this  to  the  mere  force  of  argument  ?  Indeed,  every  use  of  property, 
in  some  aspects,  involves  a  moral  question.  Shall  society,  therefore,  with 
hold  all  laws  in  respect  to  property  ? 

It  may  be  farther  objected,  that  although  society  ought  to  do  something, 
it  ought  not  to  use  a  remedy  of  so  much  severity  as  the  Maine  Law.  This 
depends  altogether  upon  a  question  of  fact.  If  I  could  cure  a  disease  with 
rose-water,  I  certainly  would  not  use  caustic  :  but  I  would  use  caustic  rather 
than  let  the  patient  die.  So  in  this  case  :  if  it  be  the  purpose  of  the  society 
to  break  up  the  liquor-traffic,  on  account  of  its  evils,  and  to  employ  the  arm 
of  law  for  this  end,  then  you  must  have  law  enough  to  do  the  work. 

If  the  preceding  arguments  are  not  based  on  truth,  then  an  American  com 
munity  has  no  legal  power  to  prohibit  any  business  that  is,  as  a  whole,  in 
jurious  to  it.  Take  this  to  be  so,  that  they  cannot  legally  help  themselves, 
then  the  extent  of  the  injury  don't  affect  the  principle  involved,  although 
that  extent  may  reach  the  point,  where  one  quarter  of  a  community  are 


OF  AMERICANS.  245 

sent  by  it  into  premature  graves  ;  another  quarter  rendered  insane ;  another 
quarter  made  beggars  and  criminals  ;  and  the  remaining  quarter,  taxed  to 
their  last  dollar  to  meet  thvj  expenses  of  confining  the  insane,  supporting  the 
paupers,  and  in  bringing  the  thieves  and  murderers  to  justice. 

The  Maine  Law  went  into  operation  on  the  4th  of  July,  1851.  "  It  soon 
became  the  settled  policy  of  the  State,  and  was  cheerfully  acquiesced  in  by 
a  large  majority  of  Lhe  citizens.  Its  results  surpassed  expectation  in  dimin 
ishing  pauperism  and  ciime,  and  increasing  the  comfort  and  prosperity  of 
unnumbered  families.  \Vith  the  exception  of  Portland,  the  law  was  as 
well  enforced  in  the  large  towns  and  cities,  as  in  the  rural  districts.  To 
secure  its  more  proper  oUwrvance,  the  Hon.  Neal  Dow  was  once  more 
elevated  to  the  mayoralty  of  Portland,  and  new  and  more  stringent  sections 
were  added  to  the  law.  To  create  disaffection  and  disturbance,  an  attack 
was  made  at  midnight  hour,  upon  a  quantity  of  liquor  in  possession  of  the 
municipal  authorities,  and,  in  their  prompt  and  vigorous  defense,  a  man  was 
killed.  It  was  as  fire  to  powder  amid  all  the  disaffected  classes.  Accord 
ingly  the  ensuing  election,  in  September,  1855,  for  State  officers,  was  ono 
without  parallel  for  fierceness  ;  and  though  the  Temperance  vote  was  fifty 
thousand,  ten  thousand  stronger  than  in  1854,  yet  the  combinations  were 
greater,  and  by  it  an  opposition  legislature  and  opposition  governor  were 
elected  ;  and  the  Maine  Law,  after  a  fair  trial  of  five  years,  was  overthrown, 
and  a  license  law,  promising  unusual  strictness,  placed  in  its  stead.  But  it 
was  a  license  law.  It  permitted,  under  State  authority,  the  re-introduction 
of  the  traffic  into  the  State.  The  prohibitory  clauses  were  but  little  regarded, 
even  by  the  civil  authorities,  and,  as  an  inevitable  consequence,  the  State 
became  at  once  flooded  with  liquor.  Cities,  towns,  and  villages  were  filled 
with  open  rum-shops  of  every  grade.  Drunkenness,  rows,  crimes,  again 
ppeared,  with  a  frightful  increase.  The  people  were  alarmed.  Wives 
were  distressed  for  their  husbands  •  parents  for  their  children.  The  philan 
thropist,  patriot,  and  Christian,  sprang  to  the  rescue ;  and,  in  the  elections  of 
September,  1856,  though  in  connection  with  other  great  and  most  exciting 
national  issues,  the  prohibitory  ticket  again  succeeded,  with  a  clear  majority 
for  governor  of  over  fifteen  thousand  votes,  and  a  legislature  was  returned 
of  almost  entire  Maine  Law  men.  The  triumph  was  astounding  and  over 
whelming  to  the  liquor  interest."  From  motives  of  policy,  no  action  was 
taken  to  restore  the  law,  until  the  year  1858,  when  the  people  of  the  State, 
by  a  direct  vote,  nearly  unanimously  adopted  a  Prohibitory  law,  substantially 
like  that  of  1851,  in  preference  to  a  License  law. 

Laws  on  the  principle  of  the  Maine  I^avv,  have  with  varying  results,  been 
adopted  in  several  States.  While  public  opinion  is  strong  enough  to  enact 
such,  the  moral  force  to  sustain  them  is  usually  wanting.  The  public  move 
only  under  the  smart  of  a  wrong,  and  when  that  is  past,  all  is  forgotten  until 
the  forces  of  evil  rally  and  scourge  anew. 

The  liquor  interest  never  sleeps.  Millions  upon  millions  are  invested  in 
it.  On  the  passage  of  a  stringent  law  in  opposition,  the  many  thousands 
who  live  by  the  business,  combine  to  wage  an  unrelenting  war ;  to  render 
void  its  provisions,  and  to  bring  it  into  popular  odium,  that  they  may  again 
open  the  sluices  and  wax  fat  to  the  injury  of  a  forgetful,  forgiving,  and  pre« 


246  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

occupied  public.  It  is  with  society  as  with  the  individual :  the  forces  of  evil 
sue  ever  in  conflict  with  the  forces  of  virtue.  And  in  viewing  how  much 
has  been  accomplished  by  society  in  this  reform,  we  have  faith  that  the 
future  will  measure  a  like  degree  of  progress. 

One  point  remains  to  be  touched  upon  in  this  article — the  adulteration 
of  liquors.  This  is  now  carried  on  to  such  a  vast  extent,  that  the  intelli 
gent  physician  hesitates  to  prescribe  alcoholic  liquors,  even  in  the  most  ur 
gent  cases,  for  external  or  internal  application,  from  the  uncertainty  of 
procuring  anything  but  a  poisonous  imitation. 

An  old  revolutionary  soldier,  whom  we  knew  "as  a  boy  knows  a  man," 
thus  called  out  one  day  to  his  daughter  :  "  Hannah  !  what  is  this  delirium 
tremens  I  hear  folks  talk  about  so  much  ?  When  I  was  a  young  man  no 
body  had  the  delirium  tremens."  Old  Captain  B y  was  right,  for  he  it 

was  that  so  spake.  Delirium  tremens,  or  mania-a-potu,  in  those  days  was 
scarcely  known.  The  common  alcoholic  drinks  of  that  time,  New  England 
and  Jamaica  rum,  Monongahela  and  Bourbon  whisky,  were  pure,  and  people 
who  did  restrain  themselves  to  "  moderation,"  not  unfrequently  attained  to  the 
age  of  eighty  or  ninety  years.  Now-a-days,  the  drinking  men  die  in  a  very 
few  years,  and  often  a  single  debauch  with  a  man  ordinarily  temperate, 
brings  on  the  delirium  tremens,  and  then  death.  Such  are  the  murderous 
effects  of  the  terrible  poisons  now  used  by  the  manufacturers  of  liquors. 
Not  only  are  nearly  all  foreign  liquors  of  our  time  either  imitations  or 
adulterations,  but  it  is  the  same  with  what  purports  to  be  our  own  made 
whisky  and  rum.  It  was  thought  that  the  native  wines,  from  the  grape  of 
our  soil,  and  the  lager  beer  of  our  German  citizens,  would  furnish  a  stimu 
lus,  that,  by  their  comparatively  innocuous  qualities,  would  give  an  escape 
for  the  great  mass  of  these  evils.  This  hope  seems  liable  to  be  frustrated, 
for  even  much  of  what  is  called  "  native  wine  "  contains  not  a  particle  of 
anything  so  harmless  as  the  juice  of  the  grape  ;  and  most  horrible  cases  of 
delirium  tremens,  ending  in  the  death  of  the  wretched  victims — if  we  may 
credit  the  public  prints  of  the  day — have  occurred  from  drinking  what  pur 
ported  to  be  "lager  beer." 

The  poisonous  articles  mostly  used  by  the  manufacturers  of  liquors  are, 
strychnine,  cocculus  indicus,  opium,  tobacco,  henbane,  potash,  nitric  acid, 
prussic  acid,  oil  of  vitriol,  etc.  Some  years  since,  Dr.  Woodward,  of  Wor 
cester,  Mass.,  published  an  account  of  his  visiting  a  man  who  had  broken 
his  leg,  and  when  he  had  set  it,  he  asked  if  they  had  any  rum  in  the  house. 
They  brought  him  some,  with  which  he  wet  the  bandages  ;  but  two  days 
afterward,  he  was  alarmed  when  he  found  the  heads  of  the  pins,  which  he 
used  in  binding  it  up,  were  corroded,  and  on  examining  the  rum  which  was 
used,  he  found  it  contained  a  large  portion  of  oil  of  vitriol ! 

Poisonous  flavorings  of  various  kinds,  put  up  in  packages  of  five,  ten,  and 
forty  gallons,  requiring  only  the  addition  of  pure  spirits  to  make  every  kind 
of  drink  which  the  debased  taste  of  the  community  may  require,  are  now 
publicly  advertised  in  our  newspapers.  We  annex  some  facts  on  adulte 
ration,  taken  from  reliable  sources  :  "  Brandy  is  almost  universally  a 
base  adulteration.  The  imported  article,  as  a  general  fact,  is  adulte 
rated.  The  profit  is  so  enormous,  that  the  dealers  cannot  withstand  the 
temptation  to  adulterate.  Aqua  fortis  is  the  acid  used  in  the  preparation  of 


OF  AMERICANS.  247 

counterfeit  brandy  :  when  combined  with  rectified  spirits  it  imparts  to  it  a 
brandy-like  flavor.     Potash,  ashes,  oil  of  vitriol,  are  used  to  give  proof. 

To  prepare  and  sweeten  gin,  etc.,  oil  of  vitriol,  oil  of  almonds,  oil  of  tur 
pentine,  oil  of  juniper  berries,  lime  water,  alum,  salt  of  tartar,  subacetate  oi 
lead,  are  used.  Sulphate  of  lead  is  poisonous,  and  the  use  of  it  is  frequent, 
because  its  action  is  more  rapid;  and  it  imparts  to  the  liquor  a  fine  com 
plexion  ;  hence  some  \estiges  of  lead  may  often  be  detected  in  malt  liquor. 
As  with  brandy  and  gin,  so  with  rum.  If  whisky  will  sell  for  more  money 
under  the  name  of  rum  than  under  the  name  of  whisky,  it  is  as  easy  to  turn 
whisky  into  rum  as  into  brandy,  gin,  or  wine. 

We  now  come  to  wine.  Here  the  fabricators  make  their  greatest  profits, 
exercise  their  greatest  skill,  and  probably  do  the  greatest  amount  of  injury. 
Unadulterated  wine,  according  to  its  name  and  quality,  must  command  a 
certain  price,  to  make  it  worth  dealing  in.  The  fabricator's  ingenuity  is  put 
to  the  greatest  trial,  to  produce  an  article  resembling  the  pure,  so  as  to 
obtain,  as  near  as  possible,  the  price  of  pure ;  and,  as  it  is  impossible  to  dis 
tinguish  the  pure  from  impure  ;  and  as  the  impure  can  be  made  at  one  tenth 
to  one  quarter  of  the  value  of  the  pure,  the  impure,  as  a  natural  conse 
quence,  takes  the  place  of  the  pure,  the  same  as  the  bogus  dollar  would  take 
trie  place  of  the  pure  silver  dollar,  provided  it  was  settled  by  common  con- 
Bent  a  dollar  was  a  dollar,  whether  bogus  or  not. 

Says  Dr.  Noli :  £  I  had  a  friend,  who  had  been  once  a  wine  dealer,  and 
having  read  the  startling  statements  made  public,  in  relation  to  the  brewing 
of  wines,  and  the  adulterations  of  other  liquors,  generally,  I  inquired  of  that 
friend  as  to  the  verity"  of  those  statements.  His  reply  was,  '  God  forgive 
what  has  passed  in  my  own  cellar,  but  the  statements  made  are  true,  and  nil 
true  I  assure  you.'  " 

The  process  of  adulteration  is  carried  on  in  wine  countries,  as  well  as  in 
this  country  with  regard  to  Madeira,  Sherry,  Claret,  and  all  other  kinds  of 
wine. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Baird  has  stated,  "that  little  or  no  wine  is  drank  in  France 
in  a  pure  state,  except  it  may  be  at  the  wine  press.  The  dealers  purchase 
it  at  the  vineyards  in  a  pure  state,  but  in  their  hands  it  is  entirely  changed, 
by  adding  drugs  or  distilled  spirit." 

Says  Horatio  Greenough,  the  eminent  sculptor,  "  that  although  wine  can 
be  had  in  Florence  at  one  cent  a  bottle,  the  dealers  do  not  hesitate  to  add 
drugs  and  water,  to  gain  a  fraction  more  of  profit." 

Champaign  :  A  man  who  once  worked  in  the  office  where  this  is  printed, 
is  now  engaged  in  making  champaign,  for  the  ladies  and  gentlemen  of  the 
country,  at  a  cost  to  him  of  two  dollars  the  dozen.  Some  cider  or  whisky, 
some  water,  some  fixed  air,  some  sugar  of  lead,  etc.,  form  the  compound. 
When  this  fabricated  mixture  circulates  in  the  country,  it  is  generally  sold 
as  pure,  and  our  young  men  often  quaff  it,  at  two  dollars  the  bottle,  and  an 
advance  on  the  original  cost  of  only  one  thousand  one  hundred  per  cent ! 

A  physician  in  New  York  purchased  a  bottle  of  what  was  called  genuin 
champaign,  of  the  importers,  had  it  subjected  to  chemical  tests ;  it  was  founu 
to  contain  a  quarter  of  an  ounce  of  sugar  of  lead.     Who  would  like  to  drink 
a  mixture  of  sugar  of  lead  and  water  ? 

A  gentleman  in  New  York,  who  made  champaign,  purchased  somo,  of  th 


24:8  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

regular  importer,  wishing  to  give  his  friends  some  of  the  genuine  article: 
At  a  convivial  party,  he  produced  his  pure  as  imported;  when  the  corks 
began  to  fly,  one  dropped  near  him  ;  on  examining  it,  he  found  it  was  his 
own  fabrication.  The  supposed  importer  had  purchased  it,  and,  by  his 
French  tinsel  and  French  labels,  sold  it  back,  as  pure,  to  the  original  fabri 
cator — biting  the  liter. 

Port :  An  Episcopal  clergyman,  recently  returned  from  the  continent  cf 
Europe,  visited  an  immense  manufactory  of  all  kinds  of  wine.  Logwood 
came  in  as  a  great  ingredient — so  great,  that  the  proprietors  kept  a  vessel  in 
their  employ  for  its  importation. 

The  dyers  in  Manchester,  England,  say,  "the  wine  brewers  are  running 
away  with  all  the  best  logwood  ;  "  and  tho  London  people  say,  "If  you  wish 
to  get  genuine  Port,  you  must  go  yourself  to  Oporto,  make  your  own  wine, 
and  ride  outside  of  the  barrel  all  the  way  home." 

In  the  manufacture  of  beer,  nux  vomica  and  cocculus  indicus,  are  extensively 
used.  Nux  vomica  is  the  substance'  which  forms  the  poison  in  the  upas 
tree  ;  and  is  so  bitter,  that  one  grain  deposited  in  eighty  pounds  of  water, 
produces  a  bitter  solution.  Cocculus  indicus  is  a  poison,  of  which  ten  grains 
will  kill  a  dog.* 

In  fine,  it  is  believed  by  those  who  are  competent  judges,  that  there  is 
scarcely  a  drop  of  intoxicating  liquors,  whether  brandy,  gin,  rum,  whisky, 
wine  or  beer,  sold  or  drank  in  this  country,  which  is  not  adulterated  or 
drugged.  Could  the  real  truth  be  known  upon  this  subject,  it  is  evident 
that,  with  the  exception  of  those  already  within  the  deadly  embrace  of  the 
syren  of  intemperance,  the  whole  community  would  at  once  and  forever 
abandon  th.e  use  of  intoxicating  drinks." 

The  Temperance  Reformation  is  the  most  surprising  of  all  American 
achievements.  To  see  the  mass  of  a  nation  rise,  investigate,  and  then  con 
quer  an  evil  habit  interwoven  with  all  their  customs,  and  cherished  by  all 
their  prejudices,  is  a  moral  spectacle  never  before  witnessed  since  the  founda 
tion  of  the  world.  A  view  of  what  has  been  accomplished  within  the 
memory  of  even  the  middle  aged,  is  given  in  these  contrasted  columns. 

THEN.  NOW. 

Then,  nearly  every  family  in  the  Now,  the  family  which  has  intoxi- 
land  had  intoxicating  drinks' on  their  eating  drinks  on  the  table  and  side- 
table  and  sideboard.  board,  is  an  exception  to  the  general 

rule. 

Then,  the  farms  in  the  land  were  Now,  not  one  farm  in  a  hundred  is 
worked  with  spirits.  worked  with  spirits. 

Then,  intoxicating  liquors  were  Now,  intoxicating  drinks  are  sol- 
brought  into  all  workshops.  dom  brought  into  a  workshop. 


»  The  reader  who  may  wish  to  pursue  this  subject  iu.  full,  is  referred  to  Hunt's  "  Frauds 
iu  the  Liquor  Traffic,  elicited  aud  proved  from  the  Standard  Receipt  Books  and  Guides 
of  Viiituers,  Distillers,  and  Brewers."  It  not  only  proves  the  frauds  beyond  all  cavU 
but  shows  the  deadly  nature  of  the  ingredients  used. 


OF  AMERICANS. 


249 


Then,   all    the    merchant  vessels  Now,  no  merchant  vessels  supply 

were  supplied  with  spirit-rations  for  spirit- rations  to  the  sailors, 
the  sailors. 

Then,  spirituous   liquors  were  al-  Now,  spirituous  liquors  are  seldom 

ways  brought  on  at  weddings  and  brought  on  at  weddings,  and  never  at 

funerals.  funerals. 

Then,  the  Temperance   Reforrna-  Now,  no  public  press  has  the  te- 

tion  was  ridiculed  by  the  press.  merity  to  ridicule   the   Temperance 

Reformation. 


Then,  everybody  daily  drank  in 
toxicating  liquors  as  a  beverage,  and 
it  was  regarded  as  a  necessary  of  life, 
and  perfectly  proper. 

Then,  in  every  village  were  ruin 
ous,  dilapidated  houses,  with  broken 
windows,  and  all  the  marks  of  neg 
lect  and  decay  ;  the  homes  of  miser 
able  drunkards,  and  their  wretched 
families. 


Now,  comparatively  few  daily 
drink  intoxicating  liquors  as  a  bev 
erage,  and  those  who  do  so,  are  re 
garded  as  in  danger  of  filling  the 
drunkard's  grave. 

Now,  in  every  village,  in  place  of 
the  miserable  homes  of  drunkards, 
are  the  neat,  thrifty  dwellings  of 
happy  families. 


Then,  the  retailing  of  ardent  spirits         Now,  the  retailing  of  ardent  spirits 

was  considered  a  respectable  occupa-  is  considered  the  vilest  of  occupations, 

tion,  and   good  men   were   engaged  and  how  good  are  the  men  engaged 

in  it,  in  it,  let  the  reader  judge. 

Then,   the    father,   often   ere   his  Now,  the  father  who  should  put 

little  innocents  could  well  lisp,  put  the  bottle  to  the   lips   of  his   little 

the   bottle   to  their  lips  and  taught  child,  to  form  the  appetite  for  liquor, 

them  to  love  the  drunkard's  drink,  would  be  regarded  with  horror. 

Then,  the  young  man  who  daily  Now,  the  young  man  who  daily 
visited  the  grogshop,  was  none  the  visits  the  grogshop,  would  be  wel- 
less  welcomed  by  a  prudent  father  to  corned  by  a  prudent  father  to  the 
the  hospitality  of  his  family.  hospitality  of  his  family,  as  soon  as 

he  would  take  a  viper  to  his  besom. 

We  close  this  article  with  an  extract  from  an  eloquent  address,  by  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Leonard  Bacon,  upon  the  progress  of  the  Temperance  Idea. 

"  The  most  interesting  aspect  in  which  the  Temperance  Reformation  pre 
sents  itself  to  my  mind  is,  as  an  illustration  of  the  slow  but  sure  and  certain 
progress  of  one  idea — of  a  simple,  but  great  and  just  idea.  That  idea,  when 
it  was  first  announced,  was  announced  in  its  legitimate  connection  witn 
Christianity — it  came  from  the  bosom  of  the  Church  of  God — it  came  from 
the  head  of  Christianity.  It  was  argued  and  proved  with  texts  from  the 
gospel  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  epistles  of  the  Apostles.  We 
wondered,  those  of  us  who  composed  it  at  that  early  period — wondered  that 


250  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

there  should  be  so  much  resistance  to  it,  and  we  ascribed  it  to  tne  power  of 
selfishness — for  we  saw  in  every  direction,  great  interests — great  commercia 
ambition,  and  powerful  political  interests  united  against  the  progress  of  this 
idea.  And  yet,  I  apprehend,  we  ascribed  too  much  of  this  resistance  to  the 
power  of  selfishness  and  interest.  We  ought  to  have  remembered  more  dis 
tinctly  prehaps  that  great  ideas,  simple  and  commanding  as  they  are,  make 
but  too  slow  progress  to  dominion  over  the  minds  of  nations  and  individuals. 

You  may  convince  an  individual  of  the  truth  of  an  idea  in  conversation 
with  him  alone,  but  he  does  not  stay  convinced  ;  the  sympathy  between  his 
mind  and  that  of  the  vast  multitude  is  too  strong,  and  it  is  with  your  argu 
ment,  as  it  fared  with  Cato,  when  he  read  "  Plato  on  the  Immortality  of  the 
Soul,"  he  was  convinced  and  believed  ;  but  when  he  had  shut  the  book,  he 
could  not  remember  the  force  of  reasoning  in  the  argument ; — it  is  therefore 
in  this  way — on  this  principle — that  truth,  simple  and  commanding  as  it 
may  be,  makes  but  slow  progress  toward  dominion  over  communities  and 
nations. 

Let  us  now  look  for  a  moment  at  the  effects  and  results  of  the  progress 
of  this  idea.  An  idea  to  many  people  is  a  particular  conformation  of  the 
skull,  an  incomprehensible  thing.  An  idea !  Why,  they  never  saw  it ! 
How  large  is  it?  They  want  to  put  their  fingers  on  it,  or  judge  in  some 
such  way  as  this.  An  idea  is  a  spiritual  substance  simply,  and  they  cannot 
see  it  or  feel  it,  unless  it  be  of  the  nature  of  ardent  spirits.  An  idea !  It's 
an  idea  wrought  out  and  applied,  that  has  brought  the  continent  of  Europe 
within  twelve  days'  distance  of  the  continent  of  America ;  it  was  the  idea 
of  steam  navigation. 

It  was  an  idea  in  the  mind  of  Fulton  that  created  the  first  steamboat  that 
plied  the  North  River.  This  same  idea  changes  the  face  of  nature.  Any 
man  who  is  familiar  with  the  landscape,  in  any  part  of  the  country,  for  the 
last  twenty  years,  certainly  any  one  familiar  with  New  England,  knows  that 
it  has  wrought  great  changes  upon  the  fair  face  of  the  country,  for  everyone 
is  remarking  upon  the  increased  beauty  of  the  New  England  landscape. 

The  neatness  and  simplicity  of  the  farm-house  strike  the  eye  of  the 
traveler  as  he  passes  by — there  is  more  beauty  in  the  fields,  the  very  grass 
grows  greener  and  richer  than  twenty  years  ago  ;  and  the  windows  of  the 
pretty  cottages  are  festooned  with  plants  and  flowers  that  shed  their  sweet 
fragrance  around  the  dwelling.  What  is  the  ca.use  of  it  ?  Cold  water — it 
is  this  that  has  thrown  off  from  the  shoulders  of  the  farmer,  and  the  laborer 
a  prodigious  taxation  he  was  wont  to  pay 

Oh  !  how  will  the  land  smile  when  this  idea  shall  have  wrought  all  its 
triumphs  ;  from  the  farthest  north  and  east,  over  all  those  broad  and  waving 
prairies,  even  beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains,  to  where  the  streams  of  the 
west  mingle  with  the  ocean. 

And  when  this  idea,  the  emanation  of  Christianity,  proceeding  from  the 
Church  of  God,  shall  have  reformed  the  people,  how  will  Christianity  itself 
regenerate  this  reformed  and  happy  people  ! — a  reformed  and  happy  world  ! 
God  witt  shower  his  blessings  like  rain  upon  the  fruitful  field." 


THE  PRETENDED   DESERTION 

OF 

JOHN      CHAMPE 

TO   THE   BRITT.SH,  IN   THE   WAR   OP   THE    AMERICAN    REVOLUTION,  FOR   THE    PURPOSE   OF 

CAPTURING  THE  TRAITOR,  BENEDICT  ARNOLD. 


JOHN  CHAMPE,  Sergeant-Major  of  Lee's  Legion  of  Virginia  Light  Horse, 
in  the  Kevolutionary  war,  was  selected  to  undertake  a  very  perilous  and 
difficult  project,  which  is  thus  well  and  fully  narrated  in  "  Lee's  Memoirs  :" 

The  treason  of  Brigadier  Arnold, — the  capture  of  Andre, — with  intelli 
gence  received  by  Washington,  through  his  confidential  agents  in  New  York, 
communicating  that  many  of  his  officers,  and  especially  a  major-general 
named  to  him,  were  connected  with  Arnold, — could  not  fail  to  seize  the 
attention  of  a  commander  even  less  diligent  and  zealous  than  Washington. 
It  engrossed  his  mind  entirely,  exciting  reflections  the  most  anxious  as 
well  ns  unpleasant. 

To  Major  Lee,  afterward  lieutenant-colonel  of  the  legion  of  cavalry  for 
whom  he  had  sent,  he  said,  "  I  have  sent  for  you,  in  the  expectation  that 
you  have  in  your  corps  individuals  capable  and  willing  to  undertake  an 
indispensable,  delicate,  and  hazardous  project.  Whoever  comes  forward 
upon  this  occasion,  will  lay  me  under  great  obligations  personally,  and  in 
behalf  of  the  United  States  I  will  reward  him  amply.  No-  time  is  to  bo 
lost ;  he  must  proceed,  if  possible,  this  night.  My  object  is  to  probe  to 
the  bottom  the  afflicting  intelligence  contained  in  the  papers  you  have  just 
read  ;  to  seize  Arnold,  and  by  getting  him,  to  save  Andre.  They  are  all 
connected.  While  my  emissary  is  engaged  in  preparing  means  for  tho 
seizure  of  Arnold,  the  guilt  of  others  can  be  traced  ;  and  the  timely  de 
livery  of  Arnold  to  me,  will  possibly  put  it  into  my  power  to  restore  the 
amiable  and  unfortunate  Andre  to  his  friends.  My  instructions  are  ready, 
in  which  you  will  find  my  express  orders  that  Arnold  is  not  to  be  hurt ;  but 
that  he  be  permitted  to  escape  if  to  be  prevented  only  by  killing  him,  as 
his  public  punishment  is  the  sole  object  in  view.  This  you  cannot  too 
forcibly  press  upon  whomsoever  may  engage  in  the  enterprise  ;  and  this 
fail  not  to  do.  With  my  instructions  are  twro  letters,  to  be  delivered  as 
ordered,  and  here  are  some  guineas  for  expenses." 

Major  Lee  replying,  said  that  he  had  little  or  no  doubt  but  that  his  legion 
contained  many  individuals  daring  enough  for  any  operation,  however  per- 
.Uous ;  but  that  the  one  in  view  required  a  combination  of  qualities  no 

(251) 


252  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

easily  to  be  found  unless  in  a  commissioned  officer,  to  whom  he  could  not 
venture  to  propose  an  enterprise,  the  first  step  to  which  was  desertion. 
That  though  the  sergeant-major  of  the  cavalry  was  in  all  respects  qualified 
for  the  delicate  and  adventurous  project,  and  to  him  it  might  be  proposed 
without  indelicacy,  as  his  station  did  not  interpose  the  obstacle  before 
stated  ;  yet  it  was  very  probable  that  the  same  difficulty  would  occur  in  his 
breast,  to  remove  which  would  not  be  easy,  if  practicable. 

Washington  was  highly  pleased  at  finding  that  a  non-commissioned 
officer  was  deemed  capable  of  executing  his  views  ;  as  he  had  felt  extreme 
difficulty  in  authorizing  an  invitation  to  officers,  who  generally  are,  and 
always  ought  to  be,  scrupulous  and  nice  in  adhering  to  the  course  of  honor. 
lie  asked  the  name,  the  country,  the  age,  the  size,  length  of  service,  and 
character  of  the  sergeant.  Being  told  his  name, — that  he  was  a  native  of 
Loudon  county,  in  Virginia;  about  twenty-three  or  twenty-four  years  of 
age,— that  he  had  enlisted  in  1776, — rather  above  the  common  size, — full 
of  bone  and  muscle  ;  with  a  saturnine  countenance,  grave,  thoughtful,  and 
taciturn, — of  tried  courage,  and  inflexible  perseverance,  and  as  likely  to 
reject  an  overture  coupled  with  ignominy  as  any  officer  in  the  corps  ;  a  com 
mission  being  the  goal  of  his  long  and  anxious  exertions,  and  certain  on 
the  first  vacancy ; — the  general  exclaimed,  that  he  was  the  very  man  for  the 
business  ;  that  he  must  undertake  it ;  and  that  going  to  the  enemy  by  the 
instigation  and  at  the  request  of  his  officer,  was  not  desertion,  although  it 
appeared  to  be  so.  And  he  enjoined  that  this  explanation,  as  coming 
from  him,  should  be  pressed  on  Champe  ;  and  that  the  vast  good  in  pros 
pect  should  be  contrasted  with  the  mere  semblance  of  doing  wrong,  which 
lie  presumed  could  not  fail  to  conquer  every  scruple.  Major  Lee,  sending 
instantly  for  the  sergeant-major,  introduced  the  business  in  the  way  best 
calculated,  as  he  thought,  to  produce  his  concurrence.  Observing  that  the 
chance  of  detection  became  extremely  narrow,  and  consequently  that  of 
success  enlarged.  That  by  succeeding  in  the  safe  delivery  of  Arnold,  he 
not  only  gratified  his  general  in  the  most  acceptable  manner,  but  he  would 
be  hailed  as  the  avenger  of  the  reputation  of  the  army,  stained  by  foul  and 
wicked  perfidy  ;  and  what  could  not  but  be  highly  pleasing,  he  would  be 
the  instrument  of  saving  the  life  of  Major  Andre,  soon  to  be  brought  before 
a  court  of  inquiry,  the  decision  of  which  could  not  be  doubted,  from  the 
universally  known  circumstances  of  the  case,  and  had  been  anticipated  in 
the  general's  instructions.  That,  by  investigating  with  diligence  and  accu 
racy  the  intelligence  communicated  to  him,  he  would  bring  to  light  new 
guilt,  or  he  would  relieve  innocence  (as  was  most  probable)  from  distrust ; 
quieting  the  torturing  suspicions  which  now  harrowed  the  mind  of  Wash 
ington,  and  restoring  again  to  his  confidence  a  once  honored  general,  possess 
ing  it  at  present  only  ostensibly,  as  well  as  hush  doubts  affecting  many  of 
his  brother  soldiers. 

This  discourse  was  followed  by  a  detail  of  the  plan,  with  a  wish  that  ho 
would  enter  upon  its  execution  instantly.  Champe  listened  with  deep  at 
tention,  and  with  a^highly  excited  countenance;  the  perturbations  of  his 
breast  not  being  hid  even  by  his  dark  visage.  He  briefly  and  modestly  re 
plied,  that  no  soldier  exceeded  him  in  respect  and  affection  for  the  com- 
mandcr-in-chief,  to  serve  whom  he  would  willingly  lay  down  his  life ;  and 


OF  AMERICANS.  253 

that  he  was  sensible  of  the  honor  conferred  by  the  choice  of  him  for  the 
execution  of  a  project  all  over  arduous ;  nor  could  ho  be  at  a  loss  to  know 
to  whom  was  to  be  ascribed  the  preference  bestowed,  which  he  took  plea 
sure  in  acknowledging,  although  increasing  obligations  before  great  and 
many.  He  was  not,  he  said,  deterred  by  the  danger  and  difficulty  which 
was  evidently  to  be  encountered,  but  he  was  deterred  by  the  ignominy  of 
desertion,  to  be  followed  by  the  hypocrisy  of  enlisting  with  the  enemy  ; 
neither  of  which  comported  with  his  feelings,  and  either  placed  an  in 
superable  bar  in  his  way  to  promotion.  He  concluded  by  observing,  that  if 
any  mode  could  be  contrived  free  from  disgrace,  he  would  cordially  embark 
in  the  enterprise.  As  it  was,  he  prayed  to  be  excused  ;  and  hoped  that 
services,  always  the  best  in  his  power  to  perform,  faithfully  performed,  en 
titled  his  prayer  to  success. 

Major  Lee  entreated  the  sergeant  to  ask  himself  what  must  be  the  reflec 
tions  of  his  comrades,  if  a  soldier  from  some  other  corps  should  execute 
the  attempt,  when  they  should  be  told  that  the  glory  transferred  to  the  regi 
ment  of  which  he  was  one,  might  have  been  enjoyed  by  the  legion,  had 
not  Sergeant  Champe  shrank  from  the  overture  made  to  him  by  his  general 
rather  than  reject  scruples  too  narrow  and  confined  to  be  permitted  to  inter 
fere  with  grand  and  virtuous  deeds.  The  esprit  du  corps  could  not  be  re 
sisted  ;  united  to  his  inclination,  it  subdued  his  prejudices,  and  he  declared 
his  willingness  to  conform  to  the  wishes  of  the  general ;  relying,  as  he  con 
fidently  did,  that  his  reputation  would  be  protected  by  those  who  had  in 
duced  him  to  undertake  the  enterprise,  should  he  be  unfortunate.  The  in 
structions  were  read  to  him,  and  each  distinct  object  presented  plainly  to 
his  view,  of  which  he  took  notes  so  disguised  as  to  be  understood  only  by 
himself.  He  was  particularly  cautioned  to  use  the  utmost  circumspection 
;n  delivering  his  letters,  and  to  take  care  to  withhold  from  the  two  indi 
viduals,  addressed  under  feigned  names,  knowledge  of  each  other ;  for  al 
though  both  had  long  been  in  the  confidence  of  the  general,  yet  it  was  not 
known  by  either  that  the  other  was  so  engaged.  He  was  further  urged,  to 
bear  in  constant  recollection  the  solemn  injunction  so  pointedly  expressed 
in  the  instructions  to  Major  Lee,  of  forbearing  to  kill  Arnold  in  any  con 
dition  of  things. 

This  part  of  the  business  being  finished,  their  deliberation  was  turned  to 
the  manner  of  Champe's  desertion  ;  for  it  was  well  known  to  them  both 
that  to  pass  the  numerous  patrols  of  horse  and  foot  crossing  from  the  sta 
tionary  guards,  was  itself  difficult,  which  was  now  rendered  more  so  by 
parties  thrown  occasionally  beyond  the  place  called  Liberty  Pole,  as  well  as 
by  swarms  of  irregulars,  induced  sometimes  to  venture  down  to  the  very 
point  at  Powles-Hook,  with  the  hope  of  picking  up  booty.  Evidently  dis 
cernible  as  were  the  difficulties  in  the  way,  no  relief  could  be  administered 
by  Major  Lee,  lest  it  might  induce  a  belief  that  he  was  privy  to  the  deser 
tion,  which  opinion  getting  to  the  enemy  would  involve  the  life  of  Champe. 
The  sergeant  was  left  to  his  own  resources  and  to  his  own  management, 
with  the  declared  determination,  that  in  case  his  departure  should  be  dis 
covered  before  morning,  Lee  would  take  care  to  delay  pursuit  as  long  as 
practicable. 

Giving  to  the  sergeant  three  guineas,  and  presenting  his  best  wishes,  he 


254  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

recommended  him  to  start  without  delay,  and  enjoined  him  to  communi 
cate  his  arrival  iu  New  York  as  soon  as  he  could.  Champe  pulling  out  hia 
watch,  compared  it  with  the  major's,  reminding  the  latter  of  the  impor 
tance  of  holding  back  pursuit,  which  he  was  convinced  would  take  place 
in  the  course  of  the  night,  and  which  might  be  fatal,  as  he  knew  that  ha 
shoul:  be  obliged  to  zigzag  in  order  to  avoid  the  patrols,  which  would 
consume  time.  It  was  now  nearly  eleven.  The  sergeant  returned  to  camp 
and  taking  his  cloak,  valise  and  orderly  book,  he  drew  his  horse  from  the 
picket,  and  mounting  him  put  himself  upon  fortune. 

Within  half  an  hour  Captain  Games,  officer  of  the  day,  waited  upon  the 
major,  and  with  considerable  emotion  told  him  that  one  of  the  patrol  had 
fallen  in  with  a  dragoon,  who,  being  challenged,  put  spur  to  his  horse  and 
escaped,  though  instantly  pursued.  Lee,  complaining  of  the  interruption, 
and  pretending  to  be  extremely  fatigued  by  his  ride  to  and  from  head 
quarters,  answered  as  if  he  did  not  understand  what  had  been  said,  which 
compelled  the  captain  to  repeat  it.  Who  can  the  fellow  that  was  pursued 
be  ?  inquired  the  major  ;  adding,  a  countryman,  probably.  No,  replied  the 
captain,  the  patrol  sufficiently  distinguished  him  to  know  that  he  was 
a  dragoon  ;  probably  one  from  the  army,  if  not  certainly  one  of  our  own. 
This  idea  was  ridiculed  from  its  improbability,  as  during  the  whole  war 
but  a  single  dragoon  had  deserted  from  the  legion.  This  did  not  convince 
Games,  so  much  stress  was  it  now  the  fashion  to  lay  on  the  desertion  of 
Arnold,  and  the  probable  effect  of  his  example.  The  captain  withdrew  to 
examine  the  squadron  of  horse,  whom  he  had  ordered  to  assemble  in  pur 
suance  of  established  usage  on  similar  occasions.  Very  quickly  he  returned, 
stating  that  the  scoundrel  was  known,  and  was  no  less  a  person  than  the- 
sergeant-major,  who  had  gone  off  with  his  horse,  baggage,  arms  and  orderly 
book, — as  neither  the  one  nor  the  other  could  be  found.  Sensibly  affected 
at  the  supposed  baseness  of  a  soldier  extremely  respected,  the  captain 
added  that  he  had  ordered  a  party  to  make  ready  for  pursuit,  and  begged 
the  major's  written  orders. 

Occasionally  this  discourse  was  interrupted,  and  every  idea  suggested 
which  the  excellent  character  of  the  sergeant  warranted,  to  induce  the  sus 
picion  that  he  had  not  deserted,  but  had  taken  the  liberty  to  leave  camp 
with  a  view  to  personal  pleasure;  an  example,  too  often  set  by  the  officers 
themselves,  destructive  as  it  was  of  discipline,  opposed  as  it  was  to  orders, 
and  disastrous  as  it  might  prove  to  the  corps  in  the  course  of  service.  Some 
little  delay  was  thus  interposed  ;  but  it  being  now  announced  that  the  pur 
suing  party  was  ready,  Major  Lee  directed  a  change  in  the  officer,  saying 
that  he  had  a  particular  service  in  view,  which  he  had  determined  to  in 
trust  to  the  lieutenant  ready  for  duty,  and  which,  probably,  must  be  per 
formed  in  the  morning.  He  therefore  directed  him  to  summon  Cornet 
Middlcton  for  the  present  command.  Major  Lee  was  induced  thus  to  act, 
first  to  add  to  the  delay,  and  next  from  his  knowledge  of  the  tenderness  of 
Middle-ton's  disposition,  which  he  hoped  would  lead  to  the  protection  of 
Champe,  should  he  be  taken.  Within  ten  minutes  Middleton  appeared  to 
receive  his  orders,  which  were  delivered  to  him  made  out  in  the  customary 
form,  and  signed  by  the  major.  "  Pursue  so  far  as  you  can  with  safety  Ser 
geant  Champe,  who  is  suspected  of  deserting  to  the  enemy,  and  has  taker; 


OF  AMERICANS.  255 

the  road  leading  to  Powles-Hook.  Bring  him  alive,  that  he  may  suffer  in  the 
presence  of  the  army;  but  kill  him  if  he  resists  or  escapes  after  being  taken." 

Detaining  the  cornet  a  few  minutes  longer  in  advising  him  what  course 
to  pursue, — urging  him  to  take  care  of  the  horse  and  accoutrements,  if  re 
covered, — and  enjoining  him  to  be  on  his  guard,  lest  he  might,  by  his  eager 
pursuit,  improvidently  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy, — the  major  dis 
missed  Middleton,  wishing  him  success.  A  shower  of  rain  fell  soon  after 
Champe's  departure,  which  enabled  the  pursuing  dragoons  to  take  the  trail 
of  his  horse ;  knowing,  as  officer  and  trooper  did,  the  make  of  their  shoes, 
the  impression  of  which,  was  an  unerring  guide. 

The  horses  being  all  shod  by  our  own  farriers,  the  shoes  were  made  in 
the  same  form,  which  with  a  private  mark  annexed  to  the  fore-shoes,  and 
known  to  the  troopers,  pointed  out  the  trail  of  our  dragoons  to  each  other, 
which  was  often  very  useful. 

When  Middleton  departed  it  was  a  few  minutes  past  twelve  ;  so  that 
Champe  had  only  the  start  of  rather  more  than  an  hour, — by  no  means  as 
long  as  was  desired.  The  pursuing  party  during  the  night,  was,  on  their 
part,  delayed  by  the  necessary  halts  to  examine  occasionally  the  road,  as 
the  impression  of  the  horse's  shoes  directed  their  course  ;  this  was  unfortu 
nately  too  evident,  no  other  horse  having  passed  along  the  road  since  the 
shower.  When  the  day  broke,  Middleton  was  no  longer  forced  to  halt,  and 
he  pressed  on  with  rapidity.  Ascending  an  eminence  before  he  reached  the 
Throe  Pigeons,  some  miles  on  the  north  of  the  village  of  Bergen,  as  the 
pursuing  party  reached  its  summit,  Champe  was  descried  not  more  than 
half  a  mile  in  front.  Eesembling  an  Indian  in  his  .vigilance,  the  sergeant  at 
the  same  moment  discovered  the  party,  to  whose  object  he  was  no  stranger, 
and  giving  spur  to  his  horse,  he  determined  to  outstrip  his  pursuers.  Mid 
dleton  at  the  same  instant  put  his  horses  to  the  top  of  their  speed ;  and 
being,  as  the  legion  all  were,  well  acquainted  with  the  country,  he  recol 
lected  a  short  route  through  the  woods  to  the  bridge  below  Bergen,  which 
diverged  from  the  great  road  just  after  you  gain  the  Three  Pigeons.  Reach 
ing  the  point  of  separation,  he  halted  ;  and  dividing  his  party,  directed  a 
sergeant  with  a  few  dragoons  to  take  the  near  cut,  and  possess  with  all  pos 
sible  dispatch  the  bridge,  while  he  with  the  residue  followed  Champe  ;  not 
doubting  but  that  Champe  must  deliver  himself  up,  as  he  would  be  closed 
between  himself  and  his  sergeant.  Champe  did  not  forget  the  short  cut, 
and  would  have  taken  it  himself,  but  he  knew  it  was  the  usual  route  of 
our  parties  when  returning  in  the  day  from  the  neighborhood  of  the  enemy, 
properly  preferring  the  woods  to  the  road.  He  consequently  avoided  it ; 
and  persuaded  that  Middleton  would  avail  himself  of  it,  wisely  resolved  to 
relinquish  his  intention  of  getting  to  Powles-Hook,  and  to  seek  refuge  from 
two  British  galleys,  lying  a  few  miles  to  the  west  of  Bergen. 

This  was  a  station  always  occupied  by  one  or  two  galleys,  and,  which 
it  was  known  now  lay  there.  Entering  the  village  of  Bergen,  Champe 
turned  to  his  right,  and  disguising  his  change  of  course  as  much  as  he  could 
by  taking  the  beaten  streets,  turning  as  they  turned,  he  passed  through  the 
village  and  took  the  road  toward  Elizabethtown  Point.  Middletou's  ser 
geant  gained  the  bridge,  where  he  concealed  himself,  ready  to  pounce  upon 
Champe  when  he  came  up ;  and  Middleton  pursuing  his  course  through 


256  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

Bergen,  soon  got  also  to  the  bridge,  when,  to  his  extreme  mortification,  he 
found  that  the  sergeant  had  slipped  through  his  fingers.  Returning  up  the 
road,  he  inquired  of  the  villagers  of  Bergen,  whether  a  dragoon  had  been 
seen  that  morning  ahead  of  his  party.  He  was  answered  in  the  affirmative, 
but  could  learn  nothing  satisfactory  as  to  the  route  he  took.  While  en 
gaged  in  inquiries  himself,  he  spread  his  party  through  the  village  to  strike 
the  trail  of  Champe's  horse,  a  resort  always  recurred  to.  Some  of  his  dra* 
goons  hit  it  just  as  the  sergeant,  leaving  the  village,  got  in  the  road  to  the 
Point  Pursuit  was  renewed  with  vigor,  and  again  Champe  was  descried, 
lie,  apprehending  the  event,  had  prepared  himself  for  it,  by  lashing  his 
valise  (containing  his  clothes  and  orderly  book)  on  his  shoulders,  and 
holding  his  drawn  sword  in  his  hand,  having  thrown  away  the  scabbard. 
This  he  did  to  save  what  was  indispensable  to  him,  and  to  prevent  any 
interruption  to  his  swimming,  should  Middleton,  as  he  presumed,  when  dis 
appointed  at  the  bridge,  take  the  measures  adopted  by  him.  The  pursuit 
was  rapid  and  close,  as  the  stop  occasioned  by  the  sergeant's  preparations  for 
swimming  had  brought  Middleton  within  two  or  three  hundred  yards.  As 
soon  as  Champe  got  abreast  of  the  two  galleys,  he  dismounted,  and  running 
through  the  marsh  to  the  river,  plunged  into  it,  calling  upon  the  galleys  for 
help.  This  was  readily  given  ;  they  fired  upon  our  horse,  and  sent  a  boat 
to  meet  Champe,  who  was  taken  in  and  carried  on  board  and  conveyed 
to  New  York,  with  a  letter  from  the  captain  of  the  galley,  stating  the  cir 
cumstances  he  had  seen. 

The  horse  with  his  equipments,  the  sergeants  cloak  and  scaJbbard,  were 
recovered  ;  the  sword  itself  being  held  by  Champe  until  he  plunged  in  the 
river,  was  lost,  as  Middleton  found  it  necessary  to  retire  without  searching 
for  it.  About  three  o'clock  in  the  evening  our  party  returned,  and  the  sol 
diers  seeing  the  well  known  horse  in  our  possession,  made  the  air  resound 
with  exclamations  that  the  scoundrel  was  killed.  Major  Lee  called  by  this 
heart-rending  annunciation  from  his  tent,  saw  the  sergeant's  horse  led  by 
one  of  Middleton' s  dragoons,  and  began  to  reproach  himself  with  the  blood 
of  the  high  prized,  faithful  and  intrepid  Champe.  Stifling  his  agony  he 
advanced  to  meet  Middleton,  and  became  somewhat  relieved  as  soon  as 
he  got  near  enough  to  discern  the  countenance  of  his  officer  and  party. 
There  was  evidence  in  their  looks  of  disappointment,  and  he  was  quickly 
relieved  by  Middleton's  information  that  the  sergeant  had  effected  his  escape 
with  the  loss  of  his  horse,  and  narrated  the  particulars  just  recited.  Never 
was  a  happier  conclusion.  The  sergeant  escaped  unhurt,  carrying  with  him 
tc  the  enemy  undeniable  testimony  of  the  sincerity  of  his  desertion, — can 
celing  every  apprehension  before  entertained,  lest  the  enemy  might  suspect 
him  of  being  what  he  really  was.  Major  Lee  imparted  to  the  commander- 
in-chief  the  occurrence,  who  was  sensibly  affected  by  the  hair-breadth  escape 
of  Champe,  and  anticipated  with  pleasure  the  good  effect  sure  to  follow  the 
enemy's  knowledge  of  its  manner.  On  the  fourth  day  after  Champe's  de 
parture,  Major  Lee  received  a  letter  from  him,  written  the  day  before  in  a 
disguised  hand,  without  any  signature,  and  stating  what  had  passed  after 
he  got  on  board  the  galley,  where  he  was  kindly  received. 

He  was  carried  to  the  commandant  of  New  York  as  soon  as  he  arrived, 
and  presented  the  letter  addressed  to  this  officer  from  the  captain  of  the 


OF  AMERICANS.  257 

galley.  Being  asked  to  what  corps  he  belonged,  and  a  few  other  common 
questions,  he  was  sent  under  care  of  an  orderly  sergeant  to  the  adjutant- 
general,  who,  finding  that  he  was  sergeant-major  of  the  legion  horse,  here 
tofore  remarkable  for  their  fidelity,  began  to  interrogate  him.  He  was  told 
by  Champe,  that  such  was  the  spirit  of  defection,  which  prevailed  among 
the  American  troops  in  consequence  of  Arnold's  example,  that  he  had  no 
d^ubt,  if  the  temper  was  properly  cherished  Washington's  ranks  would  not 
only  be  greatly  thinned,  but  that  some  of  his  best  corps  would  leave  him. 
To  this  conclusion,  the  sergeant  said,  he  was  led  by  his  own  observations, 
and  especially  by  his  knowledge  of  the  discontents  which  agitated  the  corps 
to  which  he  had  belonged.  His  size,  place  of  birth,  form,  countenance, 
hair,  the  corps  in  which  he  had  served,  with  other  remarks,  in  conformity 
to  the  British  usage,  was  noted  down.  After  this  was  finished,  he  was  sent 
to  the  commander-in-chief,  in  charge  of  one  of  the  staff,  with  a  letter  from 
the  adjutant-general.  Sir  Henry  Clinton  treated  him  very  kindly,  and  de 
tained  him  more  than  one  hour,  asking  him  many  questions,  all  leading, — 
first  to  know  to  what  extent  this  spirit  of  defection  might  be  pushed  by 
proper  incitements, — what  the  most  operating  incitements, — whether  any 
general  officers  were  suspected  by  Washington  as  concerned  in  Arnold's  con 
spiracy,  or  any  other  officers  of  note  ; — who  they  were,  and  whether  the 
troops  approved  or  censured  Washington's  suspicions  ; — whether  his  popu 
larity  in  the  army  was  sinking,  or  continued  stationary  ?  What  was  Major 
Andre's  situation, — whether  any  change  had  taken  place  in  the  manner  of 
his  confinement, — what  was  the  current  opinion  of  his  probable  fate, — and 
whether  it  was  thought  Washington  would  treat  him  as  a  spy  ?  To  these  va 
rious  interrogations,  some  of  which  were  perplexing,  Champe  answered  wa 
rily  ;  exciting,  nevertheless,  hopes  that  the  adoption  of  proper  measures  to 
encourage  desertion  (of  which  he  could  not  pretend  to  form  an  opinion) 
would  certainly  bring  off  hundreds  of  the  American  soldiers,  including  some 
of  the  best  troops,  horse  as  well  as  foot.  Respecting  the  fate  of  Andre,  ho 
said  he  was  ignorant,  though  there  appeared  to  be  a  general  wish  in  the 
army  that  his  life  should  not  be  taken  ;  and  that  he  believed  it  would  de 
pend  more  upon  the  disposition  of  Congress,  than  on  the  will  of  Wash 
ington. 

After  this  long  conversation  ended,  Sir  Henry  presented  Champe  with  a 
couple  of  guineas,  and  recommended  him  to  wait  upon  General  Arnold, 
who  was  engaged  in  raising  an  American  legion  in  the  service  of  his  ma 
jesty.  He  directed  one  of  his  aids  to  write  to  Arnold  by  Champe,  stating 
who  he  was,  and  what  he  said  about  the  disposition  in  the  army  to  follow 
his  example  ;  which  being  soon  done,  the  letter  was  given  to  the  orderly  at 
tending  on  Champe  to  be  presented  with  the  deserter  to  General  Arnold. 
Arnold  expressed  much  satisfaction  on  hearing  from  Champe  the  manner  of 
his  escape,  and  the  effect  of  his  [Arnold's]  example ;  and  concluded  his 
numerous  inquiries  by  assigning  quarters  to  the  sergeant, — the  same  as  wero 
occupied  by  his  recruiting  sergeants. 

He  also  proposed  to  Champe  to  join  his  legion,  telling  him  he  would  give 
him  the  same  station  he  had  held  in  the  rebel  service,  and  promising  further 
advancement  when  merited.  Expressing  his  wish  to  retire  from  war,  and 
his  conviction  of  the  certainty  of  his  being  hung  if  ever  taken  by  the 


•258  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

*ebels,  he  begged  to  be  excused  from  enlistment;  assuring  the  genera), 
that  should  he  change  his  mind,  he  would  certainly  accept  his  offer.  Re 
tiring  to  his  quarters  Charnpe  now  turned  his  attention  to  the  delivery  of 
his  letters,  which  he  could  not  effect  until  the  next  night,  and  then  only  to 
one  of  the  two  incogniti  to  whom  he  was  recommended.  This  man  re- 
eived  the  sergeant  with  extreme  attention,  and  having  read  the  letter,  as- 
ured  Champe  that  he  might  rely  on  his  faithful  co-operation  in  everything 
in  his  power  consistent  with  his  safety,  to  guard  which  required  the  utmost 
prudence  and  circumspection.  The  sole  object  in  which  the  aid  of  this 
individual  was  required,  regarded  the  general  and  others  of  our  army,  im 
plicated  in  the  information  sent  to  Washington  by  him.  To  this  object 
Champe  urged  his  attention  ;  assuring  him  of  the  solicitude  it  had  excited, 
and  telling  him  that  its  speedy  investigation  had  induced  the  general  to 
send  him  in  to  New  York.  Promising  to  enter  upon  it  with  zeal,  and  en 
gaging  to  send  out  Champe's  letters  to  Major  Lee,  he  fixed  the  time  and 
place  for  their  next  meeting,  when  they  separated. 

Major  Lee  made  known  to  the  general  what  had  been  transmitted  to  him 
by  Champe,  and  received  in  answer  directions  to  press  Champe  to  the  ex 
peditious  conclusion  of  his  mission  ;  as  the  fate  of  Andre  would  be  soon 
decided,  when  little  or  no  delay  could  be  admitted  in  executing  whatever 
sentence  the  court  might  decree.  The  same  messenger  who  brought 
Champe's  letter,  returned  with  the  ordered  communication.  Five  days  had 
nearly  elapsed  after  reaching  New  York,  before  Champe  saw  the  confidant 
to  whom  only  the  attempt  against  Arnold  was  to  be  intrusted.  This  per 
son  entered  with  promptitude  into  the  design,  promising  his  cordial  assist 
ance.  To  procure  a  proper  associate  for  Champe  was  the  first  object,  and 
this  ho  promised  to  do  with  all  possible  dispatch.  Furnishing  a  conveyance 
to  Major  Lee,  to  whom  Champe  stated  that  he  had  that  morning  (the  last 
of  September)  been  appointed  one  of  Arnold's  recruiting  sergeants,  having 
enlisted  the  day  before  with  Arnold  ;  and  that  he  was  induced  to  take  this 
afflicting  step,  for  the  purpose  of  securing  uninterrupted  ingress  and  egress 
to  the  house  which  the  general  occupied  ;  it  being  indispensable  to  a  speedy 
conclusion  of  the  difficult  enterprise  which  the  information  he  had  just  re 
ceived  had  so  forcibly  urged.  He  added,  that  the  difficulties  in  his  way 
were  numerous  and  stubborn,  and  that  his  prospect  of  success  was  by  no 
means  cheering.  With  respect  to  the  additional  treason,  he  asserted  that 
ho  had  every  reason  to  believe  that  it  was  groundless  ;  that  the  report  took 
its  rise  in  the  enemy's  camp,  and  that  he  hoped  soon  to  clear  up  that  mat 
ter  satisfactorily.  The  pleasure  which  the  last  part  of  this  communication 
afforded,  was  damped  by  the  tidings  it  imparted  respecting  Arnold,  as  on 
n\s  speedy  delivery  depended  Andre's  relief.  The  interposition  of  Sir 
Henry  Clinton,  who  was  extremely  anxious  to  save  his  aid-de-camp,  still 
continued  ;  and  it  was  expected  the  examination  of  witnesses  and  the  de 
fense  of  the  prisoner,  would  protract  the  decision  of  the  court  of  inquirv, 
now  assembled,  and  give  sufficient  time  for  the  consummation  of  the  project 
committed  to  Champe.  A  complete  disappointment  took  place  from  a 
quarter  unforeseen  and  unexpected.  The  honorable  and  accomplished 
Andre,  knowing  his  guilt,  disdained  defense,  and  prevented  the  examina 
tion  of  witnesses  by  confessing  the  character  in  which  he  stood.  On  the 


OF  AMERICANS.  259 

next  day  (the  2d  of  October),  the  court  again  assembled  ;  when  every  doubt 
that  could  possibly  arise  in  the  case  having  been  removed  by  the  previous 
confession,  Andre  was  declared  to  be  a  spy,  and  condemned  to  suffer  accord 
ingly.  The  sentence  was  executed  on  the  subsequent  day  in  the  usual 
form,  the  commander-in-chief  deeming  it  improper  to  interpose  any  delay. 
The  fate  of  Andre,  hastened  by  himself,  deprived  the  enterprise  com 
mitted  to  Champe  of  a  feature  which  had  been  highly  prized  by  its  pro 
jector,  and  which  had  very  much  engaged  the  heart  of  the  individual 
chosen  to  execute  it. 

Champe  deplored  the  sad  necessity  which  had  occurred,  and  candidly  con 
fessed  that  the  hope  of  enabling  Washington  to  save  the  life  of  Andre, 
(who  had  been  the  subject  of  universal  commiseration  in  the  American 
camp),  greatly  contributed  to  remove  the  serious  difficulties  which  opposed 
his  acceding  to  the  proposition  when  first  propounded.  Some  documents 
accompanied  this  communication  tending  to  prove  the  innocence  of  tho 
accused  general ;  they  were  completely  satisfactory,  and  did  credit  to  the 
discrimination,  zeal,  and  diligence  of  the  sergeant.  Nothing  remained  to 
be  done,  but  the  seizure  and  safe  delivery  of  Arnold.  To  this  subject 
Champe  gave  his  undivided  attention.  Ten  days  elapsed  before  Champe 
brought  his  measures  to  a  conclusion,  when  Major  Lee  received  from  him  his 
final  communication,  appointing  the  third  subsequent  night  for  a  party  of 
dragoons  to  meet  him  at  Iloboken,  when  he  hoped  to  deliver  Arnold  to  the 
officer.  Champe  had  from  his  enlistment  into  the  American  legion  (Arnold's 
corps)  every  opportunity  he  could  wish,  to  attend  to  the  habits  of  the  general. 
He  discovered  that  it  was  his  custom  to  return  home  about  twelve  every 
night,  and  that  previous  to  going  to  bed  he  always  visited  the  garden.  Dur 
ing  this  visit  the  conspirators  were  to  seize  him,  and  being  prepared  with  a 
gag,  intended  to  have  applied  the  same  instantly. 

Adjoining  the  house  in  which  Arnold  resided,  and  that  in  .which  it  was 
designed  to  seize  and  gag  him,  Champe  had  taken  off  several  of  the  palings 
and  replaced  them,  so  that  with  care  and  without  noise  he  could  readily 
open  his  way  to  the  adjoining  alley.  Into  this  alley  he  meant  to  have  con 
veyed  his  prisoner,  aided  by  his  companion,  one  of  two  associates  who  had 
been  introduced  by  the  friend  to  whom  Champe  had  been  originally  made 
known  by  letter  from  the  commander-in-chief,  and  with  whose  aid  and 
counsel  he  had  so  far  conducted  the  enterprise.  His  other  associate  was 
with  the  boat  prepared  at  one  of  the  wharves  on  the  Hudson  River,  to  re 
ceive  the  party.  Champe  and  his  friend  intended  to  have  placed  them 
selves  each  under  Arnold's  shoulder,  and  to  have  thus  borne  him  through 
the  most  unfrequented  alleys  and  streets  to  the  boat ;  representing  Arnold, 
in  case  of  being  questioned,  as  a  drunken  soldier,  whom  they  were  con 
veying  to  the  guard-house.  When  arrived  at  the  boat  the  difficulties  would 
be  all  surmounted,  there  being  no  danger  nor  obstacle  in  passing  to  the 
Jersey  shore.  The  day  arrived,  and  Major  Lee  with  a  party  of  dragoons 
left  camp  late  in  the  evening,  with  three  led  horses  :  one  for  Arnold,  o>ie  for 
the  sergeant,  and  the  third  for  the  associate,  never  doubting  the  success  of 
the  enterprise,  from  the  tenor  of  the  last  received  communication.  The 
party  reached  Hoboken  about  midnight,  where  they  were  concealed  in  the 
adjoining  woods  — Lee,  with  three  dragoons,  stationing  himself  near  the 
17 


260  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

river  shore.  Hour  after  hour  passed, — no  boat  approached.  At  length  the 
day  broke  and  the  major  retired  to  his  party,  and  with  his  led  horses  re 
turned  to  camp,  when  he  proceeded  to  head-quarters  to  inform  the  general 
of  the  disappointment,  as  mortifying  as  inexplicable. 

In  a  few  days,  Major  Lee  received  an  anonymous  letter  from  Champe's 
patron  and  friend,  informing  him  that  on  the  day  previous  to  the  night  fixed 
for  the  execution  of  the  plot,  Arnold  had  removed  his  quarters  to  anothe? 
part  of  the  town,  to  superintend  the  embarkation  of  troops,  preparing  (K 
was  rumored)  for  an  expedition  to  be  directed  by  himself;  and  that  the 
American  legion,  consisting  chiefly  of  deserters,  had  been  transferred  from 
their  barracks  to  one  of  the  transports  ;  it  being  apprehended  that  if  left  on 
shore  until  the  expedition  was  ready,  many  of  them  might  desert.  Thus 
it  happened  that  John  Champe,  instead  of  crossing  the  Hudson  that  night, 
was  safely  deposited  on  board  one  of  the  fleet  of  transports,  from  whence 
ho  never  departed  until  the  troops  under  Arnold  landed  in  Virginia.  Nor 
was  he  able  to  escape  from  the  British  army  until  after  the  junction  of  Lord 
Cornwallis  at  Petersburgh,  when  he  deserted  ;  and  proceeding  high  up  into 
Virginia,  he  passed  into  North  Carolina  near  the  Saura  Towns,  and  keep 
ing  in  the  friendly  districts  of  that  State,  safely  joined  the  army  soon  after 
it  had  passed  the  Congaree  in  pursuit  of  Lord  Bawd-on. 

His  appearance  excited  extreme  surprise  among  his  former  comrades, 
which  was  not  a  little  increased  when  they  saw  the  cordial  reception  he 
met  with  from  Lieutenant-Colonel  Lee.  His  whole  story  soon  became 
known  to  the  corps,  which  reproduced  the  love  and  respect  of  officer  and 
•soldier,  heightened  by  universal  admiration  of  his  daring  and  arduous 
attempt. 

Champe  was  introduced  to  General  Greene,  who  cheerfully  complied  with 
the  promises  made  by  the  commander-in-chief,  as  far  as  in  his  power ;  and 
having  provided  the  sergeant  with  a  good  horse  and  money  for  his  journey, 
sent  him  to  General  Washington,  who  munificently  anticipated  every  de 
sire  of  the  sergeant,  and  presented  him  with  a  discharge  from  further  ser 
vice,  lest  he  might  in  the  vicissitudes  of  war,  fall  into  the  enemy's  hands  ; 
when,  if  recognized,  he  was  sure  to  die  on  a  gibbet. 

When  General  Washington  was  called  by  President  Adams  to  the  com 
mand  of  the  army,  prepared  to  defend  the  country  from  French  hostility, 
he  sent  to  Lieutenant-Colonel  Lee  to  inquire  for  Champe  ;  being  determined 
to  bring  him  into  the  field  at  the  head  of  a  company  of  infantry.  Colonel 
Lee  sent  to  London  county,  Virginia,  where  Champe  settled  after  his  dis 
charge  from  the  army,  but  learned  that  the  gallant  soldier  had  removed  to 
Kentucky,  where  he  soon  after  died. 


NARRATIVE 

OF    THE 

LAND    AND    SEA   PEEILS 

OF 

ANDREW    SHERBURNE, 


IN  THE  WAR  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION,  INCLUDING  HIS  SUFFERINGS  IN  OLD  MILi, 
PRISON,  ENGLAND,  AND  AFTERWARD  IN  THE  OLD  JERSEY  PRISON  SHIP  AT  THE 
WALLABOUT,  BROOKLYN,  NEW  YORK.  WRITTEN  FOR  THIS  WORK  BY  ANDREW 
DICKINSON. 


ANDREW  SHERBURNE  was  born  at  Rye,  once  a  part  of  Portsmouth,  New 
Hampshire,  September  30,  1765.  He  describes  his  childhood  as  dotted 
over  with  misfortunes.  He  was  about  twelve  years  old,  at  that  period  of 
our  revolutionary  history,  when  the  American  spirit  was  fully  developed  by 
the  battles  of  Bunker  Hill  and  Lexington.  He  caught  the  spirit  of  the 
times  ;  yet  he  owns  that  he  was  influenced,  at  first,  more  by  a  love  of  ex 
citement  and  heroic  adventure,  than  any  rational  feeling  of  patriotism.  He 
longed  to  be  old  enough  to  take  part  in  the  conflict.  The  discipline  of 
military  drills,  in  those  troublous  times,  was  not  lost  upon  boys  of  even 
seven  or  eight  years.  They  would  form  into  companies,  with  plumes  and 
wooden  guns,  and  their  martial  exercises  were  as  exact  as  those  of  the  men. 
When  two  or  three  boys  happened  to  meet  in  the  street,  their  military 
powers  were  tested  by  pitching  into  each  other  with  sticks,  instead  of 
wooden  guns.  Meanwhile  ships  were  building,  privateers  fitting  out,  prizes 
brought  in,  standards  waving  on  forts  and  batteries  ;  while  the  exercising  of 
soldiers,  the  roar  of  cannon,  the  sound  of  martial  music,  and  the  call  for 
volunteers,  completely  infatuated  him.  His  brother  Thomas  had  returned 
from  a  cruise  in  the  General  Mifflin,  which  had  taken  thirteen  prizes  :  this 
was  another  temptation.  Our  young  hero  was  so  much  excited,  that  he 
was  often  heard  talking  in  his  sleep  by  his  mother.  Such  are  some  of  the 
dreams  of  glory  and  riches  that  infatuate  youth,  and,  alas !  too  many 
children  of  a  larger  growth.  His  parents  were  in  continual  fear  of  his 
wandering  away  and  getting  on  board  a  vessel  without  their  consent ;  for  it 
was  a  common  thing  for  country  lads  to  step  on  board  of  a  privateer,  and 
sometimes  return  home  from  a  cruise  ;  their  friends  being  ignorant  of  their 
fate  till  they  heard  it  from  themselves.  Others  would  pack  up  their  clothes, 
and  with  a  cheese  and  a  loaf,  start  for  the  army,  without  taking  one  look  at 
the  dark  side  of  things  ;  indeed  to  them  there  appeared  no  dark  side.  The 
prevalence  of  this  rash  spirit,  however,  kept  up  the  spirits  of  the  despond 
ing,  and  helped  the  country  to  make  a  successful  struggle  for  liberty. 

raen 


262  ADVENTURES   AND   ACHIEVEMENTS 

At  last  his  father  consented  that  Andrew  should  go  to  sea  in  the  Ranger, 
a  ship-of-war  of  eighteen  guns,  though  he  was  not  yet  fourteen.  Privateer 
ing  was  the  order  of  the  day.  This  resolution  deprived  him  of  the  advan 
tages  of  instruction.  He  had  a  vile  habit  of  swearing,  in  which  he  then 
allowed  himself ;  an  inexcusable  vice,  which  he  endeavored  to  atone  for  by 
praying  very  hard  when  he  turned  in  at  night.  He  went  to  sea  in  June, 
1779.  His  associates  being  raw  and  undisciplined  in  sea  life,  and  very  sea 
sick,  occasioned  much  ridicule  and  merriment  by  the  sailors. 

One  morning  a  man  at  the  foretopmast-head  cried  out,  "A  sail!  a  saill 
on  the  lee-bow — and  another  there,  and  there  ! "  The  young  officers  ran  up 
the  shrouds,  and,  with  their  spyglasses,  soon  discovered  over  fifty  vessels  of 
war  !  many  more  prizes  than  they  could  take.  They  were  now  likely  to 
have  fighting  to  their  heart's  content.  These  vessels  were  but  a  part  of  the 
Jamaica  fleet,  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  line-of-battle  ships  and  sloops-of- 
war !  The  sight  greatly  alarmed  our  crew,  and  well  it  might.  They  could 
distinctly  see  their  lights,  and  hear  their  bells.  The  fog  was  very  thick,  by 
which  means  they  had  the  good  luck  to  escape.  Up  to  this  time  they  had 
taken  but  two  prizes  ;  Sherburne's  share  of  the  spoils  being  about  $100. 

In  a  few  weeks  after  his  return  from  this  voyage,  he  and  his  comrades 
had  to  betake  themselves  to  the  ships.  And  though  it  might  seem 
unmanly  to  shed  tears,  yet  the  downcast,  saddened  look  of  a  fond  mother 
and  sisters  proved  too  much  for  Andrew.  We  next  find  him  and  his  little 
squadron  chasing  a  British  ship,  near  the  coast  of  Charleston.  The  Eanger 
attacked  a  small  British  battery  on  James'  Island,  and,  after  a  severe  can 
nonading,  the  enemy's  guns  were  silenced.  At  the  beginning  of  this 
battle,  Andrew  was  excessively  alarmed ;  but,  like  the  redoubtable  Gil 
Bias,  cleverly  managed  to  hide  his  fears  from  his  associates.  In  another 
onset  they  were  defeated. .  Captain  Simpson  and  the  Ranger's  force  were 
much  exposed  to  the  fire  of  the  British.  Sherburne  relates  : 

"  While  part  of  the  officers  and  myself  occupied  an  elegant  house  of 
Colonel  Gadsden,  a  bomb  fell  through  the  roof  and  burst  in  the  cellar, 
luckily  hurting  no  one.  Another  fell  within  two  feet  of  me  ;  but  I  threw 
myself  behind  the  carriage,  and  escaped.  Another  burst  over  my  head,  and 
a  large  piece  buried  itself  in  the  turf  at  my  feet.  A  cannon  ball  struck  the 
house,  passing  within  two  feet  of  me.  Bullets  flew  like  hail  in  every  direc 
tion.  Bricks  and  plaster  fairly  darkened  the  air ;  and  shells  fell  over  the 
city  in  a  perfect  shower :  a  dozen  might  be  seen  falling  at  once.  The 
seige  was  closely  pressed,  and  we  were  in  great  fear  of  our  works  being 
carried  by  storm.  Finally  we  were  obliged  to  capitulate  on  the  12th  of 
May,  1780.  The  day  after  this  battle,  a  dreadful  accident  occurred.  While 
the  British  were  depositing  the  muskets  taken  from  us  in  the  grand  maga 
zine,  which  was  bomb  proof,  the  powder  in  it  exploded.  The  shock  was 
like  an  earthquake,  and  a  great  many  were  instantly  swept  into  eternity.  I 
saw  the  print  of  a  man's  body,  who  had  been  dashed  against  a  brick 
church  thirty  feet  above  the  ground,  and  thirty  rods  from  the  magazine. 
The  cause  of  this  explosion  was  never  known." 

Sherburne  was  now  a  prisoner.  On  his  return  home,  after  his  imprison 
ment,  he  was  worn  down  with  sickness  and  misfortune.  Before  he  reached 
home,  he  heard  of  his  father's  death.  On  his  way,  with  his  little  budget  in 


OF  AMERICANS.  263 

hand,  lie  wept  bitterly,  and  till  his  tears  were  exhausted.  His  poor  mother 
was  now  a  widow ;  arid  his  brother  Thomas,  once  so  flushed  with  success, 
had  not  returned.  Alas  !  he  never  did  return.  As  Andrew  passed  a  house 
in  Lyme,  he  was  noticed  by  a  woman  standing  at  the  door.  She  was  im 
mediately  joined  by  another  tender-hearted  mother.  Both  had  sons  in  the 
army,  and  might  have  had  some  hope  of  seeing  or  hearing  of  them.  They 
stood  over  him  and  wept  in  silence,  meditating  on  the  fate  of  their  sons. 
It  was  an  hour  of  bitter  sorrow  !  The  best  their  houses  afforded,  was  pro* 
vided  for  the  youthful  wanderer.  In  a  week  more  he  reached  Portsmouth, 
where  he  found  his  widowed  and  mourning  mother.  A  scene  like  this, 
with  its  changes  in  one  year,  can  neither  be  described  nor  imagined. 

Sherburne  shall  hereafter  speak  for  himself  in  the  remainder  of  this 
narrative. 

My  mother  was  industriously  employed  in  spinning,  knitting,  and  sewing 
for  others,  as  a  means  of  support  for  her  children.  She  would  sit  at  her 
wheel  for  hours,  diligent  and  pensive,  without  uttering  a  word  ;  and  now 
and  then  tears  would  roll  down  her  cheeks,  and  she  would  break  silence  by 
the  narration  of  some  event  that  took  place  in  her  father's  day  of  prosperity. 

As  the  Eanger  was  built  in  Portsmouth,  and  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of 
the  enemy,  the  patriotic  merchants  of  that  place  were  anxious  to  retrieve 
their  loss.  They  built  another  beautiful  ship  of  twenty  guns,  called  the 
Alexander,  and  gave  Captain  Simpson  the  command.  A  considerable 
number  of  the  Ranger's  officers  and  men  occupied  the  same  station,  as 
formerly,  in  this  new  ship.  I  was  invited  by  the  captain  to  try  my  fortune 
in  her  again,  and  readily  accepted  the  offer.  We  sailed  from  Portsmouth  in 
December,  1780,  and  during  a  cruise  of  three  months,  took  nothing.  We 
never  gave  chase  without  coining  up  with  an  enemy,  though  we  never  met 
in  battle.  Before  we  reached  home  we  were  reduced  to  half  allowance,  and 
suffered  greatly  for  water.  I  had  left  my  mother  a  power  of  attorney  to 
sell  any  part  of  my  share  she  might  require,  by  which  means  she  was  pro 
vided  with  a  cow,  fuel,  and  other  necessaries. 

On  my  arrival  I  found  my  mother  and  sisters  well,  but  there  was  no  news 
from  my  brother  Thomas.  I  now  began  to  feel  as  if  the  care  of  the  family 
would  devolve  on  me.  My  neighbors  extolled  me  for  my  attentions,  and 
this  made  me  more  ambitious. 

The  Alexander  was  the  best  and  fastest  sailing  vessel  I  ever  saw,  and  it 
need  not  be  wondered  at  if  I  should  be  invited  to  make  a  second  voyage. 
However,  while  one  day  walking  in  the  street,  I  was  recognized  by  one  of 
Neptune's  fry,  with  the  salutation,  "  Don't  you  want  to  take  a  short  cruise  in 
a  fine  schooner,  and  make  your  fortune  ?  "  Making  one's  "  fortune,"  was  a 
matter  of  course  ;  yet  what  kind  of  fortune,  remains  to  be  seen.  I  answered 
that  I  should  "go  in  the  Alexander."  "0,"  said  he,  "we  shall  be  back 
before  the  Alexander  will  get  ready  to  sail ! "  This  young  man  was 
Captain  Willis,  of  Kennebunk,  Maine  ;  and  his  vessel  was  the  Greyhound, 
fitted  out  at  Salem,  Massachusetts.  She  mounted  four  pounders,  was  o 
sixty  tuns  burden,  and  made  quite  a  warlike  appearance.  One  Captain 
Arnold  was  the  only  person  from  Portsmouth  going  in  her.  He  was  prize- 
master,  and  anxious  to  have  me  join  them.  The  others  were  all  strangers 
to  me.  I  was  then  about  sixteen.  Many  fair  promises,  beside  a  share  of 


264  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

spoils,  were  made.  Privateering  was  a  very  common  thing,  and  was  then 
sanctioned  by  public  opinion,  whatever  may  be  said  of  it  now.  Having  got 
on  board,  I  was  introduced  to  my  new  companions  by  Captain  Willis,  with  a 
good  deal  of  ceremony.  He  took  me  into  the  cabin,  and  I  was  much 
caressed  by  the  officers.  I  was  invited  to  sing  a  song,  and  in  the  course  of 
the  evening,  I  entertained  them  with  several.  There  was  a  good  deal  of 
management  in  all  this  ;  for  they  found  it  very  difficult  to  get  hands,  and 
they  wished  to  have  me  get  attached  to  them,  so  that  my  influence  co-.  Id 
secure  others.  The  day  after,  we  ran  down  to  York,  as  it  was  needful  for 
Captain  Willis  to  form  some  plan  to  increase  his  numbers ;  for  he  had  poor 
success  in  Portsmouth.  The  plan  was  to  get  up  a  frolic  at  a  public  house, 
and  lads  and  lasses  were  invited  for  a  country  dance !  Rum,  coffee,  and 
other  attractions,  were  freely  spread  out  to  bait  the  unwary — the  devil's 
usual  trap.  Having  but  one  fiddler,  and  the  company  being  large,  it  was 
requisite  to  have  dancing  in  more  than  one  room.  I  was,  therefore,  in  lieu 
of  fiddler  number  two,  selected  by  the  officers  to  sing  for  the  other  dancing 
department.  This  suited  me,  as  I  was  no  proficient  in  dancing.  Every  art 
and  insinuation,  however,  only  procured  two  recruits  !  As  might  be  ex 
pected,  the  next  day  was  one  of  the  most  melancholy  I  ever  passed.  The 
gloom,  the  horror,  the  despondency  I  felt,  cannot  be  described  by  mortal 
tongue.  I  resolved  to  return  home  ;  but  in  this  resolution  I  could  not 
obtain  the  least  relief.  The  voyage  before  me  looked  as  gloomy  as  death. 
It  was  "  a  horror  of  great  darkness."  Had  I  been  in  the  middle  of  the  ocean 
on  a  single  plank,  my  situation  would  not  seem  more  hopeless.  In  this 
forlorn  situation,  it  came  into  my  mind  to  go  on  board  of  the  vessel  and 
pray.  The  people  were  mostly  ashore  ;  and,  after  spending  some  time  in 
contemplation,  I  attempted  to  pray.  The  gloom  in  some  measure  subsided. 
I  then  told  the  captain  I  had  made  up  my  mind  to  return  home.  Ho 
acknowledged  my  right  to  do  so,  but  being  unwilling  to  part  with  me,  he 
got  Captain  Arnold  and  other  officers  to  persuade  me  to  remain  another 
evening.  I  reluctantly  consented.  The  evening  was  spent  much  like  the 
last.  Only  on»  more  hand  was  procured.  The  captain  being  satisfied  that 
he  would  have  no  success  here,  determined  to  push  farther  eastward, 
having  gained  my  consent  to  make  the  voyage.  At  Kennebunk  and 
Falmouth  our  success  was  equally  indifferent.  I  now  very  much  regretted 
that  I  had  ever  seen  the  accursed  Greyhound  ;  yet  nobody  was  more  to 
blame  than  myself.  My  melancholy  and  forebodings  came  upon  me  with 
renewed  horror.  Finally,  I  argued  myself  into  a  kind  of  unwilling  resigna 
tion  to  my  hard  fate. 

We  visited  Cape  Porpoise,  a  place  of  little  resort,  except  by  coasters. 
There  was  by  no  means  a  dense  population  here.  The  visit  of  a  vessel  of 
so  rakish  an  appearance  as  the  Greyhound,  with  flaming  flag  and  streaming 
pennants,  was  quite  a  novelty.  The  captain's  barge  was  rowed  with  four 
oars  only,  and  I  had  the  honor  of  being  steersman  of  this  little  craft ;  and 
when  we  put  off  from  alongside,  the  captain  was  honored  with  a  gun  and 
three  cheers  from  the  crew.  This  was  something  unusual ;  but  we  were 
privateersmen. 

With  such  inadequate  recruits  we  went  to  sea.  When  we  were  off 
Halifax  we  were  chased  by  a  topsail  schooner,  larger  than  ours.  With  a 


OF  AMERICANS.  265 

fresh  gale,  and  a  heavy  sea,  and  carrying  sail  so  long,  we  were  in  great 
danger  of  our  masts  being  carried  away.  The  vessel  chasing  us  was  much 
faster  than  ours,  and,  of  course,  came  up  with  us ;  but,  before  she  came  up, 
we  were  obliged  to  take  in  topsail.  This  devolved  on  me  alone,  and  I 
narrowly  escaped  being  thrown  off  the  yard,  which  was  only  a  spar,  about 
the  size  of  a  man's  leg,  affording  a  feeble  support.  The  pitching  and  rolling 
of  the  vessel  rendered  my  situation  perilous  beyond  conception.  Millions 
would  not  induce  me  to  run  such  a  risk  again  !  The  vessel  in  chase  proved 
to  bo  the  Bloodhound,  an  American  ! 

After  this  we  ventured  a  peep  into  Halifax  harbor,  where  we  saw  a  ship, 
apparently  in  distress,  trying  to  get  into  port.  The  British  had  found  out 
some  of  our  Yankee  tricks,  and  so  played  one  themselves.  We  hoped  to 
make  a  prize  of  her,  but  our  suspicions  increased  as  we  approached,  and  we 
drew  off.  No  sooner  had  we  changed  course,  however,  than  she  made 
chase,  which  lasted  several  hours.  B}^  maneuvering  and  the  fog,  we  happily 
escaped,  but  were  in  great  danger  of  being  completely  outwitted.  We  had 
heard  of  rich  prizes  being  taken  here,  but  the  captain  thought  it  prudent  to 
be  off  this  ground  altogether,  and  try  our  fortune  on  the  eastern  shore,  near 
the  mouth  of  the  St.  Lawrence.  We  had  a  trying  time  amid  the  islands, 
for  we  could  look  in  no  direction  without  seeing  a  sail.  We  soon  found  it 
necessary  to  speak  to  one  of  tbem.  From  their  maneuvering,  we  suspected 
they  were  in  league,  and  we  were  at  a  loss  to  determine  whether  they  were 
friends  or  foes.  None  of  them  were  as  large  as  ours,  and  we  thought  we 
need  not  fear  any  one  of  them  singly  ;  but  if  they  should  prove  enemies, 
then  the  case  would  be  somewhat  different !  However,  we  finally  ascer- 
taine  1  they  were  all  Americans.  Next  day  we  parted  with  this  squadron, 
except  one  of  them  that  agreed  to  accompany  us,  but  we  soon  parted 
with  her. 

We  visited  a  cluster  of  islands  called  the  Birds'  Island,  and  gathered  half 
a  dozen  bushels  of  the  eggs  of  wild  geese,  gannets,  gulls,  ducks,  etc.  It  was 
interesting  to  observe  the  management  of  the  feathered  race.  Their  nests 
were  as  thick  as  hills  of  corn.  There  were  low  bushes,  but  no  trees  on  these 
small  islands.  On  landing,  the  birds  took  a  general  alarm,  and  would  rise 
in  masses,  as  in  remonstrance  against  our  intrusion.  The  best  of  these 
eggs,  however,  were  no  very  delicate  morsel.  I  have  seen  a  Newfoundland 
shallop,  almost  loaded  with  them. 

Near  Fortune  Bay  we  fell  in  with  a  Newfoundland  shallop.  We  detained 
the  captain  (Charles  Grandy)  some  time,  and  questioned  him  very  closely, 
and  were  informed  that  an  English  brig  had  recently  entered  the  bay,  with 
s applies.  We  gave  him  some  pork  and  bread,  and  dismissed  him,  to  his 
great  joy :  for  he  fared  much  better  than  most  of  his  countrymen  did,  when 
ther  fell  into  the  hands  of  American  privateers.  We  hoped  to  fall  in  with 
this  brig,  and  obtain  a  fine  prize,  and  visited  several  ports  where  fishing  was 
carried  on,  and  found  no  brig ;  but  we  were  informed  one  was  expected. 
Having  failed  in  this  enterprise,  the  captain  took  two  of  the  best  shallops 
he  could  find,  belonging  to  wealthy  merchants,  and  loaded  them  with  oil 
and  dry  fish,  belonging  to  merchants  in  England.  We  then  left  the 
privateer,  near  Fortune  Bay,  and  set  out  for  Salem,  but  the  wind  drove  us 
back,  and  we  were  compelled  to  anchor  in  the  harbor  of  the  island. 


266  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

A  dark  cloud  of  adversity  now  seemed  ready  to  burst  upon  me.  As  we 
were  in  a  snug  harbor  where  there  were  no  inhabitants,  we  did  not  keep 
watch  at  night.  One  morning  as  I  came  on  deck,  I  perceived  that  Captain 
Arnold  was  very  different  from  what  he  had  been.  He  had  been  exceed 
ingly  low  spirited  since  we  left  the  privateer.  He  now  seemed  somewhat 
deranged — now  he  would  be  quite  sportive — now  he  would  have  a  great 
weight  on  his  mind.  In  the  evening  he  requested  me  to  get  a  light  and 
come  into  the  cabin  to  him.  I  staid  with  him  all  night.  He  talked  the 
whole  night  on  every  imaginable  subject — sometimes  he  seemed  rational — 
sometimes  deranged.  From  all  this,  I  gathered  that  he  had  a  mortal  dread 
of  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  It  was  said  by  some  one,  that  he 
ran  away  from  Halifax  with  a  king's  cutter.  In  the  morning  he  appeared 
very  cheerful.  In  the  course  of  the  day,  he  seemed  to  imagine  he  was  on 
board  the  privateer — would  speak  to  this  and  that  officer,  and  reply  as 
though  they  had  answered  him.  When  night  came  on,  I  advised  him  to  go 
into  his  cabin.  I  thought  it  fortunate  that  he  complied.  I  made  his  bed, 
and  proposed  that  he  should  lie  down,  which  he  did  without  hesitation,  and 
was  still.  I  was  determined  to  secure  him,  and  shut  the  door,  buttoning  it 
on  the  outside  :  then,  with  a  thick  stick  of  wood  sawn  square  at  each  end,  I 
fastened  the  door  doubly  secure, — one  end  against  a  bulkhead,  the  other 
against  the  door,  pressing  it  down  with  my  whole  weight.  Having  had  no 
sleep  the  night  before,  I  was  now  prepared  to  rest  without  disturbance. 
The  captain  made  no  noise,  and  as  he  slept  none  the  previous  night,  I 
hoped  he  would  rest.  About  daylight,  one  of  the  hands,  Annis,  a  stupid, 
shiftless,  low-spirited  fellow,  came  on  deck,  but  soon  returned,  exclaiming, 
with  surprise,  "  Sherburne,  where  is  Captain  Arnold?"  "In  his  cabin," 
said  I.  "  He  is  not  on  board,"  replied  Annis.  Going  on  deck,  I  saw  the 
cabin  door  open.  His  clothes  were  all  on  deck,  except  his  waistcoat.  His 
shirt  and  silver  sleeve-buttons  on  the  top.  The  reader  will  judge  of  my 
surprise  and  distress  on  this  awful  occasion.  The  water  was  smooth  and 
clear,  and  being  only  about  fifteen  feet  deep,  the  white  sandy  bottom  could 
be  plainly  seen.  We  hailed  the  other  shallop,  and  informed  our  comrades. 
We  then  went  round  and  round  in  a  skiff,  enlarging  our  circle,  and  carefully 
viewing  the  bottom  for  a  considerable  distance.  Then  we  went  on  shore 
and  walked  round  the  beach,  but  discovered  no  tracks  of  bare  feet  in  the 
sand.  Thus  our  search  was  fruitless.  My  reader  will  have  to  decide  what 
was  his  fate.  How  he  got  out  of  the  cabin  is  a  mystery. 

Our  next  plan  was  to  get  to  Salem.  We  had  great  difficulty  in  deciding 
whether  one  or  both  of  the  shallops  should  be  taken  with  us.  Ours  was  the 
largest,  and  had  the  best  cargo — the  other  had  the  best  sails.  I  proposed 
that  Annis  and  myself  should  go  on  board  the  other,  -and  quit  ours ;  but 
Annis  would  not  consent.  My  situation  was  critical :  Annis  knew  not  a 
point  of  the  compass,  could  not  steer,  nor  do  anything  to  work  the  vessel  • 
in  short,  he  knew  nothing.  We  were  yet  in  an  enemy's  country,  had  to 
cross  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  and  the  wind  was  against  us.  Everything 
went  wrong.  Next  day  the  wind  was  more  favorable.  Annis  could  assisi 
me  in  getting  up  the  anchor,  and  hoisting  the  sails,  but  he  knew  not  how 
to  trim  them  to  the  wind.  An  attempt  to  steer  this  little  craft  all  the  way 
to  the  United  States  would  be  madness.  About  noon  we  discovered  a  ship. 


OF  AMERICANS.  267 

and  soon  found  she  wished  to  speak  with  us.  She  chased  us  several  hours, 
but  the  "wind  dying  away,  she  sent  her  boats.  She  proved  to  be  an  Ameri 
can  privateer  of  about  twenty  guns.  The  men  who  boarded  our  vessel 
plundered  us  of  some  of  our  fishing-tackle,  and  let  us  pass ;  but  were  not 
honorable  enough  to  let  us  know  who  they  were.  Early  in  the  evening  we 
had  a  breeze,  which,  by  midnight,  increased  to  a  gale.  Our  vessel  was  la 
boring  hard.  The  night  was  dark.  Xo  moon  or  stars  were  seen.  We  as 
earnestly  "  wished  for  the  day,"  as  St.  Paul's  company  did  off  the  Island  of 
Malta  ;  and  when  the  day  appeared,  it  was  to  make  our  danger  visible.  Our 
consort  was  half  a  mile  ahead  of  us.  We  had  lost  our  boat,  which  was 
towed  at  the  stern.  The  clouds  looked  wild,  and  the  ocean  was  rough.  At 
sunrise  we  split  our  mainsail  from  top  to  bottom,  and  with  great  difficulty 
got  it  down  and  secured  it.  At  that  moment  we  were  obliged  to  put  away 
before  the  wind,  and  sail  under  a  whole  foresail.  Our  foremast,  having  so 
much  sail  upon  it,  was  in  great  danger,  for  the  wind  was  not  steady,  but  blew 
in  gusts,  and  the  mast  would  bend  like  a  whip.  Our  vessel  being  heavily 
laden,  labored  hard  in  so  rough  a  sea,  which  caused  her  to  leak  so  badly, 
that  one  was  kept  bailing  all  the  time.  The  gale  increased — the  sea  became 
more  and  more  boisterous,  and  the  leak  also  increased.  We  were  fearful  that 
we  could  not  weather  the  storm,  and  expected  every  moment  to  see  our 
mast  go  over  the  bow  ;  and  if  it  should,  we  would  founder  in  a  few  minutes. 
At  twelve  we  discovered  land  ahead  :  it  was  a  small  island,  and  it  appeared 
impossible  to  avoid  running  directly  on  it,  and  being  dashed  to  pieces  at  the 
first  blow.  It  seemed  as  if  our  fate  was  sealed.  The  other  shallop,  half  a 
mile  distant,  could  easily  clear  the  island.  When  we  came  within  a  mile 
of  it,  we  made  out  just  to  clear  it.  There  was,  however,  a  reef  of  rocks 
adjoining,  over  which  we  must  pass,  and  did  pass,  without  striking,  so  that 
we  cleared  it  about  twenty  yards.  We  all  arrived  about  the  same  time,  and 
came  to  anchor  in  a  small  cove.  Thus,  by  another  merciful  providence,  we 
escaped  inconceivable  perils  !  It  was  now  more  than  twenty-four  hours 
since  I  had  tasted  food.  We  threw  over  a  hook  and  line,  and  soon  drew  in 
a  large  hallibut,  and  could  have  taken  a  hundred  if  we  wished,  but  one 
sufficed.  Cooking  went  rapidly  on,  and  the  fish  disappeared  with  magic 
quickness.  We  congratulated  each  other  on  escaping  destruction,  and  laid 
the  two  shallops  as  near  to  each  other  as  we  dared.  Had  the  wind  shifted 
and  blown  from  the  opposite  point,  nothing  could  have  saved  us.  Two  nights 
passed,  and  I  had  no  sleep.  I  w:is  worn  down  with  care  and  anxiety.  The 
gloom  that  so  depressed  me  at  York  Harbor,  now  rushed  through  my  soul  in 
a  black  tempest  of  horrors.  After  a  vigorous  dispute  next  day  with  Lloyd, 
the  captain  of  the  other  shallop,  and  securing  the  friendship  and  co-operation 
of  Willis  (in  case  of  farther  difficulty  with  Lloyd),  we  got  under  way 
again.  In  the  course  of  an  hour  we  saw  a  small  schooner  making  toward 
us.  Various  were  our  conjectures.  The  vessel  gained  on  us.  We  were  all 
convinced  she  was  an  enemy  now,  except  old  Mr.  Lloyd.  We  tried  hard  to 
have  him  cut  the  shallop  adrift,  and  try  to  be  off  with  one,  but  he  would 
not.  The  enemy  now  began  to  fire  upon  us  with  long  buccaneer  pieces,  into 
which  they  would  put  eight  or  ten  musket  balls  for  a  charge.  The  first  fire 
did  not  strike  us,  but  we  heard  the  bullets  whistle  over  our  heads.  The 
second  charge  went  through  the  head  of  our  mainsail,  and  the  third  went 


263  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

through  the  middle.  Lloyd  now  thought  it  was  high  time  to  heave  to,  and 
ascertain  who  were  our  visitors.  In  a  few  minutes  they  were  alongside,  and 
twenty  men  sprang  on  board  with  those  long  guns  in  their  hands,  loaded; 
primed,  and  cocked,  and  presented  two  or  three  at  each  of  our  breasts  with 
out  ceremony,  bitterly  cursing,  and  threatening  to  kill  us.  We  plead  for 
quarters  :  they  swore  at  us,  and  seemed  determined  to  take  our  lives.  After 
they  had  vented  their  bitter  imprecations  like  so  many  demons,  two  or  three 
of  them  interceded  for  us.  One  of  these  was  their  commander,  but  their 
entreaties  seemed  to  increase  the  rage  of  the  others.  They  acted  like  perfect 
fiends.  We  stood  trembling  and  awaiting  their  decisions.  At  length  the 
captain,  and  several  others  more  rational  than  the  rest,  prevailed  on  these 
heady  fellows  to  forbear. 

Their  first  business  was  to  get  their  prizes  under  way  for  Grand  Bank. 
These  Newfoundlanders  (I  forbear  calling  them  English)  made  it  their 
business  to  know  every  minute  particular  that  had  transpired  since  we  left 
the  bay.  Captain  Arnold  had  a  privateer's  commission  :  this  paper  I  pre 
served.  We  arrived  at  Grand  Bank  before  night.  The  whole  village 
collected  to  see  the  Yankee  prisoners ;  and  we  were  completely  surrounded. 
Among  the  people  was  an  old  English  lady  of  distinction,  who  appeared  to 
have  an  excellent  education,  and  to  whose  opinions  and  instructions  the 
greatest  respect  was  shown.  She  was  the  only  one  who  inquired  for  papers. 
Lloyd  had  none,  and  knew  not  that  it  was  needful  to  have  any.  I  presented 
the  papers.  The  lady  commenced  reading  them  audibly,  and  without  inter 
ruption,  until  she  came  to  the  clause  in  the  privateer's  letter  of  marque  and 
reprisal,  which  authorized  to  "burn,  sink,  or  destroy,"  etc.  Many  of  the 
people  then  became  excessively  exasperated,  and  swore  we  ought  to  be 
killed  outright.  They  were  chiefly  West-countrymen  and  Irish,  rough, 
savage,  and  uncultivated — in  a  complete  state  of  anarchy — without  minister 
or  magistrate  among  them.  They  were  very  loyal  to  his  "most  gracious 
majesty."  The  old  lady  interposed,  and  called  them  to  order,  telling  them 
we  were  prisoners  of  war,  and  ought  to  be  treated  with  humanity,  and  con 
veyed  to  a  British  armed  station.  She  then  continued  the  reading  without 
further  interruption.  This  good  woman  gave  directions,  and  they  began  to 
prepare  some  refreshment  for  us  :  they  hung  on  a  pot  and  boiled  some  cod 
fish  and  salt-pork.  They  then  took  the  pot  out  of  doors  and  turned  it 
upside  down  on  a  square  board  with  cleats  at  the  edges,  and  when  the 
board  was  sufficiently  drained,  the  provision  was  set  on  a  table,  or  rather, 
bench,  somewhat  higher  than  a  common  table,  and  the  company  stood  round 
it,  and  without  forks  ate  with  their  fingers.  They  had  fish-knives  to  cut 
their  pork,  however.  After  this  refreshment  we  were  conducted  into  a 
cooper's  shop  and  locked  up,  the  windows  secured,  and  a  guard  placed  out 
side.  We  endeavored  to  compose  ourselves  as  well  as  we  could,  but  were 
ignorant  of  our  fate.  Next  morning  we  were  put  on  board  a  shallop  and 
confined.  Everything  that  we  had  except  the  clothes  on  our  backs,  was 
taken  from  us — even  our  shoes.  We  were  taken  up  the  bay  to  a  small 
harbor,  called  Cornish,  the  residence  of  the  man  whom  we  had  captured 
when  we  first  came  on  the  coast.  This  man  (Grandy)  did  not  forget  our 
kindness  in  giving  him  his  liberty,  and  would  have  done  more  for  us  had  it 
been  in  his  power.  He  gave  us  a  large  flour  loaf  and  a  plate  of  butter.  Ha 


OF  AMERICANS.  269 

aeemed  to  be  generalissimo  of  this  little  port.  This  little  incident  is  a  pleas 
ing  proof  that  generous  deeds  are  not  always  unrewarded.  Having  had  our 
refreshment,  we  were  locked  up  in  a  warehouse.  Next  morning  we  had  an 
early  breakfast  furnished  by  our  good  friend  Grandy,  whose  partiality  was 
evidently  disgusting  to  some  of  our  guard.  We  were  taken  several  miles  up 
a  river  and  landed,  in  order  to  strike  across  the  cape  to  Placentia  Bay. 
We  were  guarded  by  seven  sturdy  fellows  with  long  muskets  ;  some  of  them 
were  rude  and  abusive.  The  distance  from  Fortune  Bay  to  Placentia  Bay 
was  twenty  miles  through  a  dreary  wilderness.  The  briars  and  underbrush 
were  very  injurious  to  our  feet  and  legs,  our  shoes  having  been  taken  from 
us.  Poor  old  Mr.  Lloyd  was  most  to  be  pitied,  for  he  began  to  lag  early  in 
the  day,  and  the  soldiers  frequently  gave  him  blows  with  the  butt-end  of 
their  guns.  In  the  course  of  the  day  we  all  received  a  hard  biscuit  and  a 
small  slice  of  raw  pork.  Though  this  might  not  be  called  hard  fare,  yet 
our  journey  was  exceedingly  fatiguing.  It  was  night  when  we  got  over  to 
the  shore  of  Placentia  Bay,  and  we  were  five  miles  from  the  station,  where 
there  was  a  small  battery  and  a  few  regular  soldiers.  The  post  was  occupied 
by  a  rich  old  man  of  the  Isle  of  Jersey,  who  had  a  large  number  of  shallops 
and  fishermen  in  his  service,  some  of  whom  had  been  rudely  treated  by 
American  privateers.  He  was  greatly  infuriated  when  he  found  we  were 
Americans,  insisting  that  we  ought  to  be  killed  forthwith.  He  swore  he 
would  give  us  neither  food  nor  shelter.  But  our  guard  had  received  instruc 
tions  from  the  good  old  lady  at  Grand  Bank,  and  they  threatened  to  present 
him  to  his  majesty's  officers.  The  old  man  then  abruptly  quit  them,  and 
went  to  his  house.  The  guard  took  possession  of  the  brew-house,  in  which 
he  had  brewed  that  day.  The  floor  was  wet  and  muddy.  I  went  out  and 
broke  off  my  arms  full  of  fir  and  spruce  boughs  for  my  bed,  and  lay  down 
exceedingly  fatigued,  and  soon  fell  asleep.  Some  of  the  guard  had  been 
busy  in  getting  something  ready  to  eat.  One  of  them  came  to  me,  gave  me 
a  shake,  and  bade  me  rise  and  eat  my  supper.  Though  my  dinner  had  been 
scanty  enough,  yet  I  preferred  rest,  and  declined  to  get  up  ;  but  he  gave  me 
a  pretty  heavy  thump,  saying,  with  an  oath,  "  Get  up,  you  Yankee,  and  take 
your  supper  ! "  I  thought  it  best  to  obey  this  summons.  Our  supper  was 
in  similar  style  to  that  at  Grand  Bank.  We  had  saucers  of  sweet  oil — no 
plates,  knives,  or  forks.  Each  took  fish  in  his  fingers  and  dipped  it  in  oil ! 
I  tried  to  go  through  the  same  manual  exercise,  but  had  the  greatest  diffi 
culty  in  swallowing  such  disgusting  victuals.  This  over,  I  returned  to  my 
bed  of  boughs,  and  slept  soundly  all  night.  In  the  morning,  we  had  to 
walk  five  miles  to  the  little  battery,  which  was  performed  with  even  greater 
difficulty  than  the  whole  twenty  miles  the  day  before.  We  passed  a 
promontory  of  tiresome,  difficult,  and  dangerous  ascent  and  descent — some 
times  almost  perpendicular,  and  had  to  catch  fast  hold  of  the  bushes  to  avoid 
falling  headlong  upon  the  rocks  below.  When  we  arrived,  they  fired  one 
of  their  artillery  pieces,  for  joy  that  some  Yankee  privateers  had  fallen  into 
their  hands  ;  for  some  had  been  much  annoyed  by  them,  and  others  had 
been  prisoners,  and  their  stores  and  shallops  had  been  plundered.  I  think 
we  were  the  only  prisoners  captured  on  their  coast.  From  this  place  wo 
were  taken  to  another  harbor,  and  put  on  board  a  shallop  for  Placentia,  and 
our  guard  of  seven  returned  to  Fortune  Bay.  The  guard  now  was  only 


270  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

three  men,  more  humane  than  the  others  ;  they  had  long  muskets  lying 
loaded  by  them.  Having  ascertained  that  we  had  had  no  breakfast,  they  hove 
to,  and  soon  hauled  in  some  fine  cod,  which  they  boiled  with  pork.  This, 
with  ship-bread,  was  quite  in  contrast  with  our  execrable  and  disgusting 
supper.  We  were  all  kept  forward  and  not  allowed  to  come  near  the 
quarter-deck,  where  lay  the  loaded  guns.  We  arrived  at  Placentia  at  night, 
and  a  government  boat  took  us  to  the  commissary.  He  came  into  his  room 
with  a  number  of  gentlemen,  who  examined  us  with  great  scrutiny.  They 
were  deeply  hurt  on  seeing  the  condition  of  our  feet  and  hearing  of  our  ill- 
treatment,  and  gave  us  shoes  and  stockings,  expressing  great  regret  at  the 
unhappy  discord  between  the  mother  country  and  the  colonies.  The  com 
missary  told  us  we  must  take  up  our  residence  in  his  garrison,  and  sent  us 
some  flour  loaves  and  butter.  After  eating,  we  heard  the  sound  of  bagpipes 
at  the  door,  and  a  messenger  was  sent  to  call  us  out.  On  going  to  the  door 
we  were  taken  into  custody  by  a  sergeant's  guard  of  Highlanders,  in  their 
Scotch  kilts,  plaids,  bonnets,  and  checkered  stockings,  with  guns,  fixed 
bayonets,  broadswords,  and  all  and  singular  the  accoutrements  and  para 
phernalia  thereunto  belonging.  Annis,  Ball,  Willis  and  I,  gazed  with 
astonishment  at  this  most  singular  novelty.  Sandy  changed  his  tune  ;  we 
had  orders  to  march,  and  were  conducted  into  the  guard-room  of  the  fort, 
and  a  sentinel  was  placed  at  the  door. 

The  governor  of  Placentia  was  Colonel  Hawkins,  a  man  of  gentlemanly 
deportment.  He  had  but  a  part  of  his  regiment  here.  His  wife  was  the 
daughter  of  an  old  Highlander,  who  was  a  private.  He  and  a  number  of 
other  soldiers  had  their  wives  and  children  with  them  in  the  garrison.  The 
governor  was  not  over  thirty,  and  his  wife  twenty.  She  was  cheerful  and 
humane.  We  had  not  been  long  in  the  garrison  before  Willis  and  I  were 
invited  by  the  governor  to  assist  rowing  his  barge  up  the  river,  where  ho 
had  salmon-nets.  As  we  lads  were  more  expert  in  rowing  than  the  soldiers, 
WTillis  was  taken  for  boatman,  and  I  for  strokesman.  There  were  a  number 
of  islands  in  the  river,  where  grew  raspberries,  gooseberries,  and  a  variety  of 
other  berries,  which  were  very  good.  The  governor  and  his  wife  generally 
landed  on  one  of  these  islands,  to  amuse  themselves  in  picking  berries,  whilfe 
we  attended  to  the  salmon-nets.  The  lady  would  amuse  herself  in  asking- 
questions  about  Yankees,  their  manners  and  customs,  and  regretted  that  we 
boys  were  prisoners,  detained  from  our  parents.  She  had  two  children  of 
her  own,  and  had  the  feelings  of  a  parent.  On  our  return  from  our  excur 
sions  up  the  river,  which  generally  took  us  the  greater  part  of  the  day,  we 
were  sent  into  the  governor's  kitchen  and  furnished  with  a  good  supper 
which  was  the  more  acceptable,  as  our  allowance  was  scanty.  After  ws 
had  been  several  times  up  the  river,  we  were  all  allowed  to  walk  in  the 
yard  by  day,  but  could  not  go  out  of  the  yard  without  a  guard.  But  we 
never  went  out,  except  to  bring  water  from  a  spring  near  the  garrison. 

It  was  some  time  in  May,  1781,  that  we  came  here,  and  September  came 
without  a  prospect  of  release.  About  the  15th  of  the  month,  there  came  in 
a  twenty-two  gunship,  the  Duchess  of  Cumberland.  She  was  built  in 
Salem,  and  called  the  Congress,  but,  having  been  captured  by  the  British, 
her  name  was  changed.  This  vessel  came  to  convey  a  number  of  English 
merchantmen.  While  in  port,  one  of  her  men  deserted.  Diligent  search 


OF  AMERICANS.  271 

having  been  made  without  success,  it  was  suspected  that  some  of  the 
inhabitants  concealed  him.  The  officers  retaliated  by  impressing  a  man 
named  Baggs.  Governor  Hawkins  put  us  prisoners  on  board  this  ship,  to 
take  us  to  St.  Johns,  where  were  a  prison-ship  and  a  number  of  prisoners, 
and  it  was  expected,  that  a  cartel  would  be  sent  thence  to  Boston  that  fall. 
Thus  there  was  a  prospect  of  getting  home  again,  but  our  prospects  were 
blasted  ! 

On  the  second  day  out  we  had  a  gale,  with  rain.  In  the  afternoon,  a 
strange  sail  appeared,  for  which  we  gave  chase  ;  but,  as  the  wind  increased 
and  we  were  going  out  of  our  course,  it  was  given  up.  It  now  became 
necessary  to  steer  for  St.  Marys.  The  wind  was  furious.  About  three 
o'clock  they  thought  best  to  put  the  ship  away  a  little,  supposing  they  had 
passed  the  cape.  Mr.  Baggs  had  been  skipper  of  a  shallop  for  twenty  years  ; 
he  was  therefore  invited  to  take  his  place  on  the  forecastle,  the  station  of 
the  most  accomplished  seamen.  The  forecastlemen  steer  by  turns  ;  and 
when  the  helm  was  relieved,  Mr.  Baggs  asked  the  helmsman  what  course 
they  were  steering  ?  and  when  he  had  ascertained,  remarked,  "  If  we  run 
that  course  two  hours,  the  ship  will  be  on  shore!"  The  sailors  were 
alarmed  at  this  information.  Baggs  then  went  aft  and  told  the  other 
officers  that  he  was  well  acquainted  with  the  coast,  and  in  his  judgment  the 
ship  and  their  lives  were  in  imminent  danger.  But  those  British  officers 
scorned  to  be  instructed  by  a  Newfoundland  fisherman,  and  commanded 
him  to  be  off  the  quarter-deck  or  they  would  kick  him  off.  Baggs  went 
forward,  not  a  little  chagrined  at  their  savage  treatment.  The  sailors  for 
ward  kept  a  good  lookout,  however,  though  the  weather  was  so  thick  that 
they  could  see  only  a  short  distance.  No  pen  can  describe,  no  imagination 
conceive,  the  horrors  that  awaited  us. 

On  the  19th  September,  about  sunset,  loud  and  repeated  cries  were  heard 
from  the  forecastle,  "  Breakers  on  the  lee-bow  !  Breakers  on  the  lee-bow  ! " 
This  doleful  sound  made  every  ear  to  tingle.  Immediately  was  heard, 
"  Stand  by  to  about  ship  !  Hard  to  lee,  foretop  bowline,  jib  and  staysail 
sheets,  let  go  ! "  The  ship  instantly  rounded  to,  head  to  the  wind  ;  but 
before  the  foretopsail  could  be  fitted  on  the  other  tack,  the  violence  of  the 
wind  and  waves  gave  the  ship  stern  way,  and  she  was  dashed  furiously 
against  a  rugged  bluff  of  rocks  standing  twenty  feet  out  of  water.  Two  men 
sprang  instantly  from  the  vessel  on  a  shelf  of  the  crags.  Another,  at  the 
helm,  was  knocked  overboard  by  the  sudden  shock ;  another  made  a 
desperate  effort  to  reach  the  rock,  and  both  were  drowned.  The  ship  could 
be  governed  no  longer,  and  we  were  at  the  mercy  of  the  waves.  All  was 
confusion,  consternation,  and  despair !  The  ship  stuck  fast  upon  a  craggy 
rock,  which  lay  under  water  about  twice  her  length  from  the  shore,  and 
probably  broke  several  of  her  floor-timbers.  All  this  took  place  before  half 
the  people  below  could  scramble  on  deck.  Looking  down  the  hatchway,  I 
could  see  a  stream,  as  big  as  a  man's  body,  violently  gushing  up  from  the 
bottom.  With  the  greatest  difficulty  I  reached  the  quarter-deck.  The  .ship 
rolled  fearfully ;  the  yardarms  nearly  touched  the  water,  the  sea  breaking 
feather- white  all  round  !  Under  the  fog  bank  which  hung  over  the  shore, 
we  could  see  the  mountain,  but  not  the  top  of  it.  The  wind  blew  most 
furiously,  and  the  rain  poured  down  in  torrents.  The  sea  roared  like 


272  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

thunder,  while  night  came  on  apace.  Some  of  the  officers  were  raving  and 
swearing  like  bedlamites;  some  were  crying,  others  praying;  some  inactive 
and  desponding  ;  while  others  were  active  and  courageous.  The  long-boat 
was  gotten  out,  but  as  soon  as  it  touched  the  water,  a  heavy  sea  dashed  it 
against  the  ship's  side,  breaking  it  to  pieces  as  quick  as  you  would  crush  an 
egg-shell  in  your  hand.  The  ship  was  fast  filling,  and  there  seemed  to  be 
no  possibility  of  another  person  being  saved  ;  while  those  on  shore  saw  nc 
prospect  of  release  for  themselves,  and  expected  to  see  all  their  companions 
perish.  The  masts  were  now  ordered  to  be  cut  away  :  after  a  few  blows  the 
main-mast  fell,  and  the  fore-mast  and  mizen-mast  also  fell  without  a  stroke, 
by  the  power  of  the  tempest.  On  the  fall  of  the  masts,  the  ship  cleared 
from  the  rock  on  which  she  had  been  for  some  time  hanging,  and  drifted 
toward  the  shore,  thumping  tremendously  on  the  rocks  under  water,  and 
throwing  us  furiously  against  each  other.  The  ship  finally  drifted  into  a 
cove  and  brought  up  on  some  rocks,  which  were  so  near  the  surface  that 
she  could  not  get  over  them.  Every  sea  gave  her  a  tremendous  shock. 
The  decks  opened  in  some  places  wide  enough  for  a  man  to  get  through 
into  the  hold.  The  ship  was  situated  somewhat  like  that  in  which  St. 
Paul  was  wrecked  on  the  Isle  of  Malta  :  "  The  fore-part  stuck  fast  and 
remained  immovable,  but  the  hinder-part  was  broken  by  the  violence  of  the 
waves."  There  were  five  prisoners  on  board  ;  but  I  heard  of  no  council  to 
put  us  to  death,  for  there  was  not  the  remotest  possibility  of  our  escape  by 
swimming ;  and  it  was  equally  impossible  for  any  one  to  save  himself  on 
"  boards,  or  broken  pieces  of  the  ship."  By  the  time  the  ship  stuck  fast, 
the  two  sailors  who  jumped  on  the  rocks,  had,  with  immense  difficulty,  got 
nearly  abreast  of  us.  Nothing  astonished  us  more  than  their  feat  of  getting 
from  the  rocks  to  the  beach.  A  small  spar  and  a  rope  made  fast  to  it, 
were  now  hove  over  the  stern.  The  waves  carried  the  spar  on  shore,  but 
the  men  could  not  reach  it ;  so  it  was  drawn  on  board  again.  This  was 
repeated  several  times,  till  at  last  the  men  on  shore  succeeded  in  catching  it, 
and  it  was  made  fast  round  a  rock  as  large  as  a  haystack.  The  sailors  on 
board  drew  it  as  straight  as  they  could,  and  made  it  fast  round  the  stump  of 
the  fore-mast.  Had  the  ship  been  driven  over  the  reef  she  struck,  she  must 
have  gone  to  pieces  in  going  three  times  her  length,  and  not  a  soul  would 
have  been  saved.  When  the  waves  ran,  they  would  bury  the  rope  under 
water,  for  it  was  drawn  so  straight  that  it  could  not  rise  from  the  sea.  A 
man  attempted  to  get  ashore  by  this  rope,  and  succeeded  very  well  till  he 
got  a  couple  of  rods  from  the  ship,  when  he  was  washed  off  and  dashed 
against  the  rocks  ;  the  next  sea  buried  him,  and  he  sunk  to  rise  no  more. 
Several  others  met  the  same  fate.  This  must  have  been  owing  to  too  much 
exertion  at  first ;  for  the  ship  could  not  have  been  in  a  better  position,  being 
completely  bound  by  large  craggy  rocks.  The  fate  of  those  who  had  been 
washed  off  from  the  rope  seemed  to  discourage  the  rest.  At  length  another, 
and  then  another,  ventured,  and  succeeded  in  getting  on  shore,  and  were 
joyfully  received.  The  next  one,  however,  was  lost.  Six  or  seven  more 
were  then  successful.  Night  was  coming  on,  and  our  situation  was  gloomy 
indeed.  Several  midshipmen  made  efforts,  but  drew  back.  Their  cries  of 
distress  were  bitter  and  heartrending.  I  now  began  to  think  of  trying  my 
self,  though  the  hope  of  success  was  exceedingly  faint.  I  buttoned  up  m) 


OF  AMERICANS.  273 

outside  jacket,  drawing  my  shirt  out  of  my  trowsers.  I  had  on  an  old- 
fashioned  Dutch  cap,  which  fitted  very  tight.  I  could  swim  tolerably,  and 
flattered  myself  that  this  would  be  in  my  favor ;  but  as  soon  as  I  took  hold 
of  the  rope,  and  fell  into  the  water,  I  found  I  could  make  no  use  of  my 
legs,  as  the  water  was  so  greatly  agitated.  The  first  swell  was  somewhat 
obstructed  by  the  ship  ;  and  I  was  completely  buried  in  the  sea  for  a  short 
time.  When  the  second  sea  came,  I  was  exposed  to  its  whole  violence,  and 
it  seemed  as  if  I  should  be  pressed  to  death,  and  the  time  seemed  very  long. 
There  I  was  in  the  most  perilous  situation  that  can  possibly  be  conceived, 
hanging  on  by  my  hands  to  the  rope,  stretched  out  horizontally,  suspended 
in  the  air ;  and  before  the  swell  retired,  my  right  hand  gave  way.  0,  the 
horror  of  that  moment !  I  was  distracted  !  Among  my  many  fears,  one 
was,  that  the  left  hand  would  continue  its  hold  until  I  was  drowned.  My 
left  arm  got  weaker  and  weaker,  and  I  expected  every  moment  to  be  in 
eternitv  and  appear  before  the  Eternal  Judge.  It  would  be  labor  in  vain  to 
give  the  faintest  idea  of  my  terrors,  and  the  fear  of  death.  The  undertow 
swept  me  under  the  rope  ;  I  threw  my  right  arm  over  it,  and  instantly 
grasped  fast  hold  of  the  collar  of  my  jacket  and  other  clothes,  and,  taking 
breath,  made  a  frenzied  effort  to  draw  myself  toward  shore,  before  another 
6ea  could  sweep  over  me.  The  third  wave  stretched  me,  but  having  my 
arm  over  the  rope,  I  was  better  fortified,  the  sea  being  less  violent  than 
before.  When  the  waves  retired,  I  was  left  suspended  by  the  rope,  and  I 
could  almost  touch  the  hideous,  rugged  rocks  with  my  feet,  but  I  feared  to 
let  go  my  hold,  because  the  men  on  shore  could  not  yet  afford  me  any 
assistance.  Another  sea  came,  but  its  force  was  almost  spent  before  it 
reached  me.  When  the  sea  rolled  back,  two  sailors  followed  it,  holding  on 
the  rope  with  one  hand,  and  drew  me  on  the  beach  !  They  laid  me  on  my 
back,  and  left  me  more  dead  than  alive.  •  After  a  while  I  found  myself 
struggling  to  get  on  my  side,  and  finally  made  out  to  sit  up,  but  I  could  not 
stand.  On  viewing  the  wreck,  I  felt  deeply  thankful  to  the  good  God  for 
my  deliverance,  and  inwardly  vowed  to  serve  him  all  my  days.  One  of 
the  men  being  courageous  and  uncommonly  strong,  made  out  to  get  on 
board  the  wreck.  He  was  an  officer,  but  I  do  not  remember  his  name  or 
rank.  He  and  others  had  now  contrived  a  better  means  of  rescuing  those 
remaining  on  the  wreck.  They  fixed  a  traveler  on  the  rope,  by  which  he 
first  went  on  shore,  so  that  he  could  not  wash  off,  and  the  man  took  with 
him  a  rope,  long  enough  to  reach  the  shore  :  the  end  on  the  wreck  was 
made  fast  round  a  man's  body,  and  another  equally  long  fixed  to  it.  The 
man  then  fell  into  the  water,  and  those  on  shore  would  run  with  their 
end,  while  those  on  board  would  pay  out,  taking  care  to  keep  the  rope 
tight,  so  as  to  prevent  the  man  from  dashing  against  the  rocks.  By  the 
time  I  could  walk  down  to  the  edge  of  the  water,  they  were  hauling  five  or 
six  men  at  once,  on  different  ropes.  More  than  one  hundred  were  saved  in 
this  way ! 

The  wind  and  rain  continued,  and  we  were  without  shelter.  We  could  not 
ascend  the  mountain  without  great  difficulty.  Night  came  on.  The  wreck, 
which  might  contain  thirty  persons,  could  not  now  be  seen.  We  finally 
reached  a  hollow  in  the  mountain,  but  there  was  not  room  enough  for  all  of 
us  to  lie  down  without  lying  upon  each  other.  But  it  was  better  to  do  thifl 


27i  ADVENTURES  AND   ACHIEVEMENTS 

than  be  exposed  to  the  full  fury  of  the  cold  storm.  Sometimes  those  who 
lay  lowest  down  on  the  steep  ground,  would  slip  down,  several  in  a  cluster, 
all  the  way  to  the  beach  among  the  rocks.  When  this  happened,  they  did 
not  forget  to  swear.  At  two  in  the  morning,  the  wind  shifted,  and  the  sea 
was  less  noisy.  At  daybreak,  our  great  anxiety  was  to  know  whether  the 
wreck  had  gone  to  pieces.  We  were  greatly  rejoiced  to  find  it  had  not. 
We  were  now  able  to  converse  with  those  remaining  on  the  wreck.  About 
nine  in  the  morning,  a  few  got  on  board,  and  in  the  course  of  the  day  nearly 
all  escaped  ;  bringing  the  provisions,  ammunition,  muskets,  tomahawks, 
cutlasses,  and  other  implements,  on  shore.  The  crew  was  about  one 
hundred  and  seventy,  besides  prisoners.  Every  man  had  secured  a  blanket ; 
and  thus  equipped,  after  our  terrible  misfortunes,  all  hands  prepared  to 
ascend  the  mountain. 

Mr.  Baggs,  whose  counsel  had  been  despised  an  hour  before  the  ship 
struck,  was  now  in  high  feather,  and  looked  up  to  with  respect,  even  by  the 
captain,  whose  name  was  Marsh  :  a  man  of  respectability.  He  was  not  on 
deck  when  Baggs  was  so  illtreated  by  those  conceited,  ruffian  up-starts,  who 
had  threatened  to  kick  him,  for  giving  information  that  would  have  saved 
the  lives  of  every  soul  on  board,  and  incredible  misery.  It  was  also  said 
that  the  ship's  course  was  altered  without  the  captain's  knowledge.  The 
number  of  the  lost  I  do  not  remember.  We  saved  the  only  woman  on 
board,  the  cook's  wife.  Her  husband,  one  of  the  surgeon's  mates,  with 
several  others,  were  left  in  this  place.  This  woman  was  delivered  of  a  child 
a  day  or  two  after,  and  all  the  party  were  taken  off  in  fishing-shallops. 
About  two  o'clock  we  began  to  ascend  the  mountain.  In  climbing  a  preci 
pice  twenty  feet  high,  I  could  not  walk  without  holding  on  by  a  rope. 
Some  one  jerked  it  out  of  my  hands,  and  I  fell  on  my  face  ;  and  when  I  had 
slipped  down  to  the  edge  of  the  precipice,  a  person  who  had  just  got  up, 
clapped  his  foot  on  me  till  I  caught  the  rope  again.  Had  I  fallen  over  the 
precipice,  I  should  have  been  killed.  Reaching  the  top,  I  found  myself  on 
the  border  of  a  spacious  plain.  Looking  northerly  and  easterly,  a  man 
might  be  seen  a  mile  off:  but  not  a  tree  or  shrub.  A  mile  and  a  half 
southerly  was  a  wilderness  of  evergreens.  The  ground  was  covered  with  a 
thick  moss,  in  which  your  foot  would  sink  a  foot  at  every  tread.  In  the 
distance,  our  wreck  did  not  look  bigger  than  a  boat.  A  company  of  one 
hundred  and  fifty  of  us  now  took  up  our  journey  for  the  woods,  which  we 
reached  at  sunset.  We  had  no  luck  in  making  a  fire,  for  every  material 
was  wet.  .  We  gathered  green  boughs  for  beds,  and  stowed  closely  together, 
covering  ourselves  with  the  blankets  we  brought  from  the  wreck  ;  and  after 
all,  we  were  very  uncomfortable,  as  the  reader  will  believe,  for  our  clothes 
were  wet,  and  the  night  was  frosty. 

In  the  morning,  the  captain  and  some  other  officers  had  a  long  consulta 
tion  with  Mr.  Baggs,  as  to  the  route  we  should  pursue.  We  were  about  one 
hundred  miles  from  Placentia,  but  the  distance  from  St.  Johns  I  do  not 
know.  Finally,  it  was  decided  to  shape  our  course  for  Placentia.  On  the 
following  morning,  orders  were  given  to  have  all  the  provisions  collected* 
and  everybody  was  to  receive  an  equal  allowance.  It  was  thought  best  to 
remain  where  we  were  one  day,  however,  that  Mr.  Baggs  might  examine 
the  coast,  and  settle  some  question  in  his  own  mind.  He  and  a  number  of 


OF  AMERICANS. 

officers  set  off  for  an  exploration  of  the  coast.  In  the  evening  they  re 
turned,  bringing  the  unpleasant  intelligence  that  the  vessel  which  had 
chased  us  had  gone  entirely  to  pieces,  and,  no  doubt,  every  soul  on  board 
was  lost.  On  the  following  morning,  according  to  arrangement  the  day 
before,  we  took  up  our  pilgrimage,  keeping  along  in  the  woods  till  noon, 
when  we  came  upon  the  shore  at  the  head  of  Distress  Bay.  Mr.  Baggs  told 
us,  that  for  several  leagues  the  water  was  not  more  than  two  fathoms  deep, 
and  that  this  bay  abounded  with  rocks  under  water.  It  was  supposed  that 
the  vessel  must  have  gone  to  pieces  several  miles  from  the  shore.  We  con 
jectured  that  she  was  a  brig,  and  knew  her  to  have  been  American  built,  for 
on  the  foreheads  of  some  of  her  carved  images,  we  saw  the  letters  "  U.  S. 
A."  She  might  have  been  captured  by  the  English,  and  employed  in  their 
service.  There  \vas  no  doubt  of  her  having  been  to  the  West  Indies,  for  we 
found  several  hogsheads  of  rum  on  shore.  The  officers,  with  tomahawks, 
cut  holes  in  them,  and  emptied  them,  lest  the  sailors  should  linger  for  the 
sake  of  the  rum.  The  remains  of  the  vessel  were  scattered  for  miles  along 
the  shore.  We  picked  up  fourteen  men  and  a  boy  of  about  fourteen, 
dragged  them  on  the  bank,  and,  with  staves,  dug  a  grave  two  or  three  feet 
deep,  and  buried  the  poor  fellows  as  decently  as  we  could.  How  narrowly 
had  we  escaped  the  same  dreadful  fate  !  The  only  provision  we  found  was 
a  lump  of  butter,  from  a  keg  that  had  been  stove  to  pieces  ;  and  the  sand 
was  beat  into  the  butter  several  inches.  We  scraped  off  the  damaged  part, 
and  took  the  rest  along  with  us.  We  spent  several  hours  about  the  wreck. 
The  largest  pieces  of  the  wreck  we  found  were  several  planks  of  the  quarter 
deck,  and  some  of  the  timbers. 

Next  day  we  continued  our  pilgrim-progress  through  the  woods,  and  ia 
the  afternoon  reached  Distress  Bay  ;  and  never  was  name  more  appropriate, 
so  far  as  we  were  concerned.  We  kept  along  the  shore  for  many  miles  of 
horrid  traveling,  and  were  finally  obliged  to  take  to  the  woods  again,  owing 
to  the  bold  rocky  coast.  I  have  been  accustomed  to  the  wilderness  of  New 
England,  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  and  Ohio ;  but  never  found  any  region 
so  difficult  of  travel  as  Newfoundland. 

Three  times  a  day  Captain  Marsh  would  sit  down,  with  the  bread-bag 
between  his  legs,  and  deal  out  a  small  portion,  while  an  officer  would  dis 
tribute  a  little  meat  and  butter  from  the  keg  we  found  on  the  seashore. 
The  whole  amount  to  each  man,  did  not  exceed  eight  ounces  a  day.  In 
about  ten  days  we  reached  a  little  port,  called  Point  Yar,  greatly  exhausted. 
We  were  in  the  enemy's  country — that  is,  we  who  were  Americans.  Here 
we  were  driven  into  storehouses  as  prisoners,  and  were  furnished  with  -  a 
drink,  called  "  Labrador  tea,"  well  sweetened  with  molasses.  This  tea, 
with  ship-bread,  made  our  supper.  Before  we  were  well  housed  we  made 
free  with  some  of  the  fish  from  the  beach,  but  this  was  taken  from  us.  I 
had  the  good  luck  to  conceal  one  under  my  jacket,  and  found  the  others 
had  quartered  on  the  enemy  by  doing  the  same.  Here  we  had  a  dry  floor 
and  a  good  night's  rest.  The  next  day  we  had  to  walk  five  miles  to 
Placentia,  as  prisoners,  and  were  put  in  our  old  station,  the  guard-house.  A 
Mr.  Saunders,  one  of  the  principal  merchants,  gave  me  and  others  some 
clothing.  Governor  Hawkins  and  his  lady  were  very  friendly,  and  so  were 
many  others  of  the  garrison,  and  congratulated  us  on  our  return,  after  having 
18 


276  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

Buffered  so  much  in  two  short  weeks — long  weeks  they  were  to  us.  We 
continued  here  about  a  month.  My  comrades  were  variously  disposed  of. 
My  friend  Willis  and  I  were  destined  to  serve  his  most  gracious  majesty, 
King  George  III,  on  board  the  Fairy  sloop-of-war,  under  Captain  Yeo,  a 
perfect  tyrant.  We  were  all  called  upon  the  quarter-deck,  and  this  cap 
tain,  after  asking  us  a  few  questions,  turned  to  his  officers,  saying,  "  They 
are  a  couple  of  fine  lads  for  his  majesty's  service.  Mr.  Gray,  see  that  they 
do  their  duty,  one  in  the  fore-top,  the  other  in  the  main-top."  Willis 
replied,  that  he  was  "afraid  to  go  up,  as  he  was  subject  to  fits,  and  might 
fall  and  be  killed."  And  I  replied,  "  I  am  a  prisoner  of  war,  and  will  not 
serve  against  my  country."  After  some  hard  words  and  furious  threats,  we 
were  ordered  off  the  quarter-deck,  arid  commanded  to  do  duty  in  the  waist. 
We  therefore  left  our  tyrant  in  haste.  In  a  day  or  two,  all  hands  were 
called.  The  usual  ceremony  was  on  this  wise  :  the  boatswain's  mate  stood 
at  the  fore-hatchway,  and  called,  or,  with  a  pipe,  blew  a  long  and  loud 
blast,  and  then  hallooed,  "  All  hands,  ahoy."  He  performed  this  ceremony 
also  at  the  main-hatchway,  and  the  after-hatchway.  I  saw  no  necessity  for 
all  this  parade,  and  always  thought  it  was  for  no  other  purpose  than  to  ferret 
out  and  overawe  us  two  Yankee  lads.  After  a  suitable  time  for  the  men  to 
get  on  deck,  the  boatswain's  mate  went  down  fore  and  aft  between  decks,  to 
see  if  there  were  any  skulkers.  None  disobeyed  the  summons  but  Willis 
and  I,  who  were  snug  in  the  cable  tier.  He  began  to  rave  like  a  bedlamite, 
hastened  toward  us,  commanding  us  to  go  on  deck.  "  We  are  prisoners  of 
war — American  prisoners."  "  Tell  me  nothing  about  prisoners !  Upon 
deck  immediately."  We  still  kept  our  stations,  and  remonstrated,  while  he 
belched  out  a  stream  of  horrid  oaths,  at  the  same  time  striking  us  furiously 
with  his  rattan.  For  some  time  we  sternly  refused  to  budge,  while  he 
thrashed  us  alternately,  his  rage  increasing  with  every  blow,  and  seemed 
determined  to  conquer.  We  should  have  continued  our  resistance,  but  saw 
it  would  be  useless,  and  therefore  went  on  deck  with  no  small  reluctance, 
the  mate  close  at  our  heels  repeating  his  blows.  Having  got  on  deck,  J  saw 
but  little  to  do.  Fox,  the  carpenter,  observing  me  tearfully  meditating  on 
my  hard  fate,  was  looking  on  while  the  mate  was  whipping  us.  The  reader 
will  judge  of  my  painful  and  forlorn  condition,  especially  that  of  being  com 
pelled  to  serve  the  king.  The  carpenter  kindly  called  me  to  him,  and 
asked  me  to  sit  down.  u  I  see,  my  lad,"  said  he,  "  you  are  obliged  to  do 
duty."  "Yes,  sir,  much  against  my  will,"  said  I.  "It  is  wrong,"  said  the 
carpenter,  "  but  it  would  not  do  for  me  to  interfere ;  but  I  was  tkinking  to 
do  you  a  favor.  His  majesty  allows  me  two  boys ;  if  you  will  come  into 
my  berth  and  take  a  little  care  here,  I  will  excuse  you  from  keeping  watch, 
and  all  other  duty."  After  some  hesitation,  I  agreed  to  this  proposal,  the 
carpenter  remarking  that  it  would  be  more  favorable,  as  there  would  be 
otherwise  no  escape  from  the  tyranny  of  the  captain,  who  was  very  arbi 
trary,  and  hated  by  the  crew ;  adding,  that  he  intended  to  leave  the  ship 
when  he  got  home,  but  enjoining  secrecy,  and  promising  .to  be  my  friend. 
In  a  few  days  we  arrived  at  St.  Johns.  Here  we  found  we  were  destined 
to  see  old  England  !  It  was  appalling  to  my  feelings  that  there  was  no 
escape.  While  lying  at  St.  Johns,,  we  had  an  opportunity  of  seeing  more 
of  Captain  Yeo's  detestable  character.  No  spiritous  liquors  were  allowed  to 


OF  AMERICANS.  277 

be  brought  on  board.  This,  of  course,  was  a  good  regulation.  It  was  the 
custom  to  hoist  in  the  boat  at  night,  lest  any  should  elude  the  guard,  and 
steal  away  in  the  boat.  One  evening  as  the  boat  was  hoisted  in,  a  bottle  of 
rum  was  discovered  in  it !  Not  one  of  the  boat's  crew  would  own  that 
bottle.  Next  morning  the  whole  six  were  seized  at  the  gang- way,  and  their 
ehirts  stripped  off;  each  receiving  a  dozen  lashes  on  his  bare  back,  with  a 
cat-o'-nine-tails.  He  had  a  number  of  men  in  irons  during  the  entire 
passage  to  England.  We  arrived  in  Plymouth  the  last  of  November,  1781, 
after  a  short  but  rough  passage ;  and  though  we  had  been  several  times 
called  to  quarters,  through  a  kind  providence,  neither  Willis  nor  myself 
were  stailpned  at  any  quarters.  On  arriving  at  the  land  of  my  forefathers, 
I  confess  to  peculiar  sensation  of  reverence  and  solemnity,  not  to  be 
described.  Yet  when  I  remembered  the  haughtiness,  obstinacy,  and  cruelty 
of  her  monarch,  I  felt  an  indignant,  if  not  a  revengeful  spirit.  Several  days 
passed  without  a  probpect  of  release.  In  less  than  a  week  three  times  as 
many  women  as  men  came  on  board,  and  the  number  daily  increased.  The 
worthy  carpenter  proposed,  that  in  case  I  could  not  get  released,  to  adopt 
me  as  his  son.  He  had  a  wife,  I  think,  in  Bristol,  but  no  child.  He  could, 
if  he  pleased,  quit  the  ship,  and  work  in  the  navy  yard.  I  felt  duly  grateful 
for  the  offer,  but  signified  my  earnest  desire  to  get  to  America  again.  While 
in  port  we  lived  high,  which  was  very  joyful  to  me,  after  long  famine  and 
hardships.  Captain  Yeo,  the  disgusting  tyrant,  took  leave  of  the  ship,  with 
out  the  least  mark  of  respect  from  anybody. 

The  ship  was  now  preparing  for  another  cruise.  The  new  captain  (whose 
name  I  regret  that  I  cannot  recall),  came  on  board,  and  was  saluted  with 
three  cheers.  There  seemed  to  be  a  possibility  that  my  friend  Willis  and 
myself  might  find  favor  with  him.  A  day  or  two  after  he  came  on  board, 
Mr.  Fox,  the  carpenter,  said  to  me  :  "  Sherburne,  the  captain  is  walking 
alone  on  the  quarter-deck  ;  I  think  it  a  good  time  for  you  to  go  and  speak 
to  him  :  it  may  be  he  will  consider  you  a  prisoner  of  war."  I  trembled  for 
fear  of  being  unsuccessful :  I  felt  a  strange  balancing  between  hope  and 
despair,  for  it  was  oui  last  chance  ;  and  if  we  failed,  our  fate  was  sealed  : 
unless  Mr.  Fox  could  j,et  discharged  from  the  ship,  and  take  me  with  him  ; 
and  even  then  I  wou^d  be  considered  a  British  subject.  I  immediately 
made  known  my  plan  W)  Willis,  and  as  there  was  no  time  to  lose,  requested 
him  to  accompany  me.  With  our  hats  under  our  arms,  we  addressed  the  cap 
tain  in  a  tremulous  voice.  He  seemed  willing  to  give  us  a  hearing.  "  What 
is  your  wish,  my  lads?"  said  he.  "We  are  American  prisoners,"  said  I, 
"and  were  taken  on  the  coast  of  Newfoundland,  and  imprisoned  all  the  last 
summer  in  Placentia ;  and  in  September,  were  put  on  board  his  majesty's 
ship,  Duchess  of  Cumberland,  for  St.  Johns,  expecting  to  have  been  sent 
from  thence  to  Boston,  and  be  exchanged  ;  but  the  Duchess  of  Cumberland 
was  lost  on  Cape  St.  Marys,  soon  after  she  sailed.  We  were  again  taken  to 
Placentia,  and  put  on  board  this  ship.  It  is  our  wish,  sir,  to  be  considered 
prisoners  of  war,  and  go  to  prison."  The  captain  replied,  "  You  may  go  for 
ward,  my  lads,  and  I  will  inquire  into  your  case."  We  bowed,  and  re 
tired.  Mr.  Fox  anxiously  waited  for  our  return.  In  about  half  an  hour, 
word  came  for  Sherburne  and  Willis  to  get  ready  to  go  into  the  boat.  We 
were  ready  to  leap  with  joy  that  we  were  to  have  the  honor  of  going  to 


278  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

prison.  I  saw  tears  in  Mr.  Fox's  eye,  and  they  ran  down  my  cheeks  freely. 
He  gave  me  shirts  and  stockings,  and  we  parted.  A  midshipman  accom 
panied  us  in  the  boat,  sword  in  hand,  and  a  sergeant  with  several  marines, 
with  fixed  bayonets  ;  and  we  left  the  Fairy  in  Plymouth  Sound,  and  were 
put  on  board  the  Dunkirk,  which  lay  near  Plymouth  Dock.  All  prisoners 
that  were  brought  into  port,  were  put  on  board  this  guard-ship.  I  had  been 
on  board  but  a  few  minutes  before  I  fell  in  with  an  English  lad,  who  was 
my  former  shipmate.  His  name  was  William  Lamb.  He  was  captured  .11 
the  Ranger,  in  which  I  made  my  first  venture.  He  had  been  captured  four 
times  by  the  British,  and  deserted,  assuming  different  names  each  time. 
This  information  he  gave  me  in  a  whisper,  begging  me,  "  for  God's  sake 
don't  call  me  by  name,  as  I  have  assumed  one."  I  was  grieved  for  the  poor 
fellow,  who  was-  much  respected  by  his  comrades.  I  knew  if  he  were  de 
tected  in  all  this  he  would  be  hung  at  the  yardarm. 

There  were  no  American  prisoners  on  board  the  Dunkirk  when  we  went 
on  board  of  her,  but  in  a  few  days  a  dozen  or  more  came  in  ;  and  scarcely  a 
night  passed  in  which  additions  were  not  made  by  the  press-gangs.  These 
gangs  are  sturdy  villians,  and  sometimes  got  a  severe  drubbing  from  their 
prisoners,  who  often  got  shockingly  bruised.  The  prisoners  first  brought  on 
board,  were  called  for  in  a  day  or  two,  and  sent  ashore  to  pass  an  examina 
tion  before  the  judges  of  the  admiralty,  previous  to  commitment  to  Old 
Mill  Prison.  I  was  surprised  and  alarmed  that  those  who  came  on  board 
subsequent  to  us,  preceded  us  in  going  to  prison,  having  understood  that  the 
order  would  be  in  rotation,  and  had  reason  to  believe  vengeance  was  in  store 
for  us.  At  length  we  mustered  courage  to  go  to  the  office,  and  ask  why  we 
were  not  sent  ashore  in  turn.  The  clerk  asked  what  vessel  we  were  of,  and 
our  names.  He  knew  nothing  about  us  !  Our  very  souls  began  to  sink. 
We  now  feared  that  we  might  be  put  aboard  another  man-of-war.  We 
went  again  to  the  office.  The  clerk  was  a  true  man,  and  a  gentleman,  and 
he  promised  to  make  diligent  search  for  our  names. 

We  had  lost  all  our  clothing  except  what  we  had  on  ;  everything  else  had 
been  stolen.  The  ship  was  so  near  the  shore  that  it  was  impossible  to  pre 
vent  spirits  being  brought  aboard,  so  that  it  was  an  indescribable  scene  of 
drinking,  swearing,  fighting,  stealing,  brawling,  scolding,  and  confusion, 
especially  at  night.  A  dozen  more  prisoners  were  now  brought  on  board, 
arid  when  the  time  came  to  send  the  prisoners  ashore,  we  were  greatly 
rejoiced  to  hear  our  names  called  first.  There  were  thirteen  of  us  ordered 
on  board  a  boat,  and  we  were  landed  at  Plymouth  Dock,  said  to  be  the  best 
in  England.  I  had  an  opportunity  of  viewing  the  Royal  George,  the 
largest  ship  in  the  navy.  We  were  escorted  from  the  wharf  to  the  Court  of 
Admiralty  by  a  guard  of  soldiers,  and  conducted  into  a  room  by  ourselves. 
Here  we  waited  some  time  in  awful  suspense.  It  was  a  trying  scene  to 
endure.  The  judges,  in  their  examinations,  were  careful  to  select  English 
men  and  Irishmen  for  his  majesty's  service  ;  but  sometimes  Americans  were 
challenged  and  sent  on  board  ships  of  war,  as  British  subjects.  The  judges 
were  elderly  gentlemen,  with  white  wigs.  My  examination  came  : 

"  Is  your  name  Andrew  Sherburne  ?  "  "  It  is,  sir."  "  Where  were  you 
born?"  "In  Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire,  North  America."  "What  is 
your  age ? "  "I  was  sixteen  the  last  day  of  September,  sir."  "  What  was 


OF  AMERICANS.  279 

your  father's  name?"  "Andrew  Sherburne."  "What  was  his  occupa 
tion?"  "A  carpenter."  "What  vessel  did  you  sail  in."  "The  privateer 
schooner  Greyhound."  "  How  many  guns  did  she  mount  ?"  "  Eight  five- 
pounders."  "  Who  commanded  her  ?  "  "  Captain  John  Willis."  "  Where 
did  she  belong?"  "To  Salem,  Massachusetts."  "When  did  she,  leave 
Salem  ?  "  "  Some  time  in  the  month  of  April  last."  "  What  were  you 
taken  in  ?"  "  I  was  taken  in  a  Newfoundland  shallop,  a  prize  to  the  Grey 
hound."  "  By  what  were  you  taken?"  "  A  small  armed  schooner  from 
Fortune  Bay,  in  Newfoundland."  "  Where  were  you  taken  to?"  "We 
were  first  taken  to  a  place  called  Grand  Bank,  in  Fortune  Bay  ;  thence  we 
were  sent  to  Placentia,  and  imprisoned  in  the  garrison  till  September.  I 
was  then  put  on  board  his  majesty's  ship,  the  Duchess  of  Cumberland,  bound 
to  St.  Johns,  and  she  having  been  lost  on  Cape  St.  Marys,  I  returned  with 
part  of  the  crew  to  Placentia,  where  I  was  put  on  board  his  majesty's  ship, 
Fairy,  and  brought  to  this  port."  "  How  many  are  there  of  you  ?"  "Only 
two,  sir  ;  three  were  put  on  board  of  merchantmen,  at  Placentia."  After 
this  catechising,  I  was  conducted  back  to  my  companions,  when  Willis  was 
called  in,  who  went  through  a  similar  ordeal.  When  all  had  been  ex 
amined,  I  was  called  the  second  time,  and  most  of  the  questions  repeated. 
This  much  alarmed  me.  One  of  the  judges  asked  a  gentleman  in  another 
part  of  the  room,  whether  my  statement  agreed  with  what  I  said  before  ;  to 
which  he  assented.  I  heard  a  pen  going  during  my  examination,  but  did 
not  know  that  they  were  writing  down  my  answers.  I  felt  fearful  of  a 
snare  ;  but  it  proved  more  favorable  than  I  expected.  The  other  twelve 
were  now  called  in,  and  the  judges  pronounced  the  awful  sentence,  that  we 
all  be  committed  to  Old  Mill  Prison,  for  rebellion,  piracy,  and  high  treason, 
on  his  Britannic  majesty's  high-seas,  there  to  remain  during  his  majesty's 
pleasure,  or  till  he  saw  fit  to  pardon  or  otherwise  dispose  of  us  ! 

At  the  door,  a  guard  now  conducted  us  to  prison.  It  was  a  mile  and 
a-half  distant.  I  had  not  walked  so  much  on  land  since  my  dreary  march 
through  the  wilderness  of  Newfoundland.  I  felt  a  high  degree  of  anima 
tion  that  my  prospects  were  so  favorable  as  a  residence  in  Old  Mill  Prison  ! 
The  outer  gate  groaned  on  its  hinges,  and  received  us  in  the  outer  yard, 
where  a  sentinel  always  stood. 

Old  "  Aunt  Annie  "  was  constantly  here,  with  her  hand-cart,  drawn  by  a 
boy,  and  supplied  the  prisoners  with  bread,  butter,  tobacco,  needles,  thread, 
and  such  nick-nacs  as  we  needed.  Several  milkmen  also  took  stations  here. 
Before  the  inner  gate  opened,  we  heard  a  shout  from  within,  "More 
prisoners!  more  prisoners!"  The  inner  gate  then  opened,  well  guarded 
by  soldiers  with  fixed  bayonets.  We  were  urged  forward  into  the  great 
prison  yard,  while  the  inmates  rushed  from  all  directions  to  see  if  there 
were  any  acquaintance  among  the  new-comers.  One  and  another  would 
seize  us  by  the  hand,  saying,  "How  are  ye  ?  Where  are  ye  from  ?"  No 
one  presumed  to  intrude  on  the  little  groups  collected  from  particular  locali 
ties.  I  found  a  number  from  my  own  vicinity  in  New  Hampshire. 

It  was  now  near  night.  I  had  tasted  nothing  since  morning,  and  found  I 
had  got  to  a  hungry  place.  One  of  my  townsmen  brought  me  a  penny  roll 
and  a  halfpenny  worth  of  butter,  which  was  very  acceptable.  It  was 
January,  and  my  clothing  was  in  a  forlorn  condition.  Next  day  my  towns- 


280  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

man  gave  me  a  few  articles.  Though  in  his  British  majesty's  dominions, 
the  prisoners  ventured  to  form  themselves  into  a  republic,  framed  a  constitu 
tion  of  wholesome  laws  with  suitable  penalties.  My  friends  held  a  consul 
tation  concerning  my  hard  case.  One  spoke  on  this  fashion,  "  It  will  be  a 
pity  if  our  young  countryman  should  spend  his  time,  as  many  boys  do,  at 
gaming :  he  is  fatherless,  and  needs  education.  Perhaps  he  might  be  pre 
vailed  on  to  go  to  school."  Another  replied,  "  If  he  will,  I  will  give  him 
some  papers."  Another,  "  I  will  give  him  quills  and  ink."  Another, 
(afterward  Captain  Tibbetts),  "  I  will  undertake  to  instruct  him."  A  com 
mittee  conferred,  and  communicated  to  me  their  conclusion,  and  advised  me 
to  accept  these  offers.  Grateful  for  such  benevolence,  though  fond  of  cards, 
I  forthwith  repudiated  them,  and  accepted  their  advice.  I  made  rapid  im 
provement,  and  soon  became  indifferent  to  all  kinds  of  gaming,  finding 
sufficient  amusement  in  my  studies. 

Mill  Prison  took  its  name  from  windmills  originally  occupying  the 
eminence  near  Plymouth  Dock.  According  to  tradition,  one  of  the  three 
buildings  comprised  in  Mill  Prison,  was  built  in  the  reign  of  Queen  Ann. 
The  largest  building  was  one  hundred  feet  long,  and  twenty  wide,  and  two 
stories  high,  built  of  stone,  with  no  windows  on  the  north  front.  Between 
this  building  and  the  commissary's  office  (which  had  no  windows  at  the 
east  end),  there  was  a  space  of  some  twenty  feet.  A  wall  on  the  north,  as 
high  as  the  eaves  of  the  prison,  extended  from  the  prison  to  the  office. 
A  wall  on  the  south  joined  the  two  buildings.  Through  this  wall  a  gate 
led  to  the  main  yard.  South  of  the  yard  was  the  cook-room,  on  the  ground- 
floor.  A  space  between  the  two  prisons  formed  a  yard  for  both.  On  the 
south  of  the  common  yard  was  a  stone  wall  fourteen  feet  high,  with  broken 
glass  bottles  set  in  mortar,  to  prevent  climbing.  A  similar  wall  was  on  the 
east.  The  whole  included  half  an  acre.  In  this  yard  was  a  lamp-post,  and 
near  the  cook-room,  a  good  pump.  The  reasons  for  this  minute  description 
will  be  hereafter  apparent.  There  were  one  or  two  sentinels  in  the  yard  by 
day — at  night,  at  least  four  ;  as  many  outside,  and  four  in  the  long  prison, 
with  a  proportionate  number  in  the  other  prisons.  The  whole  number  of 
American  prisoners  was  from  eight  -hundred  to  one  thousand.  There  had 
been  no  release  or  exchange  since  the  war  began,  and  some  had  been  in 
prison  seven  years.  Numbers  had  escaped,  and  some  shipped  on  board  his 
majesty's  ships,  which  absolved  them  from  "  rebellion  and  piracy." 

At  an  early  period  it  was  found  necessary  to  adopt  some  government  for 
the  prisoners.  If  any  one  transgressed,  he  had  a  legal  trial,. and  was 
punished.  There  had  been  some  cases  of  tying  to  the  lamp-post,  and 
administering  a  dozen  lashes  on  the  bare  back.  The  food  was  tolerable,  but 
we  had  not  half  enough.  The  portion  was  about  twelve  ounces  of  bread, 
and  twelve  ounces  of  beef  a  day.  At  eleven  each  day,  we  drew  a  three 
pound  loaf  to  each  mess.  It  was  made  of  rye,  oats,  barley,  and  peas.  In 
compliment  to  King  George,  it  was  called  "  Brown  George."  One  divided 
the  loaf  in  quarters,  another  would  turn  his  back,  and  another,  in  the 
presence  of  the  rest,  touched  a  piece,  saying  to  him  who  turned  his  back, 
"  Who  shall  have  that  ?  "  till  the  four  pieces  were  disposed  of.  Many  dis 
putes  took  place  about  the  division  of  beef,  which  was  weighed  out  to  the 
cook  in  the  gross,  with  an  allowance  to  turn  the  scale  for  each  mess. 


OF  AMERICANS.  281 

Some  were  employed  in  making  punch-paddles,  of  apple-wood,  which 
sold  for  nearly  half  a  guinea ;  wooden  spoons,  busks,  and  knitting-sheaths, 
curiously  wrought.  One  taught  navigation,  another  made  nets  for  drying 
glue.  Ship-building  was  also  extensively  carried  on  ;  I  doubt  not  there  are 
ships  in  England,  built  in  Mill  Prison,  though  not  large  enough  for  priva 
teering  !  One  prisoner,  from  Salem,  exceeded  all  others  in  inventive  skill. 
He  built  a  ship  a  foot  long,  which  he  sold  for  four  guineas.  He  built  also  a 
three-decker,  which  he  sold  for  twenty  guineas  !  It  was  some  four  feet 
long,  with  three  tiers  of  guns,  anchors  on  her  bows,  and  cable  bent.  By 
pulling  gently  on  one  cable,  the  ports  on  one  deck  would  all  fly  open  ;  by 
pulling  another,  the  guns  would  all  run  out  of  the  ports.  The  effect  was 
the  same  on  the  other  decks.  This  curious  work  occupied  about  two 
years  ! 

Dr.  Franklin  was  then  our  minister  at  the  Court  of  France.  Previous  to 
my  arrival,  he  furnished  each  prisoner  a  shilling  sterling  a  week  ;  but  it  was 
difficult  for  him  to  obtain  funds,  and  this  donation  would  often  be  discon 
tinued  for  weeks.  Various  plans  were  used  to  get  the  news.  Strange  to 
tell,  a  newspaper  would  sometimes  be  obtained  in  a  loaf  of  bread.  News  of 
the  capture  of  Cornwallis  was  obtained  in  this  way.  The  prisoners  were 
greatly  animated  on  this  eventful  occasion  ;  and  a  number  furnished  them 
selves  with  the  American  ensign,  painted  on  a  half  sheet  of  paper,  with  the 
British  flag  also  painted  below  the  Union  ;  and  sticking  this  into  their  hat 
bands,  they  paraded  the  prison  yard,  huzzaing  so  boisterously  as  to  alarm 
the  commissary.  His  name  was  Cowdray,  a  petulant  old  fellow,  whom  the 
prisoners,  especially  those  from  Marblehead,  took  pleasure  in  affronting. 
Tho  whole  guard  came  into  the  yard,  and  some  of  the  prisoners  had  the 
hardihood  to  insult  them,  and  dared  them  to  fire  on  them  ;  but  through  the 
interposition  of  some  of  the  American  officers,  the  ult  subsided. 

Every  evening  before  sundown  a  guard  came  into  the  yard  and  ordered 
every  man  into  the  prison.  They  were  counted  as  they  walked  leisurely 
in,  and  the  doors  were  then  locked.  One  evening  a  prisoner  in  the  upper 
story  threw  a  bone,  which  he  had  been  picking,  out  of  the  window  through 
the  iron  bars,  and  it  happened  to  fall  on  a  sentinel's  head.  He  immediately 
stepped  up  to  the  lower  window,  and  fired  up  through  the  floor,  the  ball 
entering  a  hammock  in  which  a  sick  man  lay.  The  report  of  the  musket 
brought  the  whole  guard  into  the  yard.  The  prisoners  were  greatly  enraged, 
and  swore  they  would  kill  that  soldier  if  he  over  appeared  again  on  guard. 

A  dozen  prisoners  made  their  escape  one  night.  They  contrived  to  get 
through  the  grates  of  the  chamber  of  the  long  prison,  by  putting  a  beam 
from  the  window  obliquely,  so  as  to  reach  a  small  out-house  near  the  wall 
of  the  adjacent  yard,  and  then  lashing  hammocks  together,  lowered  them 
selves  from  the  beam  into  the  yard.  They  were  never  brought  back  again, 
as  was  often  the  case.  When  deserters  were  caught,  fhoy  were  doomed  to 
suffer  in  the  "dark  hole"  certain  days,  and  were  also  liable  to  be  impressed 
on  board  a  man-of-war. 

In  the  gate  through  the  prison  wall  was  a  hole  large  enough  to  pass  "water- 
cans  through  it,  but  not  large  enough  for  a  man  to  get  through,  unless  he 
were  very  small.  Every  morning  it  was  necessary  to  number  as  many 
persons  out,  as  they  had  the  previous  evening.  A  good  deal  of  ingenuity 


282  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

was  therefore  required  by  the  prisoners  to  conceal  a  fraud.  A  number  of 
boys  were  in  prison,  and  dependence  was  placed  on  those  to  make  up  for  the 
escapades.  A  group  of  prisoners  first  out  stationed  themselves  about  the 
gate,  and  a  lad  was  crowded  through  the  hole  and  received  inside,  and  he 
would  go  in  the  end  door,  and  present  himself  at  the  fore  door,  and  b1 
numbered  the  second  time.  Then  a  second  lad  would  be  crowded  through 
the  hole,  and  a  third,  and  so  on.  He  would  wear  a  cap,  or  go  in  bare- 
headed.  Sometimes  they  would  borrow  a  boy  or  two  who  had  been  num 
bered  out  of  some  other  part  of  the  prison.  The  poor  fellows  would  oftef 
get  prodigiously  squeezed,  in  passing  through  the  hole,  but  their  squalling 
was  drowned  by  the  boisterous  laugh  and  shout  set  up  for  that  purpose 
This  may  be  called  a  "  Yankee  trick,"  and  it  was  played  over  and  over, 
until  many  of  our  friends  had  an  opportunity  to  escape,  or  evade  a  hated 
regiment  that  might  in  turn  be  on  guard.  How  all  these  escapes  could  be 
made,  with  sentries  continually  on  guard,  was  to  me  most  astonishing.  It 
must  be  set  down  to  Yankee  enterprise.  At  length,  however,  the  aforesaid 
hated  guard  came  on,  and  there  was  no  more  squeezing  through  that  hole  ! 
"  There  was  no  small  stir."  What  had  become  of  thirteen  prisoners ! 
These  must  have  represented  the  thirteen  States,  never  recovered  ! 

"  The  British  king 
Lost  States  thirteen." 

Colonel  Laurens,  of  Charleston,  was  then  our  minister  to  Holland.     On 
his  way  thither  he  was  captured  as  a  rebel,  and  imprisoned  in  the  Tower  o* 
London.     After  the  capture  of  Cornwallis,  he  was  released  on  a  parole  of 
honor,  and  he  visited  Mill  Prison.     The  prisoners  considered  this  a  higl 
honor,  and  treated  him  with  great  respect. 

I  diligently  pursued  my  studies  in  navigation,  but  in  the  spring  it  becami 
very  sickly  among  the  prisoners.  At  length  I  was  taken  ill  myself.  Mj 
distress  was  so  great  I  could  not  assist  others,  as  I  had  been  accustomed  tc 
do.  My  sight  left  me.  One  morning,  surrounded  by  neighbors,  I  remember 
hearing  some  one  say,  "  Sherburne  is  out  of  his  head  !  "  I  was  ordered  to 
the  hospital,  where  I  was  partially  deranged  several  weeks.  I  was  fearful 
I  should  not  recover,  and  great  was  my  horror  of  mind.  My  numerous 
deliverances  from  shipwreck  and  so  many  other  perils,  all  came  up  before 
me,  with  all  my  forgotten  vows  to  become  religious — my  solemn  promises 
to  God,  my  deliverer  !  I  was  weighed  and  "  found  wanting  ! " 

There  was  a  person  called  "  Uncle  "  Laurence,  in  the  hospital.  He  went 
in  at  an  early  period,  and  while  there,  became  a  convert  to  the  Christian 
religion.  The  physicians  had  great  confidence  in  him,  and  he  had  the 
respect  of  all.  However  tyrannical  and  inhuman  the  British  government 
was  in  some  respects,  they  are  to  be  praised  for  the  provision  they  made  for 
the  sick  in  Mill  Prison. 

When  it  pleased  God  to  restore  my  reason,  I  was  so  weak  as  to  be  unable 
to  raise  myself  in  bed,  and  mended  slowly.  One  day  two  friends  said,  "  Sher 
burne,  why  do  you  lie  here  ?  Come,  you  must  get  up  !  "  I  told  them  I 
could  not.  "  We  will  help  you,"  said  they  ;  "  The  doctor  has  directed  us 
to  help  you."  They  got  my  clothes  on,  and  made  out  to  get  me  into  the 
ard,  holding  me  by  the  arms,  but  I  fainted,  and  was  carried  back  to  mv 


OF  AMERICANS.  283 

ccuch.  The  next  day  I  was  taken  out  again,  and  was  able  to  stand,  with 
the  help  of  a  staff. 

About  this  time  news  had  been  received,  that  the  ship  "  Lady's  Adven 
ture  "  had  got  into  Plymouth  Sound  to  take  home  an  exchange  of  prisoners 
The  joy  among  the  prisoners  was  indescribable.  To  raise  my  spirits,  the 
good  doctor  told  me  the  ship  would  take  us  to  our  country,  and  wou.d  sail 
in  three  weeks,  and  that  I  must  take  the  best  possible  care  of  myself  that  I 
might  go  in  her.  This  ship  was  bound  to  Boston  ;  and  in  a  week  or  two, 
another  was  going  to  Philadelphia  ;  and  in  a  few  weeks,  another  would  take 
the  remaining  prisoners  to  some  United  States  port.  The  time  finally 
arrived  for  the  doctor  to  discharge  all  who  had  sufficiently  recovered. 
Everyone  went  to  his  own  bed,  and  sat  till  the  doctor  passed  by  him.  He 
passed  me  pleasantly,  but  did  not  take  down  my  name  !  My  heart  sank 
within  me.  I  rose  and  followed  him,  and  as  he  was  about  leaving  the 
hospital,  said,  "  Doctor,  I  believe  you  have  not  got  my  name."  He 
replied,  "  God  bless  you,  my  son,  it  will  never  do  for  you  to  think  of  leav 
ing  the  hospital  in  your  situation  !  You  are  more  fit  to  enter  than  leave  it." 
"  Sir,"  said  I,  deeply  grieved,  "you  promised  that  I  should  go  in  this  ship  !" 
He  replied,  "  I  was  in  hopes  you  would  be  able,  but  you  are  so  sick  that  it 
will  never  do  :  you  would  not  live  to  get  outside  of  the  Eddystone  :  four 
hundred  are  going ;  you  will  be  crowded,  and  will  die.  I  would  be  happy 
to  discharge  you,  but  AVC  have  had  a  hard  time  in  raising  you,  and  would  be 
sorry  to  lose  you  now,  through  your  own  imprudence.  You  would  never 
live  to  see  America,  and  your  blood  would  be  on  my  h.ead.  There  is 
another  ship  going  in  a  week  or  two,  and  I  am  in  hopes  you  will  be  strong 
enough  to  go — have  patience."  "But,  sir,"  said  I,  "that  ship  is  going  to 
Philadelphia,  and  I  should  be  a  great  way  from  home."  "No  matter  for 
that,  you  will  be  in  your  own  country,"  said  the  doctor.  "But  all  my 
acquaintance  and  townsmen  are  going  in  this  ship,  and  she  is  going  near  my 
home,  and  if  I  do  not  go  in  her  I  shall  never  get  home."  "  Uncle  Laurence," 
and  twenty  others,  were  listening  to  our  conversation,  and  tears  ran  down 
his  manly  face  ;  and  the  reader  can  judge  how  it  was  with  me.  Uncle 
Laurence  then  said,  "Doctor,  I  don't  know  but  you  may  as  well  discharge 
him  ;  and  as  I  go  in  the  same  ship,  I  give  my  word  that  I  will  pay  par 
ticular  attention  to  him."  "  0  well,  then,"  said  the  good  doctor,  "  I  will 
venture  to  discharge  him  ;  I  can  trust  him  in  your  care,  and  hope  he  will  do 
well  :  but  if  he  dies,  his  blood  must  be  upon  his  own  head."  "  0,  sir,"  said 
I,  "  The  sea  always  agrees  with  me,  and  I  believe  I  should  gain  faster  on 
shipboard  than  here."  That  same  day,  we  were  guarded  from  the  hospital 
to  the  prison  ! 

When  our  company  entered    the   prison  yard,  the   first   townsman  who 

spoke  to  me  was  John  B r,  a  "respectable"  young  man,  but  would  have 

been  considerably  more  so  if  less  intemperate  and  profane.  "Why,  d — n 
ye,  Sherburne,  are  you  alive  ?  We  heard  you  were  dead.  Why,  I  thought 

the  d 1  had  got  you  before  this  time  !     We  did  n't  know  but  you  might 

go  to  heaven  !     Why,  they  said  Sherburne  was  as  crazy  as  the  d 1  down 

there  in  the  hospital,  and  that  he  prayed  like  a  minister.  I  did  n't  know 
but  that  you  might  have  gone  to  heaven."  I  knew  not  that  a  creature  in 
existence  ever  heard  me  pray  ;  and  if  I  had  been  detected  in  the  grosses 


284:  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

villainy  I  could  not  have  been  more  mortified.  Alas  !  that  such  should  be 
the  depravity  of  human  nature,  as  to  think  it  shame  to  show  reverence  for 
God,  or  any  regard  as  to  the  eternal  welfare  of  the  immortal  soul  !  I  hurried 
out  of  his  sight  as  quick  as  possible. 

The  time  now  came  to  embark  for  our  native  land.  All  was  life  and  joy 
on  this  happy  occasion.  Some  had  been  absent  six  years.  I  felt  quite 
revived  at  my  prospects,  and  made  out  to  walk  a  little  with  two  canes,  and 
had  to  be  put  on  board.  My  Portsmouth  friends  released  my  good  friend 
Laurence  from  his  charge.  The  ship's  crew  had  but  little  to  do,  for  there 
were  many  smart  sailors  among  the  prisoners,  and  it  was  mere  diversion  for 
them  to  work  the  ship. 

We  had  not  been  out  many  days  before  there  was  a  revolution.  His 
majesty  allowed  us  only  two-thirds  of  our  provision,  of  which  there  was  a 
great  plenty  on  board.  We  Yankees  were  determined  to  have  enough  to 
eat ;  and  as  we  had  a  number  of  native  American  officers,  a  plan  was  con 
cocted,  and  at  a  certain  signal,  all  were  to  rush  on  the  quarter-deck,  and 
seize  the  helm  ;  and  our  officers  were  to  inform  the  captain  we  had  com 
mand  of  his  ship.  Their  number  being  less  than  fifty,  no  resistance  was 
made  to  four  hundred  men.  All  we  wanted  was  a  full  allowance  ;  and 
having  obtained  it,  the  ship  was  given  up  to  Captain  Humble.  We  had  a 
long,  though  pleasant  voyage.  The  ship  was  ordered  to  Boston  ;  but,  as 
there  was  a  very  large  proportion  ot  prisoners  belonging  to  Marblehead,  it 
was  insisted  by  our  friends  that  we  should  land  at  that  place,  Willis  and 
myself  among  the  rest. 

Thus,  by  the  mercy  of  God,  after  an  eventful  absence  of  fifteen  months, 
we  set  foot  once  more  on  our  dear  native  land.  To  me  it  was  a  theme  of 
unceasing  astonishment  to  call  up  in  review  the  various  changing  scenes 
through  which  I  had  passed,,  since  I  first  went  on  board  the  Greyhound. 
No  high  coloring  has  been  attempted  in  these  simple  sketches  :  Simplicity 
and  truth  need  not  "  the  foreign  aid  of  ornaments."  Many  were  the  shocks 
I  have  received  in  my  wayward  pilgrimage,  but  every  shock  has  eventually 
tended  to  settle  me. 

It  was  now  two  years  since  I  landed  at  Rhode  Island  from  Charleston. 
I  then  had  a  guardian  :  now  I  had  none  ;  and  what  was  worse,  I  was  penniless. 
However,  I  remembered  that  the  adventurers  of  the  Greyhound  had 
appointed  an  agent,  a  Mr.  Foster,  of  Salem,  where  I  found  him.  But  he 
knew  nothing  about  us  personally,  though  our  names  had  been  sent  to  him. 
He  was,  therefore,  very  inquisitive,  for  Willis  and  I  had  entered  the  priva 
teer,  after  she  left  Salem.  During  the  conversation,  who  should  enter  the 
room  but  Lieutenant  Tucker,  of  the  Greyhound  !  It  was  some  time  before 
we  recognized  him,  for  his  appearance  was  much  more  genteel  now  than 
formerly.  From  him  we  ascertained  that  nothing  was  known  of  our  fate  : 
it  was  supposed  we  were  all  lost  at  sea,  a  most  natural  conclusion.  The 
Greyhound  had  taken  a  valuable  prize,  an  English  brig  with  a  fine  cargo, 
bound  to  Quebec,  which  was  taken  to  Salem.  The  Greyhound  was  after 
ward  captured,  and  taken  to  Halifax,  but  her  prisoners,  after  a  short  confine 
ment,  were  exchanged,  and  all  got  home  safely.  Our  share  of  the  prize  was 
£63  sterling,  each.  Mine  had  been  drawn  by  a  power  of  attorney  which  I 
left  with  my  mother.  Willis'  father  had  drawn  his,  so  that  nothing  was 


OF  AMERICANS.  285 

coming.     Lieutenant  Tucker  and  Mr.  Foster,  however,  had  the  kindness  to 
give  us  each  two  or  three  dollars  to  bear  our  expenses  home. 

We  then  took  leave  of  our  generous  friends,  and  betook  to  our  journey 
with  pleasure  indescribable.  For  a  year  and  a  quarter  we  had  been  com 
panions  in  travel  and  suffering,  and  we  never  fell  out  by  the  way.  With  no 
company  but  ourselves,  we  took  a  full  view  of  the  eventful  arid  sorrowful 
past.  The  gloomy  scenes  we  had  escaped  afforded  a  pleasing  offset  to  our 
anticipated  joys  of  seeing  kindred  and  friends  once  more.  The  light  and 
shade  of  this  picture  were  in  striking  and  most  delightful  contrast. 

To  my  mother,  sisters,  and  brethren,  I  was  as  one  rose  from  the  dead ; 
for,  till  recently,  they  had  despaired  of  ever  seeing  me  more.  Some  of  my 
associates  who  were  ahead  of  me,  gave  them  information  of  my  being  on 
the  way.  This  might  be  for  the  best ;  for  though  I  did  not  reach  my  home 
to  them  unexpectedly,  my  poor  mother  was  almost  frantic  with  joy,  and 
literally  cried  out,  "  This  my  son  that  was  dead  is  alive  again  ;  he  was  lost 
and  is  found  !  "  And  so  they  all  "  began  to  be  merry."  It  was  a  joyous 
time  of  smiles  and  tears  !  Tears  !  for  my  mother  was  yet  a  mourner  for 
her  first  born  son,  Thomas.  Alas  !  his  fate  was  never  known  !  Smiles ! 
for  her  other  son  had  returned,  and  my  mother  had  "received  him  safe  and 
sound." 

My  friend  Willis  tarried  with  me  one  night.  In  the  morning  I  accom 
panied  him  to  the  wharf,  where  he  found  a  coaster  for  Saco,  four  miles  from 
Cape  Porpoise,  where  he  lived.  We  parted  ;  and  never  again  met ! 

Nothing  could  be  more  entertaining  to  my  friends  and  brethren,  than  to 
hear  Andrew  tell  his  stories  of  his  checkered  life.  In  all  this  there  may 
have  been  ambition  and  vanity.  But  men  who  have  patience  to  read  these 
pages,  will  remember  that  they*were  once  boys. 

But  however  interesting  it  might  be  to  narrate  my  "  hair-breadth  'scapes 
in  the  imminent,  deadly  breach,"  and  of  being  "  taken  by  the  insolent  foe," 
this  business  would  not  do  to  live  by.  My  health  was  now  good.  I  had 
ambition,  and  was  still  in  the  prime  of  youth.  It  became  a  question  with 
me  what  I  should  do.  To  beg  I  was  ashamed  ;  to  dig  I  had  almost  for 
gotten.  It  was  two  years  since  I  had  landed  at  Rhode  Island,  from  Charles 
ton.  After  a  full  deliberation,  it  was  decided  that  I  must  needs  try  the 
sea  again. 

A  brig  named  the  Scorpion,  was  to  sail  for  the  West  Indies,  commanded 
by  my  good  friend  and  tutor  in  Mill  Prison,  R.  S.  Tibbitts.  This  brig  was 
soon  ready  for  sea,  and  I  left  my  mother  and  sisters  again  in  tears.  When 
out  five  days,  we  were  descried  by  one  of  his  most  gracious  majesty's 
frigates,  the  Bee,  of  sixteen  guns,  which  came  within  a  mile  of  us.  We 
managed  our  vessel  in  a  most  masterly  style,  and  finally  escaped.  This 
extraordinary  chase  and  maneuvering  must  have  been  deeply  interesting  to 
a  looker-on.  It  was  my  first  voyage  to  the  West  Indies.  We  touched  at 
Gaudaloupe  and  Montserrat.  It  was  repugnant  to  my  feelings  to  see  the 
hungry  and  almost  naked  slaves  sinking  under  their  burdens,  and  suffering 
from  the  cruel  scourges  of  their  drivers.  Some  had  iron  collars  round  their 
necks,  with  four  hooks,  each  fifteen  to  twenty  inches  long — one  over  each 
shoulder,  one  before,  and  one  behind.  Others  had  a  heavy  chain  fastened 
to  the  leg ;  and  sometimes  two  persons  were  cnained  together.  Children 


286  -ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

were  entirely  naked.  Men  had  no  clothing  but  a  coarse  apron,  reaching  a 
little  above  the  knees  ;  and  females  had  nothing  but  an  apology  for  a  petti 
coat  of  coarse  stuff.  The  women  could  balance  a  tub  of  water,  or  a  lar^e 
Dasket  of  fruit,  or  of  bottles,  without  putting  their  hands  to  them.  Having 
discharged  our  cargo,  and  taken  the  proceeds  in  West  India  produce,  we 
sailed  for  Alexandria,  Virginia.  On  approaching  the  coast  of  Virginia,  we 
had  a  terrific  gale.  In  the  morning  we  saw  three  large  ships  within  a  few 
miles  of  us,  and  we  soon  perceived  they  had  experienced  hard  times  as 
well  as  ourselves.  We  had  no  doubt  they  were  British  men-of-war.  They 
made  chase,  and  gained  on  us  fast.  We  got  out  our  long  oars,  and  rowed 
all  day,  and  made  prodigious  efforts  to  get  out  of  the  way,  flying  for  dear 
life,  not  taking  time  even  to  eat.  Night  coming  on,  and  the  wind  increas 
ing,  we  could  not  use  the  oars  to  advantage.  We  made  all  sail  we  could, 
however.  At  midnight  we  hove  about,  hoping  to  escape  our  pursuers.  We 
did,  indeed  ;  but  alas  !  they  were  not  our  only  enemies  ;  for  at  two  o'clock 
we  fell  in  with  another  of  his  most  gracious  majesty's  ships,  the  Amphion,  of 
forty  guns.  We  were  now  standing  directly  for  each  other.  As  soon  as  we 
discovered  her,  we  hove  about ;  but  all  in  vain,  for  we  were  within  musket- 
shot !  It  was  said  of  the  ancient  Amphion,  that  by  the  music  of  his  harp 
he  built  Thebes,  the  city  of  the  hundred  gates.  The  music  of  the  modern 
Amphion  was  not  so  charming,  but  it  was  certainly  powerfully  telling ;  for 
though  she  failed  to  bring  us  to  by  firing  muskets,  her  heavy  cannon  did  the 
work  up  most  musically.  To  be  within  two  days'  sail  of  port,  after  all  our 
hardships  and  imprisonment !  and  to  find  all  our  hopes  so  nearly  accom 
plished  !  In  a  word,  I  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy  the  third 
time,  in  addition  to  numerous  shipwrecks  !  I  had  barely  escaped  with  my 
life  from  two  imprisonments,  and  now  my  prospects  were  darker  than  ever ! 
It  was  now  the  middle  of  November,  1782,  and  about  a  year  since  my 
release  from  the  Fairy,  in  Plymouth  Sound.  Thirteen  of  us  (a  representa 
tive  number),  were  put  on  board  the  Amphion,  and  stowed  in  the  cable  tiers 
under  two  decks,  where  we  found  a  hundred  more  of  our  countrymen  who 
had  fallen  into  their  clutches.  There  we  were,  crowded  almost  to  suffoca 
tion,  with  nothing  to  lie  down  on  but  cables.  We  might  as  well  hope  to 
sleep  on  a  pile  of  split-wood.  We  remained  in  this  select  apartment  for 
two  miserable  weeks,  when  we  were  overtaken  by  no  small  tempest,  but 
finally  reached  New  York.  But,  0  horror  of  horrors  !  it  was  only  to  be 
put  on  board  the  floating  Bastile — that  thrice-accursed  contrivance  of  fiends 
incarnate — the  Old  Jersey  Prison,- Ship  \  The  very  name  is  enough  to  send 
a  chill  of  terror  through  the  soul.  It  is  one  of  the  fittest  types  of  the  in 
fernal  regions  on  a  medium  scale  that  Satan  could  invent,  if  that  which  I 
call  a  type  be  not  a  branch  of  the  same  business  in  which  devils  are 
employed. 

When  I  was  imprisoned  in  the  Old  Jersey,  it  was  toward  the  last  of 
November,  1782,  and  I  had  just  entered  my  eighteenth  year.  I  now  com 
menced  a  scene  of  suffering  almost  without  a  parallel.  The  ship  was 
extremely  filthy,  and  abounded  with  vermin.  A  large  proportion  of  the 
prisoners  had  been  robbed  of  their  clothes.  The  ship  was  much  crowded  ; 
the  prisoners  were  low-spirited ;  it  would  have  been  a  miracle  if  otherwise  , 
and  our  provisions  were  horribly  bad,  and  scanty.  The  beef  was  very  salt. 


OF  AMERICANS.  287 

the  bread  worm-eaten,  and  had  been  condemned  in  the  British  Navy.  The 
bread  (so-called  for  want  of  a  name),  had  been  so  eaten  by  weevils,  that  one 
might  crush  it  in  his  hand  and  blow  it  away.  The  prisoners  were  divided 
into  messes,  and  each  mess  made  a  division  among  themselves  of  the  pro 
visions  that  fell  to  them.  The  beef,  as  it  was  called,  was  all  put  into  a 
copper  five  feet  square  and  four  deep,  and  would  fill  it  within  a  few  inches. 
The  copper  was  then  filled  with  water,  and  the  cover  put  on.  Our  fuel  was 
green  chesnut.  The  cook  would  light  his  fire  at  seven  or  eight  in  the  morn« 
ing.  Sometimes  he  could  not  make  the  cauldron  boil  till  twelve  o'clock, 
and  in  stormy  weather,  it  would  take  till  three  o'clock  !  I  have  known  it 
not  to  boil  during  the  whole  day.  It  was 

"  Double,  double,  toil  and  trouble, 
Fire  burn,  aud  cauldron  bubble." 

But  it  may  be  doubted  whether  "flesh  of  dog  obscene,"  and  Gipsey  cookery, 
couid  out-do  the  meat  in  our  celebrated  "cauldron."  It  was  like  the 
kitchen  of  the  infernal  regions — if  such  a  thing  may  be  imagined.  Yet  bad 
as  our  food  was,  we  could  not  have  it  without  infinite  trouble  and  vexation. 
This  might  be  owing  to  the  stupidity  of  the  cooks,  who  were  superseded  bv 
others  in  such  cases.  These  unfortunate  delays  caused  bitter  complaints 
and  heavy  curses  by  the  miserable,  half-starved,  emaciated,  and  imperious 
prisoners.  Maddened  with  hunger  each  mess  would  take  its  meat,  and 
divide  it  as  it  was.  A  murmur  would  be  heard  in  every  mess,  and  from 
every  tongue.  The  cook  was  denounced  ;  and  perhaps  declined  any  further 
service  ;  another  would  volunteer,  and  in  a  few  days,  meet  the  same  fate. 
There  was  a  company  of  prisoners  called  "  the  working  party,"  who  brought 
water,  fuel,  provisions,  etc.  They,  like  the  cooks,  served  a  certain  time, 
and  had  the  privilege  of  being  first  exchanged  as  prisoners. 

There  were  several  hospital  or  prison-ships  lying  at  the  Wallabout  during 
the  Kevolution — the  Whitby,  the  Scorpion,  the  Strombolo,  the  Hunter,  and 
the  Frederick;  but  the  Old  Jersey  has  acquired  the  most  satanic  renown 
in  history.  These  Ships  of  Death  were  anchored  about  one  hundred  feet 
apart,  and  about  the  same  distance  from  the  beach.  On  both  sides  of 
Wallabout  Bay,  many  human  bones  have  been  found.  The  late  General 
Johnson,  who  resided  in  the  vicinity  all  his  lifetime,  has  often  passed  along 
the  shore  after  a  northeasterly  storm,  and  "seen  human  skulls  as  thick  as 
pumpkins  in  a  field."  He  "  examined  the  teeth,  and  found  them  those  of 
young  men."  Nearly  twelve  thousand  prisoners  were  poisoned,  starved,  or 
died  of  fevers  on  board  of  those  prison-ships.  It  is  probable  that  five  or  six 
thousand  more  died  from  ill-treatment  and  famine  in  the  churches  and  sugar 
houses  of  New  York,  and  at  various  naval  stations.  Those  who  were  buried 
at  the  Wallabout,  were  sewed  in  their  blankets.  Those  who  died  in  the 
prisons  of  New  York,  were  cast  into  the  dead-carts  at  the  prison  doors,  as 
they  died,  and  were  often  stripped  before  they  were  buried  in  the  pits  pre 
pared  for  that  purpose.  Many  prisoners  were  barbarously  exiled  to  the  East 
Indies  for  life. 

When  I  had  been  about  a  month  on  board,  to  my  astonishment,  my  uncle, 
James  Weymouth,  who  was  captured  with  me  at  Charleston,  S.  C.,  was 
brought  on  board  !  He  also  had  been  on  a  voyage  to  the  West  Indies,  and 


288  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS' 

was  captured  on  his  way  home.  It  was  with  mingled  sorrow  and  joy  that 
we  met  on  board  this  dismal  ship.  The  Old  Jersey  was  dismantled,  and 
had  no  rudder  or  sails.  The  British  ensign  waved  from  a  flag-staff  at  her 
stern.  At  ebb-tide  the  bottom  of  this  infernal  hulk  could  be  seen  ;  and  a 
most  dreary  and  revolting  spectacle  of  horror  it  was.  Mr.  Weymouth  was 
one  of  my  best  friends.  I  desired  to  place  him  on  the  list  with  Bowers, 
Fox,  Tibbitts,  and  others,  who  bestowed  so  much  care  on  me  in  Mill 
Prison,  and  on  board  the  Ladies'  Adventure.  The  British  were  at  this  time 
so  strong  in  New  York,  and  their  vessels  were  so  numerous,  that  they 
scoured  our  whole  coast,  and  exceedingly  annoyed  our  commerce.  In  the 
fore  part  of  the  winter,  they  captured  the  frigate  Chesapeake,  of  about 
thirty  guns,  with  about  three  hundred  prisoners.  About  the  time  they 
were  brought  on  board,  the  prison-ships  were  all  excessively  crowded.  The 
prisoners  from  the  chesapeake,  being  fresh  hands,  and  only  a  few  hours  at 
sea  before  they  were  captured,  died  very  rapidly.  The  contrast  between  a 
healthful  mode  of  living  on  land,  and  the  horrors  of  the  prison-ship,  would, 
of  course,  be  the  more  speedily  fatal  to  those  who  had  suffered  hardships 
for  the  shortest  time.  I  have  described  the  bread  and  meat  we  had,  which 
a  dog  would  refuse  to  eat  in  good  times.  In  addition  to  this  salt  meat  and 
wormy  bread,  we  had  a  mess  of  what  was  called  bungoo,  or  mush,  made  01 
oat-meal  and  water,  something  like  Yankee  hasty-pudding,  only  it  was  not. 
This  oat-meal  was  musty  and  bitter,  and  none  who  did  not  suffer  from 
hunger  as  we  did,  could  make  out  to  eat  it  at  all.  Most  of  the  prisoners, 
however,  had  some  money  when  captured,  and  as  there  were  boats  alongside 
every  day  from  the  city,  when  the  weather  permitted,  by  this  means  soul 
and  body  were  kept  together  a  little  longer,  in  the  case  of  those  who  lived 
at  all.  As  long  as  one's  money  lasted,  he  could  have  better  fare  than  his 
most  gracious  majesty  would  allow.  I  had  five  or  six  dollars  when 
captured,  and  used  this  pittance  with  the  most  rigid  economy.  Among  the 
large  quantities  of  provisions  brought  from  the  city,  were  livers  of  cattle, 
well  boiled,  chopped  fine,  and  seasoned  with  pepper  and  salt,  and  filled  into 
the  small  intestines  of  animals  :  a  piece  seven  to  nine  inches  long  was  sold 
for  six  cents.  The  most  of  my  limited  exchequer  went  for  these  meat 
puddings,  and  for  bread. 

In  January,  1783,  I  was  taken  sick  and  sent  from  the  Old  Jersey  on 
board  of  the  Frederick  hospital-ship.  It  was  a  most  distressing  time  for  my 
self  and  uncle,  who  had  but  a  few  dollars,  and  my  money  was  now  all  gone. 
We  were  so  much  crowded  that  two  sick  persons  had  to  lie  in  one  bunk.  I 
was  put  in  with  a  young  man  named  Wills,  of  Ipswich,  Massachusetts.  The 
bunk  was  set  fore  and  aft,  directly  under  the  ballast-port,  opposite  the  main 
hatchway.  Wills  was  of  a  pleasant  yet  serious  turn,  and  was  persuaded  he 
should  die.  My  mind  was  confused  and  agitated,  and  occasionally  de 
ranged.  My  bed-fellow  was  running  down  very  fast,  though  I  was  not  at 
the  time  aware  of  it.  For  want  of  room,  we  were  often  obliged  to  lie 
athwart  each  other.  I  found  the  poor  fellow  very  accommodating.  He  had 
his  reason  till  he  became  speechless,  and  finally  died,  stretched  over  mo  ! 
A  death  in  that  place  excited  little  attention.  Not  a  day  passed  without 
one  or  more  deaths.  I  have  seen  seven  who  died  in  one  night,  drawn  out 
and  piled  together  on  the  lower  hatchway  of  the  Frederick.  There  were 


OF  AMERICANS.  289 

about  a  dozen  nurses  for  this  ship  for  an  average  of  one  hundred  sick. 
Whatever  property  the  prisoners  left,  fell  into  their  hands.  If  the  deceased 
had  a  good  head  of  hair,  it  was  cut  off  and  sold.  The  depravity  of  the 
human  heart  was  as  fully  exhibited  in  these  nurses  as  any  other  class  of  men. 
Some,  if  not  all  of  them,  were  prisoners,  and  I  believe  they  had  some  com 
pensation  from  the  British  Government  for  their  services.  They  would 
.tidulge  in  playing  cards  and  drinking,  while  their  fellows  were  thirsting  for 
water  and  dying.  Many  of  them  were  among  the  sick  during  the  greater 
part  of  the  day  ;  but  at  night,  the  hatches  were  shut  down  and  locked  ;  and 
not  the  least  attention  was  then  paid  to  them,  except  by  the  convalescent, 
who  were  so  frequently  called  upon,  that  they  often  relapsed  and  died, 
from  over-exertion.  After  Mr.  Wills,  my  bedfellow,  was  dead,  I  called  the 
nurses  to  remove  him,  as  his  body  lay  across  me,  so  that  I  could  not  relieve 
myself :  but  they  gave  me  only  hard  words,  and  curses,  and  let  him  re 
main  nearly  an  hour.  It  was  a  great  mercy  they  did  not  take  away  the  two 
blankets  we  had  under  us,  a  great-coat,  and  a  little  straw  in  a  sack  ;  yet  even 
with  these  I  suffered  extremely  from  cold.  The  reader  will  form  some  idea 
of  my  dreadful  sufferings  when  I  state,  that  I  frequently  toiled  nearly  all 
night  by  rubbing  my  hands  and  legs  to  keep  them  from  freezing.  Some 
times  I  would  almost  give  up  in  despair,  but  again  feel  excited  to  renew  my 
exertions.  In  consequence  of  these  severe  chills,  I  have  worn  a  laced  stock 
ing  for  nearly  thirty  years.  My  bunk  was  directly  against  the  ballast-port, 
which  was  not  caulked  ;  and  when  there  was  a  snow-storm,  the  snow  blew 
through  on  my  bed  three  or  four  inches  deep.  This  was  one  advantage,  as 
I  could  otherwise  get  no  water  to  quench  my  thirst.  A  gill  of  very  poor 
wine  and  twelve  ounces  of  sour,  musty  bread,  was  the  daily  allowance  for 
the  sick.  There  was  a  small  sheet-iron  stove  between  decks,  but  the  fuel 
was  green  and  scarce  ;  but  as  there  were  always  a  number  of  peevish,  surly 
fellows  around  it,  I  never  had  an  opportunity  to  sit  by  it;  though  I  was 
generally  lucky  enough  to  get  some-  one  to  lay  a  slice  of  bread  on  it  for 
toasting,  to  put  into  my  wine  and  water.  We  sometimes  failed  to  get  our 
wine  for  several  successive  days  ;  and  though  we  had  the  promise  of  its 
being  made  up  to  us,  the  promise  was  seldom  kept,  as  might  be  expected. 
With  the  little  money  my  uncle  gave  me,  I  sent  ashore  by  one  of  the 
nurses  and  bought  a  tin  pint-cup,  a  spoon,  a  few  oranges,  and  a  pound  or 
two  of  sugar ;  but  I  question  if  I  got  the  worth  of  my  money.  The  cup, 
however,  was  of  infinite  service.  We  were  always  careful  to  get  our  cups 
full  of  water  before  the  hatches  were  shut  down  for  the  night,  though  we 
often  had  great  difficulty  in  getting  even  this  small  favor,  as  the  water  was 
not  easily  got  out  of  the  casks  which  were  frozen  up.  At  the  close  of  the 
day,  a  dozen  would  apply  for  water  at  one  time,  and  I  was  frequently 
obligsd  to  plead  hard  to  get  my  cup  filled.  My  bread  I  could  not  eat,  and 
gave  it  to  those  who  brought  me  water.  I  have  given  them  three  days' 
allowance  for  one  cup.  It  was  necessary  to  use  the  strictest  economy, 
restricting  myself  to  a  certain  number  of  swallows,  and  make  them  very 
small;  but  my  thirst  was  so  extreme,  that  I  sometimes  overrun  my 
number.  This  finally  became  a  fixed  habit  for  many  years  ;  and  to  this 
day  I  find  myself  counting  my  swallows. 

For  the  honor  of  the  good  citizens  of  New  York,  I  must  not  om/t  to  tell 


290  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

the  reader  how  they  supplied  all  the  sick  with  a  pint  a-day  of  good  Bohea 
tea,  well  sweetened  with  molasses.  This,  I  have  no  doubt,  saved  the  lives 
of  hundreds.  I  knew  no  person  on  board  of  this  hospital-ship,  and  owing 
to  the  severity  of  my  illness,  and  occasional  derangement,  cannot  give  full 
details,  which,  indeed,  would  be  revolting,  on  account  of  its  almost  in 
credible  filthiness.  My  prevailing  fear  was  that  I  should  die  ;  and  that  in 
consequence  of  my  ingratitude  and  wickedness,  hell  would  be  my  portion. 
I  had  frequently,  in  times  of  great  distress,  promised  an  amendment  of  life  ; 
and  I  now  again  prayed  that  God  would  spare  me,  and  renewed  my  broken 
promises.  It  was  God's  good  pleasure  to  raise  me  up  again,  so  as  to  walk 
with  difficulty,  and  I  was  returned  to  the  Jersey  prison-ship.  As  I  went 
below  into  this  abode  of  despair,  language  would  fail  to  convey  any  idea  of 
its  melancholy  aspect.  My  first  object  was  to  find  my  uncle.  Alas !  he 
was  sick,  and  was  required  to  return  in  the  same  boat  in  which  I  just  came  ; 
and  I  could  only  be  indulged  in  an  interview  of  five  minutes.  Yet  even 
this  was  an  unspeakable  treat  to  me.  He  seemed  discouraged,  and  with 
tears  bade  me  adieu,  with  little  hope  of  ever  meeting  again.  I  shall  let  the 
reader  judge  my  feelings.  I  found  a  lad,  named  Stephen  Nichpls^very 
sick  and  low-spirited.  We  had  known,  and  were  much  a'ttacnqpl  to  each 
other.  He  informed  me  of  the  fate  of  Mr.  Davis,  our  gunner,  and  this 
added  to  our  melancholy ;  and  we  stalked  about  the  decl>s,  lamenting  our 
forlorn  condition.  In  a  few  days  orders  came  to  remove  all  the  prisoners 
from  the  Jersey  to  transport-ships,  that  the  ship  might«be  cleansed.  As 
soon  as  we  were  removed,  a  heavy  storm  came  on,  and  the  ship  being  ex 
cessively  crowded  and  wet,  our  plight  was  absolutely  distressing.  There 
was  not  room  for  each  one  to  lie  down  on  deck,  and  many  took  violent 
colds,  myself  among  the  rest.  In  a  few  days  after  we  were  all  again  trans 
ferred  back  to  the  Old  Jersey,  I  was  sent  off  again  to  a  hospital-ship  ;  and  on 
descending  the  hatchwa}7",  I  met  my  uncle  Wey mouth  !  Our  joy  at  meeting 
again  was  equal  to  our  despair  when  we  parted  some  time  before,  yet  it  may 
well  be  believed  there  was  bitterness  enough  in  our  cup  of  momentary  pleasure. 
My  uncle  was  depressed  in  spirit,  but  had  his  reason  in  his  distressing  ill 
ness,  and  it  pleased  God  to  continue  my  own  reason.  He  slowly  recovered. 
It  cannot  be  pleasing  to  the  reader  nor  myself,  to  give  these  doleful 
details  ;  yet  it  may  not  be  unprofitable  for  the  present  generation  to  know 
the  fearful  sacrifices  our  fathers  endured  for  our  benefit.  Nay,  it  is  a 
duty  to  study  all  their  sufferings,  in  these  days  of  luxurious  ease,  and  vain 
glorious  boasting.  The  trying  scenes  passed  by  these  prisoners,  were  various 
and  heart-rending.  Here,  for  instance,  near  me,  is  one  with  his  legs  frozen  ; 
I  have  seen  the  toes  and  bottom  of  the  feet  fall  off,  and  hang  down  by  the 
heel !  Two  brothers,  John  and  Abraham  Hall,  of  the  Scorpion's  crew, 
were  dying,  as  one  lay  across  the  other;  yet  this  was  unavoidable.  The 
men  who  were  near  swore  hard  at  John,  while  Abraham  cried  out  for  him 
to  get  off.  John  made  no  reply.  In  the  morning  he  was  dead,  and  his 
brother  died  the  same  day.  Finally,  there  were  but  five  out  of  our  crew  of 
thirteen  ;  the  rest  left  their  bones  here.  Yet  a  larger  portion  of  other  crews 
died.  I  know  of  none  belonging  to  the  Scorpion  now  living,  except  myself. 
John  Stone,  of  Limington,  Maine,  was  one  of  them,  but  he  has  probably 
been  dead  many  years. 


OF  AMERICANS.  291 

While  I  was  confined  with  my  uncle  on  the  second  hospital-ship,  we 
received  the  joyful  news  of  peace  !  It  would  have  been  still  more  joyful 
for  us  if  we  were  all  prepared  to  leave  this  dreadful  place.  Large  numbers 
were  released  from  the  Jersey  some  weeks  before,  on  what  terms,  I  never 
knew.  It  was  exceedingly  trying  to  our  feelings  to  see  our  companions  in 
suffering  daily  leaving  us,  till  the  ship  was  almost  deserted,  without  know 
ing  our  own  fate.  However,  we  gained  strength  slowly.  A  cartel  was  soon 
sent  from  Rhode  Island,  to  take  home  some  from  that  State,  and  the  com 
mander  of  our  hospital-ship  had  the  humanity  to  use  his  influence  to  have 
us  taken  with  them,  and,  to  our  unspeakable  joy,  he  consented.  When  we 
left  the  hospital-ship,  only  seven  or  eight  remained,  and  most  of  them  were 
convalescent. 

On  our  departure  we  had  to  sign  some  kind  of  agreement,  with  a  promise 
to  report  ourselves  at  the  commissary's  office  in  Rhode  Island.  We  now 
most  willingly  bade  adieu  to  the  villainous  Old  Jersey,  and  all  her  hospital- 
ships.  Considering  the  time  of  the  year,  our  passage  through  the  Sound 
was  favorable  ;  and  one  morning  before  sunrise,  we  joyfully  set  our  feet  once 
more  upon  the  land  of  liberty.  According  to  promise,  we  gave  our  names  at 
the  commissary's  office  as  prisoners  from  the  Old  Jersey.  A  trifling  circum 
stance  happened  on  the  morning  of  my  arrival,  which  made  a  deep  im 
pression  on  my  mind.  As  we  passed  a  bake-house,  we  saw  a  fine  heap  of 
burning  coals  just  drawn  from  the  oven.  We  were  much  chilled,  and  went 
in  to  warn*  ourselves  :  we  had  not  had  such  a  favor  for  the  whole  winter. 
The  bake",  who  saw  us  warming,  came  running  down  the  stairs  in  haste ; 
but  noticing  two  such  odd  figures,  he  suddenly  halted  on  the  stairs.  Then 
he  approached  us  slowly,  and  inquired  if  we  were  from  the  prison-ship. 
We  told  him  we  were.  "Really,"  said  he,  "you  look  as  if  you  want  some 
friend  !  Are  you  riot  hungry  ?  Come,  go  with  me."  So  saying,  he  led  us 
up  stairs,  where  his  family  resided.  I  was  so  weak  that  I  could  hardly  get 
up  stairs,  supporting  myself  like  a  child,  by  putting  my  hands  on  the  steps. 
On  entering  the  room  we  saw  a  beautiful  young  lady  with  a  child  on  her 
lap.  The  room  was  handsomely  furnished,  and  a  nice  looking  woman  was 
in  attendance.  "My  dear,"  said  the  baker,  "can't  you  give  these  men 
some  breakfast  ?  They  have  come  from  the  prison-ship."  "0  yes,"  said 
the  lady,  with  a  very- sympathetic  and  modest  air;  and  immediately  gave 
directions  to  the  girl  to  make  ready.  The  contrast  between  our  present 
and  former  situation  was  so  striking  that  I  felt  extreme  embarrassment,  and 
therefore  had  great  reluctance  in  accepting  the  hospitality.  "Come,  sit 
down,  sit  down,"  said  the  gentleman,  "and  make  yourselves  as  comfortable 
as  you  can  :  you  must  have  had  a  hard  time  of  it  !  You  have  been  sick, 
but  you  have  now  got  among  your  friends  again  ! "  "  Sir,"  said  I,  "  we  are 
not  fit  to  be  where  clean  people  are  ;  we  are  troubled  with  vermin."  "O! 
never  mind,  sit  down,  sit  down,"  said  he.  The  modest  and  friendly  de 
portment  of  his  charming  lady  deeply  affected  me,  and  my  tears  freely 
flowed.  Instead  of  a  haughty,  disdainful  air,  which  too  many  would  have 
shown,  on  the  introduction  to  a  drawing-room  of  a  couple  of  dirty  fellows, 
she  was  in  perfect  contrast  to  all  this  prevalent  pride.  If  I  had  not  seen 
the  tears  in  her  eyes,  I  do  not  know  that  I  should  have  shed  any  myself. 
I  scarcely  know  of  an  event  in  all  my  checkered  life  that  has  made  so  in- 
19 


ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

delible  an  impression.  A  thousand  times  I  have  said  within  my  heart,  "A 
thousand  blessings  rest  upon  thee  !"  I  much  regret  that  I  do  not  know  tha 
name  of  our  kind  entertainers.  I  have  never  been  in  Rhode  Island  since ; 
but  if  I  were  in  the  same  street  again,  I  believe  I  coull  point  out  the  house, 
if  it  is  still  standing.  Our  breakfast  was  of  chocolate,  ham,  eggs,  and  warm 
bread  j'ist  from  the  oven.  It  was  consoling  that  none  were  present  at  the 
table  but  ourselves,  as  it  would  have  been  very  mortifying  to  persons  in  our 
situation.  For  months  we  had  not  made  a  comfortable  meal  :  our  appetitea 
were  keen  :  we  were  well  nigh  famished,  and  consequently,  we  were  in 
great  danger  from  over-eating.  My  uncle  gave  me  a  gentle  jog  to  forbear j 
but  as  he  continued  eating,  I  had  the  politeness  to  keep  him  company. 
When  he  left  off,  I  also  quit.  We  could  only  say  to  our  kind  host  and 
hostess,  "  We  are  quite  obliged  to  you,"  without  in  the  least  doubting  that 
we  were  as  welcome  as  we  were  thankful. 

The  next  thing  was  to  get  to  Providence.  We  were  moneyless  ;  but  the 
master  of  a  packet  agreed  to  take  our  hammocks  which  we  brought  from 
the  hospital-ship.  It  was  nearly  night  when  we  reached  Providence.  We 
had  but  little  clothing,  and  rolling  up  our  blankets  for  packs,  and  stringing 
them  to  our  backs,  we  stepped  on  shore.  In  our  forlorn  condition,  we  had 
no  thought  of  sleeping  in  a  bed  ;  and  we  were.a  hundred  miles  from  home. 
We  stalked  up  the  street  in  Providence,  wondering  where  we  should  find  a 
lodging.  Yet  this  anxiety  was  but  trifling,  compared  to  our  exultation  at 
the  thought  of  being  in  the  land  of  liberty,  and  beyond  the  reach  of  British 
tyranny.  We  had  not  walked  twenty  rods  from  the  wharf,  when  a  gentle 
man  standing  in  the  door  of  a  drugstore  hailed  us.  "  Where  are  you  from, 
friends  ? — from  New  York  ?  "  "  Yes,  sir."  "  Don't  you  want  some  refresh 
ment  ?  Stop  in  that  gate,  and  go  into  the  house."  The  gentleman  met 
us  in  the  kitchen  with  a  bottle  and  a  glass,  and  gave  us  a  cordial.  He  then 
ordered  some  victuals  on  the  table,  and  requested  us  to  eat ;  which  offer 
we  were  not  slow  to  accept.  We  thanked  our  benefactor,  and  went  on  our 
journey.  We  had  gone  but  a  few  rods,  when  a  gentleman  met  my  uncle, 
who  was  a  little  ahead  of  me,  and  viewed  him  closely.  He  then  cast  his 
eye  on  me,  and  having  looked  steadily  for  a  moment,  passed  me.  After 
going  several  rods,  he  turned  quickly  round,  and  followed  me,  putting  a 
dollar  in  my  hand,  saying,  "  You  are  from  New  York — here,  divide  this 
between  you."  He  turned  in  haste,  and  would  hardly  hear  me  say,  "I 
thank  you."  I  thought  he  seemed  half  inclined  to  give  something  to  my 
uncle,  when  he  met  him,  for  he  had  his  hands  in  his  small  clothes'  pockets, 
but  he  did  not.  We  walked  on  for  half  a  mile  :  it  was  now  sunset,  and  we 
thought  of  trying  for  a  lodging,  but  did  not  expect  more  than  to  lie  on  tho 
floor  by  a  fire.  I  therefore  knocked  at  a  door,  when  a  young  woman 
appeared,  looking  quite  astonished.  "Madam,  can  we  lie  by  your  fire 
to-night  ? "  inquired  I.  Without  answering,  she  cried  out,  "  Mother,  I 
really  believe  these  men  came  from  the  same  place  Jack  Robinson  did  ! " 
The  old  lady  then  came  rushing  into  the  entry  with  one  or  two  well-grown 
girls,  and  began  rapidly  questioning  us.  After  answering  some  of  her  ques 
tions,  I  began  to  urge  some  of  my  own  ;  and  the  first  was  to  know  where 
this  Jack  Robinson  lived  ;  for,  as  soon  as  the  girl  mentioned  his  name,  I  had 
an  impression  that  we  should  have  good  quarters  for  the  night;  and  I 


OF  AMERICANS.  293 

recollected  a  prisoner  of  that  name,  though  I  had  no  acquaintance  with  him. 
They  then  pointed  to  the  house  hard  by.  We  almost  broke  away  from  tha 
good  woman  and  her  girls,  and  called  at  Mr.  Robinson's  shop  door.  The 
good  man  came  to  the  door  himself,  and  as  soon  as  we  inquired  if  Jack 
Robinson  lived  there,  the  good  old  gentleman  exclaimed,  "God  bless  you ! 
Why  here  is  some  more  of  them  !  Why,  he  is  my  dear  son  ;  come  in, 
con.e  in  !  Why,  Jack  has  just  got  home  :  we  thought  he  was  dead,  and 
never  expected  to  see  him  again  !  Corne  in,  you  dear  souls,  come  in ! " 
The  tears  ran  freely  down  his  cheeks  ;  his  house  was  open  to  receive  us,  and 
his  wife  and  daughters  were  equally  friendly.  Jack  was  as  lively  as  a  bird ; 
and  well  he  might  be,  for  he  had  not  been  sick.  When  we  were  about  to 
retire  for  the  night,  we  requested  that  the  carpet  might  be  removed,  that  we 
might  lie  before  the  fire  in  our  blankets.  "0  no,  you  must  go  to  bed." 
We  objected  that  we  were  not  in  a  fit  condition  ;  and  finally,  the  old  gentle 
man  consented  that  we  should  lie  on  the  floor,  bat  would  not  agree  to  have 
the  carpet  removed,  as  we  desired.  After  breakfast  next  morning,  we  took 
leave  of  this  happy  family.  Our  progress  was  only  about  four  miles  that 
day,  and  on  the  next,  but  one  ;  for  the-  weather  was  cold,  and  we  very 
sensibly  felt  the  consequences  of  eating  too  freely.  At  Dr.  Mann's  tavern, 
his  sons  gave  us  some  money.  When  we  were  within  ten  miles  of  Provi 
dence,  we  called  at  a  red  house  on  the  left  side  of  the  road.  Here  we  were 
allowed  to  stay  all  night,  but  were  expected  to  pay  for  our  entertainment. 
We  found  we  could  get  horses  at  this  place.  The  landlord,  a  wealthy 
farmer,  had  two  sons,  rather  stupid,  but  fond  of  money.  There  wer6  also 
one  or  two  maiden  ladies  in  the  family,  and  a  family  of  negroes.  We 
plainly  told  them  our  situation,  and  that  we  only  wished  to  lie  by  their 
kitchen  fire.  The  landlady  furnished  us  an  economical  supper  :  her  gene 
rosity  was  quite  in  contrast  with  that  of  the  baker,  the  apothecary,  and  the 
Robinson  family.  We  bargained  with  the  close  old  man  and  his  sons,  to 
take  us  to  a  certain  village  about  twelve  miles  distant;  but  I  am  not  able  to 
say  whether  it  was  Wai  pole,  Dedham,  or  Attleborough.  The  money  we 
got  from  Dr.  Mann's  sons,  went  as  part  payment  for  our  horse  fare  and 
scanty  supper.  After  all  the  family  had  retired,  however,  the  negroes 
began,  in  whispers,  to  be  very  inquisitive,  as  to  whether  they  were  to  have, 
their  liberty,  with  others,  at  the  close  of  the  war.  The  old  black  woman 
went  on  to  say  how  faithfully  she  had  served  her  masser  and  missey,  and  how 
deblish  covetous,  they  were:  "Dey  would  starve  poor  negro.  Dey  old 
masser  and  missey  had  money  enough,  but  dey  am  too  stingy  to  lay  out  a 
copper ;  and  poor  negro  hab  to  steal  bittles,  or  else  dey  would  starve."  The 
old  woman  granted  herself  the  liberty  to  lay  aside  some  provisions  for  her 
self  and  children's  supper.  When  the  family  were  asleep,  she  made  us 
welcome  to  take  supper  with  them,  and  we  did  not  need  urging. 

The  next  day  we  mounted  our  horses  and  pursued  our  journey.  I  rode 
a  small,  gentle  beast,  but  could  not  bear  to  have  the  animal  go  out  of  a 
walk.  The  old  bachelor  who  went  with  us  was  in  a  hurry  to  return,  and  in 
the  course  of  the  day,  gave  my  horse  a  clap,  which  started  him  into  a  brisk 
trot,  which  caused  me  to  double  down  upon  the  saddle,  and  check  the 
reins  as  quick  as  possible,  for  the  severe  jolting  almost  took  my  life.  As 
soon  as  I  recovered  breath,  I  assailed  the  old  fellow  with  such  an  avalanche 


294  ADVENTURES  ANt>  ACHIEVEMENTS 

of  hard  words  that  he  turned  pale,  and  attempted  no  more  to  drive 
my  horse. 

It  was  late  in  the  afternoon  when  we  reached  the  village.  There  had 
been  a  town-meeting  that  day,  and  as  there  were  many  in  the  town  who 
did  not  live  on  the  public  road,  there  was  no  small  curiosity  manifested  at 
seeing  such  queer  objects  as  ourselves,  pass  through  the  street.  None 
were  intoxicated,  yet  it  would  be  strange  indeed  if  some  of  them  were  not 
merry,  especially  as  this  was  the  first  town-meeting  since  the  jo;  ful  news  of 
peace.  Among  the  crowd  were  many  old  men,  who,  for  the  last  seven 
years,  had  assembled  to  talk  of  their  country's  adversity.  They  soon  formed 
a  circle  round  us,  and  were  extremely  inquisitive  to  know  all  about  us,  and 
how  we  had  fared.  We  gratified  their  patriotic  curiosity,  while  the  bowl 
went  round  ;  but  we  cautiously  avoided  drinking,  having  already  suffered  so 
much  from  over-eating,  after  the  long  famine  we  endured  while  prisoners. 
At  length  an  old  patriot  made  a  motion  that  a  little  contribution  be  made 
to  assist  us  on  our  way  home.  A  handful  of  silver  change,  amounting  to 
about  three  dollars,  was  collected,  and  the  landlord  agreed  to  give  us 
supper,  and  lodging  in  his  bar-room. 

On  our  way  next  day,  we  called  at  an  elegant  house  in  Roxbury,  to 
warm  and  rest  ourselves.  The  lady  had  a  dinner-party  from  Boston,  but  she 
came  out  into  the  kitchen  richly  dressed,  exclaiming,  "  Bless  me  !  where  did 
these  poor  creatures  come  from  ! "  Then  turning  to  us,  "  Why,  you  must  be 
in  a  suffering  condition  !  Don't  you  want  something  to  eat  ?"  Saying  to 
the  servant,  "  Do  get  some  wine  for  them — get  me  some  eggs ;  let  the«i 
take  an  egg  with  a  little  wine:  it  will  be  comforting  to  their  stomach'. 
They  must  have  some  victuals — girls  do  set  the  table."  My  uncle  had  a 
violent  pain  in  one  eye,  and  lost  the  sight  of  it  for  awhile.  The  good  lady 
pitied  him  much,  prescribed  for  him,  and  had  it  bound  up.  WTe  feasted  on 
roast-turkey,  and  other  bounties,  with  which  her  table  was  loaded,  and  with 
man}'  kind  wishes,  went  on  our  way.  At  Boston,  we  received  many  atten 
tions  from  Mr.  Drown,  a  gentleman  of  about  seventy-five,  and  a  high  whig. 
His  estate  had  suffered  much  while  the  British  were  in  Boston.  The  old 
gentleman  said  he  "  was  born  fifty  years  too  soon,  to  see  the  glory  of  Amer 
ica."  He  did  not  suffer  us  to  go  penniless,  and  called  on  some  of  his 
friends  to  assist  us,  though  we  still  had  most  of  the  money  collected  for  us 
at  the  town-meeting. 

We  hired  horses  to  take  us  on  by  short  stages  to  Hampton  Falls.  Here 
I  had  to  part  with  my  uncle.  He  had  a  journey  of  twenty  miles  to  Kpping, 
and  I  had  about  fifteen  miles  to  travel.  My  younger  brother,  Samuel, 
hearing  that  I  was  on  the  road,  met  me  several  mile*  from  home,  and 
brought  me  a  horse  ;  but  I  was  still  so  weak  that  I  could  not  bear  to  let 
him  go  faster  than  a  walk. 

Thus  it  pleased  u  merciful  Providence  to  return  me  to  my  afflicted 
mother.  She  wept  bitterly  to  see  h<-r  po«»r  emaciated  son.  She  was  still  a 
mourner  for  Thomas.  My  dear  sisters  were  all  affection.  When  ray- 
brother,  who  took  me  into  another  room  to  divest  me  of  my  clothing,  saw 
my  bones  projecting  here  and  there,  he  fainted.  I  was  now  taken  very  ill, 
but  had  ever}'  attention.  -  It  was  most  surprising  how  I  could  have  pur- 
formed  a  journey  of  several  hundred  miles,  so  feeble  and  ill-clad  as  1  was, 


OF  AMERICANS.  295 

and  in  the  depth  of  winter.  But  a  reaction  now  took  place,  and  I  had  a 
long  and  severe  illness.  In  the  spring,  however,  I  began  to  amend  very 
slowly. 

In  the  spring  of  1785,  I  made  another  voyage  to  the  West  Indies,  in  the 
sloop  Randolph.  We  discharged  our  cargo  tit  Trinidad,  and  on  our  return, 
touched  at  Barbadoes  and  St.  Eustatia  to  purchase  provisions,  ours  having 
been  exhausted  in  our  long  passage,  and  we  arrived  in  Portsmouth  in 
November. 

In  the  following  spring,  I  made  yet  another  voyage,  in  the  ship  Lydia, 
commanded  by  my  old  friend  Captain  Tibbits,  to  Lisbon,  by  way  of  Wil 
mington,  N.  C.,  where  we  took  a  cargo  of  lumber  and  turpentine.  Nothing 
uncommon  occurred  till  we  reached  the  coast  of  Portugal.  We  stood  along 
the  coast  under  easy  sail,  not  wishing  to  approach  near  the  land.  The 
Algerines,  at  this  period,  were  committing  depredations  on  our  commerce. 
Not  long  before  this,  Captain  O'Brien  was  taken  by  these  pirates,  with  all 
his  crew,  and  kept  in  slavery  many  years.  We  had  good  reason  to  be  in 
fear  of  them,  and  kept  a  bright  look  out. 

One  night,  about  twelve  o'clock,  as  I  lay  in  my  berth,  I  heard  what 
seemed  the  distant  sound  of  a  human  voice.  At  this  time  the  captain  was 
on  deck  talking.  Listening  again,  I  heard  the  voice  again  ;  and  now  felt 
greatly  alarmed  ;  and  soon  discovered  that  the  watch  on  deck  heard  the 
same  sound.  The  sound  became  more  and  more  distinct,  and  neared  us 
rapidly.  We  were  greatly  alarmed.  It  was  now  time  to  be  up  and  doing. 
All  hands  were  immediately  on  deck.  There  was  no  question  that  the 
sound  came  from  an  Algerine  galley,  within  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards 
of  us.  She  soon  hailed  us  in  different  languages.  Captain  Tibbitts,  who 
had  the  helm,  gave  them  evasive  answers.  Never  were  people  more 
alarmed  than  we ;  never  did  a  crew  make  sail  quicker.  We  set  our  top 
gallants,  hauled  our  wind  a  little,  and  got  out  our  studding-sails.  By  the 
time  we  could  do  this,  our  pursuer  was  within  twenty  yards  of  us  !  She 
feigned  to  be  in  distress,  and  designed  to  decoy  us;  for,  having  lain  under 
the  land  without  any  sails  set,  she  was  not  discovered  by  us  in  the  daylight, 
while  all  our  movements  had  been  closely  watched  :  and  the  maneuver  was, 
in  sea  phrase,  to  run  athwart  of  our  fore-foot.  Being  to  the  leeward,  how 
ever,  she  had  to  depend  on  oars.  The  original  design  was  doubtless  to 
board  us,  but  when  we  were  likely  to  shoot  by,  to  decoy  us.  Not  a  rag  of 
sail  did  she  show  till  she  had  completely  gained  our  wake,  and  the  chase 
was  made  with  a  full  press  of  sail.  But  our  ship  was  an  excellent  sailer, 
and  soon  began  to  leave  her ;  and  after  a  brief  chase,  finding  she  was  no 
match  for  us,  she  tooknin  sails,  and  the  Algerine  pirate  was  soon  lost  sight 
of.  Thus  by  the  mercy  of  God,  we  escaped  murder  or  slavey.  The  next 
day  we  got  into  Lisbon,  and  reported  the  particulars.  A  government  brig 
immediately  went  in  pursuit ;  with  what  success,  I  never  learned. 

Among  the  numerous  objects  of  interest,  was  the  destruction  of  Lisbon  by 
earthquakes.  Our  ship  lay  near  a  large  castle  surrounded  bv  water,  whicU 
was  said  to  have  been  sunk  by  an  earthquake  ;  and  our  boat  often  passed 
over  other  sunken  places.  I  also  noticed  tokens  of  those  awful  calamities 
on  shore.  What  greatly  astonished  me,  was  the  hundreds  of  wagon  loads 
of  fruits  of  all  kinds  piled  up  in  the  market  square — grapes  of  many 


296  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

varieties,  figs,  oranges,  lemons,  everything,  in  incredible  abundance.  Hun- 
dreds  of  females  in  companies  were  riding  on  jacks,  with  large  hampers  of 
fruit  slung  on  each  side,  going  to  market.  It  was  curious  to  walk  through 
the  market  and  see  the  great  variety  and  abundance  of  fish.  Fishermen 
had  their  families  in  boats,  and  I  doubted  whether  many  of  them  had  any 
other  habitation.  In  their  boats  they  kept  a  small  tub,  with  some  gravel  in 
it,  and  a  small  iron  grate,  on  which  they  put  coal,  and  cooked  their  fish  in 
earthen  pots.  When  they  came  from  selling  fish  in  the  market,  they  would 
bring  large  water-melons  in  their  arras,  and  eat  them  with  stewed  fish. 
They  made  free  use  of  raw  onions,  some  of  which  were  as  large  as  a  com 
mon  saucer,  and  only  an  inch  and  a  half  thick.  I  did  not  notice  that  they 
had  any  other  vegetable,  bread,  or  meat. 

In  one  street,  called  "  Rag  Fair,"  all  the  shops  were  occupied  by  Jews 
who  sold  clothing.  The  moment  one  enters  this  odd-looking  vicinage,  his 
attention  is  arrested  by  the  vociferations  of  these  Israelites,  standing  in  their 
shop-doors.  They  beckoned  from  both  sides  of  the  street,  to  inveigle  a 
passenger  inside.  To  effect  this  object,  so  dear  to  their  hearts,  all  sorts  of 
gestures  and  maneuvers  are  brought  into  play.  When  the  door  of  any  one 
of  them  is  approached,  he  is  beset  and  surrounded  by  a  dozen  of  these 
shysters,  all  fully  determined  to  drive  a  bargain.  When  any  one  succeeds 
in  getting  a  person  inside,  he  is  shown  articles  in  great  variety  ;  this,  that, 
and  the  other,  is  urged  on  him  :  the  goods  are  cheapened  again  and  again. 
"Here,  take  this  for  so  much,"  and  it  is  next  to  impossible  to  get  out  of 
their  clutches  without  buying  something ;  and  whatever  it  is,  the  buyer  is 
done  for.  On  leaving  the  shop  he  is  sure  to  be  seized  by  a  dozen  more,  and 
happy  is  he,  if  he  escapes  their  importunities,  and  gets  into  the  street  again 
with  a  whole  skin.  We  often  passed  through  this  street,  for  no  other  object 
but  to  see  those  unmitigated  sharpers  display  their  peculiar  cunning,  and 
tricks  of  trade. 

One  evening  about  sunset,  as  I  was  going  on  board  the  ship,  I  saw  about 
fifty  men  carrying  a  cable  on  their  shoulders  ;  and  when  a  certain  bell 
began  to  ring,  a  large  number  of  them  left  their  burdens  to  others,  and  for 
the  space  of  a  minute  attended  to  their  devotions,  crossing  themselves,  and 
telling  their  beads.  It  was  curious  to  notice  how  patiently  the  others  stood 
under  their  heavy  burden,  until  their  fellows  returned. 

The  streets  were  very  narrow,  but  there  was  here  and  there  an  open 
square.  At  one  of  the  largest  in  the  city,  in  one  corner,  a  wax  statue  of  the 
Virgin  was  placed,  about  ten  feet  from  the  ground,  inclosed  in  glass,  and 
with  the  infant  Saviour  in  her  arms.  All  the  Portuguese,  gentle  or  simple, 
were  careful  to  take  off  their  hats  when  they  passed  on  that  side  of  the 
street  where  the  image  stood.  As  for  me,  having  no  proclivities  of  that 
sort,  I  took  care  to  keep  on  the  other  side.  One  day  a  funeral  procession 
came  along,  and  having  the  curiosity  to  examine  it,  I  stepped  into  a  shoe 
maker's  shop.  Suddenly  I  found  a  fellow  fumbling  about  my  head  with  a 
long  pole,  with  which  he  nearly  uncapt  me,  and  would  have  succeeded 
if  I  had  not  held  it  on,  might  and  main.  This  caused  the  fellow  to  be 
more  resolute,  and  I  got  some  pretty  hard  thumps  on  my  head.  The  man 
of  the  shop  then  gave  me  the  hint  to  take  off  my  hat,  which  I  was  not  slow 
to  do,  when  I  knew  the  cause  of  his  holy  rage.  I  afterward  ascertained 


OF  AMERICANS.  297 

that  it  gave  them  great  offense  to  remain  covered  in  the  presence  of  then 
sacred  images,  pictures,  and  what  not.     We  live  and  learn,  thought  I. 

On  another  occasion  I  noticed  a  large  collection  of  people  near  a  market- 
cquare.  Drawing  near,  I  observed  a  corpse  on  a  bier,  and  a  bald-headed 
friar  standing  at  the  head,  in  a  tone  of  mock-solemnity,  repeating  over  and 
over  again  a  long  sentence  in  .some  unknown  tongue.  On  the  stomach  of 
the  corpse,  which  was  a  female,  was  a  large  earthen  basin.  The  bosom 
was  bare,  and  just  above  the  left  breast,  a  deep  wound  had  been  inflicted 
with  a  large  dagger.  The  priest  and  the  Portuguese  spectators  looked  sad, 
and  a  sad  sight  it  was.  One  and  another  would  drop  some  change  into  the 
basin,  which  contained  about  three  dollars,  which  the  priest  appeared 
anxious  to  increase.  We  were  informed  that  the  husband  of  this  woman 
committed  the  horrid  deed,  having  suspected  his  wife's  chastity  ;  for  she 
had  been  walking  in  the  evening  with  another  man.  The  husband  had 
followed,  and  killed  her  with  the  dagger  he  had  concealed  in  his  coat- 
sleeve.  The  murderer  then  fled  to  the  church,  and  put  his  finger  in  the 
key-hole,  which  act  protected  him  !  The  use  made  of  the  money  is  for 
any  intelligent  reader  to  imagine. 

But  it  is  time  to  think  of  returning  to  my  native  land.  We  took  part  of 
a  cargo  at  Lisbon,  and  sailed  to  St.  Ubes  for  the  remainder,  and  were  con 
veyed  off  the  coast  with  a  number  of  other  vessels,  by  a  Portuguese  frigate. 
On  our  passage  homeward  we  had  tempestuous  weather.  It  was  November. 
We  were  several  times  driven  back  by  fierce  winds  ;  our  sails  were  split, 
and  we  were  out  of  fuel  and  provisions.  Our  caboose  was  carried  over 
board,  whence  we  were  in  great  danger  of  following.  My  boxes  of  chocolate 
and  some  other  merchandise,  which  I  took  as  an  adventure  at  Lisbon,  I 
could  not  sell  to  advantage,  and  so  I  had  to  keep  it  for  a  home  market. 
This  bad  luck,  however,  saved  us  from  absolute  starvation,  having  become 
reduced  to  a  quarter  allowance  ;  and  we  had  a  pint  of  chocolate  twice  a  day, 
in  consequence  of  my  untoward  luck  in  not  being  able  to  sell  it !  In  bad 
weather  we  had  to  pump  all  the  time,  as  the  ship  was  heavily  laden.  Once 
she  leaked  so  much  that  we  despaired  of  freeing  her,  and  soon  expected 
to  find  ocean  graves;  but  the  same  good,  and  gracious,  and  ever-watchful 
Providence,  whose  mercies  had  followed  me  all  my  days,  in  all  my 
wanderings,  and  ingratitude,  and  forgetfulness  of  Him,  had  better  things 
in  store  for  me,  and  designed  me  for  some  useful  purposes  then  to  me 
unknown. 

We  reached  the  desired  haven  of  Portsmouth,  my  native  home,  in  safety, 
to  the  great  joy  of  my  surviving  friends.  My  uncle  Weymouth  soon  paid 
me  a  visit.  He  had  not  been  at  sea  since  his  deliverance  from  the  Old 
Jersey.  To  me  it  seemed  a  merciful  Providence  that  I  had  been  induced 
by  the  earnest  entreaties  of  my  uncle  to  abandon  all  thought  of  any  future 
voyage,  and  settle  down  with  him  in  the  country  on  a  farm,  in  New 
Hampshire. 


The  preceding  narrative  re   not  without   a  wholesome   moral^  while  it 
affords  many  vivid  pictures  of  an  age  of  heroic  suffering,  in  the  cause  of 


298  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

Liberty.  We  may  well  wonder  at  our  hero's  strong  propensity  for  sea« 
roving.  While  nearly  all  his  early  associates  passed  away  "like  the  swift 
ships"  on  a  tempestuous  sea,  he  was  spared  to  more  useful  ends.  His  tale 
of  hardship  and  almost  incredible  suffering,  is  left  riot  so  much  for  imita 
tion,  as  instruction  and  admonition.  Not  till  he  became  weary  in  his  lorg 
and  vain  chase  of  phantoms,  did  he  give  them  up.  His  experience  was  of 
much  value  in  after  life,  when  he  became  a  successful  minister  of  tie 
gospel.  Ho  died  in  1831,  at  the  age  of  seventy. 


NAREATIVE 


OF    THE 


CRUISE     OF     THE    ESSEX, 


A  UNITED    STATES  FRIGATE.  UNDER  THE    COMMAND    OF    CAPTAIN    DAVID    PORTER,  MADI 
TO  THE  PACIFIC  OCEAX,  IN  THE  YEARS  1812.  18l3,  AND  1814,  THE    PERIOD  OF   THE 

LAST   WAR   WITH    GREAT    BRITAIN. 


THE  three  years'  cruise  of  the  United  States  Frigate  Essex  to  the  Pacific 
Ocean,  in  the  last  war  with  Great  Britain,  was  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
enterprises  in  the  history  of  the  naval  marine  of  this  or  any  other  nation. 
She  was  the  first  American  man-of-war  that  ever  weathered  the  storms  of 
the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  the  first  that  ever  unfurled  the  star-spangled 
banner  over  the  blue  waters  of  the  Pacific. 

The  journal  of  this  cruise,  by  Captain  Porter,  the  bold  and  skillful  com 
mander  of  the  Essex,  was  published  in  two  volumes  in  the  year  1815,  and 
is  replete  with  novel  and  fascinating  adventures.  From  it  this  narrative  is 
mainly  derived. 

The  Essex  was  a  ship  of  considerable  note  in  our  navy.  She  was  a  small 
frigate  of  thirty-two  guns,  and  was  built  in  the  year  1799.  She  was  em 
ployed  in  the  war  with  Tripoli ;  and  in  that  with  Great  Britain,  had  the 
first  successful  combat  with  the  enemy.  This  event  occurred  in  the  sum 
mer  Of  1812^  when,  after  an  engagement  of  eight  minutes,  off  our  Atlantic 
coast,  his  majesty's  ship  Alert  struck  her  flag  to  the  Essex,  then  under  the 
command  of  Captain  Porter.  It  is  true  that  she  was  far  inferior  to  the 
American  ;  but  so  exaggerated  had  become  the  opinion  of  the  British  prow 
ess,  that  impossibilities  were  sometimes  looked  for,  and  hence  the  feebleness 
of  her  resistance  excited  surprise. 

In  the  succeeding  autumn,  the  Essex,  Constitution,  and  Hornet  were 
assigned  to  the  command  of  Commodore  Bainbridge.  The  last  two  were 
lying  in  the  port  of  Boston,  and  the  Essex  in  the  Delaware.  On  the  26th 
of  October,  the  last  two  got  to  sea;  orders  having  been  sent  previously  to 
Captain  Porter,  to  rendezvous  at  Port  Praya,  in  the  island  of  St.  Jago ;  and 
secondly  at  Fernando  Noronha.  Other  places  were  also  pointed  out  to  him, 
until  a  time  mentioned,  when,  if  he  failed  to  fall  in  with  the  other  vessels, 
he  was  at  liberty  to  follow  his  own  discretion.  As  he  did  fail  in  his 
atteirpts,  his  independent  action  resulted  in  the  memorable  cruise  which 
vre  here  outline. 

In  obedience  to  instructions,  Captain  Porter  left  the  capes  of  Delaware  on 
the  28th  of  October,  1812.  He  had  a  very  full  crew,  319  officers  and  men. 


300  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

and  from  the  muster  roll  before  us,  it  seems  that  they  must  nearly  all  have 
been  natives  of  the  United  States,  as  is  indicated  by  the  names.  Another 
fact  is  worthy  of  mentioning  in  this  connection,  as  showing  a  custom  of  that 
day  :  out  of  the  whole  number,  two  hundred  and  eighty-eight  had  not  any 
middle  names,  and  of  the  thirty-one  who  had,  eighteen  were  officers. 

The  vessel  was  well  supplied  with  stores,  and  put  in  the  best  possible 
state  for  service.  A  double  supply  of  clothing  was  provided,  and  fruit, 
vegetables,  and  lime  juice,  as  anti-scorbutics.  "We  left  the  capes  of  the 
Delaware,"  says  Porter,  "  with  the  wind  from  the  northward,  which 
gradually  hauled  around  to  the  westward,  blowing  fresh,  with  thick 
weather,  and  it  was  with  difficulty  we  were  enabled  to  weather  the 
dangerous  shoals  of  Chincoteague.  On  the  morning  of  the  29th,  the  wind 
hauled  around  to  the  westward,  and  increased  to  a  gale.  Got  the  ship 
under  snug  sail,  and  secured  our  masts  by  setting  up  the  rigging,  which, 
being  new,  had  stretched  considerably.  The  ship  being  very  deep,  we 
found  her  unusually  laborsome  and  uncomfortable  :  her  straining,  occasioned 
by  her  deep  rolling,  opened  her  water-ways,  and  kept  the  berth-deck  full  of 
water,  damaged  a  great  deal  of  our  provisions  stowed  on  it,  and  wet  all  the 
bedding  and  clothes  of  the  crew;  found  also  the  coal-hole  full  of  water; 
found  a  leak  somewhere  between  the  cutwater  and  stem,  but  in  other 
respects  found  the  ship  tight;  for,  after  scuttling  the  birth-deck  and  bulk 
head  of  the  coal-hole,  found  we  could  easily  keep  her  free  by  pumping  a 
few  minutes  every  two  hours. 

Previous  to  leaving  the  river,  the  crew  had  been  put  on  allowance  of 
half  a  gallon  of  water  each  man  per  day  ;  and  being  desirous  of  making  our 
provisions  hold  out  as  long  as  possible,  having  views,  at  the  same  time, 
with  regard  to  the  health  of  the  crew,  I  caused  the  allowance  of  the  bread 
to  be  reduced  one  half,  and  issued  in  lieu  of  the  remainder  half  a  pound  of 
potatoes,  or  the  same  quantity  of  apples.  Every  other  article  of  provisions 
was  reduced  one  third,  excepting  rum,  of  which  the  full  allowance  was 
served  out  raw  to  the  cook  of  each  mess  (the  crew  being  divided  into  messes 
of  eight,  and  a  cook  being  allowed  to  each),  who  were  accountable  for  the 
faithful  distribution  of  it.  For  the  undrawn  provisions  the  purser's  steward 
was  directed  to  issue  due-bills,  with  assurances  on  my  part  that  they  should 
be  paid  the  amount  on  our  arrival  in  port.  Orders  were  given  to  lose  no 
opportunity  of  catching  rain-water  for  the  stock,  of  which  we  had  a  large 
quantity  on  board,  every  mess  in  the  ship  being  supplied  with  pigs  and 
poultry.  The  allowance  of  candles  was  reduced  one  half,  and  economy 
established  respecting  the  consumption  of  wood  and  the  expenditure  of  the 
ship's  stores.  Habits  of  cleanliness  and  care  with  respect  to  clothing  were 
strongly  recommended  to  the  officers  and  crew.  I  now  gave  a  general 
pardon  for  all  offenses  committed  on  board  ;  recommended  the  strictest 
attention  to  the  discipline  of  the  ship ;  held  out  prospects  of  reward  to  thoso 
who  should  be  vigilant  in  the  performance  of  their  duty  ;  and  gave  assur 
ances  that  the  first  man  I  should  feel  myself  under  the  necessity  of  punish 
ing  should  receive  three  dozen  lashes,  expressing,  however,  a  hope  that 
punishment  during  the  cruise  would  be  altogether  unnecessary.  I  directed, 
as  a  standing  regulation,  that  the  ship  should  be  fumigated  in  every  part 
each  morning,  by  pouring  vinegar  on  a  red-hot  shot,  and  confided  to  Lieuten- 


OF  AMERICANS.  301 

ant  Finch  the  superintendance  of  the  berth-deck,  in  order  to  preserve  it  in  a 
cleanly  and  wholesome  state.  Lime  being  provided  in  tight  casks,  for  the 
purpose  of  white-washing,  and  sand  for  dry-rubbing  it,  and  orders  given  not 
to  wet  it  if  there  should  be  a  possibility  of  avoiding  it,  a  comfortable  place 
was  fitted  up  for  the  accommodation  of  the  sick  on  the  berth-deck  ;  cleats 
were  put  up  for  the  slinging  as  many  hammocks  as  possible  on  the  gun- 
deck  ;  and  orders  given  that  no  wet  clothes  or  wet  provisions  should  bo 
permitted  to  remain  on  the  berth-deck,  or  that  the  crew  should  be  per 
mitted  to  eat  anywhere  but  on  the  gun-deck,  except  in  bad  weather. 
Having  established  the  above  and  other  regulations,  as  regarded  the  health 
and  comfort  of  the  crew,  I  exhorted  the  officers  to  keep  them  occupied  con 
stantly  during  working  hours,  in  some  useful  employment,  and  directed 
that  between  the  hours  of  four  and  six  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  should  be 
allowed  to  them  for  amusement,  when  the  duties  of  the  ship  would  admit. 

Prior  to  the  pilot's  leaving  us,  I  caused  him  to  deliver  into  my  possession 
all  letters  which  might  have  been  given  him  by  the  crew,  apprehensive 
that,  from  some  accidental  cause,  they  might  have  become  possessed  of  a 
knowledge  of  our  destination  ;  they  all  however  contained  only  conjectures, 
except  one,  the  writer  of  which  asserted,  as  he  stated  from  good  authority, 
that  we  were  bound  on  the  coast  of  Africa  :  as  some  of  their  conjectures 
were  not  far  from  being  correct,  I  thought  it  best  to  destroy  the  whole  of 
them,  and  forbid  the  pilot's  taking  any  more  without  my  consent.  To  the 
officers  who  were  desirous  of  writing  to  their  friends,  I  enjoined  particularly 
not  to  mention  the  movements  of  the  ship  in  any  way." 

On  the  23d  of  November,  the  Essex  crossed  the  equator.  The  ceremony 
of  crossing  the  line  was  duly  performed.  "  We  were  honored,"  says  Porter, 
"by  a  visit  from  the  gods  of  the  ocean,  accompanied  by  Amphitrite  and  a 
numerous  retinue  of  imps,  barbers,  etc.,  in  his  usual  style  of  visiting,  and  in 
the  course  of  the  afternoon  all  the  novices  of  the  ship's  company  were  in 
itiated  into  his  mysteries.  Neptune,  however,  and  most  of  his  suite,  paid 
their  devotions  so  frequently  to  Bacchus,  that  before  the  ceremony  of 
christening  was  half  gone  through,  their  godships  were  unable  to  stand  ; 
the  business  was  therefore  intrusted  to  the  subordinate  agents,  who  per 
formed  both  the  shaving  and  washing  with  as  little  regard  to  tenderness  as 
his  majesty  would  have  done.  On  the  whole,  however,  they  got  through 
the  business  with  less  disorder  and  more  good  humor  than  I  expected  ;  and 
although  some  were  most  unmercifully  scraped,  the  only  satisfaction  sought 
was  that  of  shaving  others  in  their  turn  with  new  invented  tortures." 

On  the  27th,  the  Essex  entered  the  harbor  of  Port  Praya,  in  the  Portu 
guese  island  of  St.  Jago.  The  town  contained  about  three  thousand  in 
habitants,  of  whom  not  over  thirty  were  whites,  the  rest  being  negroes, 
slave  and  free.  The  soldiers  numbered  some  400  men ;  the  officers  were 
principally  mulatoes,  and  their  priest  was  an  oily  mannered  gentleman  of  the 
negro  race.  The  soldiers  were  generally  naked  from  the  waist  upward,  and 
in  the  whole  place  there  were  not  five  serviceable  muskets.  Most  all 
of  them  were  without  any  locks,  their  stocks  broken  off  at  the  breech,  their 
barrels  tied  into  the  stocks  with  a  leather  thong,  or  a  cord  made  of  the 
fibers  of  the  cocoa-nut ;  and  it  was  no  uncommon  thing  to  see  a  naked  negro 
mounting  guard  shouldering  a  musket  barrel  only.  Their  cavalry  were  in 


302  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

a   corresponding   style,    mounted    on    jackasses,    and    armed    with   broken 
swords. 

The  Essex  remained  several  days  getting  on  board  refreshments  and 
water.  It  is  supposed  that  there  had  been  collected  on  board  not  less  than 
one  hundred  thousand  oranges,  together  with  a  large  quantity  of  cocoa-nuts, 
plantains,  lemons,  limes,  casada,  etc.  Every  mess  on  board  were  also  sup 
plied  with  pigs,  sheep,  fowls,  turkeys,  goats,  etc.,  which  were  purchased 
very  cheap ;  fowls  at  three  dollars  per  dozen,  and  fine  turkeys  at  one  dollar 
each  ;  many  of  the  seamen  also  furnished  themselves  with  monkeys 
and  young  goats  as  pets,  and  when  they  sailed  from  thence,  the  ship  bore 
no  slight  resemblance,  as  respected  the  different  kind  on  board  her,  to 
Noah's  ark. 

On  leaving  the  port  they  shaped  their  course  to  the  southeast,  with  a 
view  of  deceiving  the  people  of  Pray  a,  and  impressing  a  belief  that  they 
were  bound  to  the  coast  of  Africa ;  when  however  they  had  got  out  of  sight 
of  the  town,  the  ship's  course  was  altered  to  a  southwesterly  direction. 

"My  chief  care,"  says  Porter,  "was  now  the  health  of  my  people,  and 
every  means  that  could  suggest  themselves  to  my  mind  to  effect  this  great 
object  were  adopted.  The  utmost  cleanliness  was  required  from  every 
person  on  board,  directions  were  given  for  mustering  the  crew  every  morning 
at  their  quarters,  where  they  were  strictly  examined  by  their  officers.  It 
was  recommended  to  them  to  bathe  at  least  once  a  day,  and  the  officers 
were  requested  to  show  them  the  example  in  so  doing  themselves;  they 
were  required,  also,  to  use  every  means  in  their  power  to  provide  constant 
employment  for  the  men  under  their  control  during  working  hours,  and 
amusement  for  them  during  the  hours  of  recreation,  and  to  be  particularly 
careful  not  to  harass  them  by  disturbing  them  unnecessarily  during  their 
watch  below,  and  also  to  guard  against  any  improper  or  unnecessary  ex 
posure  to  the  weather;  economy  was  recommended  to  the  crew  in  the  use 
of  their  supply  of  fruit,  and  permission  was  given  to  suspend  it  in  the 
rigging  and  other  airy  parts  of  the  ship,  in  nets  made  for  the  purpose,  with 
a  promise  of  the  severest  punishment  to  such  as  should  be  detected  in  steal 
ing  from  others  :  with  those  precautions  to  procure  exercise  and  cleanliness, 
with  proper  ventilations  and  fumigations,  a  young,  active,  healthy,  and  con 
tented  crew,  asbip  in  good  order  for  the  service  we  were  engaged  in,  well  found 
with  the  best  provisions,  and  the  purest  water,  perfectly  free  from  all  bad 
taste  and  smell,  I  do  not  conceive  why  we  should  be  in  greater  apprehen 
sion  of  disease  originating  on  board  now,  than  on  the  coast  of  North 
America.  The  clouds-  which  overhung  the  atmosphere  during  the  day,  and 
nearly  obscured  the  sun,  served  greatly  to  ameliorate  the  effects  of  its  rays; 
a  pleasant  and  steady  breeze  from  the  east  contributed  greatly  to  refresh  the 
air;  and  sailing  could  not  be  more  pleasant  than  was  our  passage  toward  the 
line.  The  landsmen  on  .board  were  delighted  with  it,  and  the  seamen 
felicitated  themselves  that  it  was  riot  always  the  case  at  sea,  'or  all  the  old 
women  in  the  country — as  they  expressed  themselves — would  have  beta 
sailors.'  " 

On  the  12th  of  December  the  Essex  took  her  first  prize.  This  was  i  i* 
British  government  packet  Nocton,  mounting  ten  guns,  with  a  crew.^f 
thirty-one  men.  On  board  was  found  fifty-five  thousand  dollars  in  spe-  i 


OF  AMERICANS.  303 

Taking  this  out  of  her,  Porter  put  a  crew  of  seventeen  men  on  beard,  under 
Lieutenant  Finch,  and  dispatched  her  for  the  United  States  ;  but  she  Avas 
re-captured  on  the  route. 

Two  days  after  they  made  the  island  of  Fernando  de  Noronha,  where 
Captain  Porter  obtained  a  letter  from  Commodore  Cambridge,  who  had 
touched  there,  informing  him  that  he  would  find  the  other  vessels  off  Cape 
Frio,  near  the  City  of  Rio  Janeiro. 

Fernando  de  Noronha  was  found  to  be  well  fortified,  and  its  population 
consisted  of  a  few  miserable,  naked  Portuguese  exiles,  and  as  miserable  a 
guard.  No  females  were  permitted  to  be  on  the  island,  as  if  to  render  this 
place  of  exile  more  horrible.  Ten  days  later  the  Essex  was  off  Cape  Frio, 
on  the  Brazil  coast ;  but  no  signs  were  seen  of  the  Constitution  or  Hornet. 
Three  days  afterward,  in  fact,  the  Constitution  gained  her  victory  over  the 
Java,  off  St.  Sabrador,  some  nine  hundred  miles  north  of  Cape  Frio.  On 
the  morning  of  the  29th,  the  Essex  made  another  prize — it  was  the  Eliza 
beth,  an  English  merchant-vessel.  Captain  Porter,  alter  some  farther  cruis 
ing  on  this  coast,  decided  to  run  into  the  island  of  St.  Catherines  for  water. 
They  came  to  anchor  on  the  20th  of  January,  1813.  This  island  is  near 
the  South  American  coast,  some  five  hundred  miles  southerly  from  Rio 
Janeiro,  and  belongs  to  Portugal.  "When  the  ship  was  anchored,  I  went 
on  shore  to  fix  on  the  watering  place.  We,  in  two  days  arid  a  half,  com 
pleted  watering  our  ship.  The  officers  and  men,  in  the  meantime,  pro 
vided  themselves  with  hogs,  fowls,  plantains,  yams,  and  onions,  in  consider 
able  quantities,  from  the  boats  alongside  ;  but  their  anxiety  to  procure  them, 
caused  the  Portuguese  to  take  advantage  of  their  necessities,  and  ask  the 
most  extravagant  prices  for  everything,  which  some  of  our  people  had  tho 
folly  to  give,  as  if  their  stock  of  money  was  inexhaustible.  This  made  my 
interference  necessary,  as  those  who  were  not  disposed  to  squander  their 
money  were  likely  to  go  without  refreshments.  I  first  began  by  punishing 
a  man  for  paying  a  dollar  for  a  dozen  of  rotten  eggs;  and  next  would  not 
permit  the  boats  to  sell,  after  they  had  come  alongside,  until  the  price  of 
every'article  was  established  as  follows  :  three  fowls  one  dollar;  nine  water 
melons  for  the  same  sum;  one  dollar  for  a  turkey  ;  and  everything  else  in 
the  same  ratio.  After  this,  I  kept  persons  to  observe  and  report  to  me  such 
as  paid  improper  prices  ;  and  by  these  means  brought  the  market  down  to 
tolerably  fair  rates. 

On  the  2lst,  I  dispatched  Lieutenant  Wilmer  to  the  town  of  St.  Catherines, 
in  one  of  the  ship's  boats,  accompanied  by  Lieutenant  Gamble,  Mr.  Shaw, 
purser,  Doctor  Hoffman,  and  Midshipman  Feltus.  I  directed  Lieutenant 
\\  ilmer  to  wait  on  the  governor,  Don  Luis  Mauricio  da  Silvia,  with  my 
respects,  and  to  thank  him  for  the  civilities  I  had  met  with,  and  gave  him 
orders  to  return  if  possible  the  same  day.  I  gave  orders  to  Mr.  Shaw  to 
endeavor  to  procure  a  supply  of  beef,  flour,  bread,  and  rum  ;  to  remain  in 
town  until  it  was  ready,  hire  a  vessel,  and  bring  it  down.  The  weather  uas 
squally,  with  heavy  rains,  when  they  started,  as  indeed  was  the  case  the 
whole  time  we  lay  here.  I  felt  uneasy  that  the  boat  did  not  return  in  the 
evening,  but  hoped,  as  the  weather  had  grown  much  worse,  that  they  had 
determined  on  remaining  that  night ;  however,  at  two  o'clock  in  the  morn 
ing,  Lieutenants  Wilmer  and  Gamble  came  into  mv  cabin  almost  naked, 


304  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

and  shivering  with  the  wet  .and  cold,  and  informed  me  that  the  boat  had 
been  upset  in  a  squall ;  but  that  all  hands  had  saved  themselves,  after  hav 
ing  been  four  hours  on  her  bottom.  They  fortunately  were  to  windward  of 
an  island  standing  in  the  middle  of  the  bay,  where  the}7  drifted  on  shoro 
and  righted  the  boat.  They  lost  all  their  clothes,  as  well  as  everything 
they  had  purchased  in  town,  to  the  amount  of  six  or  seven  hundred  dollaro, 
but  were  so  fortunate  as  to  find  next  day,  among  the  rocks  of  the  island, 
every  article  that  would  float.  Lieutenant  Wilmer  informed  me,  that  there 
would  be  great  difficulties  in  procuring  the  articles  required. 

Next  morning,  Mr.  Shaw  came  down  with  five  puncheons  of  rum,  fresh 
beef  for  two  days,  a  quantity  of  onions,  and  a  few  bags  of  flour,  which  were 
all  that  could  be  procured.  The  beef  was  spoiled  before  it  came  on  board, 
and  we  were  obliged  to  throw  it  overboard;  and  shortly  afterward,  an 
enormous  shark,  at  least  twenty-five  feet  in  length,  rose  alongside,  with  a 
quarter  of  a  bullock  in  his  mouth.  It  would  be  impossible  to  describe  the 
horror  that  this  voracious  animal  excited.  Several  of  our  seamen,  and  most 
of  the  officers,  had  been  swimming  alongside  the  evening  previous.  A  man 
would  scarcely  have  been  a  mouthful  for  him.  When  he  firnt  made  his 
appearance,  every  one  was  impressed  with  a  belief  that  it  was  a  young 
whale. 

During  our  stay  here,  we  were  constantly  attended  by  an  officer  from  the 
fort,  who  was  indefatigable  in  his  attentions  toward  us.  His  name  was 
Sabine,  and  his  rank  was  that  of  sergeant-major.  I  waited  on  the  com 
mander  of  the  fort  the  day  after  I  anchored.  He  was  a  very  old  man  ;  his 
name  was  Don  Alexander  Jose  de  Azedido.  He  received  me  with  great 
civility,  and,  as  has  been  generally  the  case  with  the  Portuguese,  expressed 
great  desire  that  our  cruise  might  be  successful.  The  fort  has  been  erected 
about  seventy  years ;  there  are  mounted  on  it  fifteen  or  twenty  honey 
combed  guns  of  different  calibers.  Vegetation  has  been  so  rapid,  that  the 
walls  of  the  fortress  are  nearly  hid  by  the  trees  that  have  shot  up  in  every 
part.  The  gun-carriages  are  in  a  very  rotten  state,  and  the  garrison  consists 
of  about  twenty  half-naked  soldiers.  There  is  a  church  within  the  fortress  ; 
and,  as  a  substitute  for  a  bell,  is  suspended  at  the  door,  part  of  a  broken 
crow-bar ;  and  at  the  entrance  of  the  commandant's  apartments  is  the  stocks 
(for  the  punishment  of  the  soldiers),  which,  from  their  greasy,  polished  ap 
pearance,  I  have  reason  to  believe  are  kept  in  constant  use. 

On  the  25th  of  January,  1813,  I  got  under  weigh  and  proceeded  to  sea, 
We  were  clear  of  all  the  islands  about  four  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the 
26th.  It  was  then  necessary  to  decide  promptly  on  my  future  proceedings, 
as  our  provisions  were  getting  short ;  I  called  on  the  purser  for  a  report  cf 
them,  and  found  that  we  had  but  three  months'  bread  at  half  allowance  ; 
there  was  no  port  on  this  coast  where  we  could  procure  a  supply,  without 
the  certainty  of  capture,  or  blockade  (which  I  considered  as  bad);  to  attempt 
to  return  to  the  United  States,  at  a  season  of  the  year  when  our  coast  would 
be  swarming  with  the  enemy's  cruisers,  would  be  running  too  much  risk, 
and  would  be  going  diametrically  opposite  to  my  instructions.  I  was  per 
fectly  at  a  loss  now  where  to  find  the  commodore,  as  he  had  departed  from 
his  original  intentions,  and  had  already  disappointed  me  at  three  rendezvous  , 
the  state  of  my  provisions  would  not  admit  of  going  off  St.  Helena's  to  inter- 


OF  AMERICANS.  305 

cept  the  returning  Indiamen,  nor  would  my  force  justify  the  proceeding;  to 
remain,  however,  longer  here,  where  I  could  get  no  supplies,  would  be  a 
folly,  and  it  became  absolutely  necessary  to  depart  from  the  letter  of  my  in 
structions  ;  I  therefore  determined  to  pursue  that  course  which  seemed  to 
me  best  calculated  to  injure  the  enemy,  and  would  enable  me  to  prolong  my 
cruise  :  this  could  only  be  done  by  going  into  a  friendly  port,  where  I  could 
.ncrease  my  supplies  without  the  danger  of  blockade,  and  the  first  place  that 
presented  itself  to  my  mind,  was  the  port  of  Conception,  on  the  coast  of 
Chili.  The  season,  to  be  sure,  was  far  advanced  for  doubling  Cape  Horn  ;  our 
gtock  of  provisions  was  short,  and  the  ship  in  other  respects  not  well  sup 
plied  with  stores  for  so  long  a  cruise  ;  but  there  appeared  no  other  choice 
left  for  me,  except  capture,  starvation,  or  blockade  ;  this  course,  of  all  others, 
appeared  to  me  also  the  most  justifiable,  as  it  accorded  with  the  views  of 
the  honorable  secretary  of  the  navy,  as  well  as  those  of  my  immediate  com 
mander.  Before  the  declaration  of  war,  I  wrote  a  letter  to  the  former,  con 
taining  a  plan  for  annoying  the  enemy's  commerce  in  the  Pacific  Ocean, 
which  was  approved  of  by  him  ;  and  prior  to  my  sailing,  Commodore  Bain- 
bridge  requested  my  opinion,  as  to  the  best  mode  of  annoying  the  enerny. 
I  laid  before  him  the  same  plan,  arid  received  his  answer  approving  of  the 
same,  and  signifying  his  intentions  to  pursue  it,  provided  we  could  get  sup 
plies  of  provisions. 

I  calculated  that  it  would  not  take  me  more  than  two  months  and  a  half 
to  get  round  to  Conception,  where  I  was  confident  of  procuring  an  abundant 
supply  of  jerked  beef,  fish,  flour,  and  wine.  I  calculated,  that  the  prizes 
we  should  make  in  the  Pacific,  would  supply  us  with  such  articles  of  naval 
stores  as  we  should  require  ;  and  although  there  was  considerable  responsi 
bility  attached  to  the  proceeding,  and  the  undertaking  was  greater  than  had 
yet  been  engaged  in  by  any  single  ship  on  similar  pursuits,  time  did  not 
admit  of  delay,  and,  immediately  on  getting  to  sea,  I  directed  my  course  to 
the  southward. 

Before  I  proceed  farther,  however,  it  is  necessary  that  I  should  say  some 
thing  of  St.  Catharines. 

This  island  has  been  settled  by  the  Portuguese  about  seventy  years  :  the 
town  which  appears  to  be  in  rather  a  thriving  state,  is  situated  on  that  point 
of  the  island  nearest  the  continent,  and  may  contain  about  ten  thousand  in 
habitants  ;  here  the  captain-general  resides.  The  houses  are  generally  neatly 
built,  and  the  country  at  the  back  of  the  town  is  in  a  state  of  considerable 
improvement.  But  nothing  can  exceed  the  beauty  of  the  great  bay  to  tho 
north,  formed  by  the  island  of  St.  Catharines  and  the  South  American  Con 
tinent  :  there  is  every  variety  to  give  beauty  to  the  scene  ;  handsome  vil 
lages  and  houses  built  around,  shores  which  gradually  ascend  in  mountains, 
covered  to  their  summit  with  trees,  which  remain  in  constant  verdure  ;  a 
climate  always  temperate  and  healthy  ;  small  islands  scattered  here  and  there, 
equally  covered  with  verdure  ;  the  soil  extremely  productive  ;  all  combine 
to  render  it  in  appearance,  the  most  delightful  country  in  the  world.  The 
people  of  this  place  appear  to  be  the  most  happy  of  those  who  live  under 
the  Portuguese  government,  probably  because  the  more  they  are  distant  from 
it,  the  less  they  are  subject  to  its  impositions  and  oppressions ;  still,  how 
ever,  they  complain.  There  are  two  regiments  of  troops  at  St.  Catharines  • 


306  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

if  provisions  are  wanted  for  them,  an  officer  goes  to  the  houses  of  the  pea 
santry,  seizes  on  their  cattle  or  grain,  and. gives  them  a  bill  on  the  govern 
ment,  for  which  they  never  receive  payment.  The  peasantry  are  well  clad, 
comfortable  and  cheerful  in  their  appearance  ;  the  women  are  handsome 
and  graceful  in  their  manners  ;  the  men  have  the  character  of  being  ex 
tremely  jealous  of  them,  and  I  believe  they  have  sufficient  reason  to  be  so. 

As  we  proceeded  southerly  the  cold  began  to  be  sensibly  felt  and  woollen 
clothing  to  be  more  esteemed  than  it  had  been  for  some  time  past;  the  old 
jackets  and  trowsers  that  had  been  lying  about  the  ship  were  carefully  col 
lected  as  some  suspicions  of  my  doubling  Cape  Horn  had  got  among  the 
crew. 

I  determined  to, make  the  best  of  my  way  round  Cape  Horn,  and  appre 
hensive  of  some  difficulties  in  going  through  the  Straits  of  Le  Maire,  I  de 
termined  to  go  to  the  eastward  of  Staten  Land. 

On  the  13th  February  at  noon,  I  calculated  that  Cape  St.  Johns,  the  eastern 
port  of  Staten  Land,  bore  South  half  West  distant  thirty  five  miles ;  and 
although  the  thickness  of  the  weather  prevented  our  seeing  more  than  a 
mile  ahead,  a  confidence  of  being  able  to  see  the  land  in  sufficient  time 
to  haul-oil'  to  clear  it,  induced  me  to  continue  my  run  ;  breakers  were  dis 
covered,  bearing  E.S.E.  and  S.E.,  distant  about  three- fourths  of  a  mile,  and 
in  a  few  minutes  afterward,  the  land  appeared  in  the  same  direction  ;  we 
consequently  hauled  on  a  wind  to  the  eastward,  and  sounded  in  forty-five 
fathoms  water.  We  had  now  approached  so  close  to  the  breakers,  with  the 
hope  of  weathering  them,  that  we  had  not  room  to  wear;  there  was  a  tre 
mendous  sea  running,  the  ship  driving  forecastle  under  ;  no  chance  of 
weathering  the  land,  which  could  now  be  seen  ahead,  bearing  E.  by  N., 
running  out  in  small  lumps,  and  surrounded  with  dreadful  breakers.  Our 
only  hope  of  safety  was  in  getting  the  ship  in  stays  ;  the  mainsail  was  set 
with  the  utmost  expedition,  and  we  were  so  fortunate  as  to  succeed  :  after 
getting  the  ship  about,  the  jib  and  spanker  were  set,  and  the  top-gallant- 
yards  sent  down  ;  but,  in  a  few  moments,  the  jib  was  blown  to  pieces.  My 
first  impression  was  that  we  had  been  set  by  the  currents  to  the  westward, 
into  the  bay  formed  by  the  Cape  St.  Vincent  and  the  coast  of  Terra  del 
Fuego  ;  and,  as  the  gale  was  increasing,  and  night  fast  approaching,  the  thick 
weather  continuing,  the  wind  directly  on  shore,  with  a  tremendous  sea,  I  saw 
no  prospect  of  saving  the  ship,  but  by  carrying  a  heavy  press  of  sail  to*  keep 
off  the  lee  shore,  until  the  wind  changed.  We  kept  the  lead  constantly 
going,  and  found  our  soundings  ven  regular  at  forty-five  fathoms,  rocky  and 
coral  bottom.  After  standing  to  the  VV.X.W.  about  an  hour,  the  water 
began  to  grow  very  smooth,  which  could  on!}  be  occasioned  by  a  sudden 
change  of  the  current;  and  whales  appeared  alongside  the  ship  :  this  gave 
me  hopes  of  being  to  the  eastward  of  St.  Vincent,  and  in  the  Straits  of  Le 
Mairu  ;  a  sharp  look-out  was  kept  for  the  land,  and  at  half  past  seven,  to 
our  unspeakable  joy,  the  land  was  discovered  ahead,  and  on  both  bows, 
distant  about  a  mile.  No  doubts  now  remained,  as  to  our  being  in  the  straits j 
I  therefore  directed  the  helm  to  be  put  a- weather,  and  made  all  sail  to  the 
southward,  keeping  the  coast  of  Terra  del  Fuego  close  aboard,  aid  as  we 
undoubtedly  had  the  first  of  the  tide,  we  were  swept  through  with  great 
rapidity,  and  at  nine  o'clock  we  were  clear  of  the  straits. 


OF  AMERICANS.  307 

The  land  \ve  first  made  and  attempted  to  weather,  was  Cape  San  Diego, 
on  the  coast  of  Staten  Land  :  the  appearance  was  dreary  beyond  descrip 
tion  ;  perhaps,  however,  the  critical  situation  of  the  ship,  the  foaming  of  the 
breakers,  the  violence  of  the  wind,  and  the  extreme  haziness  of  the  weather, 
may  (all  combined)  have  served  to  render  the  appearance  more  dreadful  ; 
but  from  the  impression  made  by  its  appearance  then,  and  from  the  description 
given  by  others,  I  am  induced  to  believe,  that  no  part  of  the  world  presents  a 
more  horrible  aspect  than  Staten  Land.  The  breakers  appeared  to  lie  about 
half  a  mile  from  the  shore  ;  while  we  were  standing  off,  the  whole  sea,  from 
the  violence  of  the  current,  appeared  in  a  foam  of  breakers,  and  nothing  but 
the  apprehension  of  immediate  destruction  could  have  induced  me  to  have 
ventured  through  it  ;  but,  thanks  to  the  excellent  qualities  of  the  ship,  we 
received  no  material  injury,  although  we  were  pitching  our  forecastle  under 
with  a  heavy  press  of  sail,  and  the  violence  of  the  sea  was  such,  that  it  was 
impossible  for  any  man  to  stand  without  grasping  something  to  support  him 
self.  Those  only  can  have  an  idea  of  our  tormenting  anxiety  and  dread, 
from  the  time  we  discovered  the  breakers,  until  we  made  the  land  of  Terra 
del  Fuego,  who  have,  like  us,  supposed  themselves  in  danger  of  shipwreck, 
on  a  dreary,  inhospitable,  and  iron-bound  coast,  inhabited  only  by  savages, 
where  there  was  scarcely  a  hope,  that  one  of  the  crew  would  survive  the 
fury  of  the  storm  and  waves,  or,  even  if  he  succeeded  in  getting  on  shore 
alive,  only  to  fall  a  victim  to  the  merciless  inhabitants  of  this  gloomy  region  ; 
nor  can  he  conceive  the  excess  of  our  joy  in  discovering  the  land,  unless  he, 
in  an  instant,  has  been  snatched  from  the  danger  of  destruction  which 
seemed  pending  over  him.  Our  fears  and  subsequent  joys  may,  however,  be 
more  easily  imagined  than  described.  Had  we  been,  as  we  supposed,  to  the 
northward  of  Cape  St.  Vincent,  it  would  have  required  our  utmost  exertions, 
under  the  heaviest  press  of  canvas,  to  have  kept  the  ship  from  going  on 
shore  ;  and  the  loss  of  a  single  spar,  or  the  splitting  of  a  top-sail,  would 
have  sealed  our  destruction.  Our  making  the  breakers  in  the  manner  we 
did,  proved  most  fortunate,  for  had  we  passed  through  the  straits  without 
discovering  the  land  (which  would  have  been  the  case,  had  we  been  one 
mile  farther  north),  I  should  have  supposed  myself  to  the  east  of  Staten 
Land,  and  after  running  the  distance  which  I  believed  necessary  to  clear 
Cape  St.  Johns,  I  should  have  steered  a  course  that  would  have  entangled 
us  in  the  night  with  the  rocks  and  breakers  about  Cape  Horn  ;  and  had  this 
happened,  thick  and  hazy  as  the  weather  continued,  our  destruction  would 
have  been  inevitable,  as  we  could  not  have  seen  the  danger  one  hundred 
yards  from  the  ship,  even  should  we  have  been  apprehensive,  and  on  the 
look-out  for  it,  which  would  not  have  been  the  case. 

At  nine  o'clock  we  were  clear  of  the  Straits  of  Le  Maire,  and  in  that  part 
of  the  ocean  so  celebrated  and  dreaded  for  the  violent  gales  and  tremendous 
and  irregular  seas  which  prevail.  On  the  meridian  of  the  14th,  the  horizon 
was  somewhat  clear ;  the  wind  moderate,  from  the  westward  ;  the  sun  shin 
ing  out  bright ;  and,  with  the  exception  of  some  dark  and  lowering  clouds 
to  the  northward,  we  had  every  prospect  of  pleasant  weather.  The  cape 
was  now  in  sight,  bearing  north;  and  Diego  Ramiries  bearing  northwest; 
and  the  black  clouds  before  mentioned,  served  well  to  give  additional  horror 
to  their  dreary  and  inhospitable  aspect.  But  so  different  was  the  tempera- 
20 


308  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

ture  of  the  air,  the  appearance  of  the  heavens,  and  the  smoothness  of  the 
sea,  to  everything  we  had  expected,  and  pictured  to  ourselves,  that  we 
could  not  but  smile  at  our  own  credulity  and  folly,  in  giving  credit  to  (what 
we  supposed)  the  exaggerated  and  miraculous  accounts  of  former  voyages. 
But,  while  we  were  indulging  ourselves  in  these  pleasing  speculations,  the 
black  clouds,  hanging  over  Cape  Horn,  burst  upon  us  with  a  fury  we  little 
expected,  and  reduced  us  in  a  few  minutes  to  a  reefed  fore-sail,  and  close* 
reefed  main-top-sail,  and  in  a  few  hours  afterward  to  our  storm  stay-sails. 
Nor  was  the  violence  of  the  winds  the  only  danger  we  had  to  encounter; 
for  it  produced  an  irregular  and  dangerous  sea,  that  threatened  to  jerk  away 
our  masts,  at  every  roll  of  the  ship.  With  this  wind  we  steered  to  the 
southward,  with  a  view  of  getting  an  offing  from  the  land,  in  expectation  of 
avoiding,  in  future,  the  sudden  gusts,  and  the  irregular  seas,  which  we  sup 
posed  were  owing  to  violent  currents,  and  confined  to  the  neighborhood  of  the 
coast ;  but  in  this  expectation  we  were  much  disappointed  ;  for,  as  we  re 
ceded  from  the  coast,  the  unpleasantness  of  the  weather,  and  the  freshness 
of  the  gale,  increased ;  and  it  was  in  vain  that  we  hoped  for  that  moderate 
and  pleasant  weather,  which  former  navigators  have  generally  experienced 
in  the  latitude  of  sixty  degrees  south,  which  we  reached  on  the  18th.  From 
the  time  we  lost  sight  of  the  land,  until  this  period,  the  gales  blew  hard 
from  the  northwest,  accompanied  with  heavy  rains,  cold  disagreeable  wea 
ther,  and  a  dangerous  sea. 

On  the  24th,  after  experiencing  a  heavy  gale  from  the  N.W.,  I  had  the 
extreme  satisfaction  to  find  ourselves  as  far  to  the  westward  as  eighty  de 
grees  ;  and  as  the  wind  shifted  and  blew  from  the  S.W.,  I  had  no  doubt  of 
being  able  to  effect  our  passage  into  the  Pacific  Ocean  ;  and  I  took  an  op 
portunity  of  thanking  my  crew  for  their  good  conduct,  during  our  boisterous 
and  unpleasant  passage  around  the  cape  ;  encouraged  them  to  a  continuance 
of  it,  by  holding  out  prospects  of  indulgence  to  those  who  should  so  dis 
tinguish  themselves ;  and,  as  some  thefts  had  been  committed,  for  which 
the  perpetrators  were  then  under  the  punishment  of  wearing  a"  yoke,  I  gave 
a  general  pardon,  on  condition  that  the  first  offender  brought  to  the  gang 
way  should  receive  three  dozen  lashes. 

It  was  with  no  little  joy,  we  now  saw  ourselves  fairly  in  the  Pacific  Ocean, 
and  calculating  on  a  speedy  end  to  all  our  sufferings  ;  every  hour  seemed  to 
brighten  our  prospects  and  give  us  fresh  spirits  ;  and  on  the  last  of  February, 
being  in  the  latitude  of  fifty  degrees  south,  the  wind  became  moderate  and 
shifted  to  the  northward,  the  sea  smooth,  and  every  prospect  of  mild  and 
pleasant  weather.  I  consequently  determined  to  replace  the  guns,  and  get 
the  spars  on  the  spar-deck ;  but  before  we  had  effected  this,  the  wind  had 
freshened  up  to  a  gale,  and  by  noon  had  reduced  us  to  our  storm  stay-sail 
and  close-reefed  main-top-sail ;  it,  in  the  afternoon,  hauled  around  to  the 
westward,  and  blew  with  a  fury  far  exceeding  anything  we  had  yet  experi 
enced,  bringing  with  it  such  a  tremendous  sea,  as  to  threaten  us  every  mo 
ment  with  destruction,  and  appalled  the  stoutest  heart  on  board.  To  attempt 
to  convey  an  idea  of  the  fury  of  this  gale  by  description,  would  be  fruitless  ; 
lot  it  suffice  to  say,  that  it  was  rarely  equaled,  and  I  am  sure  never  was  ex 
ceeded.  From  the  excessive  violence  with  which  the  wind  blew,  we  had 
strong  hopes  that  it  would  be  of  short  continuance ;  until,  worn  out  with 


OF  AMERICANS.  309 

fatigue  and  anxiety,  greatly  alarmed  with  the  terrors  of  ajee-shore  and  in 
momentary  expectation  of  the  loss  of  our  inasts  and  bowsprit,  we  almost 
considered  our  situation  hopeless  ;  and  to  add  to  our  distress,  our  pumps  had 
become  choaked  by  the  shingle  ballast,  which,  from  the  violent  rolling  of 
the  ship,  had  got  into  them  ;  the  ship  made  a  great  deal  of  water,  and  the 
sea  had  increased  to  such  a  height,  as  to  threaten  to  swallow  us  at  every  in 
stant  ;  the  whole  ocean  was  one  continued  foam  of  breakers,  and  the  heaviest 
squall  that  I  ever  before  experienced,  had  not  equaled  in  violence  the  most 
moderate  intervals  of  this  tremendous  hurricane. 

Th'e  whole  of  the  1st  and  2d  of  March,  we  anxiously  hoped  for  a  change, 
but  in  vain  ;  our  fatigues  had  been  constant  and  excessive  ;  many  had  been 
severely  bruised,  by  being  thrown,  by  the  violent  jerks  of  the  ship,  down  the 
hatchways,  and  I  was  particularly  unfortunate,  in  receiving  three  severe 
falls,  which  at  length  disabled  mo  from  going  on  deck  ;  the  oldest  seaman 
in  the  ship  had  never  experienced  anything  to  equal  the  gale.  We  had 
done  all  in  our  power  to  save  the  ship  (except  throwing  her  guns  overboardi 
which  I  reserved  for  the  last  extremity),  and  now  patiently  waited  for  the 
tempest  to  lull.  It  had  already  blown  three  days  without  abating  ;  the 
ship  had  resisted  its  violence  to  the  astonishment  of  all,  without  having  re 
ceived  any  considerable  injury  ;  and  we  began  to  hope,  from  her  buoyancy, 
and  other  good  qualities,  we  should  be  enabled  to  weather  the  gale.  We 
had  shipped  several  heavy  seas,  that  would  have  proved  destructive  to 
almost  any  other  ship  ;  but,  to  us,  they  were  attended  with  no  other  incon 
veniences,  than  the  momentary  alarm  they  excited,  and  that  arising  from  the 
immense  quantity  of  water,  which  forced  its  way  into  every  part  of  the 
ship,  and  kept  everything  afloat  between  decks.  However,  about  three 
o'clock  of  the  morning  of  the  3d,  the  watch  only  being  on  deck,  an  enor 
mous  sea  broke  over  the  ship,  and  for  an  instant  destroyed  every  hope.  Our 
gun-deck  ports  were  burst  in  ;  both  boats  on  the  quarters  stove  ;  our  spare 
spars  washed  from  the  chains  ;  our  head-rails  washed  away,  and  hammock 
stanchions  burst  in  ;  and  the  ship  perfectly  deluged  and  water  logged,  imme 
diately  after  this  tremendous  shock,  which  threw  the  crew  into  conster 
nation.  The  gale  began  to  abate,  and  in  the  morning  we  were  enabled  to 
set  our  reefed  fore-sail.  In  the  height  of  the  gale,  Lewis  Price,  a  marine, 
who  had  long  been  confined  with  a  pulmonary  complaint,  departed  this  life, 
and  was  this  morning  committed  to  the  deep ;  but  the  violence  of  the  sea 
was  such,  that  the  crew  could  not  be  permitted  to  come  on  deck,  to  attend 
the  ceremony  of  his  burial,  as  their  weight  would  have  strained  and  endan 
gered  the  safety  of  the  ship. 

When  this  last  sea  broke  on  board  us,  one  of  the  prisoners,  the  boatswain 
of  the  Nocton,  through  excess  of  alarm,  exclaimed,  that  the  ship's  broadside 
was  stove  in,  and  that  she  was  sinking ;  this  alarm  was  greatly  calculated 
to  increase  the  fears  of  those  below,  who,  from  the  immense  torrent  of  water 
that  was  rushing  down  the  hatchways,  had  reason  to  believe  the  truth  of  his 
assertion  ;  many  who  were  washed  from  the  spar  to  the  gun- deck,  and  from 
their  hammocks,  and  did  not  know  the  extent  of  the  injury,  were  also  greatly 
alarmed ;  but  the  men  at  the  wheel,  and  some  others,  wno  .vere  enabled  by 
a  good  grasp  to  keep  their  stations,  distinguished  themselves  by  their  cool 
ness  and  activity  after  the  shock  ;  and  I  took  this  opportunity  of  advancing 


310  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

them  one  grade,  by  filling  up  the  vacancies  occasioned  by  those  sent  in 
prizes,  and  those  who  were  left  at  St.  Catharines  ;  rebuking,  at  the  same 
time,  the  others  for  their  timidity. 

On  the  5th  of  the  month,  having  passed  the  parallel  of  Chili,  our  suffer 
ings  appeared  at  an  end,  for  we  enjoyed  pleasant  and  temperate  weather, 
with  fine  breezes  from  the  southward  ;  and  we  had  a  distant  vieiv  of  part 
of  the  Andes,  which  appeared  covered  with  snow." 

They  were  all  in  high  spirits  and  in  momentary  expectation  of  falling  in 
with  some  of  the  enemy's  ships.  On  the  6th  she  anchored  at  Mocha  a  smalj 
uninhabited  land  off  the  coast  of  Chili,  where  some  wild  horses  were  shot 
for  fresh  meat. 

"  I  now  considered  myself  in  a  good  position  to  meet  vessels  plying  between 
Conception  and  Valparaiso ;  and  as  the  health  of  the  crew,  and  state  of  my 
provisions,  or  the  distresses  of  the  ship,  did  not  yet  render  my  going  into 
port  absolutely  necessary,  I  determined  to  keep  the  sea  awhile  longer,  in 
hopes  of  meeting  some  of  the  enemy's  ships,  and  thereby  obtain  such  sup 
plies  as  would  render  it  entirely  unnecessary  to  make  ourselves  known  on 
the  coast,  until  we  were  about  quitting  it.  From  the  8th  until  the  llth^ 
the  weather  continued  foggy,  and  the  winds  light  and  baffling  from  the 
northward,  which  prevented  us  from  making  any  headway,  and  during  their 
continuation  deprived  us  of  all  hope  of  discovering  vessels.  Nothing  could 
now  exceed  our  impatience.  On  the  latter  part  of  the  12th,  light  airs  sprang 
up  from  the  S.W.,  and  the  weather  began  to  clear  off  slowly,  and  every  eye 
was  engaged  in  searching  for  a  sail,  as  the  fog  moved  to  leeward.  Nothing^ 
however,  was  to  be  seen  but  a  wide  expanse  of  ocean,  bounded  on  the  east 
by  the  dreary,  barren,  and  iron-bound  coast  of  Chili,  at  the  back  of  which 
the  eternally  snow-capt  mountains  of  the  Andes  reared  their  lofty  heads, 
and  altogether  presented  to  us  a  scene  of  gloomy  solitude,  far  exceeding 
anything  I  ever  before  experienced." 

The  wind  freshening  up  enabled  the  Essex  to  make  sail  to  the  northward 
for  Valparaiso.  They  were  disappointed  in  the  appearance  of  the  coast 
which  had  a  wild  desolate  aspect,  with  no  signs  of  inhabitants.  It  was 
skirted  with  a  black  gloomy  rock  against  the  perpendicular  sides  of  which 
the  sea  beat  with  fury.  On  the  13th  the  Essex  rounded  the  point  of  Angels, 
when  in  an  instant  the  whole  town  of  Valparaiso,  shipping  with  their  colors 
flying,  and  the  forts  burst  out  as  it  were  from  behind  the  rocks.  "  The  scene 
presented  to  us,"  says  Porter,  "was  as  animated  and  cheerful  as  it  \vas  sudden 
.and  unexpected  ;  and  had  I  not  hoisted  English  colors,  I  should  have  been 
tempted  to  run  in  and  anchor.  A  moment's  reflection  induced  me  to  believe, 
that,  under  existing  circumstances,  it  would  not  be  advisable  to  do  so,  as 
several  large  Spanish  ships,  with  their  sails  bent,  and  in  readiness  for  sea, 
were  lying  in  the  port ;  and  as  those  vessels  were,  beyond  doubt,  bound  to 
the  northward,  and  in  all  probability  to  Lima,  I  concluded  on  keeping  the 
sea  a  few  days  longer,  to  give  them  time  to  get  out,  in  order  that  intelligence 
might  not  be  given  by  them  of  an  American  frigate  being  in  this  part  of  the 
world." 

The  ship's  head  consequently  was  turned  to  the  northward  and  she  ran 
the  town  out  of  sight  in  an  hour  or  so.  Two  days  after  she  returned,  went 
in  and  anchored.  To  the  astonishment  of  Captain  Porter,  he  now  ascertained 


OF  AMERICANS.  311 

that  Chili  had  declared  herself  independent  of  Spain.  He  also  learned  that 
the  Viceroy  of  Peru,  had  sent  out  cruisers  against  American  shipping,  and 
that  his  appearance  in  the  Pacific  was  of  the  greatest  importance  to  the 
A/nerican  trade,  which  lay  at  the  mercy  oi  the  English  letters  of  marque, 
and  of  these  Peruvian  corsairs.  This  was  cheering  intelligence  after  the 
fatigues  and  disappointments  of  so  many  months.  Capt.  Porter  waited  upon 
tLe  governor,  Don  Francisco  Lastre,  who  welcomed  him  in  the  most  friendly 
reception,  and  returned  his  visit  with  a  numerous  suite  of  officers.  Many 
of  these  had  never  before  seen  a  frigate,  it  being  the  first  that  since  their 
recollection  had  entered  their  port.  They  were  much  pleased  and  aston- 
Lhed  that  "Anglo-Americans"  could  build,  equip  and  manage  ships  of  so 
large  a  size. 

Agreeably  to  invitation,  the  officers  of  the  Essex  attended  a  party  given 
by  the  governor,  "  where  we  found,"  says  Porter,  "  a  much  larger  and  more 
brilliant  assemblage  of  ladies,  than  we  could  have  expected  in  Valparaiso. 
We  found  much  fancy  and  considerable  taste  displayed  in  their  dress,  and 
many  of  them,  with  the  exception  of  teeth,  very  handsome,  both  in  person 
and  in  face  ;  their  complexion  remarkably  fine,  and  their  manners  modest 
and  attracting.  This  was  our  first  impression  on  entering  a  room,  containing 
perhaps  two  hundred  ladies,  to  whom  we  were  perfect  strangers.  Minuets 
were  introduced;  country  dances  followed;  and  the  ladies  had  the  com 
plaisance  and  patience  to  attempt  with  my  officers,  what  they  had  never 
before  seen  in  the  country,  a  cotillion.  The  intricacies  of  their  country 
dance  were  too  great  for  us  to  attempt ;  they  were  greatly  delighted  in  by 
those  who  knew  them,  and  admitted  a  display  of  much  grace.  With  their 
grace,  their  beauty  of  person  and  complexion,  and  with  their  modesty,  we 
were  delighted,  and  could  almost  fancy  we  had  gotten  amongst  our  own 
fair  country -women  ;  but  in  one  moment  the  illusion  vanished.  The  lallas 
de  tierra,  as  they  are  all  called,  commenced  :  they  consisted  of  the  most 
graceless,  and  at  the  same  time  fatiguing  movements  of  the  body  and  limbs, 
accompanied  by  tlie  most  indelicate  and  lascivious  motions,  gradually  in 
creasing  in  energy  and  violence,  until  the  fair  one,  apparently  overcome 
with  passion,  and  evidently  exhausted  with  fatigue,  was  compelled  to  retire 
to  her  seat ;  her  rosy  cheeks  and  fair  complexion  disappeared  in  the  large 
drops  of  sweat  which  ran  trickling  down  her  neck  and  breast,  and  were  suc 
ceeded  by  the  sallow  tinge  which  nature  had  bountifully  bestowed. 

They  daub  themselves  most  lavishly  with  paint ;  but  their  features  are 
agreeable,  and  their  large  dark  eyes  are  remarkably  brilliant  and  expressive  ; 
and  were  it  not  for  their  bad  teeth,  occasioned  by  the  too  liberal  use  of  the 
matti,  would,  notwithstanding  the  Chilian  tinge,  be  thought  handsome, 
particularly  by  those  who  had  been  so  long  as  we  out  of  the  way  of  seeing 
many  women. 

The  matti  is  a  decoction  of  the  herb  of  Paraguay,  sweetened  with  sugar, 
and  sucked  hot  through  a  long  silver  tube  ;  to  the  use  of  this  beverage  the 
Chilians  are  perfect  slaves.  The  taste  is  agreeable,  but  it  occasions  trrrible 
havoc  among  the  teeth.  We  returned  on  board  our  ship,  pleased  with  the 
novelties  of  a  Chilian  ball,  and  much  gratified  by  the  solicitude  shown  by 
every  one  to  make  our  stay  among  them  agreeable. 

The  customs  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  place  differ  so  materially  from  our 


312  -ADVENTUKES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

own  (and  perhaps  from  those  of  every  other  people),  that  I  cannot  help 
noticing  a  few  particulars  that  struck  me  as  the  most  singular.  At  all  their 
entertainments,  the  principal  guest  is  placed  at  the  head  of  the  table,  the 
host  on  one  side  of  him,  and  the  hostess  on  the  other  ;  and  their  principal 
business  appears  to  be  to  cram  him  with  a  part  of  everything  before  him. 
This  duty  they  are  apt  to  perform  most  effectually,  if  he  happens,  like  me, 
to  be  a  stranger,  and  not  aware  of  the  variety  of  changes  that  are  to  be 
brought  on,  each  one  more  and  more  inviting  in  their  appearance  and  taste. 

There  is  another  practice  at  their  balls  or  evening  parties,  which  at  first 
gave  me  some  embarrassment.  A  very  large  silver  dish,  filled  with  sweet 
jelly,  was  presented  to  me  by  a  servant,  as  well  as  a  silver  plate  and  fork ; 
believing  that  the  whole  dish  could  not  be  intended  for  me,  I  attempted  to 
take  the  plate ;  this  the  servant  objected  to  ;  I  then  attempted  to  take  the 
dish,  but  to  this  she  also  objected  ;  I  felt,  however,  certain  that  it  was  in 
tended  for  me  to  eat  in  some  way  or  other,  and  was  determined  to  do  it 
in  that  way  which  appeared  the  most  natural  and  convenient;  I  therefore 
took  from  her  the  plate  and  fork,  and  helped  myself  to  as  much  as  I  thought 
I  should  want.  The  eyes  of  all  the  company,  however,  were  on  me,  and  I 
perceived  that  I  had  made  some  mistake,  which  I  was  soon  convinced  of, 
for  the  servant  brought  another  plate  with  a  fork,  which  was  handed  with 
the  sweetmeats  around  to  the  company,  and  each  one  made  use  of  the  same 
fork  to  take  a  mouthful,  holding  their  heads  carefully  over  the  dish  in  order 
that  nothing  might  fall  from  their  mouths  to  the  floor ;  the  fork  was  then 
laid  on  the  plate,  and  passed  to  the  next.  The  matti  is  taken  with  as  little 
regard  to  the  delicacy  or  cleanliness.  When  the  cup  containing  it  is  brought 
in,  one  of  the  company  blow*  into  it,  through  the  silver  tube,  until  a  high 
froth  is  produced  ;  it  is  then  considered  properly  prepared.  The  same  matti 
and  tube  is  then  passed  around  the  room,  and  each  one  takes  in  turn  a  suck 
of  it,  with  much  apparent  relish  and  delight ;  but,  considering  the  rotten 
teeth  and  unsavoury  breaths  of  the  Chilians,  there  could  not  be  a  dose  of 
fered  more  repulsive  to  a  delicate  stomach,  than  this  same  frothy  matti, 
served  up  in  their  style.  It  is  also  a  practice  for  one  glass  of  water,  one 
spoon,  or  one  cigar,  to  be  served  to  the  whole  company,  and  one  would 
almost  be  led  to  believe  that  they  had  a  particular  relish  for  the  taste  of  each 
other's  dirty  mouths.  A  Ohilian  lady  would  be  ashamed  to  be  seen  walking 
arm  -and  arm  with  a  gentleman  ;  and  their  refinement  is  so  great,  that  it  is 
thought  indelicate  even  to  accept  his  hand  in  any  way,  except  in  dancing, 
when,  to  be  sure,  everything  like  delicacy  is  laid  aside.  They  are,  however, 
extremely  hospitable  and  attentive  to  strangers ;  and  if  they  have  their 
peculiar  customs,  which  seem  strange  to  us,  we  no  'doubt  have  our  own, 
equally  deserving  their  animadversion." 

"  For  more  than  a  week  the  Essex  was  employed  in  victualing,  and  during 
this  time  an  American  whaler  came  in  from  the  islands.  According  to  the 
accounts  of  the  master  of  this  vessel,  the  American  whalers,  which  had 
left  home  during  a  time  of  peace,  lay  entirely  at  the  mercy  of  those  of  the 
enemy,  several  of  which  had  sailed  as  regular  letters  of  marque,  and  all  of 
which  were  more  or  less  armed.  Many  of  the  American  vessels,  as  they 
often  kept  the  sea  six  months  at  a  time,  were  probably  still  ignorant  of  the 
war:  and  it  was  known  that  one  of  them,  at  least,  had  already  fallen  into 


OF  AMERICANS. 

the  hands  of  the  English.  As  soon  as  imperfectly  victualed,  the  ship  went 
to  sea,  to  profit  by  this  intelligence. 

On  the  25th,  the  Essex  fell  in  with  the  American  whale  ship  Charles,  and 
learned  that  two  other  vessels,  the  Walker  and  Barclay,  had  been  captured, 
a  few  days  previously,  off  Coquimbo,  by  a  Peruvian,  with  an  English  ship 
in  company.  Sail  was  made,  in  consequence,  in  the  direction  of  Coquimbo, 
and,  a  few  hours  later,  a  stranger  was  seen  to  the  northward.  This  vessel 
was  soon  ascertained  to  be  a  cruising  ship,  disguised  as  a  whaler.  She 
showed  Spanish  colors,  when  the  Essex  set  an  English  ensign,  fired  a  gun 
to  leeward,  and  the  Charles  which  remained  in  company,  hoisted  the  Ameri 
can  flag,  beneath  an  English  jack.  The  Spaniard  now  ran  down,  and,  wheii 
about  a  mile  distant,  he  fired  a  shot  ahead  of  the  Essex,  which  that  ship 
answered  by  throwing  a  few  shot  over  him,  to  bring  him  nearer.  When 
close  enough,  the  Spanish  ship  sent  an  armed  boat  to  board  the  Essex,  and 
it  was  directed  to  go  back  with  an  order  for  the  cruiser  to  run  under  the 
frigate's  lee,  and  to  send  an  officer  to  apologize  for  the  shots  he  had  fired  at 
an  English  man-of-war.  This  command  was  complied  with,  and  the  ship 
was  ascertained  to  be  the  Peruvian  privateer  Nereyda,  armed  with  fifteen  guns, 
and  with  a  full  crew.  The  lieutenant,  who  now  came  on  board,  believing 
that  he  was  on  board  of  an  English  man-of-war  informed  Captain  Porter 
that  they  were  cruising  for  Americans;  that  they  had  already  taken  the 
Walker  and  Barclay ;  that  the  English  letter  of  marque  Nimrod  had  driven 
their  prize-crew  from  on  board  the  Walker  ;  that  they  were  then  cruising 
expressly  to  look  for  the  Nimrod,  with  the  intention  of  obtaining  redress  ; 
and  that  they  had  mistaken  the  Essex  for  the  latter  ship.  It  would  seem 
that  the  Peruvians  cruised  against  the  Americans,  under  the  impression  that 
Spain,  then  so  dependent  on  England  for  her  existence,  would  declare  war 
speedily  against  the  United  States,  in  consequence  of  the  war  declared  by 
the  latter  against  the  King  of  Great  Britain,  which  might  legalize  their 
captures. 

An  interview  with  the  master  of  the  Walker  satisfied  Captain  Porter  that 
the  captured  ships  had  been  illegally  seized  ;  and  hoisting  American  colors,  he 
fired  two  shots  over  the  Nereyda,  when  that  vessel  struck.  Her  crew  were 
all  sent  on  board  the  Essex,  and  the  three  ships  stood  in-shore  to  look  into 
Coquimbo,  in  the  hope  of  finding  the  Nimrod  and  the  prizes,  but  without 
success.  The  next  morning  the  entire  armament  of  the  Nereyda,  with  all 
her  ammunition,  shot,  small  arms,  and  light  sails,  were  thrown  overboard, 
and  she  was  otherwise  put  in  a  condition  to  do  no  harm,  when  she  was  re 
leased.  It  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  the  guns  of  this  vessel  were  of  iron, 
while  her  shot  of  all  descriptions  were  of  copper;  the  abundance  of  the 
latter  in  that  part  of  the  world,  rendering  it  cheaper  than  the  metal  usually 
employed  for  such  purposes. 

From  the  master  and  crew  of  the  Barclay,  Captain  Porter  obtained  a  list 
of  such  of  the  whaling  vessels  as  they  knew  to  be  in  the  Pacific.  It  con 
tained  the  names  of  twenty-three  Americans,  and  of  ten  English  ships. 
The  former  was  probably  the  most  correct,  as  his  informants  added  that 
quite  twenty  Englishmen  were  thought  to  be  in  that  sea.  The  latter  were, 
in  general,  fine  vessels  of  near  four  hundred  tuns  burden,  and,  as  has  been 
said  already,  they  were  all  more  or  less  armed. 


314  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

Captain  Porter  had  now  a  double  object ;  to  protect  his  countrymen  and 
to  capture  the  enemy.  The  latter  were  known  to  resort  to  the  Gallipagos 
Islands,  but  he  hesitated  about  striking  a  blow  in  that  quarter,  until  he  could 
be  assured  that  the  Standard  sixty-four,  had  left  Lima  for  England  ;  and,  as 
he  thought  the  prizes  of  the  Nimrod  and  Nereyda  would  endeavor  to  go 
into  that  port,  he  determined  to  make  the  best  of  his  way  thither,  in  order 
to  cut  them  off,  as  well  as  to  reconnoiter. 

In  the  meanwhile  Captain  Porter  disguised  his  ship,  which  was  done  in 
s''.ch  a  manner  as  to  conceal  her  real  force  and  exhibiting  in  its  stead  the 
appearance  of  painted  guns,  etc.,  also  by  giving  her  the  appearance  of  having 
a  poop  and  otherwise  so  altering  her,  as  to  make  her  seem  to  be  a  Spanish 
merchant  vessel. 

"On  the  28th  of  April,  the  ship  was  up  with  the  island  of  San  Gallan, 
when  she  hauled  off  to  the  northward  and  westward,  with  a  view  to  cross 
the  track  of  inward-bound  vessels.  The  next  day,  three  sail  were  made, 
standing  for  Callao.  Everything  was  set  to  out  the  strangers  off,  particularly 
the  one  nearest  in,  who  had  the  appearance  of  the  Barclay.  The  chase, 
however,  would  have  escaped,  had  she  not  been  becalmed  when  she  doubled 
the  point  of  San  Lorenzo.  At  this  moment  the  frigate  was  near  a  league 
distant,  but,  fortunately,  she  kept  the  breeze  until  she  had  got  within  a 
hundred  yards  of  the  enemy,  when  she  lowered  her  boats,  and  took  posses 
sion.  The  prize  proved  to  be  the  Barclay,  as  had  been  expected.  There 
was  now  a  good  opportunity  of  looking  into  the  harbor,  arid  finding  that 
nothing  had  arrived  from  Valparaiso  to  disclose  his  presence  in  the  Pacific, 
Captain  Porter  showed  English  colors,  while  the  Barclay  hoisted  the  Ameri 
can  under  the  enemy's  ensign.  In  this  manner  both  vessels  went  into  tho 
offing,  where  the  Barclay  was  given  up  to  her  proper  officers,  though  most 
of  her  crew  having  entered  in  the  Essex,  and  declining  to  rejoin  the  ship, 
her  master  preferred  keeping  in  company  with  the  frigate,  offering  to  act  as 
a  pilot  in  searching  for  the  enemy.  With  this  understanding,  the  two  ves 
sels  stretched  off  the  coast,  to  the  northward  and  westward.  From  the  end 
of  March  until  the  middle  of  April,  the  Essex,  with  the  Barclay  in  company, 
was  standing  across  from  the  main  toward  the  islands,  and  on  the  17th, 
she  made  Chatham  Island  ;  but  no  ship  was  found  there.  From  this  place 
the  frigate  went  to  Charles'  Island,  where  she  had  the  same  want  of  suc 
cess. 

Both  of  these  islands  belong  to  the  Galapagos  group.  Lieutenant  Downea 
went  ashore  at  Charles'  Island  and  returned  with  several  papers  taken  from 
a  box  which  he  found  nailed  to  a  post,  over  which  was  a  black  sign  on 
which  was  painted  Hathaway' s  post-ojjke.  They  contained  the. information 
already  received  of  the  practice  of  whaling  vessels  touching  there  and  cruis 
ing  among  the  other  islands  for  whales.  From  these  papers  information  was 
obtained  that  in  the  June  previous,  six  English  whale  ships  had  put  in  there 
on  their  way  to  the  island  of  Albermarle,  where  they  generally  cruised  for  a 
year  at  a  time.  There  were  also  letters  from  the  commanders  of  three 
American  whalers,  showing  that  they  had  touched  in  there.  Lieutenant 
Downes  found  near  the  post-office  on  this  island  several  articles  for  such 
persons  as  might  be  left  there  in  distress,  and,  besides  a  suit  of  clothes, 
tinder-box,  and  a  barrel  of  bread,  was  left  a  cask  of  water.  "  This  island  ia 


OF  AMERICANS.  315 

mountainous  (as  are  the  whole  group),  and  is  covered  with  trees  from  fifteen 
to  twenty  feet  in  length,  scattered  with  considerable  regularity,  as  to  distance 
and  appearance,  on  the  sides  of  the  hills,  which  all  have  evident  marks  of 
volcanic  origin  ;  hut  what  seems  remarkable  is,  that  every  tree  on  the  island, 
at  least  all  that  could  be  approached  by  the  boat's  crew  on  shore,  and  such 
as  we  could  perceive  by  means  of  our  perspectives,  were  dead  and  withered. 
•These  islands  are  all  evidently  of  volcanic  production  ;  every  mountain  and 
hill  is  the  crater  of  an  extinguished  volcano  ;  and  thousands  of  smaller  fis 
sures,  which  have  burst  from  their  sides,  give  them  the  most  dreary,  desolate, 
and  inhospitable  appearance  imaginable.  The  description  of  one  island  will 
answer  for  all  I  have  yet  seen ;  they  appear  unsuited  for  the  residence  of 
man,  or  any  other  animal  that  cannot,  like  the  tortoise,  live'  without  food, 
or  cannot  draw  its  subsistence  entirely  from  the  sea. 

On  the  east  side  of  the  island  there  is  a  landing  called  Pat's  Landing  ;  and 
this  place  will  probably  immortalize  an  Irishman,  named  Patrick  Watkins, 
who  some  years  since  left  an  English  ship,  and  took  up  his  abode  on  this 
island,  built  himself  a  miserable  hut,  about  a  mile  from  the  landing  called 
after  him,  in  a  valley  containing  about  two  acres  of  ground  capable  of  culti 
vation,  and  perhaps  the  only  spot  on  the  island  which  affords  sufiicient 
moisture  for  the  purpose.  Here  he  succeeded  in  raising  potatoes  and  pump 
kins  in  considerable  quantities,  which  he  generally  exchanged  for  rum,  or 
sold  for  cash.  The  appearance  of  this  man,  from  the  accounts  I  have  re 
ceived  of  him,  was  the  most  dreadful  that  can  be  imagined  ;  ragged  clothes, 
scarce  sufficient  to  cover  his  nakedness,  and  covered  with  vermin ;  his  red 
hair,  and  beard  matted,  his  skin  much  burnt,  from  constant  exposure  to  the 
sun,  and  so  wild  and  savage  in  his  manner  and  appearance,  that  he  struck 
every  one  with  horror.  For  several  years  this  wretched  being  lived  by 
himself  on  this  desolate  spot,  without  any  apparent  desire  than  that  of  pro 
curing  rum  in  sufficient  quantities  to  keep  himself  intoxicated,  and  at  such 
times,  after  an  absence  from  his  hut  of  several  days,  he  would  be  found  in 
a  state  of  perfect  insensibility,  rolling  among  the-  rocks  of  the  mountains. 
He  appeared  to  be  reduced  to  the  lowest  grade  to  which  human  nature  is 
capable. 

We  were  little  prepared  to  meet  our  second  disappointment,  in  not  find 
ing  vessels  at  Charles'  Island,  but  consoled  ourselves  with  the  reflection,  that 
we  should  now  soon  arrive  at  Albermarle,  and  that  in  Banks'  Bay,  the  gen 
eral  rendezvous,  we  should  find  an  ample  reward  for  all  our  loss  of  time, 
sufferings,  and  disappointments  ;  and  as  we  had  a  fine  breeze  from  the  east, 
I  made  all  sail,  steering  west  from  Charles'  Island,  to  make  the  south  head 
of  the  island  of  Albermarle,  which  was  distant  from  us  about  forty-five 
miles,  and  in  the  morning  found  ourselves  nearly  up  with  it.  When  we 
had  arrived  within  eight  or  nine  miles  of  a  point,  which  I  have  named 
Point  Essex,  the  wind  died  away,  and  I  took  my  boat  and  proceeded  for  the 
aforesaid  point,  where  I  arrived  in  about  two  hours  after  leaving  the  ship, 
and  found  in  a  small  bay,  behind  some  rocks  which  terminate  the  point, 
very  good  landing,  where  we  went  on  shore,  and  to  our  great  surprise,  and  no 
little  alarm,  on  entering  the  bushes,  found  myriads  of  guanas,  of  an  enormous 
size  and  the  most  hideous  appearance  imaginable.  In  some  spots  a  half  acre 
of  ground  would  be  so  completely  covered  with  them,  as  to  appear  as  though 


316  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

it  was  impossible  for  another  to  get  in  the  space  ;  they  would  all  keep  their 
eyes  fixed  constantly  on  us,  and  we  at  first  supposed  them  prepared  to  attack 
us.  We  soon  however  discovered  them  to  be  the  most  timid  of  animals,  and 
in  a  few  moments  knocked  down  hundreds  of  them  with  cur  clubs,  some 
of  which  we  brought  on  board,  and  found  to  be  excellent  eating,  and  many 
preferred  them  greatly  to  the  turtle. 

We  found  on  the  beach  a  few  seals,  and  one  fine  large  green  turtle.  Sev 
eral  of  the  seals  were  killed  by  our  men,  and  proved  of  that  kind  which  do 
not  produce  the  fur.  Nothing  can  be  more  sluggish  or  more  inactive  than 
this  animal  while  on  the  sand  ;  it  appears  incapable  of  making  any  exertions 
whatever  to  escape  those  in  pursuit  of  it,  and  quietly  waits  the  blow  which 
terminates  its  existence.  A  small  blow  on  the  nose  will  kill  them  in  an  in 
stant,  but  when  they  are  in  water,  or  even  on  the  rocks,  nothing  can  exceed 
their  activity  :  they  seem  then  to  be  a  different  animal  altogether ;  shy, 
cunning,  and  very  alert  in  pursuit  of  their  prey,  and  in  avoiding  pursuit, 
they  are  then  very  difficult  to  take.  After  trying  in  vain  to  catch  some  fish, 
we  left  the  cove,  and  proceeded  along  the  shore  to  the  northward,  with  the 
expectation  of  finding  another  landing-place,  but  were  much  disappointed  ; 
for,  after  rowing  as  far  as  Point  Christopher,  a  distance  of  fifteen  miles,  we 
found  the  shore  everywhere  bound  with  craggy  rocks,  against  which  the  sea 
broke  with  inconceivable  violence.  Multitudes  of  enormous  sharks  were 
swimming  about  us,  and  from  time  to  time  caused  us  no  little  uneasiness, 
from  the  ferocious  manner  in  which  they  came  at  the.boat  and  snapped  at  our 
oars  ;  for  she  was  of  the  lightest  construction,  with  remarkably  thin  plank, 
and  a  gripe  from  one  of  these  would  have  torn  them  from  her  timbers ; 
but  we  guarded  as  much  as  lay  in  our  power  against  the  evil,  by  thrust 
ing  boarding  pikes  into  them  as  they  came  up  to  us. 

Perceiving  a  breeze  springing  up,  I  hastened  on  board  where,  on  my  arrival, 
I  caused  all  sail  to  be  made,  and  shaped  my  course  for  Narborough  Island, 
which  now  began  to  show  itself  open  with  Point  Christopher.  I  was  in 
hopes  that  the  breeze  would  carry  us  clear  of  the  northern  point  of  that 
island  before  daj-light,  in  order  that  we  might  have  the  whole  of  the  next 
day  for  securing  our  prizes  in  Banks'  Bay,  which  lies  between  Narborough 
and  the  south  head  of  Albermarle.  To  Banks'  Bay  the  fishermen  resort 
every  year,  between  March  and  July,  to  take  the  whale,  which  come  in 
there  in  great  numbers  at  that  season." 

My  anxiety  was  such  that  I  was  induced  to  dispatch  Lieutenant  Downes 
to  take  a  look  around  the  point  of  Narborough  and  reconnoiter  the  bay  ;  for 
the  ship  had  been  swept  by  the  current  during  the  night,  into  Elizabeth 
Bay. 

At  one  o'clock  in  the  morning,  Lieutenant  Downes  returned  to  the  ship, 
which  he  was  enabled  to  find  by  means  of  flashes  made  from  time  to  time 
by  us,  and  reported  that  he  did  not  arrive  at  the  north  point  of  Naborough. 
or  Turtle's  Nose,  until  near  sundown,  and  that  he  could  perceive  no  ves 
sels  in  the  bay ;  but  observed,  at  the  same  time,  that  the  weather  was  hazy, 
and  as  the  bay  is  about  thirty-five  miles  from  side  to  side,  and  about  the 
same  depth,  it  was  possible  for  vessels  to  have  been  there  without  his  being 
able  to  observe  them. 

The  winds  continued  light  and  a-head,  and  the  current  strong  against  us, 


OF  AMERICANS.  317 

and  it  was  not  till  the  afternoon  of  23d  that  we  were  enabled  to  weather 
Narborough.  On  doubling  the  point  of  Narborough,  our  yards  were  com 
pletely  manned  by  seamen  and  officers,  whose  anxiety  had  taken  them  aloft, 
all  examining  strictly  every  part  of  the  bay,  but  could  discover  no  vessels ; 
at  length  the  cry  of  sail  lio  !  and  shortly  afterward  another,  seemed  to  elec 
trify  every  man  on  board,  and  it  seemed  now  as  if  all  our  hopes  and  expec 
tations  were  to  be  realized  ;  but  in  a  few  minutes  those  illusory  prospects 
vanished,  and  as  sudden  dejection,  proceeding  from  disappointment,  took 
place  ;  for  the  supposed  sails  proved  to  be  only  white  appearances  on  the 
fchore.  Still,  however,  we  did  not  despair.  Lieutenant  Downes  was  dis 
patched  to  reconnoiter,  and  returned  to  the  ship  at  one  o'clock  in  the  morning  ; 
and,  to  complete  our  disappointment,  reported  that  he  had  seen  no  vessels. 

Early  the  next  morning  I  took  a  boat  and  explored  the  basin  which  I 
found  of  surpassing  beauty,  with  everything  that  could  be  desired  to  afford 
perfect  security  for  a  ship  of  the  largest  size.  From  the  basin  we  proceeded 
to  the  watering  place  about  half  a  mile  distant.  On  the  side  of  a  rock  at 
this  place  we  found  the  names  of  several  English  and  American  ships  cut, 
whose  crews  had  been  there  ;  and  but  a  short  distance  from  thence  was 
erected  a  hut,  built  of  loose  stones,  but  destitute  of  a  roof;  and  in  the  neigh 
borhood  of  it  were  scattered  in  considerable  quantities  the  bones  and  shells 
of  land  and  sea  tortoises.  This  I  afterward  understood  was  the  work  of  a 
wretched  English  sailor,  who  had  been  landed  there  by  his  captain,  destitute 
of  everything,  for  having  used  some  insulting  language  to  him.  Here  he 
existed  near  a  year  on  land  tortoises  and  guanas,  and  his  sole  dependence 
for  water  was  on  the  precarious  supply  he  could  get  from  the  drippings  of 
the  rocks ;  at  length,  rinding  that  no  one  was  likely  to  come  to  take  him 
from  thence,  and  fearful  of  perishing  for  the  want  of  water,  he  formed  a 
determination  to  attempt  at  all  hazards  getting  into  Banks'  Bay,  where  the 
ships  cruise  for  whales,  and  with  this  view  provided  himself  with  two  seal 
skins,  with  which,  blown  up,  he  formed  a  float ;  and,  after  hazarding  de 
struction  from  the  sharks,  which  frequently  attacked  his  vessel,  and  which 
he  kept  off  with  the  stick  that  served  him  as  a  paddle,  he  succeeded  at 
length  in  getting  alongside  an  American  ship  early  in  the  morning,  where 
his  unexpected  arrival  not  only  surprised  but  alarmed  the  crew  ;  for  his  ap 
pearance  was  scarcely  human  ;  clothed  in  the  skins  of  seals,  his  countenance 
haggard,  thin,  and  emaciated,  his  beard  and  hair  long  and  matted,  they  sup 
posed  him  a  being  from  another  world.  The  commander  of  the  vessel 
where  he  arrived  felt  a  great  sympathy  for  his  sufferings,  and  determined 
for  the  moment  to  bring  to  punishment  the  villain  who  had,  by  thus  cruelly 
exposing  the  life  of  a  fellow-being,  violated  every  principle  of  humanity  ; 
but  from  some  cause  or  other  he  was  prevented  from  carrying  into  effect  his 
laudable  intentions,  and  to  this  day  the  poor  sailor  has  not  had  justice  done 
him." 

The  Essex  continued  passing  from  island  to  island,  without  meeting  with 
anything,  until  her  crew  was  aroused  by  the  cheering  cry  of  "sail  ho  !"  on 
the  morning  of  the  29th.  A  ship  was  made  to  the  westward,  and,  soon 
after,  two  more  a  little  further  south.  Chase  was  given  to  the  first  vessel, 
which  was  spoke  under  English  colors,  about  nine  A.  M.  She  proved  to  b€ 
he  British  whale  ship  Montezuma,  with  one  thousand  four  hundred  barrels 


318  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

of  oil  on  board.  Throwing  a  crew  into  the  prize,  the  Essex  next  made  sail 
after  the  two  other  ships,  which  had  taken  the  alarm,  and  endeavored  to 
escape.  At  eleven  A.  M.,  when  the  frigate  was  about  eight  miles  from  the 
two  strangers,  it  fell  calm,  and  the  boats  were  hoisted 'out  and  sent  against 
the  enemy,  tinder  Mr.  Downes,  the  first  lieutenant.  About  two  p.  M.,  the 
party  got  within  a  mile  of  the  nearest  ship,  when  the  two  strangers,  who 
were  a  quarter  of  a  mile  apart,  hoisted  English  colors,  and  fired  several  guns. 
The  boats  now  formed,  and  pulled  for  the  largest  ship,  which  kept  training 
her  guns  on  them  as  they  approached,  but  struck  without  firing  a  shot,  just 
as  the  boarders  were  closing.  The  second  vessel  imitated  her  example, 
when  attacked  in  the  same  manner. 

The  prizes  were  the  Georgiana  and  the  Policy,  both  whalers ;  and  the 
three  ships,  together,  furnished  the  Essex  with  many  important  supplies. 
They  had  bread,  beef,  pork,  cordage,  water,  and  among  other  useful  things, 
a  great  number  of  Galapagos  tortoises." 

"  Those  extraordinary  animals,  the  tortoises  of  the  Galapagos,  properly 
deserve  the  name  of  the  elephant  tortoise.  Many  of  them  were  of  a  size 
to  weigh  upward  of  three  hundred  weight ;  and  nothing,  perhaps,  can  be 
more  disagreeable  or  clumsy  than  they  are  in  their  external  appearance. 
Their  motion  resembles  strongly  that  of  the  elephant ;  their  steps  slow, 
regular,  and  heavy  ;  they  carry  their  body  about  a  foot  from  the  ground,  and 
their  legs  and  feet  bear  no  slight  resemblance  to  the  animal  to  which  I  have 
likened  them  ;  their  neck  is  from  eighteen  inches  to  two  feet  in  length,  and 
very  slender ;  their  head  is  proportioned  to  it,  and  strongly  resembles  that 
of  a  serpent ;  but,  hideous  and  disgusting  as  is  their  appearance,  no  animal 
can  possibly  afford  a  more  wholesome,  luscious,  and  delicate  food  than  they 
do ;  the  finest  green  turtle  is  no  more  to  be  compared  to  them,  in  point  of 
excellence,  than  the  coarsest  beef  is  to  the  finest  veal ;  and  after  once  tast 
ing  the  Galapagos  tortoises,  every  other  animal  food  fell  greatly  in  our  es 
timation.  These  animals  are  so  fat  as  to  require  neither  butter  nor  lard  to 
cook  them,  and  this  fat  does  not  possess  that  cloying  quality,  common  to 
that  of  most  other  animals  ;  and  when  tried  out,  it  furnishes  an  oil  superior 
in  taste  to  that  of  the  olive.  The  meat  of  this  animal  is  the  easiest  of  di 
gestion,  and  a  quantity  of  it,  exceeding  that  of  any  other  food,  can  be  eaten 
without  experiencing  the  slightest  inconvenience.  But  what  seems  the  most 
extraordinary  in  this  animal,  is  the  length  of  time  that  it  can  exist  without 
food  ;  for  I  have  been  wrell  assured,  that  they  have  been  piled  away  among 
the  casks  in  the  hold  of  a  ship,  where  they  have  been  kept  eighteen  months, 
and,  when  killed  at  the  expiration  of  that  time,  were  found  to  have  suffered 
no  diminution  in  fatness  or  excellence.  They  carry  with  them  a  constant 
supply  of  water,  in  a  bag  at  the  root  of  the  neck,  which  contains  about 
two  gallons  ;  and  on  tasting  that  found  in  those  we  killed  on  board,  it  proved 
perfectly  fresh  and  sweet.  They  are  very  restless  when  exposed  to  the  light 
and  heat  of  the  sun,  but  will  lie  in  the  dark  from  one  year's  end  to  the 
other  without  moving  ;  in  the  day-time,  they  appear  remarkably  quick- 
sighted  and  timid,  drawing  their  head  into  their  shell  on  the  slightest  mo 
tion  of  any  object  ;  but  they  are  entirely  destitute  of  hearing,  as  the  loudest 
noise,  even  the  firing  of  a  gun,  does  not  seem  to  alarm  them  in  the  slightest 
degree,  and  at  night,  or  in  the  dark,  they  appear  perfectly  blind. 


OF  AMERICANS,  319 

"The  Georgiana  had  been  built  for  the  service  of  the  English  East  India 
Company,  and  having  the  reputation  of  being  a  fast  vessel,  Captain  Porter 
determined  to  equip  her  as  a  cruiser,  with  the  double  purpose  of  having  an 
assistant  in  looking  for  the  enemy,  and  possessing  a  consort  to  receive  his 
own  crew  in  the  event  of  any  accident  occurring  to  the  Essex.  This  ship 
was  pierced  for  eighteen  guns,  and  had  six  mounted  when  taken.  The 
Policy  was  also  pierced  for  the  same  number,  and  had  ten  guns  mounted. 
The  latter  were  now  added  to  the  armament  of  the  Georgiana,  which  gave 
her  sixteen  light  guns.  All  the  small  arms  were  collected  from  the  prizes 
and  put  in  her,  her  try-works  were  taken  down,  and  other  alterations  made, 
when  Mr.  Downes  was  placed  in  command  with  a  crew  of  forty-one  men. 
By  this  arrangement,  it  was  believed  that  the  Georgiana  would  be  fully  able 
to  capture  any  of  the  English  letters  of  marque,  known  to  be  cruising  among 
the  islands.  In  consequence  of  these  changes,  and  the  manning  the  two 
other  prizesv  notwithstanding  several  enlistments,  the  crew  of  the  Essex  was 
reduced  to  two  hundred  and  sixty-four  souls,  officers  included.  On  the  8th 
of  May,  the  Georgiana  sixteen,  Lieutenant  Commandant  Downes,  hoisted 
the  American  pennant,  and  fired  a  salute  of  seventeen  guns. 

It  being  uncommonly  fine  weather,  Captain  Porter  seized  the  opportunity 
of  repairing  his  own  ship,  by  means  of  the  stores  obtained  from  the  enemy. 
The  rigging  was  overhauled  and  tarred  down,  many  new  spars  were  fitted, 
and  the  ship  was  painted  in  the  middle  of  the  Pacific,  the  enemy  furnishing 
the  means." 

A  few  trials,  as  soon  as  the  ships  made  sail,  proved  that  the  Georgiana 
could  not  hold  way  with  the  Essex,  and  that  her  reputation,  as  a  fast  vessel, 
was  unmerited.  Still,  as  she  had  been  relieved  from  much  of  her  lumber, 
she  outsailed  the  other  ships  and  hopes  were  entertained  of  her  being  made 
useful.  Accordingly,  on  the  12th,  she  parted  company,  with  orders  to  cruise 
against  the  enemy,  and  to  rendezvous  at  different  places  on  the  coast,  as  well 
as  at  various  islands,  in  a  regular  succession  as  to  time.  The  separation  was 
not  long,  however,  the  Georgiana  looking  into  Charles'  Island,  in  quest  of 
English  vessels,  at  a  moment  when  the  Essex  happened  to  be  there  on  the 
same  errand. 

The  Georgiana  was  now  sent  to  Albermarle  Island,  Captain  Porter  having 
retison  to  suppose  that  a  particular  ship  of  the  enemy  was  in  that  quarter. 
The  chaplain,  having  been  allowed  to  make  a  short  scientific  excursion  in 
boats,  fell  in  with  a  strange  sail  on  returning,  andvthe  Essex  immediately 
went  to  sea  in  quest  of  her.  But  a  cruise  of  several  days  was  fruitless ; 
and  the  ship  continued  passing  among  the  islands,  in  the  hope  of  falling  in 
with  something.  An  attempt  to  get  across  to  the  continent  was  defeated  by 
the  lightness  of  the  winds  and  the  strength  of  the  westerly  currents  ;  und 
on  the  25th  of  May,  the  Essex  was  still  in  the  neighborhood  of  Charles' 
Island. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  28th,  however,  a  sail  was  made  ahead,  and  a 
general  chase  was  given,  the  Policy,  Montezuma,  and  Barclay  being  all  in 
company.  At  sunset,  the  stranger  was  visible  from  the  frigate's  deck.  By 
distributing  the  vessels  in  a  proper  manner,  the  chase  was  in  sight  next 
tnornin-g ;  and  after  a  good  deal  of  maneuvering,  the  Essex  got  alongside  of 
her,  and  captured  the  British  whaler  Atlantic,  of  three  hundred  and  fifty- 


320  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

five  tuns,  twenty-four  men,  and  eight  eighteen-pound  carronades.  This 
ship,  however,  was  pierced  for  twenty  guns. 

Another  strange  sail  had  been  made  while  in  chase  of  the  Atlantic,  and 
she  was  pursued  and  overtaken  in  the  course  of  the  night.  This  ship  was 
the  Greenwich,  of  three  hundred  and  thirty-eight  tuns,  ten  guns,  and  twenty- 
five  men.  Both  the  Atlantic  and  Greenwich  had  letters  of  marque,  and 
being  fast  ships,  were  extremely  dangerous  to  the  American  tiade  in  the 
Pacific.  When  the  Essex  took  these  vessels,  every  officer  but  the  captain, 
the  chaplain,  captain's  clerk,  and  boat-swain,  were  out  of  her,  either  ia 
boats,  or  in  prizes  ;r  the  first  having  been  lowered  in  a  calm  to  chase,  and 
left  to  be  picked  up  by  the  Montezuma,  when  a  breeze  struck  the  frigate." 

The  captain  of  the  Greenwich  had  taken  a  good  stock  of  Dutch  courage, 
and  had  made  preparations  to  fire  into  the  Essex,  when  a  shot  from  the 
latter  so  intimidated  him  that  he  hove  to  and  surrendered.  The  captain  of 
the  Atlantic  was  an  American  from  Nantucket  where  he  had  a  wife  and 
family.  "On  his  first  coming  on  board  the  Essex,  he  expressed  his  extreme 
pleasure  in  finding  as  he  supposed  we  were  an  English  frigate  in  those  seas. 
lie  informed  me  that  he  had  sailed  from  England  under  convoy  to  the  Java 
frigate,  and  had  put  into  Port  Praya  a  few  days  after  the  Essex,  an  American 
frigate,  had  left  there  ;  and  that  the  Java  had  sailed  immediately  in  pursuit 
of  her,  and  that  it  was  the  general  belief  the  Essex  had  gone  around  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope.  He  parted  with  the  Java  after  crossing  the  line,  and 
on  his  arrival  at  Conception  heard  she  had  been  sunk  off  Bahia  by  the 
American  frigate  Constitution.  On  inquiry  respecting  the  American  vessels 
in  the  South  Seas,  he  informed  me  that  about  Conception  was  the  best  place 
to  cruize  '.  _/r  them,  for  he  had  left  at  that  place  nine  of  them  in  an  unpro 
tected  and  defenseless  state,  and  entirely  at  a  loss  what  to  do  with  them 
selves  ;  that  they  were  almost  daily  arriving  there,  and  that  he  had  no  doubt, 
by  going  off  there,  we  should  be  enabled  to  take  the  most  of  them.  I  asked 
him  how  he  reconciled  it  to  himself  to  sail  from  England  under  the  British 
flag,  and  in  an  armed  ship,  after  hostilities  had  taken  place  between  the  two 
countries.  He  said  he  found  no  difficulty  in  reconciling  it  to  himself,  for, 
although  he  was  born  in  America,  he  was  an  Englishman  at  heart.  This 
man  appeared  the  polished  gentleman  in  his  manners,  but  evidently  possessed 
n  corrupt  heart,  and,  like  all  other  renagades,  was  desirous  of  doing  his  na 
tive  country  all  the  injury  in  his  power,  with  the  hope  of  thereby  ingratiating 
himself  with  his  new  friends.  I  permitted  him  to  remain  in  his  error  some 
time,  but  at  length  introduced  to  him  the  captains  of  the  Montezuma  and 
the  Georgiana,  who  soon  undeceived  him  with  respect  to  our  being  an  Eng 
lish  frigate.  I  had  felt  great  pity  for  the  last  two  gentlemen,  and  had  made 
the  evils  of  war  bear  as  light  on  them  as  possible,  by  purchasing  of  them, 
for  the  use  of  the  crew,  their  private  adventures,  consisting  of  slop-clothing, 
tobacco,  and  spirits,  for  which  they  were  sincerely  grateful ;  but  to  this  man 
I  could  not  feel  the  same  favorable  disposition,  nor  could  I  conceal  my  in 
dignation  at  his  conduct :  he  endeavored  to  apologize  away  the  impression 
his  conduct  had  made,  by  artfully  putting  the  case  to  myself;  and,  with 
a  view  of  rendering  him  easy,  as  I  did  not  wish  to  triumph  over  the 
wretch,  I  informed  him  that  I  was  willing  to  make  some  allowances  for  his 
conduct. 


OP  AMERICANS.  321 

After  the  capture  of  the  Greenwich,  I  informed  her  commander,  John 
Shuttleworth,  as  well  as  Obediah  Wier,  of  the  Atlantic,  that  I  felt  every 
disposition  to  act  most  generously  toward  them.  Shuttleworth  was  however 
so  much  intoxicated,  and  his  language  so  insulting,  that  it  was  with  difficulty 
I  could  refrain  from  turning  him  out  of  my  cabin.  Wier  was  more  reserved 
during  my  presence  there  ;  but,  duty  requiring  me  on  deck,  he,  in  the  pre 
sence  of  some  of  the  officers,  used  the  most  bitter  invectives  against  the 
government  of  the  United  States  ;  and  he,  as  well  as  Shuttleworth,  con 
soled  themselves  with  the  pleasing  hope,  that  British  frigates  would  soon 
be  sent  to  chastise  us  for  our  temerity  in  venturing  so  far  from  home. 

The  next  day  I  let  them  feel  that  they  were  dependent  entirely  on  my 
generosity,  which  was  greater  than  they  either  deserved  or  expected,  and 
this  haughty  Englishman,  who  would  wish  to  have  terrified  us  with  the 
name  of  a  Briton,  and  this  renegade,  who  would  have  sacrificed  the  interests 
of  his  country,  were  now  so  humbled  by  a  sense  of  their  own  conduct,  and 
of  what  they  merited,  that  they  would  have  licked  the  dust  from  my  feet 
had  it  been  required  of  them  to  do  so. 

Our  fleet  now  consisted  of  six  sail  of  vessels,  without  including  the 
Georgiana.  On  board  of  the  last  captured  vessels  I  put  a  siifficient  number 
of  men  to  fight  their  guns,  giving  lieutenant  M'Knight  charge  of  the  At 
lantic,  and,  for  want  of  sea-officers,  I  put  lieutenant  Gamble  of  the  marines 
in  charge  of  the  Greenwich.  Volunteers  continued  to  offer  from  the  cap 
tured  vessels,  and  my  whole  effective  force  in  those  seas  now  consisted  of 
the  Essex,  mounting  forty-six  guns,  and  two  hundred  and  forty-five  men  ; 
Georgiana,  sixteen  guns,  and  forty-two  men  ;  Atlantic,  six  guns,  and  twelve 
men  ;  Greenwich  ten  guns,  and  fourteen  men  ;  Montezuma,  two  guns,  and  ten 
men  ;  Policy,  ten  men — making  in  all,  eighty  guns,  and  three  hundred  and 
thirty-three  men  ;  together  with  one  midshipman  and  six  men  on  board  the 
Barclay.  My  prisoners  amounted  in  number  to  eighty  ;  but  as  I  had  di 
vided  them  among  the  different  ships,  giving  them  full  allowance  of  pro 
visions,  on  condition  of  their  giving  their  assistance  in  working,  we  found 
them  as  useful  as  our  own  men  in  navigating  the  prizes  ;  so  that  our  whole 
number,  including  the  prisoners,  amounted  to  four  hundred  and  twenty,  and 
all  in  good  health,  with  the  exception  of  some  of  the  prisoners,  who  were 
slightly  affected  with  the  scurvy. 

It  seems  somewhat  extraordinary,  that  British  seamen  should  carry  with 
them  this  propensity  to  desert  even  into  merchant  vessels,  sailing  under  the 
flag  of  their  nation,  and  under  circumstances  so  terrifying;  but  yet  I  am  in 
formed,  that  their  desertion  while  at  Charles'  Island  has  been  very  common, 
even  when  there  was  no  prospect  whatever  of  obtaining  water  but  from  the 
bowels  of  the  tortoises.  This  can  only  be  attributed  to  that  tyranny  so 
prevalent  on  board  their  ships-of-war,  which  has  crept  into  their  merchant 
vessels,  and  is  there  aped  by  their  commanders.  Now,  mark  the  difference. 
While  the  Essex  lay  at  Charles'  Island,  one-fourth  of  her  crew  was  every 
day  on  shore,  and  all  the  prisoners  who  chose  to  go  ;  and  I  even  lent  tbe 
latter  boats,  whenever  they  wished  it,  to  go  for  their  amusement  to  the 
other  side  of  the  island.  No  one  attempted  to  desert,  or  to  make  their  es 
cape  ;  whenever  a  gun  was  fired,  every  man  repaired  to  the  beach,  and  no 
one  was  ever  missing  when,  the  signal  was  made." 


322  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

Captain  Porter  now  shaped  his  course  for  the  mouth  of  the  Tumbez  tr. 
the  northern  coast  of  Chili  where  he  anchored  on  the  19th  of  June. 

"  As  soon  as  they  had  got  within  two  leagues,  the  leading  vessel  hove  to 
and  sent  in  a  boat,  on  board  of  which  was  Mr.  Downes.  By  this  arrival  an 
account  of  the  movement  of  the  Georgiana  was  obtained. 

While  cruising  near  James'  Island,  Mr.  Downes  had  captured  the  British 
whale  ships,  the  Catharine,  of  two  hundred  and  seventy  tuns,  eight  guns  and 
twenty-nine  men,  and  the  Rose,  of  two  hundred  and  twenty  tuns,  eight  guns^ 
and  twenty-one  men.  These  two  vessels  were  taken  with  no  resistance,  their 
masters  having  come  on  board  the  Georgiana,  without  suspecting  her  char 
acter.  After  manning  his  prizes,  Mr.  Downes  had  but  twenty  men  and  boys 
left  in  the  Georgiana,  when  he  chased  and  closed  with  a  third  whaler,  called 
the  Hector,  a  ship  of  two  hundred  and  seventy  tuns,  twenty-five  men,  and 
eleven  guns,  though  pierced  for  twenty.  At  this  time,  Mr.  Downes  had  also 
fifty  prisoners,  most  of  whom  he  was  compelled  to  put  in  irons,  before  he 
brought  the  Hector  to  action.  When  within  hail,  the  latter  ship  was  ordered 
to  haul  down  her  colors,  but  refused,  and  the  Georgiana  opened  a  fire  upon 
her.  A  sharp  combat  followed,  when  the  Hector  struck,  with  the  loss  of 
her  main-topmast,  having  had  most  of  her  standing  and  running-rigging  shot 
away.  She  had  also  two  men  killed,  and  six  wounded. 

After  manning  the  Hector,  Mr.  Downes  had  but  ten  men  left  in  the  Greor- 
giana ;  and,  including  the  wounded,  he  had  seventy-three  prisoners.  The 
Rose  being  a  dull  ship,  he  threw  overboard  her  guns,  and  most  of  her  cargo, 
and  parolling  his  prisoners,  he  gave  her  up  to  them,  on  condition  that  they 
should  sail  direct  for  St.  Helena.  As  soon  as  this  arrangement  was  made,  he 
made  sail  for  Tumbez,  to  join  the  Essex. 

The  little  fleet  now  amounted  to  nine  sail,  and  there  was  an  opportunity 
to  make  new  arrangements.  The  Atlantic  being  nearly  one  hundred  tuns 
larger  than  the  Georgiana,  as  well  as  a  much  faster  ship,  besides  possessing, 
in  a  greater  degree,  every  material  quality  for  a  cruiser,  Mr.  Downes  and  his 
crew  were  transferred  to  her.  Twenty  guns  were  mounted  in  this  new  sloop- 
of-war  ;  she  was  named  the  Essex  Junior,  and  manned  with  sixty  men.  The 
Greenwich  was  also  converted  into  a  store-ship,  and  all  the—spare  stores 
of  the  other  vessels  were  sent  on  board  her.  She  was  also  armed  with 
twenty  guns,  though  her  crew  was  merely  strong  enough  to  work  her." 

On  first  anchoring  at  Tumbez  the  governor  came  aboard  to  pay  his  re 
spects,  "Although  their  appearance  was  as  wretched  as  can  well  be  imag 
ined,  policy  induced  me  to  show  them  every  attention  ;  and,  to  impress 
them  with  a  belief  of  my  friendly  disposition  and  respect,  I  gave  them  a 
salute  of  nine  guns  on  their  coming  on  board  ;  and  while  they  remained 
with  me,  which  was  until  the  next  day,  I  paid  every  attention  to  them  in 
my  power,  although  their  contemptible  appearance,  which  frequently  excited 
the  risibility  of  my  crew,  made  me  sometimes  blush  for  my  guests.  They 
left  me  with  assurances  of  the  most  friendly  disposition  on  their  part,  and 
he  most  pressing  invitation  for  me  to  go  to  Tumbez,  which  I  promised  to 
do  in  the -course  of  a  day  or  two.  The  next  day  I  visited  the  town  or  hamlet. 
It  is  situated  about  six  miles  from  the  river's  mouth,  on  the  left  bank  of  the 
first  rising  ground  you  meet  with  ;  from  thence  to  the  mouth  of  the  river 
the  land  is  all  low,  similar  to  that  of  the  Mississippi,  covered  with  rushes 


OF  AMERICANS.  323 

reeds,  and  mangroves,  and  here  and  ther-e,  on  the  most  elevated  parts,  are  to 
be  found  the  huts  where  the  natives  have  settled  themselves,  for  the  purpose 
of  cultivating  the  soil,  which  produces,  in  great  abundance,  cocoa,  corn, 
plantains,  melons,  oranges,  pumpkins,  sugar-cane,  sweet  potatoes,  etc. 
Their  houses  are  formed  of  reeds,  covered  with  rushes,  open  at  all  sides,  and 
having  the  floor  elevated  about  four  feet  from  the  earth,  to  protect  them 
from  the  alligators,  which  are  here  numerous  and  of  enormous  size.  One  of 
them  fifteen  feet  in  length,  and  of  the  most  hideous  appearance,  I  killed 
with  a  musket  ball. 

The  inhabitants  of  Tumbez  gave  me  the  most  friendly  reception,  every 
where  invited  me  into  their  huts,  where  hogs,  dogs,  fowls,  jackasses,  men, 
women,  and  children,  were  grouped  together,  and  from  whence,  in  a  few 
minutes,  1  was  always  glad  to  make  my  escape,  from  the  innumerable  swarms 
of  fleas  with  which  they  were  infested  ;  and  the  house  of  the  governor  was 
no  more  exempt  from  this  plague  than  those  of  the  plebeians,  of  which 
his  wife  and  naked  children  bore  innumerable  testimonies,  in  the  large  red 
blotches  on  their  necks  and  bodies.  The  men  of  this  place  seem  to  be  of  the 
lowest  class  of  those  who  call  themselves  civilized  ;  and  the  women,  although 
of  fine  forms,  animated,  cheerful,  and  handsome  countenances,  are  destitute 
of  all  that  delicacy,  the  possession  of  which  only  can  render  the  female 
lovely  in  our  eyes." 

"On  the  30th,  the  fleet  sailed,  the  Essex  and  Essex  Junior  keeping  in 
company,  with  all  the  carpenters  at  work  at  the  latter.  On  the  4th  of  July, 
a  general  salute  was  fired,  principally  with  the  guns  and  ammunition  of  the 
enemy.  On  the  9th,  the  Essex  Junior  parted  company,  bound  to  Valparaiso, 
with  the  Hector,  Catharine,  Policy,  and  Montezuma,  prizes,  and  the  Barclay, 
recaptured  ship,  under  convoy. 

As  soon  as  out  of  sight  of  the  other  ships,  the  Essex,  Greenwich  and 
Georgiana  steered  to  the  westward,  with  an  intention  of  going  among  the 
Galapagos.  On  the  13th,  three  sail  were  made  off  Banks'  Bay,  all  on  a  wind, 
and  a  good  deal  separated.  The  Essex  gave  chase  to  the  one  in  the  center, 
which  led  her  down  to  leeward,  leaving  the  Greenwich  and  Georgiana  a  long 
distance  astern  and  to  windward.  While  the  frigate  was  thus  separated  from 
her  pnafls,  Orje  of  the  strangers  tacked,  and  endeavored  to  cut  the  latter  off, 
but  the  Greenwich  hove-to,£ot  a  portion  of  the  people  out  of  the  Georgiana, 
and  bore  down  boldly  on  her  adversary  ;  while  the  Essex  continued  after 
the  vessel  she  was  chasing,  which  she  soon  captured.  The  ship  was  the 
English  whaler  Charlton,  of  two  hundred  and  seventy-four  tuns,  ten  guns, 
and  twenty-one  men.  Throwing  a  crew  into  her,  the  frigate  immediately 
hauled  her  wind. 

It  was  now  ascertained  from  the  prisoners,  that  the  largest  of  the  strange 
ships  was  the  Seringapatam,  of  three  hundred  and  fifty-seven  tuns,  fourteen 
guns,  and  near  forty  men  ;  and  the  smallest,  the  New  Zealander,  of  two 
hundred  and  fifty-nine  tuns,  eight  guns,  and  twenty-three  men.  The  Ser 
ingapatam  had  been  built  for  a  cruiser,  and  she  was  probably  the  most  dan 
gerous  vessel  to  the  x\merican  trade  to  the  westward  of  Cape  Horn.  Captain 
Porter  felt  a  corresponding  desire  to  get  possession  of  her,  and  was  much 
gratified  with  the  bold  manner  in  which  the  Greenwich  had  borne  down  on 
her.  This  ship  was  linger  the  command  of  a  verv  young  officer,  but  he  had 
21 


ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

the  advice  of  one  of  the  sea-lieutenants,  who  was  under  suspension,  :ind  who 
behaved  with  great  gallantry  and  spirit  on  this  occasion.  Closing  with  tha 
Seringapatam,  the  Essex  being  a  long  distance  to  leeward,  the  Greenwich 
brought  her  to  action,  and  after  a  few  broad-sides,  the  English  ship  struck. 
Soon  after,  however,  and  before  possession  could  be  taken,  she  made  an  at- 
tempt  to  escape  by  passing  to  windward,  in  which  she  was  frustrated  by  tho 
perseverance  of  the/  Greenwich,  which  vessel  kept  close  on  the  enemy's 
quarter,  maintaining  a  spirited  fire,  for  the  number  of  men  on  board.  Ai 
the  Essex  was  coming  up  fast,  the  Seringapatam  finally  gave  up  the  attemr/ 
and  running  down  to  the  frigate,  again  submitted. 

In  this  affair,  as  in  that  of  the  boats,  and  in  the  capture  of  the  Hector  by 
the  Georgiana,  the  officers  and  men  engaged  merited  high  encomiums  for 
their  intrepidity  and  coolness.  The  Greenwich,  after  obtaining  the  hands 
from  the  Georgiana,  did  not  probably  muster  five-and-twenty  men  at  quarte^ 
and  the  Seringapatam  was  much  the  better  ship.  The  New  Zealander  was 
taken  without  any  difficulty. 

The  Seringapatam  had  made  one  prize,  her  master  having  turned  his  at 
tention  more  to  cruis-ing  than  to  whaling.  On  inquiry,  notwithstanding,  it 
was  found  that  he  had  adopted  this  course  in  anticipation  of  a  commission, 
having  actually  sailed  without  one.  When  this  fact  was  ascertained,  Cap 
tain  Porter  put  the  master  in  irons,  and  he  subsequently  sent  him  to  America 
to  be  tried.  Finding  himself  embarrassed  with  his  prisoners,  Captain  Porter 
gave  them  up  the  Charlton,  and  suffered  them  to  proceed  to  Rio  de  Janeiro, 
under  their  parole.  He  then  took  the  guns  out  of  the  New  Zealander,  and 
mounted  them  in  the  Seringapatam,  by  which  means  he  gave  the  latter  ship 
an  armament  of  twenty-two  guns,  though,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Greenwich, 
her  people  were  barely  sufficient  to  work  her. 

On  the  25th  of  July,  the  Georgiana  was  dispatched  to  the  United  States, 
with  a  full  cargo  of  oil.  In  making  up  a  crew  for  her,  an  opportunity  was 
found  of  sounding  the  feelings  of  the  men  whose  times  were  nearly  expired, 
and  it  was  ascertained  that  few  wished  to  profit  by  the  circumstance.  As 
soon  as  the  vessels  separated,  the  Essex,  with  the  Greenwich.  Seringapatam, 
and  New  Zealander  in  company,  shaped  her  course  for  Albermarle  Island. 
On  the  morning  of  the  28th,  another  strange  sail  was  discovered  ;  but  aa 
she  had  a  fresh  breeze,  and  the  frigate  was  becalmed,  she  was  soon  out  ot 
sight.  When  the  wind  came,  however,  the  Essex  ran  in  a  direction  to  in 
tercept  the  stranger ;  and  the  next  morning  he  was  again  seen,  from  the 
mast-head,  standing  across  the  Essex's  bow,  on  a  bowline.  As  the  wind 
was  light,  recourse  was  now  had  to  the  drags,  and  the  ship  got  within  four 
miles  of  Uie  chase,  which  was  evidently  an  enemy's  whaler.  The  stranger 
becoming  alarmed,  got  his  boats  ahead  to  tow,  when  Captain  Porter  sent  a 
gig  and  whale-boat,  with  a  few  good  marksmen  in  them,  under  Acting  Lieu* 
tenant  M'Knight,  with  orders  to  take  a  position  ahead  of  the  chase,  anil  to 
drive  in  her  boats,  but  on  no  account  to  attempt  to  board.  This  duty  was 
handsomely  executed,  though  the  boats  had  great  difficulty  in  maintaining 
their  position  within  musket-shot,  as  the  enemy  got  two  guns  on  the  foio- 
castle,  and  kept- up  a  warm  discharge  of  grape. 

At  4  P.  M  ,  the  ships  were  little  more  than  a  league  apart,  perfectly  bo 
calmed,  anci    7*    ain  Porter  ordered  the  boats  into  the  water,  to  carry  tha 


OF  AMERICANS.  325 

stranger  by  boarding.  As  the  party  drew  near,  the  enemy  commenced  firing, 
but  intimidated  by  their  steady  and  orderly  approach,  he  soon  lowered  his 
ensisrn.  The  boats  were  about  to  take  possession,  when  a  breeze  from  the 
eastward  suddenly  striking  the  English  ship,  she  hauled  up  close  on  a  wind, 
hoisted  her  colors  again,  fired  at  the  gig  and  whale-boat  as  she  passed  quita 
near  them,  and  went  off,  at  a  rapid  rate,  to  the  northward.  The  party  at 
tempted  to  follow,  but  it  was  sunset  before  the  Essex  got  the  wind,  and,  dis 
liking  to  leave  her  boats  out  in  the  darkness,  she  was  compelled  to  heave  to, 
at  nine,  in  order  to  hoist  them  in.  The  next  morning  the  chase  was  out  of 
sight. 

This  was  the  first  instance,  since  her  arrival  in  the  Pacific,  in  which  the 
Essex  had  failed  in  getting  alongside  of  a  chase  that  she  did  not  voluntarily 
abandon.  It  produced  much  mortification,  though  the  escape  of  the  enemy 
was  owing  to  one  of  those  occurrences,  so  common  in  summer,  that  leavo 
one  ship  without  a  breath  of  air,  while  another,  quite  near  her,  has  a  good 
breeze. 

On  the  4:th  of  August,  the  ships  went  into  James'  Island  and  anchored. 
Here  Captain  Porter  made  the  important  discovery  that  a  large  portion  of 
his  powder  had  been  damaged  in  doubling  Cape  Horn.  Fortunately,  the 
Seringapatam  could  supply  the  deficiency,  though,  in  doing  so,  that  ship  was 
rendered  nearly  defenseless." 

On  this  island  Captain  Porter  lost  a  most  promising  young  officer  by  a  dis 
graceful  practice.  Without  his  knowledge  two  of  kis  officers  met  on  shore 
at  daylight  to  engage  in  a  duel  and  at  the  third  fire  Mr.  Cowan  fell  dead. 
His  remains  were  buried  the  same  day  in  the  spot  where  he  fell,  and  the 
following  inscription  was  placed  over  his  tomb : 

Sacred  to  the  memory 

OF  LIEUT.  JOHN  S.  COWAN, 

Of  the  U.  S.  Frigate  Essex, 

Who  died  here  anno  1813, 

Aged  21  years. 

His  loss  is  ever  to  be  regretted 

By  his  country  ; 

And  mourned  by  his  friends 

And  brother  officers. 

"On  the  morning  of  the  20th  August,  got  under  way  ;  but,  prior  to  my 
leaving  the  place,  I  buried  a  letter  for  Lieutenant  Downes,  in  a  bottle  at  the 
head  of  Mr.  Cowan's  grave,  and  a  duplicate  of  the  same  at  the  foot  of  a 
finger-post,  erected  by  me,  for  the  purpose  of  pointing  out  to  such  as  may 
hereafter  visit  the  island  the  grave  of  Mr.  Cowan  ;  and,  with  a  design  of 
misleading  the  enemy,  I  left  in  a  bottle  suspended  at  the  finger-post,  the 
following  note  : 

The  United  States  frigate  Essex  arrived  here  on  the  21st  July,  1813,  her 
crew  much  afflicted  with  the  scurvy  and  sbip-fever,  which  attacked  them 
suddenly,  out  of  which  she  lost  the  first  lieutenant,  surgeon,  sailing-master, 
two  midshipmen,  gunner,  carpenter,  and  thirty-six  seamen  and  marines. 


326  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

She  captured  in  this  sea  the  following  British  ships,  to-\vit :  Montezuma, 
Policy,  Atlantic,  Catharine,  Rose,  Hector,  Charlton.  Georgiana,  Greenwich, 
Seringapatam,  and  New  Zealander ;  but,  for  want  of  officers  and  men  to  man 
them,  the  four  last  were  burnt ;  the  Rose  and  Charlton  were  given  up  to  the 
prisoners. 

The  Essex  leaves  this  in  a  leaky  state,  her  foremast  very  rotten  in  the 
partners,  and  her  mainmast  sprung.  Her  crew  have,  however,  received  great 
benefit  from  the  tortoises  and  other  refreshments  which  the  island  affords. 
Should  any  American  vessel,  or  indeed  a  vessel  of  any  nation,  put  in  here, 
and  meet  with  this  note,  they  would  be  doing  an  act  of  great  humanity 
to  transmit  a  copy  of  it  to  America,  in  order  that  our  friends  may  know  of 
our  distressed  and  hopeless  situation,  and  be  prepared  for  worse  tidings,  if 
they  should  ever  again  hear  from  us,"  etc. 

Two  days  later,  the  vessels  reached  Banks'  Bay,  where  the  prizes  were 
moored  and  the  Essex  sailed  in  a  short  cruise  alone  on  the  24th. 

"After  passing  among  the  is]ands,  without  meeting  anything,  a  sail  was 
discovered  on -the  morning  of  15th  of  September,  apparently  lying  to,  a  long 
distance  to  the  southward  and  to  windward.  The  Essex  was  immediately 
disguised,  by  sending  down  some  of  the  light  yards,  and  the  ship  kept 
turning  to  windward,  under  easy  sail.  At  meridian,  the  vessels  were  so  near 
each  other,  that  the  stranger  was  ascertained  to  be  a  whaler,  in  the  act  of 
cutting  in.  He  was  evidently  drifting  down  fast  on  the  frigate.  At  1  p.  M« 
when  the  ships  were  about  four  miles  apart,  the  stranger  cast  off  from  the 
whales,  and  made  all  sail  to  windward.  As  it  was  now  evident  that  he  had 
taken  the- alarm,  the  Essex  threw  aside  all  attempts  at  disguise,  and  pursued 
him,  under  everything  that  would  draw.  By  4  p.  M.  the  frigate  had  the 
stranger  within  reach  of  her  guns,  and  a  few  shot  well  thrown,  brought  him 
down  under  her  lee.  This  ship  was  the  Sir  Andrew  Hammond,  of  three 
hundred  and  one  tuns,  twelve  guns,  and  thirty -one  men  ;  and  she  proved  to 
be  the  vessel  that  had  escaped,  in  the  manner  previously  related.  Fortu 
nately,  the  prize  had  a  large  supply  of  excellent  beef,  pork,  bread,  wood, 
and  water,  and  the  Essex  got  out  of  her  an  ample  stock  of  those  great 
necessaries.  On  returning  to  Banks'  Bay  with  her  prize,  the  ship  shortly 
after  was  joined  by  the  Essex  Junior,  on  her  return  from  Valparaiso.  By 
this  arrival,  Captain  Porter  discovered  that  several  enemy's  vessels  of  force 
had  sailed  in  pursuit  of  him  ;  and  having  by  this  time  captured  nearly  all 
the  English  whalers  of  which  he  could  obtain  intelligence,  he  determined 
to  proceed  to  the  Marquesas,  in  order  to  refit,  and  to  make  his  preparations 
for  returning  to  America.  He  was  urged  to  adopt  this  resolution,  also,  by 
understanding  from  Mr.  Downes,.  that  the  government  of  Chili  no  longer 
preserved  the  appearance  of  amity  toward  the  United  States,  but  was  getting 
to  be  English  in  its  predilections." 

In  summing  up  the  important  services  rendered  by  the  Essex  in  coming 
into  the  Pacific,  Captain  Porter  says  :  "In  the  first  place,  by  our  captures, 
we  have  completely  broken  up  that  important  branch  of  British  navigation, 
the  whale-fishery  of  the  coast  of  Chili  and  Peru,  as  we  have  captured  all 
their  vessels  engaged  in  that  pursuit  except  the  aforesaid  ship  Comet.  By 
tiiese  captures  we  have  deprived  the  enemy  of  property  to  the  amount  of 
two  and  a  half  millions  of  dollars,  and  of  the  services  of  three  hundred 


OF  AMERICANS.  327 

and  sixty  seamen  that  I  liberated  on  parole,  not  to  serve  against  the  United 
States  until  regularly  exchanged.  We  have  effectually  prevented  them 
from  doing  any  injury  to  our  own  whale-ships,  only  two  of  which  have 
been  captured,  and  their  captures  took  place  before  our  arrival.  Shortly 
after  my  appearance  in  those  seas,  our  whale-ships,  which  had  taken  refuge 
at  Conception  and  Valparaiso,  boldly  ventured  to  sea  in  pursuit  of  whales, 
and  on  the  arrival  of  the  Essex  Junior  at  Valparaiso,  four  of  them  had  returned 
there  with  full  cargoes.  The  expense  also  of  employing  the  frigate  Phoebe, 
the  sloops  of  war  Raccoon  and  Cherub,  and  their  store-ship,  should  also  be 
taken  into  the  estimate  of  the  injury  we  have  done  them  ;  for  it  is  evident 
that  they  would  not*  have  been  sent  into  the  Pacific  had  it  not  been  for  the 
appearance  of  the  Essex  there,  as  for  many  years  past  they  have  employed 
no  ships  of  war  ir.  this  part  of  the  world,  nor  were  those  sent  until  they  had 
heard  of  our  arrival  at  Valparaiso. 

It  appears  by  my  estimate,  that  the  balance  against  the  British,  occasioned 
by  our  coming  into  this  sea,  is  five  million  one  hundred  and  seventy 
dollars  ;  for  there  cannot  be  a  doubt  that  all  our  whale-ships  would  have 
been  captured,  had  we  not  effectually  prevented  it  by  the  capture  of  all  of 
theirs. 

We  have  also  taken  ten  prize-ships.  Those  now  in  company  are  as  follows  : 
Essex  Junior,  twenty  guns  ;  Greenwich,  twenty  guns  ;  Seringapatam,  twenty- 
two  guns  ;  New  Zealander,  ten  guns  ;  and  Sir  Andrew  Hammond,  ten  guns. 
We  have  dispatched  two  ships  for  America  to-wit :  Georgiana  and  Policy, 
and  have  three,  the  Montezuma,  Catharine,  and  Hector  safely  moored  under 
the  batteries  of  Valparaiso.  All  these  vessels  are  copper  sneeted  and  fast 
ened  and  in  a  state  to  proceed  to  the  most  distant  part  of  the  world,  some 
of  the  remarkably  fast  sailors  and  all  superior  ships." 

On  the  24th  of  October  they  discovered  the  island  of  Rooahooga,  one  ot 
the  Washington  group  of  the  Marquesas  Islands.  This  group  consists  of  three 
Islands,  viz  :  Rooahooga,  or  Jefferson  Island  ;  Rooapooah,  or  Adams'  Island, 
and  Novaheevah,  or  Madison  Island. 

"  Its  aspect,  on  first  making  it,  was  little  better  than  the  barren  and  des 
olate  islands  we  had  been  so  long  among ;  but  on  our  nearer  approach 
the  fertile  valleys,  whose  beauties  were  heightened  by  the  pleasant  streams 
and  clusters  of  houses,  and  intervened  by  groups  of  the  natives  on  the  hills 
inviting  us  to  land,  produced  a  contrast  much  to  the  advantage  of  the  islands 
we  were  now  about  visiting — indeed  the  extreme  fertility  of  the  soil,  as  it 
appeared  to  us  after  rounding  the  southeast  point  of  the  island,  produced 
sensations  we  had  been  little  accustomed  to,  and  made  us  long  for  the  fruits 
with  which  the  trees  appeared  everywhere  loaded. 

On  rounding  the  southeast  part  of  the  island  we  saw  a  canoe  coming  off  to 
the  ship  with  eight  of  the  natives,  one  of  whom  was  seated  in  the  bow  with  hia 
h^ad  ornamented  with  some  yellow  leaves,  which  at  a  distance  we  supposed 
to  be  feathers.  They  approached  us  very  cautiously,  and  would  not  venture 
alongside  until  we  had  run  very  close  in.  We  had  a  native  of  the  island 
of  Otaheite  on  board,  who  enabled  them,  but  with  apparent  difficulty,  to 
comprehend  our  wishes,  and  who  gave  them  repeated  assurances  of  our 
friendly  disposition.  They  frequently  repeated  to  us  the  word  taya,  which 
signifies  friend,  and  invited  us  to  the  shore.  Their  bodies  were  entirely 


328  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

naked,  and  their  chief  ornament  consisted  in  the  dark  and  fanciful  Hues 
formed  by  tattooing,  which  covered  them.  On  their  leaving  us  I  bore 
a'.vay  for  several  other  canoes  which  were  lanched  from  the  different  coves 
with  which  the  coast  was  indented,  but  nothing  could  induce  them  to  come 
near  the  ship.  I  was  anxious  to  procure  some  refreshments,  but  more  so  to 
obtain  a  knowledge  of  a  people  with  whom  the  world  is  so  little  acquainted. 
One  of  the  canoes  displayed  a  white  flag  :  I  caused  a  similar  emblem  of 
peace  to  be  exhibited,  and  after  waiting  some  time,  perceiving  that  they  were 
fearful  of  coming  alongside,  I  caused  two  boats  to  be  manned  and  armed, 
and  proceeded  toward  them.  I  soon  approached  them,  and  directed  the 
Otaheitan  to  inform  them  that  we  were  friendly  disposed,  and  were  willing 
to  purchase  of  them  the  articles  they  had  to  sell,  which  consisted  of  hogs, 
plantains,  bread-fruit,  cocoa-nuts,  etc.,  and  through  the  same  medium 
informed  them  that  I  should  proceed  to  the  shore,  and  there  remain  as  a 
hostage  for  their  safety.  Some  of  them  went  off  to  the  ship,  but  the  greater 
number  followed  me  to  the  shore,  where  they  were  collected  in  groups,  armed 
with  their  spears  and  war-clubs,  to  receive  me,  and  collecting  in  considerable 
numbers  from  every  quarter.  I  went  close  in  with  my  boat,  where  I  made 
an  exchange  of  pieces  of  iron  hoops  and  other  articles  for  their  ornaments 
and  fruits.  In  a  few  minutes  the  spears  and  war-clubs  were  laid  aside, 
and  swarms  of  natives  swam  off  to  me  loaded  with  the  produce  of  the  is 
land  :  all  seemed  greatly  to  rejoice  that  we  had  so  precious  an  article  to 
offer  them  as  pieces  of  old  iron  hoops,  which  were  held  in  such  high  esti 
mation  that  good  sized  pigs  were  purchased  for  a  few  inches.  Some,  to  ex 
press  their  joy*  were  seen  dancing  on  the  beach  with  the  most  extravagant 
gestures,  while  others  expressed  the  pleasure  they  felt  by  shouting  and 
clapping  their  hands.  But  notwithstanding  this  friendly  intercourse,  it  was 
very  evident  that  they  had  strong  suspicions  of  us.  They  always  approached 
the  boat  with  the  greatest  awe  and  agitation,  and  in  every  instance,  where 
articles  were  presented  to  them,  they  shrunk  back  with  terror,  and  retreated 
to  the  shore  with  the  utmost  precipitation.  One  among  them,  however,  ven 
tured  to  raise  himself  by  the  side  of  the  boat,  and  perceiving  a  pistol  lying 
in  the  stern  sheets,  showed  an  evident  desire  to  possess  it.  It  was  with 
some  difficulty  I  could  make  him  let  go  his  hold  of  the  boat ;  and  to  inti 
midate  him  I  presented  the  pistol  at  him  ;  but  it  produced  no  other  effect 
than  joy,  as  he  immediately  held  out  both  his  hands  to  receive  it,  from 
which  I  concluded  that  they  were  unacquainted  with  the  use  of  fire-arms. 

After  leaving  these  friendly  people  I  proceeded  for  the  frigate,  where  I 
found  the  traffic  with  the  canoes  that  had  gone  off,  had  been  conducted  with 
much  harmony.  Some  of  them  I  passed  very  close  to  on  their  return,  and 
the  natives  on  board  them  expressed  their  extreme  satisfaction  by  expres 
sions  of  the  most  extravagant  joy.  One  of  them  in  the  fullness  of  heart, 
said  he  was  so  glad  he  longed  to  get  on  shore  to  dance.  On  rejoining  the 
ship,  I  was  informed  by  the  officers  that  the  natives  who  had  been  on  board, 
had  expressed  much  surprise  at  the  sight  of  the  goats,  sheep,  dogs,  and 
other  animals,  but  what  seemed  most  to  astonish  them,  was  one  of  the  largo 
Galapagos  tortoises  :  it  seemed  as  though  they  could  not  sufficiently  feast 
their  eyes  on  it ;  and  to  view  it  more  at  their  ease  they  stretched  themselves 
at  full  length  on  the  deck  around  :t  •  and  this  appeared  to  be  their  general 


OF  AMERICANS.  329 

practice  when  they  wished  to  view  leisurely  any  object  that  excited  their 
attention,  a  practice  which  seems  to  bespeak  the  natural  indolence  of  thi? 
people. 

The  men  of  this  island  are  remarkably  handsome  ;  of  large  stature  and 
well  proportioned  :  they  possess  every  variety  of  countenance  and  feature, 
and  c  great  difference  is  observable  in  the  color  of  the  skin,  which  for  the 
most  part  is  that  of  a  copper  color :  but  some  are  as  fair  as  the  generality  of 
working  people  much  exposed  to  the  sun  of  a  warm  climate.  The  old  men 
(but  particularly  the  chiefs)  are  entirely  black  ;  but  this  is  owing  entirely  u> 
the  practice  of  tattooing  with  which  they  are  covered  all  over,  and  it  re 
quires  a  close  inspection  to  perceive  that  the  blackness  of  their  skin  is  owing 
to  this  cause  ;  and  when  the  eye  is  once  familiarized  with  men  ornamented 
after  this  manner,  we  perceive  a  richness  in  the  skin  of  an  old  man  highly 
tattooed  comparable  to  that  which  we  perceive  in  a  highly  wrought  piece  of 
old  mahogany  :  for,  on  a  minute  examination,  may  be  discovered  innumer 
able  lines  curved,  straight,  and  irregular,  drawn  with  the  utmost  correctness, 
taste  and  symmetry,  and  yet  apparently  without  order  or  any  determined 
plan.  The  young  men,  the  fairness  of  whose  skin  is  contrasted  by  the  or 
naments  of  tattooing,  certainly  have,  at  first  sight,  a  more  handsome  appear 
ance  than  those  entirely  covered  with  it ;  and  in  a  short  time  we  are  induced 
to  think  that  tattooing  is  as  necessary  an  ornament  for  a  native  of  those  is 
lands  as  clothing  is  for  a  European.  The  neatness  and  beauty  with  which 
this  species  of  ornament  is  finished,  served  greatly  to  surprize  us,  and  we 
could  not  help  believing  that  they  had  among  them  tafctooers  by  profession, 
some  of  them  no  doubt,  equal  in  celebrity  to  M'Alpin  and  other  renowned 
tailors  of  America,  for  we  afterward  discovered  that  the  most  wealthy  and  high 
class  was  more  fully  and  handsomely  tattooed  than  those  of  an  inferior 
station,  which  is  a  sufficient  evidence  that  tattooing  has  its  price. 

The  young  girls,  which  we  had  an  opportunity  of  seeing,  were  as  I  before 
observed,  handsome  and  well  formed  ;  their  skins  were  remarkably  soft  and 
smooth,  and  their  complexions  no  darker  than  many  brunettes  in  America 
celebrated  for  their  beauty.  Their  modesty  was  more  evident  than  that  of 
the  women  of  any  place  we  have  visited  since  leaving  our  own  country. 
Nakedness  they  cannot  consider  offensive  to  modesty  ;  they  are  accustomed 
to  it  from  their  infancy.  I  find  no  difficulty  in  believing,  that  an  American 
lady,  who  exposes  to  view  her  face,  her  bosom,  and  her  arms,  is  as  modest 
and  virtuous  as  the  wife  of  a  Turk,  who  is  seen  only  by  her  husband  ;  or 
that  a  female  of  Washington's  Group,  who  is  seen  in  a  state  of  nature,  may 
be  as  modest  and  virtuous  as  either.  That  they  have  a  high  sense  of  shame 
and  pride,  I  had  afterward  many  opportunities  of  observing/' 

At  daylight  next  morning  they  bore  up  for  Noaheevah  or  Madison's  Is- 
l:md,  where  they  put  into  a  beautiful  bay  and  came  to  an  anchor.  This 
harbor  was  named  by  Captain  Porter,  Massachusetts  Bay.  Here  he  was 
soon  joined  by  the  Essex  Junior,  which  vessel  had  parted  company  to 
cruise,  when  he  believed  himself  sufficiently  secure  to  commence  a  regular 
overhauling  of  the  ships. 

Cooper,  in  his  Naval  History,  says,  "  the  situation  of  the  Essex  was  suffi 
ciently  remarkable,  at  this  moment,  to  merit  a  brief  notice.  She  had  been 
the  first  American  to  carry  the  pennant  of  a  man-of-war  round  the  Cape  of 


330  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

Good  Hope,  and  now  she  bad  been  the  first  to  bring  it  into  this  distant  ocean. 
More  than  ten  thousand  miles  from  home,  without  colonies,  stations,  or  even 
A  really  friendly  port  to  repair  to,  short  of  stores,  without  a  consort,  and 
otherwise  in  possession  of  none  of  the  required  means  of  subsistence  and 
efficiency,  she  had  boldly  steered  into  this  distant  region,  where  she  had 
found  all  that  she  required,  through  her  own  activity  and  having  swept 
the  seas  of  her  enemies,  she  had  now  retired  to  those  little-frequented  islands 
to  refit,  with  the  security  of  a  ship  at  home.  It  is  due  to  the  officer,  who 
so  promptly  adopted,  and  so  successfully  executed  this  plan,  to  add,  that 
his  enterprize,  self-reliance  and  bkill,  indicated  a  man  of  bold  and  masculine 
conception,  of  great  resources,  and  of  a  high  degree  of  moral  courage  ;  qual 
ities  that  are  indispensable  in  forming  a  naval  captain." 

When  the  Essex  stood  into  the  land  a  boat  come  off  from  the  shore  with 
three  white  men  in  her,  one  of  whom  to  Captain  Porter's  great  astonishment 
proved  to  be  John  M.  Maury  an  American  midshipman,  who  had  left  the 
United  States  on  furlough  in  a  merchant  ship.  He  had  been  left  here  by 
the  master  of  the  vessel  to  gather  sandal  wood  while  the  ship  was  gone  to 
China.  As  it  was  supposed  the  war  would  prevent  the  return  of  the  ship, 
Mr.  Maury  and  his  party  were  received  on  board  the  frigate.  Wilson,  one  of 
them,  was  an  Englishman  by  birth.  He  had  been  many  years  in  these  is 
lands  and  with  the  exception  of  a  cloth  around  Ms  loins  was  completely 
naked.  Hi*  body  was  all  over  tattooed  and  in  every  respect  except  color  ho 
had  become  an  Indian.  He  assisted  Captain  Porter  as  interpreter,  and  with 
out  his  aid  he  would  have  succeeded  badly  on  the  island. 

Captain  Porter  landed  with  a  party  of  marines  and  sailors.  "The  drum 
appeared  to  give  them  much  pleasure  ;  and  the  regular  movements  of  the 
marines  occasioned  much  astonishment.  They  said  they  were  spirits  or  be 
ings  of  a  class  different  from  other  men.  I  directed  them  to  be  put  through 
their  exercise ;  and  the  firing  of  the  muskets  occasioned  but  little  terror, 
except  among  the  women,  who  generally  turned  away  their  faces  and  covered 
their  ears  with  their  hands.  The  men  and  boys  were  all  attention  to  the 
skipping  of  the  balls  in  the  water;  but  at  every  fire  all  habitually  inclined 
their  bodies,  as  if  to  avoid  the  shot,  although  behind  the  men  who  were 
firing.  After  remaining  a  short  time  with  them,  I  distributed  among  them 
some  knives,  fish-hooks,  etc.,  which  they  received  with  much  apparent  plea 
sure  ;  but  no  one  offered,  like  the  natives  of  the  other  island,  anything  in 
return. 

Observing  the  mountains  surrounding  the  valleys  to  be  covered  with  nu 
merous  groups  of  natives,  I  inquired  the  cause,  and  was  informed  that  a 
warlike  tribe  residing  beyond  the  mountains  had  been  for  several  weeks  at 
war  with  the  natives  of  the  valley,  into  which  they  had  made  several  in 
cursions,  and  had  destroyed  many  houses  and  plantations,  and  had  killed, 
by  cutting  around  the  bark,  a  great  number  of  bread-fruit  trees. 

I  inquired  if  it  were  possible  to  get  a  message  to  them ;  and  was  informed 
that  notwithstanding  they  were  at  war  and  showed  no  quarter  to  each  cthei; 
there  were  certain  persons  of  both  tribes,  who  were  permitted  to  pass  and 
repass  freely  and  uninterrupted  from  one  tribe  to  another :  such  for  example 
as  a  man  belonging  to  one  tribe  who  had  married  a  woman  belonging  to  the 
other.  I  inquired  if  any  such  were  present ;  and  one  being  pointed  out  to 


OF  AMERICANS.  331 

me,  I  directed  him  to  proceed  to  the  Happahs  and  to  tell  them  that  I  had 
come  with  a  force  sufficiently  strong  to  drive  them  from  the  island  :  and  if 
they  presumed  to  enter  into  the  valley  while  I  remained  there,  I  should 
send  a  body  of  men  to  chastise  them  ;  to  tell  them  to  cease  all  hostilities  so 
long  as  I  remained  among  them  ;  that  if  they  had  hogs  or  fruit  to  dispose 
of,  they  might  come  and  trade  freely  with  us,  as  I  should  not  permit  the 
natives  of  the  valley  to  injure  or  molest  them.  To  the  natives  of  the 
valley — who  listened  attentively  and  with  apparent  pleasure  to  the  message 
sent  to  the  Happahs — I  then  addressed  myself,  and  assured  them  that  I  had 
come  with  the  most  friendly  disposition  ;  that  I  wanted  nothing  from  them 
but  what  I  paid  for  :  that  they  must  look  on  us  as  brethren  :  and  that  I 
should  protect  them  against  the  Happahs  should  they  again  venture  to  de 
scend  from  the  mountains.  I  directed  them  to  leave  at  home  their  spears, 
slings,  and  clubs — their  only  weapons  of  war — in  order  that  we  might  know 
them  from  the  Happahs  ;  and  told  them  that  I  should  consider  all  as  my 
enemies  who  should  appear  armed  in  my  presence.  All  listened  with  much 
attention  :  their  spears  and  clubs  were  thrown  on  one  side.  My  attention 
was  soon  drawn  to  an  object,  which  at  the  moment  had  presented  itself.  A 
handsome  young  woman,  of  about  eighteen  years  of  age,  her  complexion 
fairer  than  common,  her  carriage  majestic,  and  her  dress  better  and  some 
what  different  from  the  other  females,  approached.  Her  glossy  black  hair, 
and  her  skin  were  highly  anointed  with  the  cocoa-nut  oil,  and  her  whole 
person  and  appearance  neat,  sleek,  and  comely  ;  on  inquiry  who  this  digni 
fied  personage  might  be,  I  was  informed  that  her  name  was  Piteenee,  a  grand 
daughter  to  the  chief,  or  greatest  man  in  the  valley,  whose  name  was  Gatta- 
newa.  This  lady,  on  whose  countenance  was  not  to  be  perceived  any  of 
those  playful  smiles  which  enliven  the  countenances  of  the  others,  1  was  in 
formed  was  held  in  great  estimation,  on  account  of  her  rank  and  beauty,  and 
I  felt  that  it  would  be  necessary,  from  motives  of  policy,  to  pay  some  atten 
tions  to  a  personage  so  exalted.  She  received  my  advances  with  a  coldness 
and  hauteur  which  would  have  suited  a  princess,  and  repelled  everything 
like  familiarity  with  a  sternness  that  astonished  me. 

Gattanewa,  the  chief  of  the  Tayehs,  the  tribe  who  inhabited  this  valley, 
I  was  informed  at  the  time  of  my  landing,  was  at  a  fortified  village,  which 
was  pointed  out  to  me,  on  the  top  of  one  of  the  highest  mountains.  The 
manner  of  fortifying  those  places,  is  to  plant  closely  on  end,  the  bodies  of 
large  trees,  of  forty  feet  in  length,  and  securing  them  together  by  pieces  of 
timber  strongly  lashed  across,  presenting  on  the  brow  of  a  hill,  difficult  of 
access,  a  breast- work  of  considerable  extent,  which  would  require  European 
artillery  to  destroy.  At  the  back  of  this  a  scaffolding  is  raised,  on  which  is 
placed  a  platform  for  the  warriors,  who  ascend  by  the  means  of  ladders,  and 
thence  shower  down  on  their  assailants  spears  and  stones. 

When  the  ship  was  moored,  the  shore  was  lined  with  the  natives  of  both 
sexes ;  but  the  females  were  most  numerous,  waving  their  white  cloaks  or 
caJtoes  for  us  to  come  on  shore.  The  boats  were  got  out,  and  proceeded  to 
the  shore,  where  on  landing,  they  were  taken  complete  possession  of  by  tho 
women,  who  insisted  on  going  to  the  ship,  and  in  a  short  time  she  was  com 
pletely  filled  by  them,  of  all  ages  and  descriptions,  from  the  age  of  sixty 
years  to  that  of  ten  ;  some  as  remarkable  for  their  beauty,  as  others  for  their 


332  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

ugliness.  The  ship  was  a  perfect  Bedlam  from  the  time  of  their  arrival 
until  their  departure,  which  was  not  until  morning,  when  they  were  put  on 
shore,  not  only  with  whatever  was  given  them,  but  with  whatever  they 
could  lay  their  hands  on. 

The  object  of  the  greatest  value  at  this  as  well  as  all  the  other  islands  of 
this  group,  is  whales'  teeth.  No  jewel,  however  valuable,  is  half  so  much 
esteemed  in  Europe  or  America,  as  is  a  whale's  tooth  here  :  I  have  seen 
them  by  fits  laugh  and  cry  for  joy,  at  the  possession  of  one  of  these  darling 
treasures.  Some  idea  may  be  formed  of  the  value  in  which  they  are  held 
by  the  natives,  when  it  is  known  that  a  ship  of  three  hundred  tuns  burden, 
may  be  loaded  with  sandal- wood  at  this  island,  and  fehe  only  object  of  trade 
necessary  to  procure  it,  is  ten  whales'  teeth  of  a  large  size  ;  and  for  these  the 
natives  will  cut  it,  bring  it  from  the  distant  mountains,  and  take  it  on  board 
the  ship ;  and  this  cargo  in  China,  would  be  worth  near  a  million  of  dollars. 
I  have  seen  this  sandal-wood,  that  is  so  highly  esteemed  by  the  Chinese  ;— 
indeed  their  infatuation  for  it,  falls  little  short  of  that  of  the  natives  for 
whales'  teeth — it  does  not  appear  capable  of  receiving  a  high  polish,  nor  is 
its  color  agreeable ;  the  odor  arising  from  it  is  pleasant,  and  the  principal 
uses  to  which  the  Chinese  are  said  to  apply  it,  is  to  burn  it  in  their  temples, 
and  to  extract  from  it  an  oil,  which  is  said  to  be  of  great  value." 

In  a  short  time  Gattanewa,  the  chief,  came  on  board  of  the  Essex.  Most 
of  the  warriors  they  had  seen  were  highly  ornamented  with  plumes  and 
were  attired  in  all  the  gew-gaws  of  savage  splendor.  They  generally  carried 
a  black  and  highly  polished  spear  or  a  club  richly  carved  and  their  bodies 
were  elegantly  tattooed.  "What  was  my  astonishment  then,  "  says  Porter, 
"when  Gattanewa  presented  himself;  an  infirm  old  man  of  seventy  years 
of  age,  destitute  of  every  covering  or  ornament  except  a  clout  about  his 
loins,  and  a  piece  of  palm  leaf  tied  about  his  head  :  a  long  stick  seemed  to 
assist  him  in  walking ;  his  face  arid  body  were  as  black  as  a  negro's,  from 
the  quantity  of  tattooing,  which  entirely  covered  them,  and  his  skin  was 
rough,  and  appeared  to  be  peeling  off  in  scales,  from  the  quantity  of  kava 
(an  intoxicating  root)  with  which  he  had  indulged  himself.  Such  was  the 
figure  that  Gattanewa  presented  ;  and  as  he  had  drank  freely  of  the  kava 
before  he  made  his  visit,  he  appeared  to  be  perfectly  stupid.  After  he  had 
been  a  short  time  on  deck,  I  endeavored  to  impress  him  with  a  high  opinion 
of  our  force  ;  and  for  this  purpose  assembled  all  my  crew  :  it  scarcely  seemed 
to  excite  his  attention.  I  then  caused  a  gun  to  be  fired,  which  seemed  to 
produce  no  other  effect  on  him,  than  that  of  pain  ;  he  complained  that  it 
hurt  his  ears;  I  then  invited  him  below,  where  nothing  whatever  excited 
his  attentions,  until  I  showed  him  some  whales'  teeth  :  this  roused  the  old 
man  from  his  lethargy,  and  he  would  not  be  satisfied,  until  I  had  permitted 
him  to  handle,  to  measure  and  count  them  over  and  over,  which  seemed  to 
afford  him  infinite  pleasure.  After  he  had  done  this  repeatedly,  I  put  them 
away  ;  and  shortly  afterward  asked  him  if  he  had  seen  anything  in  the 
ship  that  pleased  him  ;  if  he  did  to  name  it  and  it  should  be  his  :  he  told 
me  he  had  seen  nothing  which  had  pleased  him  so  much  as  one  of  the  small 
whales'  teeth  ;  which  on  his  describing,  I  took  out  and  gave  to  him  :  this  he 
carefully  wrapped  up  in  one  of  the  turns  of  his  clout ;  begging  me  not  to 
inform  any  person  that  he  had  about  him  an  article  of  so  much  value  :  I 


OF  AMERICANS.  333 

assured  him  I  should  not ;  and  the  old  man  threw  himself  on  the  settee  and 
went  to  sleep.  In  a  few  minutes  he  awoke,  somewhat  recovered  from  his 
stupidity,  and  requested  to  be  put  on  shore  :  he,  however,  previous  to  his 
departure,  wished  me  to  exchange  names  with  him,  and  requested  me  to 
assist  him  in  his  war  with  the  Happahs  :  to  the  first  I  immediately  consented. 
lie  told  me  they  had  cursed  the  bones  of  his  mother,  who  had  died  but  a 
abort  time  since  :  that  as  we  had  exchanged  names,  she  was  now  my  mother, 
and  I  was  bound  to  espouse  her  cause.  I  told  him  I  would  think  of  tho 
subject,  and  did  not  think  it  necessary  to  make  any  farther  reply  to  the  old 
man's  sophistry. 

Captain  Porter  now  unbent  the  sails  of  the  Essex  and  sent  them  on  shore  ; 
landed  his  water  casks  with  which  he  formed  a  complete  inclosure  :  the  ship 
was  hauled  close  within  the  beach  and  they  began  to  make  their  repairs.  A 
tent  was  erected  and  the  whole  placed  under  a  guard  of  marines.  In  the 
meanwhile  the  Happahs  descended  in  a  large  body  into  the  valley  and  dis- 
troyed  an  immense  number  of  the  bread-fruit  trees.  They  sent  word  that 
inasmuch  as  the  Americans  had  not  opposed  them  they  believed  they  were 
cowards  and  that  they  should  visit  their  camp  and  carry  off  their  sails. 
Before  proceeding  to  extremities,  Captain  Porter  thought  he  could  try  and 
frighten  them  out  of  their  hostile  notions.  As  Gattenewa  made  daily  ap 
plications  for  assistance,  Captain  Porter  at  length  told  him  that  if  his  people 
would  carry  a  heavy  gun,  a  six  pounder  up  to  the  top  of  a  high  mountain 
which  he  pointed  out  to  him  he  would  send  men  up  to  work  it  and  drive 
away  the  Happahs  who  still  kept  possession  of  the  surrounding  hills.  This 
was  unanimously  agreed  to  by  every  man  in  the  valley.  On  the  gun  being 
landed  he  caused  a  few  shot  to  be  fired  over  the  water  first  with  ball  and 
then  with  grape  shot,  which  last  particularly  so  delighted  those  simple  folks 
that  they  hugged  and  kissed  the  gun  and  lay ed  down  beside  it  and  caressed  it 
with  the  utmost  fondness. 

"  While  the  natives  were  employed  with  their  darling  gun,  I  occupied  my 
self  in  forwarding  as  much  as  possible  the  ship's  duty.  No  work  was  ex 
acted  from  any  person  after  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  ;  the  rest  of  the 
day  was  given  to  repose  and  amusement.  One  fourth  of  the  crew  being 
allowed  after  that  hour  to  go  on  shore,  there  to  remain  until  daylight  next 
morning.  Everything  went  on  as  well  as  I  could  have  wished,  and  much 
better  than  I  could  possibly  have  expected.  The  day  after  the  gun  was 
moved  for  the  mountains,  the  chief  warrior  of  the  Tayehs  named  Mouina, 
was  introduced  to  me.  He  was  a  tall,  well  shaped  man  of  about  thirty-five 
years  of  age,  remarkably  active,  of  an  intelligent  and  open  countenance,  and 
his  whole  appearance  was  prepossessing.  He  had  just  left  the  other  warriors 
in  the  fortified  village,  and  had  come  down  to  request  me  to  cause  a  musket 
to  be  fired — which  he  called  a  bouhi — that  he  might  witness  its  effects. 
Several  individuals  of  the  tribe  of  the  Happahs  were  at  that  moment  about 
the  camp,  and  I  was  pleased  at  the  opportunity  which  was  afforded  me  to 
convince  them  of  the  folly  of  resisting  our  fire-arms  with  slings  and  spears. 
I  fired  several  times  myself  at  a  mark  to  show  them  that  I  never  failed  of 
hitting  an  object  the  size  of  a  man.  I  then  directed  the  marines  to  fire  by 
volleys  at  a  cask,  which  was  soon  like  a  riddle. 

Mouina  appeared  much  pleased  with  the  effect  of  our  musketry;    and 


334:  ADVENTURES  AND   ACHIEVEMENTS 

frequently  exclaimed,  mattee,  mattee!  killed,  killed!  The  Happahs,  who 
were  present  however,  replied  that  nothing  could  persuade  their  tribe^that 
bouhies  could  do  them  the  injury  that  we  pretended  :  that  they  were  de 
termined  to  try  the  effects  of  a  battle,  and  if  they  should  be  beaten,  that 
they  would  be  willing  to  make  peace;  but  not  before.  I  informed  them 
that  they  would  not  find  me  so  ready  to  make  peace  after  beating  them,  as 
at  present ;  and  that  I  should  insist  on  being  paid  for  the  trouble  they  might 
put  me  to.  Seeing  that  these  strange  people  were  resolutely  bent  on  trying 
the  effect  of  their  arms  against  ours,  I  thought  that  the  sooner  they  were  con 
vinced  of  thair  folly  the  better.  Indeed  it  became  absolutely  necessary  to  do 
something;  for  the  Happahs  present  informed  me  that  their  tribe  believed 
that  we  were  afraid  to  attack  them,  as  we  had  threatened  so  much,  without 
attempting  anything;  and  this  idea,  I  found,  began  to  prevail  among  those 
of  our  valley,  which  is  called  the  valley  of  Tieuhoy,  and  the  people  Hav- 
ouhs,  Parques,  Hoattas,  etc.,  for  the  valley  is  subdivided  into  other  valleys 
by  the  hills,  and  each  small  valley  is  inhabited  by  distinct  tribes,  governed 
by  their  own  laws,  and  having  their  own  chiefs  and  priests. 

On  the  28th  October,  Gattanewa,  with  several  of  the  warriors,  came  to  in 
form  me  that  the  gun  was  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain,  where  I  had  directed 
it  to  be  carried,  and  that  it  would  have  reached  the  summit  by  the  time  our 
people  could  get  up  there.  I  informed  them  that,  on  the  next  morning  at 
daylight,  forty  men,  with  their  muskets,  would  be  on  shore  and  in  readiness 
to  march  ;  and  as  I  supposed  it  would  be  impossible  for  our  people  to  scale 
the  mountains,  when  incumbered  with  their  arms,  I  desired  them  to  send 
me  forty  Indians  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  their  muskets,  and  an  equal 
number  to  carry  provisions  as  well  as  ammunition  for  the  six  pounder,  which 
they  promised  me  should  be  done,  and  every  arrangement  was  made  accord 
ingly,  and  the  command  of  the  expedition  given  to  Lieutenant  Dowues. 

On  the  morning  of  the  29th  the  party  being  on  shore,  consisting  chiefly 
of  the  crew  of  the  Essex  Junior  and  the  detachment  of  marines,  each  man 
being  furnished  with  an  Indian  to  carry  his  arms,  and  spare  Indians  to  carry 
provisions  and  other  articles,  I  gave  the  order  to  march.  About  eleven 
o'clock  I  perceived  that  our  people  had  gained  the  mountains  and  were  driving 
the  Happahs  from  height  to  height,  who  fought  as  they  retreated,  and  daring 
our  men  to  follow  them  with  threatening  gesticulations.  A  native,  who  bore 
the  American  flag,  waved  it  in  triumph  as  he  skipped  along  the  moun 
tains — they  were  attended  by  a  large  concourse  of  friendly  natives,  armed 
as  usual,  who  generally  kept  in  the  rear  of  our  men.  Mouina  alone  was 
seen  in  the  advance  of  the  whole,  and  was  well  known  by  his  scarlet  cloak 
and  waving  plumes.  In  about  an  hour  we  lost  sight  of  the  combatants  and 
saw  no  more  of  them  until  about  four  o'clock,  when  they  were  discovered 
descending  the  mountains  on  their  return,  the  natives  bearing  five  dead 
bodies  slung  on  poles. 

Mr.  Downes  and  his  men  soon  afterward  arrived  at  the  camp,  overcome 
with  the  fatigue  of  an  exercise  to  which  they  had  been  so  little  accustomed. 
He  informed  me  that  on  his  arrival  near  the  tops  of  the  mountains,  the  Hap 
pahs,  stationed  on  the  summit,  had  assailed  him  and  his  men  with  stones 
and  spears ;  that  he  had  driven  them  from  place  to  place  until  they  had 
taken  refuge  in  a  fortress,  erected  in  a  manner  before  described,  on  the  bro\» 


OF  AMERICANS.  335 

of  a  steep  hill.  Here  they  all  made  a  stand,  to  the  number  of  between  three 
and  four  thousand.  They  dared  our  people  to  ascend  this  hill,  at  the  foot 
of  which  they  had  made  a  halt  to  take  breath.  The  word  was  given  by 
Mr.  Downes  to  rush  up  the  hill ;  at  that  instant  a  stone  struck  him  on  the 
belly  and  laid  him  breathless  on  the  ground,  and  at  the  same  instant  one  of 
our  people  was  pierced  with  a  spear  through  his  neck.  This  occasioned  a 
halt,  and  they  Avere  about  abandoning  any  farther  attempt  on  the  place  :  but 
Mr.  Downes  soon  recovered,  and  finding  himself  able  to  walk  gave  orders 
for  a  charge.  Hitherto  our  party  had  done  nothing.  Not  one  of  the  enemv 
had,  to  their  knowledge,  been  wounded.  They  scoffed  at  our  men,  and  ex 
posed  their  posteriors  to  them,  and  treated  them  with  the  utmost  contempt 
and  derision.  The  friendly  natives  also  began  to  think  we  were  not  so 
formidable  as  we  pretended  :  it  became,  therefore,  absolutely  necessary  that 
the  fort  should  be  taken  at  all  hazards.  Our  people  gave  three  cheers,  and 
rushed  on  through  a  shower  of  spears  and  stones,  which  the  natives  threw 
from  behind  their  strong  barrier,  and  it  was  not  until  our  people  entered  the 
fort  that  they  thought  of  retreating.  Five  were  at  this  instant  shot  dead  ; 
and  one  in  particular,  fought  until  the  muzzle  of  the  piece  was  presented  to 
his  forehead,  when  the  top  of  his  head  was  entirely  blown  off.  As  soon  as 
this  place  was  taken  all  further  resistance  was  at  an  end. 

It  was  shocking  to  see  the  manner  the  friendly  natives  treated  such  as 
were  knocked  over  with  a  shot ;  they  rushed  on  them  with  their  war  clubs 
and  soon  dispatched  them  :  then  each  seemed  anxious  to  dip  his  spear  into 
the  blood,  which  nothing  could  induce  them  to  wipe  off — the  spear,  from 
that  time,  bore  the  name  of  the  dead  warrior,  and  its  value,  in  consequence 
of  that  trophy,  was  greatly  enchanced.  r 

Gattanewa  was  astonished  at  our  victory  which,  to  him,  seemed  incredible; 
and  the  number  of  dead  which  they  had  borne  off  as  trophies  had  far  ex 
ceeded  that  of  any  former  battle  within  his  recollection  :  as  they  fight  for 
weeks,  nay  for  months  sometimes,  without  killing  any  on  either  side,  though 
many  are,  in  all  their  engagements,  severely  wounded.  The  Tayehs  had, 
however,  a  short  time  before  our  arrival,  lost  one  of  their  priests  of  the 
greatest  note,  who  had  been  killed  by  an  ambuscade  of  the  Happahs  ;  and 
this  circumstance  had  occasioned  a  tabboo  of  the  strictest  nature  to  be  es 
tablished,  which  was  now  in  full  force  and  continued  as  long  as  we  remained 
on  the  island. 

I  am  not  acquainted  with  the  ceremony  of  laying  on  these  tabbooes,  which 
are  so  much  respected  by  the  natives.  They  are,  however,  laid  by  the  priests, 
from  some  religious  motive.  Sometimes  they  are  general,  and  affect  a  whole 
valley,  as  the  present ;  sometimes  they  are  confined  to  a  single  tribe  ;  at 
others  to  a  family,  and  frequently  to  a  single  person.  The  word  tabboo  sig 
nifies  an  interdiction,  an  embargo,  or  restraint ;  and  the  restrictions  during 
the  period  of  their  existence  may  be  compared  to  the  lent  of  Catholics. 
They  have  tabbooed  places,  where  they  feast  and  drink  kava— tabbooed 
houses  where  dead  bodies  are  deposited,  and  many  of  their  trees,  and  even 
some  of  their  walks  are  tabbooed. 

But,  to  proceed  in  my  narrative  :  the  Tayehs  had  brought  in  the  bodies 
of  the  five  men  killed  in  storming  the  fort.  We  met  with  no  loss  on  our 
side  or  on  that  of  our  allies.  We  had  two  wounded,  and  one  of  the  Indians 


336  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

had  his  jaw  broke  with  a  stone.  The  dead  Happahs  I  was  informed  were 
lying  in  the  public  square,  where  the  natives  were  rejoicing  over  them.  I 
had  been  informed  by  the  whites,  on  my  arrival,  and  even  by  Wilson,  that 
the  natives  of  this  island  were  cannibals  :  but,  on  the  strictest  inquiry,  I 
could  not  learn  that  either  of  them  had  seen  them  in  the  act  of  eating 
human  flesh.  In  conversing  with  Gattanewa  on  the  subject,  he  did  not 
hesitate  to  acknowledge  that  it  was  sometimes  practiced.  He  said  they 
Bometimes  eat  their  enemies.  I  found  it  difficult  to  reconcile  this  practice 
with  the  generosity  and  benevolence  which  were  leading  traits  in  their 
character.  They  are  cleanly  in  their  persons,  washing  three  or  four  times  a 
day  :  and  also  in  their  mode  of  cooking  and  manner  of  eating ;  and  it 
was  remarked,  that  no  islander  was  known  to  taste  of  anything  whatever, 
until  he  had  first  applied  it  to  his  nose,  and  if  it  was  in  the  slightest  degree 
tainted  or  offensive  to  the  smell,  it  was  always  rejected.  How  then  can 
it  be  possible  that  a  people  so  delicate,  living  in  a  country  abounding 
with  hogs,  fruit,  and  a  considerable  variety  of  vegetables,  should  prefer  a 
loathsome  putrid  human  carcass,  to  the  numerous  delicacies  their  valleys 
afford  ? 

I  proceeded  to  the  house  of  Gattanewa,  which  I  found  filled  with  women 
making  the  most  dreadful  lamentations,  and  surrounded  by  a  large  concourse 
of  male  natives.  On  my  appearance  there  was  a  general  shout  of  terror  ; 
all  fixed  their  eyes  on  me  with  looks  of  fear  and  apprehension.  I  approached 
the  wife  of  Gattanewa,  and  required  to  know  the  cause  of  this  alarm.  She 
said  now  that  we  had  destroyed  the  Happahs  they  were  fearful  we  should 
turn  on  them  :  she  took  hold  of  my  hand,  which  she  kissed,  and  moistened 
with  her  tears  :  then  placing  it  on*  her  head,  knelt  to  kiss  my  feet.  She  told 
me  they  were  willing  to  be  our  slaves,  to  serve  us,  that  their  houses,  their 
lands,  their  hogs,  and  everything  belonging  to  them  were  ours  ;  but  begged 
that  I  would  have  mercy  on  her,  her  children,  and  her  family,  and  not  put 
them  to  death.  It  seemed  that  they  had  worked  themselves  up  to  the 
highest  pitch  of  fear,  and  on  my  appearance  with  a  sentinel  accompanying 
me,  they  could  see  in  me  nothing  but  the  demon  of  destruction.  I  raised 
the  poor  old  woman  from  her  humble  posture,  and  begged  her  to  banish  her 
groundless  fears,  that  I  had  no  intention  of  injuring  any  person  residing  in 
the  valley  of  Tieuhoy  :  that  if  the  Happahs  had  drawn  on  themselves  our 
vengeance,  and  felt  our  resentment,  they  had  none  to  blame  but  themselves. 
I  had  offered  them  peace  ;  but  they  had  preferred  war  ;  I  had  proffered 
them  my  friendship,  and  they  had  spurned  at  it.  That  there  was  no  alterna 
tive  left  m-e.  I  had  chastised  them,  and  was  appeased.  I  then  exhorted 
the  wife  of  Gattanewa  to  endeavor  to  impress  on  the  minds  of  every  person 
the  necessity  of  living  on  friendly  terms  with  us ;  that  we  were  disposed  to 
consider  them  as  brothers ;  that  we  had  come  with  no  hostile  intentions 
toward  them,  and  so  long  as  they  treated  us  as  friends  we  would  protect 
them  against  all  their  enemies.  The  old  woman  was-  all  attention  to  my  dis 
course  as  delivered  through  Wilson  the  interpreter;  and  I  was  about  pro 
ceeding  when  she  requested  me  to  stop.  She  now  rose  and  commanded 
silence  among  the  multitude,  which  had  considerably  augmented  since  my 
arrival,  and  addressed  them  with  much  grace  and  energy  in  a  speech  :»f 
about  half  an  hour;  exhorting  them,  as  I  understood,  to  conduct  themselves 


OF  AMERICANS.  337 

with  propriety,  and  explaining  to  them  the  advantages  likely  to  result  from 
a  good  understanding  with  us.  After  she  had  finished,  she  took  me  affec 
tionately  by  the  hand,  and  reminded  me  that  I  was  her  husband. 

All  alarms  now  were  subsided.  I  inquired  for  Gattanewa,  and  was  in 
formed  that  he  was  at  the  public  square  rejoicing  over  the  bodies  of  tho 
slain,  but  had  been  sent  for.  I  proceeded  for  the  place  and  met  the  old  man 
hastening  home.  He  had  been  out  from  the  earliest  dawn,  and  had  not 
broken  his  fast.  He  held  in  one  hand  a  cocoa-nut  shell,  containing  a  quan 
tity  of  sour  preparation  of  the  bread-fruit,  which  is  highly  esteemed  by  the 
natives,  and  in  the  other  a  raw  fish,  which  he  occasionally  dipped  into  it  as 
he  ate  it.  As  soon  however  as  Wilson  gave  him  to  understand  that  the 
practice  of  eating  raw  fish  was  disagreeable  to  me,  he  wrapped  the  re 
mainder  in  a  palm  leaf,  and  handed  it  to  a  youth  to  keep  for  him  until  a 
more  convenient  opportunity  offered  for  indulging  himself.  On  my  way  to 
the  square  I  observed  several  young  warriors  hastening  along  toward  the 
place  armed  with  their  spears,  at  the  ends  of  which  were  hung  plantains^ 
bread -fruit,  or  cocoa-nuts,  intended  as  offerings  to  their  gods  ;  and  on  my 
approach  to  the  square,  I  could  hear  them  beating  their  drums  and  chanting 
their  war-songs.  I  soon  discovered  five  or  six  hundred  of  them  assembled 
about  the  dead  bodies,  which  were  lying  on  the  ground. 

We  had  but  little  opportunity  of  gaining  a  knowledge  of  the  language  of 
these  people  while  we  remained  among  them  ;  but  from  the  little  we  became 
acquainted  with,  we  are  satisfied  that  it  is  not  copious  ;  few  words  serve  to 
express  all  they  wish  to  say ;  and  one  word  has  oftentimes  many  significa 
tions  ;  as  for  example,  the  word  motee  signifies  I  thank  you,  I  have  enough,  I 
do  not  want  it,  I  do  not  like  it,  keep  it  yourself,  take  it  away,  etc.  Maitee  ex 
presses  every  degree  of  injury  which  can  happen  to  a  person  or  thing  from 
the  slightest  harm  to  the  most  cruel  death.  Thus  a  prick  of  the  finger  is 
mattee,  to  have  a  pain  in  any  part  is  mattee ;  mattee  is  to  be  sick,  to  be  badly 
wounded  is  mattee,  and  mattee  is  to  kill  or  be  killed,  to  be  broke  (when 
speaking  of  inanimate  objects),  to  be  injured  in  any  way,  even  to  be  dirtied 
or  soiled  is  expressed  by  the  word  mattee.  Motakee,  with  slight  variation  of 
the  voice,  signifies  every  degree  of  good,  from  a  thing  merely  tolerable,  to 
an  object  of  the  greatest  excellence  ;  thus  it  is,  so,  so  good,  very  good,  excellent : 
it  signifies  the  qualities  and  disposition  of  persons  ;  thus  they  are  tolerable, 
likely,  handsome,  or  beautiful, — good,  kind,  benevolent,  generous,  humane.  Ke- 
heva,  which  signifies  bad,  is  as  extensive  in  its  use  as  motakee,  and,  by  suita 
ble  modulations  of  the  voice,  has  meanings  directly  opposite.  This  is  tho 
case  with  many  other  words  in  their  language  ;  indeed,  with  all  we  became 
acquainted  with.  Kie-kie  signifies  to  eat,  it  also  signifies  a  troublesome  fellow. 

The  hogs  of  this  island  are  generally  of  a  small  and  inferior  breed,  but 
there  are  many  as  large  and  as  fine  as  those  of  any  part  of  the  world.  Ac 
cording  to  the  traditions  of  the  natives,  many  generations  ago,  a  god  named 
Haii  visited  all  the  islands  of  the  group,  and  brought  with  him  hogs  and  fowls, 
which  he  left  among  them.  Ilaii  was,  no  doubt,  some  navigator,  who,  near 
four  centuries  ago,  by  their  reckoning  left  the  aforesaid  animals  among  tho 
natives.  Our  accounts  of  voyages  made  into  this  sea  do  not  extend  so  far 
back,  and  even  if  they  did,  we  should  be  at  a  loss  to  know  him  from  the 
name  given  to  him  by  the  natives.  We  found  it  impossible  for  them  to  pro- 


338  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

nounce  our  names  distinctly,  even  after  the  utmost  pains  to  teach  them,  and 
the  most  repeated  trials  on  their  part.  They  gave  me  the  name  of  Opotee, 
which  was  the  nearest  they  could  come  to  Porter.  Mr.  Downes  was  called 
Onou;  Lieutenant  Wilmer,  Wooreme;  Lieutenant  M' Knight,  Mucheetie,  and 
the  name  of  every  one  else  underwent  an  equal  change.  These  names  we 
were  called  by  and  answered  to  so  long  as  we  remained  with  them  ;  and  it  is 
not  improbable  that  we  shall  be  so  called  in  their  traditionary  accounts.  If 
there  should  be  no  other  means  of  handing  our  names  down  to  posterity  it 
is  likely  wo  shall  be  as  little  known  to  future  navigators  as  Haii  is  to  us. 
The  natives  call  a  hog  bouarJca,  or  rather  Pouarlca  ;  and  it  is  likely  that  they 
still  retain  the  name  nearly  by  which  they  \vere  first  known  to  them.  The 
Spaniards  call  a  hog  porca,  giving  it  a  sound  very  little  different  from  that 
given  by  the  natives  of  these  islands ;  and  as  the  Spaniards  were  the  earliest 
navigators  in  these  seas,  there  is  scarcely  a  doubt  that  they  are  indebted  to 
one  of  that  nation  for  so  precious  a  gift. 

The  cocoa-nuts  grow  in  great  abundance  in  every  valley  of  the  island,  and 
are  cultivated  with  much  care.  This  tree  is  too  well  known  to  need  a  de 
scription  ;  yet  the  mode  used  to  propagate  it  may  not  be  uninteresting.  As 
the  cocoa-nuts  become  ripe,  they  are  carefully  collected  from  the  tree,  which 
is  ascended  by  means  of  a  slip  of  strong  bark,  with  which  they  make  their 
feet  fast  a  little  above  the  ankles,  leaving  them  about  a  foot  asunder  ;  they 
then  grasp  the  tree  with  their  arms,  feet,  and  knees,  and  the  strip  of  bark 
resting  on  the  rough  projections  of  the  bark  of  the  tree,  prevents  them  from 
slipping  down  :  in  this  manner,  by  alternately  shifting  their  feet  and  hands, 
they  ascend  with  great  apparent  ease  and  rapidity  the  highest  tree. 

The  tarra  is  a  root  much  resembling  a  yam,  of  a  pungent  taste,  and  ex 
cellent  when  boiled  or  roasted.  The  sugar-cane  grows  to  an  uncommon 
size  here.  The  only  use  they  make  of  it  is  to  chew  and  swallow  the  juice. 

The  Jcava  is  a  root  possessing  an  intoxicating  quality,  with  which  the 
chiefs  are  very  fond  of  indulging  themselves.  They  employ  persons  of  a 
lower  class  to  chew  it  for  them  and  spit  it  into  a  wooden  bowl ;  after  which  a 
small  quantity  of  water  is  mixed  with  it,  when  the  juice  is  strained  into  a 
neatly  polished  cup,  made  of  a  cocoa-nut  shell,  and  passed  round  among 
them  :  it  renders  them  very  stupid  and  averse  to  hearing  any  noise  :  it  de 
prives  them  of  their  appetite,  and  reduces  them  almost  to  a  state  of  torpor  : 
it  has  the  effect  of  making  their  skin  fall  off  in  white  scales  ;  affects  their 
nerves,  and  no  doubt  brings  on  a  premature  old  age.  They  applied  the 
word  kava  to  everything  we  eat  or  drank  of  a  heating  or  pungent  nature  as 
rum  or  wine  ;  pepper,  mustard,  and  even  salt. 

The  bread-fruit  tree  of  this  island  grows  with  great  luxuriance,  in  exten 
sive  groves,  scattered  through  every  valley.  It  is  of  the  height  of  fifty  or 
sixty  feet,  branching  out  in  a  large  and  spreading  top,  which  affords  a  beau 
tiful  appearance  and  an  extensive  shade  from  the  rays  of  the  sun  ;  the  trunk 
is  about  six  feet  in  circumference;  the  lower  branches  about  twelve  feet 
from  the  ground  ;  the  bark  soft,  and  on  being  in  the  slightest  degree 
wounded  exudes  a  milky  juice,  not  unpleasant  to  the  taste,  which,  on  being 
exposed  to  the  sun,  forms  an  excellent  bird-lime,  and  is  used  by  the  natives 
as  such,  not  only  for  catching  birds,  but  a  small  kind  of  rat  with  which  this 
island  is  much  infested.  The  leaves  of  this  tree  are  sixteen  inches  long  nnd 


OF  AMERICANS.  339 

nine  inches  wide,  deeply  notched,  somewhat  like  the  fig  leaf.  The  fruit, 
when  ripe,  is  about  the  size  of  a  child's  head,  green,  and  divided  by  slight 
traces  into  innumerable  six  sided  figures.  This  fruit  is  somewhat  eliptical 
in  its  shape,  has  a  thin  and  delicate  skin,  a  large  and  tough  core,  with  re 
markably  small  seeds  situated  in  a  spongy  substance  between  the  core  and 
the  eatable  part,  which  is  next  the  rind.  It  is  eaten  baked,  boiled  or 
roasted  ;  whole,  quartered,  or  cut  in  slices,  and  cooked  ;  either  way  was 
found  exceedingly  palatable,  was  greatly  preferred  by  many  to  our  soft 
bread,  which  it  somewhat  resembled  in  taste,  but  was  much  sweeter  ;  it  was 
found  also  very  fine,  when  cut  into  slices  and  fried  in  butter  or  lard.  It 
keeps  only  three  or  four  days,  when  gathered  and  hung  up ;  but  the  natives 
have  a  method  of  preserving  it  for  several  years,  by  baking,  wrapping  it  up 
in  leaves,  and  burying  it  in  the  earth  :  in  that  state  it  becomes  very  sour, 
and  is  then  more  highly  esteemed  by  them  than  any  other  food.  The 
bread-fruit  tree  is  everything  to  the  natives  of  these  islands.  The  fruit 
serves  them  and  their  hogs  for  food  throughout  the  year,  and  affords  large  sup 
plies  to  be  laid  up  for  a  season  of  scarcity.  The  trees  afford  them  an  agreeable 
and  refreshing  shade  ;  the  leaves  are  an  excellent  covering  for  their  houses  ; 
of  the  inner  bark  of  the  small  branches  they  make  cloth  ;  the  juice,  which 
exudes,  enables  them  to  destroy  the  rats  which  infest  them  ;  and  of  the 
trunk  of  the  tree  they  form  their  canoes,  many  parts  of  their  houses,  and 
even  their  gods.  Describe  to  one  of  the  natives  of  Madison's  Island  a  coun 
try  abounding  in  everything  that  we  consider  desirable,  and  after  you  are 
done  he  will  ask  you  if  it  produces  bread-fruit.  A  country  is  nothing  to 
them  without  that  blessing,  and  the  season  for  bread-fruit  is  the  time  of  joy 
and  festivity  :  the  season  commences  in  December,  and  lasts  until  Septem 
ber,  when  the  greatest  abundance  reigns  among  them. 

On  the  first  of  November,  Mowattaeeli,  a  chief  of  the  Happahs,  and  son-in- 
law  to  Gattanewa,  came,  accompanied  by  several  others  of  his  tribe  with  the 
white  handkerchief  which  I  had  sent  them,  to  treat  with  me  for  a  peace.  I 
received  him  with  mildness,  and  gently  expostulated  with  them  on  their  im 
prudence,  in  having  insisted  on  hostilities  with  me.  They  expressed  the  ut 
most  regret  for  their  past  folly,  and  hoped  that  I  would  allow  them  in 
future  to  live  on  the  same  friendly  terms  with  me  as  Gattanewa  and  his 
people,  stating  their  willingness  to  comply  with  everything  I  should  exact 
from  them  in  reason.  I  informed  them  that  as  I  had  offered  them  peace, 
and  they  had  rejected  it,  and  had  put  me  to  the  trouble  of  chastising  them, 
it  was  proper  that  we  should  receive  some  compensation.  We  were  in  want 
of  hogs  and  fruit,  and  they  had  an  abundance  of  them,  and  I  wished  them 
to  give  me  a  supply,  once  a  week,  for  my  people,  for  which  they  should  be 
compensated  in  iron  and  such  other  articles  as  would  be  most  useful  to  them. 
Qattanewa  and  many  of  his  tribe  were  present,  and  appeared  charmed  with 
the  terms  offered  to  the  Happahs;  said  they  would  henceforth  be  brothers, 
and  observing  that  I  had  not  yet  presented  my  hand,  took  it  affectionately 
and  placed  in  that  of  Mowattaeeli.  After  a  short  silence  Mowattaeeli  observed 
that  we  must  suffer  much  from  the  rain  in  our  tents,  as  they  did  not  appear 
capable  of  securing  us  from  the  wet.  Yes,  said  Gattanewa,  and  we  are 
bound  to  make  the  Hekai — a  title  which  they  all  gave  me — and  his  people 
comfortable  while  they  remain  with  us.  Let  every  tribe  at  peace  with  him, 
22 


34:0  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

build  a  house  for  their  accommodation,  and  the  people  of  the  valley  of 
Tieulicy  will  show  them  the  example  by  building  one  for  the  residence  of 
Opotee — Porter.  This  proposal  met  with  general  applause,  and  the  people 
\vere  immediately  dispatched  to  prepare  materials  for  erecting  the  fabric  next 
day,  at  which  time  the  Happahs  promised  to  bring  in  their  supply,  and  the 
day  after  to  construct  their  house.  In  the  course  of  the  day,  the  other 
chiefs  of  the  Happahs  came  in  with  their  flags  and  subscribed  to  the  terini 
proposed,  and  in  less  than  two  days  I  received  envoys  from  every  tribe  in 
the  island,  with  the  exception  only  of  the  warlike  tribes  of  Typees,  of  the 
valley  of  Vieehee,  and  the  Hatecaahcottwohos,  in  the  distant  valley  of  Hanna- 
liow ;  the  first  confiding  in  their  strength,  valor,  and  position;  the  others  in 
their  distance  and  numbers  for  their  protection.  The  first  had  always  been  vic 
torious  in  all  their  wars  and  the  terror  of  their  enemies  ;  the  others  were  their 
firm  allies  ;  neither  had  they  ever  been  driven  ;  they  had  been  taught  by  their 
priests  to  believe  that  they  never  would  be,  and  it  was  their  constant  boast 
that  they  had  ever  kept  their  valley  free  from  the  incursions  of  an  enemy. 

All  agreed  to  the  terms  proposed ;  supplies  were  brought  in  by  the  tribes 
in  great  abundance,  and  from  this  time  for  several  weeks,  we  rioted  in  lux 
uries  which  the  island  afforded.  To  the  principal  persons  of  the  tribes  I 
always  presented  a  harpoon,  it  being  to  them  the  most  valuable  article  of 
iron,  and  to  the  rest  scraps  of  iron  hoops  were  thrown,  in  which  they  took 
much  delight. 

Agreeable  to  the  request  of  the  chiefs  I  laid  down  the  plan  of  the  village 
about  to  be  built ;  the  line  on  which  the  houses  were  to  be  placed  was  al 
ready  traced  by  our  barrier  of  water  casks  ;  they  were  to  take  the  form  of  a 
crescent,  were  to  be  built  on  the  outside  of  the  inclosure,  and  to  be  con 
nected  with  each  other  by  a  wall  twelve  feet  in  length  and  four  feet  in 
height ;  the  houses  were  to  be  fifty  feet  in  length,  built  in  the  usual  fashion 
of  the  country,  and  of  a  proportioned  width  and  height. 

On  the  3d  November,  upward  of  four  thousand  natives,  from  the  different 
tribes,  assembled  at  the  camp  with  materials  for  building,  and  before  night 
they  had  completed  a  dwelling  house  for  myself  and  another  for  the 
officers,  a  sail  loft,  a  coopers'  shop,  and  a  place  for  our  sick,  a  bake  house,  a 
guard  house,  and  a  shed  for  the  sentinel  to  walk  under ;  the  whole  were 
connected  by  the  walls  as  above  described.  We  removed  our  barrier  of  water 
casks,  and  took  possession  of  our  delightful  village,  which  had  been  built  as 
if  by  enchantment. 

It  seems  strange  how  a  people  living  under  no  form  of  government  that 
we  could  ever  perceive,  having  no  chiefs  over  them  who  appear  to  possess 
any  authority,  having  neither  rewards  to  stimulate  them  to  exertion  nor 
dread  of  punishment  before  them,  should  be  capable  of  conceiving  and  exe 
cuting,  with  the  rapidity  of  lightning,  works  which  astonished  us;,  they  ap 
pear  to  act  with  one  mind,  to  have  the  same  thought,  and  to  be  operated  on 
by  the  same  impulse  ;  they  can  be  compared  only  to  the  beaver,  whose  in* 
stinct  teaches  them  to  design  and  execute  works  which  claim  our  admira 
tion. 

Some  time  after  this  I  sent  a  messenger  to  the  Typees  to  know  if  they 
wished  to  be  at  peace  with  us.  In  two  days  he  returned  and  was  desired 
by  the  Typees  to  tell  Gattanewa  and  all  the  people  of  the  valley  of  Tieu- 


OF   AMERICANS.  341 

ioy  that  they  were  cowards — that  we  had  beat  the  Happahs  because  the 
Happahs  were  cowards  ;  that  as  to  myself  and  my  people,  we  were  white 
iizards,  mere  dirt.  We  were,  said  they,  incapable  of  standing  fatigue,  over 
come  by  the  slightest  heat  and  want  of  water,  and  could  not  climb  the 
mountains  without  Indians  to  assist  us  and  carry  our  arms  ;  and  yet  wo 
talked  of  chastising  the  Typees,  a  tribe  which  had  never  been  driven  by  an 
enemy,  and  as  their  gods  informed  them  were  never  to  be  driven. 

I  now  inquired  of  Gattanewa  the  number  of  war  canoes  which  he  could 
equip  and  man ;  he  informed  me  ten,  and  that  each  would  carry  about  thirty 
men,  and  that  the  Happahs  could  equip  an  equal  number  of  equal  size  ;  he 
told  me  it  would  be  six  days  before  they  could  be  put  together  and  got  in. 
readiness  ;  but  if  I  wished  it  his  people  should  set  about  it  immediately.  I 
directed  them  to  do  so,  and  dispatched  a  messenger  to  the  Happahs  directing 
them  to  prepare  their  war  canoes  to  be  in  readiness  to  go  to  war  with  the 
Typees,  and  await  my  further  orders.  I  gave  them  as  well  as  the  Tayehs  to 
understand  that  it  was  my  intention  to  attack  them  both  by  sea  and  by  land, 
and  that  I  should  send  a  large  body  of  men  in  boats  and  a  ship  to  protect 
the  landing  of  them  and  the  war  canoes,  and  that  the  remainder  of  the 
warriors  of  both  tribes  must  proceed  by  land  to  attack  them  in  the  part 
where  they  were  most  assailable.  I  now  conceived  the  design  of  construct 
ing  a  fort,  not  only  as  a  protection  to  our  village  and  the  harbor,  but  as  a  se 
curity  to  the  Tayehs  against  further  incursions.  I  had  for  some  time  past 
intended  leaving  my  prizes  here  as  the  most  suitable  place  to  lay  them  up, 
and  this  fort  would  give  them  additional  security. 

Assisted  by  the  Indians  I  began  the  construction  of  a  fort  which  was  com 
pleted  on  the  14th  ;  all  worked  with  zeal,  and  as  the  friendly  tribes  were  daily 
coming  in  with  presents,  all  joined  in  the  labor.  The  chiefs  requested  that 
they  might  be  admitted  on  the  same  footing  as  the  Tayehs,  and  everything 
promised  harmony  between  us ;  they  would  frequently  speak  -,f  the  war 
with  the  Typees,  and  I  informed  them  I  only  waited  foi  their  war  canoes  to 
be  put  together  and  launched. 

On  the  19th  November,  the  American  flag  was  displayed  in  our  fort,  a 
salute  of  seventeen  guns  was  fired  from  the  artillery  mounted  there,  and 
returned  by  the  shipping  in  the  harbor.  The  island  was  taken  possession  of 
for  the  United  States,  and  called  Madison's  Island,  the  fort,  Fort  Madison, 
the  village,  Madison's  Ville,  and  the  bay,  Massachusetts  Bay. 

A  few  days  after  this  I  took  a  party  of  sailors  and  marines  in  some  boats 
and  went  some  eight  miles  from  our  anchorage  to  examine  a  fine  bay.  We 
landed  near  a  village  at  the  mouth  of  a  beautiful  rivulet.  On  landing,  many 
of  the  natives  came  to  the  beach,  who  seemed  disposed  to  treat  us  in  the 
most  friendly  manner  ;  but  apprehensive  of  being  troubled  by  their  num 
bers  I  drew  a  line  in  the  sand  at  some  distance  about  the  boats,  and  informed 
them  they  were  tabbooed,  and  as  an  additional  security  to  us,  I  caused  all  the 
arms  to  be  loaded  and  ready  for  service  on  the  first  alarm,  and  sentinels 
placed  over  them.  Shortly  after  this  the  chief  came  down  to  invite  me  to 
the  public  square,  the  general  place  in  all  their  villages  for  the  reception  of 
strangers.  Shortly  after  our  arrival  the  women  and  girls  assembled  from  all 
quarters  of  the  town,  dressed  out  in  all  their  finery  to  meet  us ;  they  were 
here  free  from  all  the  restraints  imposed  by  tho  tabboos  and  were  abundantly 


342  ADVENTUKES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

anointed  with  the  oil  of  the  cocoa-nut,  and  their  skins  well  bedaubed  with 
red  and  yellow  paint,  as  was  their  clothing ;  some  were  also  smeared  with 
greenish  paint,  the  object  of  which  I  found  on  inquiry,  was  to  preserve  the 
fairness  and  beauty  of  the  skin,  and  indeed  of  this  they  seemed  to  take 
particular  pains,  every  one  of  them  being  furnished  with  a  kind  of  umbrella, 
formed  of  a  bunch  of  palm  leaves,  to  shield  them  from  the  effects  cf  the 
sun  :  their  care  and  attention  in  this  particular  had  rendered  them  far  supe 
rior  in  point  of  beauty  to  the  females  of  our  valley,  and  the  difference  was 
so  striking  as  to  make  them  appear  a  distinct  people.  Some  of  the  girls, 
probably  in  compliment  to  us,  or  to  render  themselves  more  attractive  in  our 
eyes,  cleansed  themselves  (by  washing  in  the  stream)  of  their  oil  and  paint, 
threw  aside  their  bedaubed  clothing,  and  soon  appeared  neatly  clad  in  cloth 
of  the  purest  white  ;  and  I  can  say,  without  exaggeration,  that  I  never  have 
seen  women  more  perfectly  beautiful  in  form,  features,  and  complexion,  or 
that  had  playful  innocence  more  strongly  marked  on  their  countenances  or 
in  their  manners  ;  all  seemed  perfectly  easy  and  even  graceful,  and  all  strove 
by  their  winning  attentions,  who  should  render  themselves  most  pleasing  to 
us.  The  girls  formed  a  circle  round  us,  and  those  of  a  more  advanced  age  were 
seated  outside  of  them  ;  the  men  showed  us  every  kind  attention,  and  strove 
to  convince  us  of  their  friendship  by  bringing  us  cocoa-nuts,  and  cooking  for 
us  hogs  and  bread-fruit  after  their  manner,  which  were  found  excellent. 

A  daughter  of  Gattanewa  was  among  them  ;  she  was  the  wife  of  the 
chief  who  had  met  us  on  our  arrival ;  she  seemed  no  less  friendly  disposed 
than  her  husband,  and  embraced  me  as  her  father,  reminding  me  frequently 
that  from  the  exchange  of  names  I  had  become  such  ;  from  her  filial  affec 
tion  she  bestowed  on  me  a  bountiful  supply  of  the  red  and  yellow  paint 
with  which  she  was  covered,  and  insisted  on  my  sending  away  my  boats  and 
people  and  remaining  with  them  until  the  next  day,  and  no  excuse  that  I 
could  offer  for  my  return  to  the  ship  would  satisfy  her ;  they  all  joined  in 
her  solicitations,  and,  as  an  inducement  for  me  to  remain,  promised  me  the 
choicest  mats  to  sleep  on  and  the  handsomest  girls  in  the  village  to  sing  me 
to  sleep.  After  our  repast  all  the  women  joined  in  a  song,  which  was  ac 
companied  by  the  clapping  of  hands ;  it  lasted  near  half  an  hour,  and  was 
not  unmusical.  I  inquired  the  subject  of  it,  and  was  informed  by  Wilson 
that  it  was  the  history  of  the  loves  of  a  young  man  and  a  young  woman  of 
their  valley  :  they  sung  their  mutual  attachment  and  the  praises  of  their 
beauty  ;  described  with  raptures  the  handsome  beads  and  whales'  teeth  ear 
rings  with  which  she  was  bedecked,  and  the  large  whale's  tooth  which  hung 
from  his  neck.  They  afterward  joined  in  a  short  song  which  they  appeared 
to  compose  as  they  sung,  in  which  I  could  plainly  distinguish  the  words 
Opotee,  tie  ties. peepees,  etc.  (Porter  presents  beads,  etc.),  after  which  they  strove 
in  various  ways  who  should  most  amuse  us,  the  men  in  dancing,  the  girls  in 
playing  scratch  cradle  (an  amusement  well  known  in  America),  at  which 
they  are  more  dextrous  than  any  other  I  ever  met  with. 

Our  time  passed  rapidly  with  these  kind  people,  and  the  evening  ap 
proached  before  we  were  aware  of  it.  It  became  necessary  to  hasten  to  the 
ship,  and  we  bade  them  farewell,  with  a  promise  that  we  should  shortly 
return  and  bring  with  us  a  larger  supply  of  peepees  and  other  tie  ties,  so 
much  desired  by  them. 


OF  AMERICANS.  343 

On  the  27th  November  I  informed  the  Tayehs  and  Happahs  that  I  should 
next  day  go  to  war  with  the  Typecs,  agreeable  to  my  original  plan.  The 
Essex  Junior  sailed  in  the  afternoon,  and  I  proceeded  next  morning,  at  three 
o'clock,  with  five  boats,  accompanied  by  ten  war  canoes,  blowing  their 
conches  as  a  signal  by  which  they  could  keep  together.  We  arrived  at  the 
Typee  landing  at  sunrise,  and  were  joined  by  ten  war  canoes  from  the  Hap 
pahs  ;  the  Essex  J  unior  soon  after  arrived  and  anchored.  The  tops  of  all 
the  neighboring  mountains  were  covered  with  the  Tayeh  and  Happah  war 
riors,  armed  with  their  spears,  clubs,  and  slings;  the  beach  was  covered  with 
the  warriors  who  came  with  the  canoes,  and  who  joined  us  from  the  hills ; 
our  force  did  not  amount  to  a  less  number  than  five  thousand  men.  I  had 
brought  with  me  one  of  those  whom  I  had  intended  to  employ  as  ambas 
sadors  ;  he  had  intermarried  with  the  Typees  and  was  privileged  to  go  among 
them  ;  I  furnished  him  with  a  white  flag  and  sent  him  to  inform  the  Typees 
that  I  had  come  to  offer  them  peace,  but  was  prepared  for  war ;  that  I  only 
required  that  they  should  submit  to  the  same  terms  as  those  entered  into  by 
the  other  tribes,  and  that  terms  of  friendship  would  be  much  more  pleasing 
to  me  than,  any  satisfaction  which  I  expected  to  derive  from  chastising  them. 
In  a  few  minutes  after  the  departure  of  my  messenger  he  came  running 
back,  the  picture  of  terror,  and  informed  me  he  had  met  in  the  bushes  an 
ambuscade  of  Typees,  who,  regardless  of  his  flag  of  truce,  which  he  dis 
played  to  them,  had  driven  him  back  with  blows,  and  had  threatened  to  put 
him  to  death  if  he  again  ventured  among  them ;  and  in  an  instant  afterward 
we  had  a  confirmation  of  his  statement  in  a  shower  of  stones  which  came 
from  the  bushes.  To  remain  still  would  have  proved  fatal  to  us;  to  have 
retreated  would  have  convinced  them  of  our  fears  and  our  incapacity  to  in- 
injure  them  ;  our  only  safety  was  in  advancing  and  endeavoring  to  clear  the 
thicket,  which  I  had  been  informed  was  of  no  great  extent. 

We  advanced  a  mile  or  more  when  we  came  to  a  small  opening  on  the 
bank  of  a  river,  from  the  thicket  on  the  opposite  side  of  which  we  were 
assailed  with  a  shower  of  stones,  when  Lieutenant  Downes  received  a  blow 
which  shattered  the  bone  of  his  left  leg,  and  he  fell.  We  had  left  parties 
in  ambush  in  our  rear,  which  we  had  not  been  able  to  dislodge,  and  to  trust 
him  to  the  Indians  alone  to  take  back  was  hazarding  too  much.  The  In 
dians  began  to  leave  us  ;  all  depended  on  our  own  exertions,  and  no  time  was 
to  be  lost  in  deliberation.  I  therefore  directed  Mr.  Shaw  with  four  men  to 
escort  Lieutenant  Downes  to  the  beach  ;  this  with  the  party  I  had  left  for 
the  protection  of  the  boats  reduced  my  number  to  twenty-four  men.  As 
we  continued  our  march  the  number  of  our  allies  became  reduced,  and  even 
the  brave  Mouina,  the  first  to  expose  himself,  began  to  hang  back ;  while  he 
kept  in  advance,  he  had.  by  the  quickness  of  his  sight,  which  was  astonish 
ing,  put  us  on  our  guard  as  the  stones  and  spears  came,  and  enabled  us  to 
elude  them,  but  now  they  came  too  thick  even  for  him  to  withstand. 

We  soon  came  to  the  place  for  fording  the  river  ;  in  the  thick  bushes  of 
the  opposite  banks  of  which  the  Typees,  who  were  here  very  numerous, 
made  a  bold  stand,  and  showered  on  us  their  spears  and  other  missiles.  We 
endeavored  in  vain  to  clear  the  bushes  of  the  opposite  banks  with  our 
musketry.  The  stones  and  spears  flew  with  augmented  numbers.  Finding 
that  we  could  not  disloge  them,  I  directed  a  volley  to  be  fired,  three  cheers 


344  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

to  be  given,  and  to  dash  across  the  river.  We  soon  gained  the  opposite  bank 
and  continued  our  march,  rendered  still  more  difficult  by  the  underwood, 
•which  was  here  interlaced  to  that  degree  as  to  make  it  necessary  sometimes 
to  crawl  on  our  hands  and  knees  to  get  along.  We  were  harassed  as  usual 
by  the  Typees  for  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  through  a  thicket  which,  at 
almost  any  other  time,  I  should  have  considered  impassable.  On  emerging 
from  the  swamp  we  felt  new  life  and  spirits  ;  but  this  joy  was  of  short  dura 
tion,  for  on  casting  up  our  eyes,  we  perceived  a  strong  and  extensive  wall 
of  seven  feet  in  height,  raised  on  an  eminence  crossing  our  road,  and  flanked 
on  each  side  by  an  impenetrable  thicket,  and  in  an  instant  afterward  were 
assailed  by  a  shower  of  stones,  accompanied  by  the  most  horrid  yells. 

Finding  we  could  not  dislodge  them,  I  gave  orders  for  pushing  on  and  en 
deavoring  to  take  it  by  storm  :  but  some  of  my  men  had  by  this  time  ex 
pended  all  their  cartridges,  and  there  were  few  who  had  more  than  three 
or  four  remaining.  This  discouraging  news  threw  a  damp  on  the  spirits  of 
the  whole  party  ;  without  ammunition  our  muskets  were  rendered  inferior 
to  the  weapons  of  the  Typees,  and  if  we  could  not  advance,  there  could  be 
no  doubt  we  should  be  under  the  necessity  of  fighting  our  way  back  ;  and 
to  attempt  this  with  our  few  remaining  cartridges,  would  be  hazarding  too 
much.  Our  only  safety  now  depended  on  holding  our  ground  until  we 
could  procure  a  fresh  supply  of  ammunition,  and  in  reserving  the  few 
charges  on  hand  until  it  could  be  brought  to  us.  I  mentioned  my  inten 
tions  to  my  people,  exhorted  them  to  save  their  ammunition  as  much  as 
possible,  and  dispatched  Lieutenant  Gamble  with  a  detachment  of  four  men 
to  the  beach,  there  to  make  a  boat  and  proceed  to  the  Essex  Junior  for  a 
fresh  supply.  My  number  was  now  reduced  to  nineteen  men ;  there  was 
no  officer  but  myself;  the  Indians  had  all  deserted  me  except  Mouina;  and 
to  add  to  our  critical  and  dangerous  situation,  three  of  the  men  remaining 
with  me  were  knocked  down  with  stones.  Mouina  begged  me  to  retreat, 
crying  mattee  !  mattee  !  The  wounded  entreated  me  to  permit  the  others 
to  carry  them  to  the  beach,  but  I  had  none  to  spare  to  accompany  them.  I 
saw  no  hopes  of  succeeding  against  the  natives,  so  long  as  they  kept  their 
stronghold  ;  and  determined  to  endeavor  to  draw  them  out  by  a  feint  re 
treat,  and  by  this  means  to  gain  some  advantage.  For  to  return  without 
gaining  some  advantage  would,  I  believed,  have  rendered  an  attack  from 
the  Happahs  certain.  I  communicated  my  intentions  ;  directed  the  wounded 
to  be  taken  care  of;  gave  orders  for  all  to  run  until  we  were  concealed  by 
the  bushes,  and  then  halt.  We  retreated  for  a  few  paces,  and  in  an  instant 
the  Indians  rushed  on  us  with  hideous  yells.  The  first  and  second  which 
advanced  were  killed  at  the  distance  of  a  few  paces,  and  those  who  at 
tempted  to  carry  them  off  were  wounded.  This  checked  them,  they  aban 
doned  their  dead  and  precipitately  retreated  to  their  fort.  Not  a  moment 
was  now  to  be  lost  in  gaining  the  opposite  side  of  the  river.  Taking  advan 
tage  of  the  terror  they  were  thrown  into,  we  marched  off  with  our  wounded. 
Scarcely  had  we  crossed  the  river  before  we  were  attacked  with  stones ;  but 
here  they  halted,  and  we  returned  to  the  beach  much  fatigued  and  harassed 
with  marching  and  fighting,  and  with  no  contemptible  opinion  of  the  enemy 
\ve  had  encountered  or  the  difficulties  we  should  have  to  surmount  in  con 
quering  them. 


OF  AMERICANS.  345 

On  my  arrival  I  found  the  boat  which  had  been  missing,  together  with  a 
reinforcement  of  men  from  the  Essex  Junior,  and  a  supply  of  ammunition. 
I  was  desirous  of  sounding  the  Typees  before  I  proceeded  to  further  ex 
tremities,  as  also  to  impress  our  allies  with  the  idea  that  we  could  carry  all 
before  us.  They  told  my  messenger  to  tell  me  that  they  had  killed  my 
chief  warrior — for  such  they  supposed  Mr.  Downes  to  be — that  they  had 
xvounded  several  of  my  people,  and  compelled  us  to  retreat.  They  knew 
their  strength  and  the  numbers  they  could  oppose ;  and  held  our  bouhies  in 
more  contempt  than  ever,  they  frequently  missed  fire,  rarely  killed,  and  the 
wounds  they  occasioned  were  not  as  painful  as  those  of  a  spear  or  stone  ; 
and,  they  added,  they  knew  they  would  prove  perfectly  useless  to  us  should 
it  come  on  to  rain.  They  dared  us  to  renew  the  contest ;  and  assured  us 
they  would  not  retreat  beyond  where  we  had  left  them. 

Overcome  with  fatigue  and  discouraged  by  the  formidable  appearance  of 
their  fortress,  my  men  also  fatigued  and  disheartened  from  the  number  of 
wounded,  I  determined  to  leave  them  for  the  present,  but  meditated  a  severe 
punishment  for  them.  The  Happahs  had  now  descended  the  hills  with 
their  arms  ;  the  Shouemes  appeared  on  the  other  side,  and  "  the  Typees 
have  driven  the  white  men,"  was  the  constant  topic  of  conversation.  We 
were  still  but  a  handful  and  were  surrounded  by  several  thousand  Indians  ; 
and  although  they  professed  friendship,  I  did  not  feel  safe.  I  therefore  di 
rected  everybody  to  embark  and  proceed  to  the  Essex  Junior,  anxious  to 
know  the  state  of  Lieutenant  Downes. 

The  next  day  I  determined  to  proceed  with  a  force  which  I  believed  they 
sould  not  resist,  and  selected  two  hundred  men  from  the  Essex,  the  Essex 
Junior,  and  from  the  prizes. 

In  the  evening  I  caused  the  party  to  be  sent  on  shore  and  determined  to 
go  by  land.  We  had  a  fine  moonlight  night,  and  I  hoped  to  be  down  in 
the  Typee  valley  long  before  daylight,  and  to  take  them  by  surprise.  I  di 
rected  the  party  sent  in  advance  to  halt  as  soon  as  they  had  gained  the  top 
of  the  mountain  until  I  came  up  with  the  main  body.  There  I  intended 
encamping  for  the  night,  should  our  men  not  be  able  to  stand  the  fatigue  ol 
a  longer  march.  Several  gave  out  before  we  reached  the  summit,  which  we 
did  in  about  three  hours,  with  great  difficulty  ;  but  after  resting  a  short  time, 
and  finding  ourselves  refreshed,  the  moon  shining  out  bright,  and  our  guides 
informing  us  (though  very  incorrectly)  that  we  were  not  more  than  six  miles 
from  the  enemy,  we  again  marched.  Several  Indians  had  joined  us,  but  I 
had  imposed  silence  on  them,  as  we  were  under  the  necessity  of  passing  a 
Happah  village,  and  was  fearful  of  their  discovering  us,  and  giving  intelli 
gence  to  the  Typees.  Not  a  whisper  was  heard  from  one  end  of  the  line  to 
the  other;  our  guides  marched  in  front,  and  we  followed  in  silence  up  and 
down  the  steep  sides  of  rocks  and  mountains,  through  rivulets,  thickets,  and 
reed  breaks,  and  by  the  sides  of  precipices  which  sometimes  caused  us  to 
shudder.  At  twelve  o'clock  we  could  hear  the  drums  beating  in  the  Typee 
Talley  accompanied  by  loud  singing,  and  the  number  of  lights  in  different 
parts  of  it  induced  me  to  believe  they  were  rejoicing.  I  inquired  the  cause, 
and  was  informed  by  the  Indians  they  were  celebrating  the  victory  they 
had  obtained  over  us,  and  calling  on  their  gods  to  give  them  rain  in  order 
that  it  mi£jht  render  our  bouhies  useless.  We  soon  arrived  at  the  pathway 


346  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

leading  from  the  top  of  the  mountain  into  the  valley  ;  but  the  Indiana 
told  us  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  descend  it  without  day-light ;  that  the 
mountain  was  almost  perpendicular,  and  that  in  many  places  we  should  be 
under  the  necessity  of  lowering  ourselves  down  with  great  caution,  and  that 
it  would  be  even  necessary  for  them  to  assist  us  in  the  day-time  to  enable  us 
to  get  down  with  safety.  I  concluded  that  it  would  be  most  advisable  to 
wait  for  day-light  before  we  attempted  to  descend.  We  were  in  possession 
of  the  pathway  to  the  valley,  and  could  prevent  the  Happahs  from  giving 
them  any  intelligence  of  us;  we  were  on  a  narrow  ridge  running  between 
the  valleys  of  the  two  tribes  and  well  situated  to  guard  against  surprise  and 
defend  ourselves  from  an  attack  from  either;  and  what  added  to  the  con 
venience  of  our  situation,  we  had  a  stream  of  water  not  far  distant. 

After  placing  guards  we  laid  down  on  our  arms.  I  had  fallen  into  a  dose 
when  an  Indian  came  to  inform  me  that  it  was  coming  on  to  rain  very 
heavy,  and  as  he  expressed  himself  would  mattee  !  mattee  !  bouhie.  This 
appearance  of  rain  caused  loud  shouts  of  joy  in  the  Typee  valley  and 
drums  were  beating  in  every  quarter.  I  cautioned  my  men  about  taking 
care  of  their  arms  and  ammunition  ;  but  from  the  violence  of  the  rain, 
which  soon  poured  down  in  torrents,  I  had  little  hopes  that  a  musket  would 
be  kept  dry  or  a  cartridge  saved.  Never,  in  the  course  of  my  life,  did  I 
spend  a  more  anxious  or  disagreeable  night,  and  I  believe  there  were  few 
with  me  who  had  ever  seen  its  equal.  A  cold  and  piercing  wind  accompanied 
the  deluge,  for  I  can  call  it  nothing  else,  and  chilled  us  to  the  very  heart ; 
without  room  to  keep  ourselves  warm  by  moving  about,  fearful  of  stirring, 
lest  we  might  be  percipitated  into  eternity  down  the  steep  sides-  of  tho 
mountains,  for  the  ridge  had  now  become  so  slippery  we  could  scarcely 
keep  our  feet — we  all  anxiously  looked  for  morning,  and  the  first  dawn  of 
day,  although  the  wind  and  rain  still  continued,  was  a  cheering  sight  to  us, 
notwithstanding  our  apprehensions  for  the  fate  of  the  ammunition  and  the 
conditions  of  our  muskets.  We  were  all  as  perfectly  wet  as  though  we 
had  been  under  water  the  whole  time,  and  we  scarcely  entertained  a  hope 
that  a  single  cartridge  or  musket  had  escaped.  The  Indians  kept  exclaim 
ing  that  our  muskets  were  spoilt,  and  anxiously  wished  us  to  retreat  in  time  ; 
but  notwithstanding  my  fears  on  the  subject,  I  endeavored  to  impress  them 
with  a  belief  that  water  could  do  them  no  injury.  As  soon  as  it  was  light 
enough  I  went  among  my  men  and  inquired  into  the  state  of  their  arms 
and  ammunition.  The  first  had  escaped  better  than  I  had  any  reason  to 
hope  ;  but  of  the  latter  more  than  one  half  was  wet  and  unfit  for  service. 

The  Happah  village  lay  on  one  side  of  the  mountain,  as  I  before  observed, 
the  Typee  on  the  other,  and  when  it  was  light  enough  to  see  down  into  the 
valley  of  the  latter  we  were  astonished  at  the  greatness  of  the  height  we 
were  elevated  above  them,  and  the  steepness  of  the  mountain  by  which  we 
should  have  to  descend  to  get  to  them.  A  narrow  pathway  pointed  out  the 
track,  but  it  was  soon  lost  among  the  cliffs.  The  Indians  informed  me  that 
in  the  present  slippery  state  of  the  mountain  no  one  could  descend,  and  aa 
our  men  were  much  harassed  with  fatigue,  overcome  with  hunger,  shiver 
ing  and  uncomfortable,  I  determined  to  take  up  my  quarters  in  the  Happah 
valley  until  next  day  to  enable  us  to  refresh,  and  I  hoped  by  that  time  the 
weather  would  prove  more  favorable.  The  chief  soon  arrived,  and  I  com 


OF  AMERICANS.  347 

municated  to  him  my  intentions,  directing  him  to  send  down  and  have 
houses  provided  for  us,  as  also  hogs  and  fruit,  all  of  which  he  promised 
should  be  done.  Before  I  left  the  hill  I  determined  by  firing  a  volley  to 
show  the  natives  that  our  muskets  had  not  received  as  much  injury  as  they 
had  expected  ;  as  I  believed,  under  their  impressions,  at  that  moment,  the 
Happahs  would  not  have  hesitated  in  making  an  attack  on  us,  and  to  avoid 
any  difficulties  with  them  I  thought  it  best  to  convince  them  we  were  still 
formidable.  I  had  other  motives  also  for  firing,  the  Tayehs  and  Happahs, 
I  knew,  would  accompany  us  into  the  Typee  valley;  and  as  I  had  put  off 
our  descent  until  the  next  day,  I  concluded  that  it  would  be  best  to  give 
them  timely  notice  of  our  approach,  that  they  might  be  enabled  to  remove 
their  women  and  children,  their  hogs,  and  most  valuable  effects  ;  for  although 
I  felt  desirous  of  chastising  them  for  their  conduct,  I  wished  to  prevent  the 
innocent  from  suffering,  or  the  pillage  and  destruction  of  their  property  by 
the  Indians  who  accompanied  us.  I  accordingly  directed  my  men  to  as 
semble  on  the  ridge  and  to  fire  a  volley  ;  the  Typees  had  not  until  then  seen 
us,  nor  had  they  the  least  suspicion  of  our  being  there.  As  soon  as  they 
heard  the  report  of  our  muskets,  and  discovered  our  numbers,  which,  with 
the  multitude  of  Indians  of  both  tribes  who  had  now  assembled,  was  very 
numerous,  they  shouted,  beat  their  drums,  and  blew  their  war  conches  from 
one  end  of  the  valley  to  the  other  :  and  what  with  the  squealing  of  the 
hogs,  which  they  now  began  to  catch,  the  screaming  of  the  women  and  chil 
dren,  and  the  yelling  of  the  men,  the  din  was  horrible. 

After  firing  our  volley,  which  went  off  better  than  I  expected,  we  de 
scended,  with  great  difficulty,  into  the  village  of  the  Happahs,  and  were 
shown  into  the  public  square.  Around  this  place  were  several  vacant  houses 
which  had,  in  all  appearance,  been  vacated  on  our  account :  in  these  I  quar 
tered  iny  officers  and  men,  assigning  to  each  ship's  crew  their  abode.  The 
Happahs  assembled  about  us,  armed  with  their  clubs  and  spears  ;  and  the 
women,  who  had  at  first  crowded  round  us,  now  began  to  abandon  us.  Every 
thing  bore  the  appearance  of  a  hostile  disposition  on  the  part  of  the  Hap 
pahs  :  our  friends  the  Tayehs  cautioned  us  to  be  on  our  guard.  I  directed 
every  one  to  keep  their  arms  in  their  hands,  ready  to  assemble  at  a  moment's 
warning.  I  now  sent  for  their  chief  and  required  to  know  if  they  were 
hostilely  disposed.  I  told  him  it  was  necessary  we  should  have  something 
to  eat,  and  that  I  expected  his  people  to  bring  us  hogs  and  fruit,  and  if  they 
did  not  do  so  I  should  be  under  the  necessity  of  sending  out  parties  to  shoot 
them  and  cut  down  their  fruit  trees,  as  our  people  were  too  much  fatigued 
to  climb  them.  I  also  directed  that  they  should  lay  by  their  spears  and 
clubs.  No  notice  being  taken  of  these  demands,  I  caused  many  of  their 
spears  and  clubs  to  be  taken  from  them  and  broken,  and  sent  parties  out  to 
shoot  hogs,  while  others  were  employed  in  cutting  down  cocoa-nut  and  ba 
nana  trees  until  we  had  a  sufficient  supply. 

The  chiefs  and  the  people  of  the  Happah  tribe  now  became  intimidated 
and  brought  the  baked  hogs  in  greater  abundance  than  were  required  ;  friend- 
§hip  was  re-established,  and  the  women  returned.  When  night  approached, 
proper  lookouts  were  placed,  fires  made  before  each  house  :  those  of  the 
tribe  of  Tayehs  remained  with  us,  the  Happahs  retired.  All  not  on  guard 
devoted  themselves  to  sleep,  and  at  daylight,  next  morning,  we  equally 


34:8  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

divided  onr  ammunition,  and  the  line  of  march  was  formed.  All  had  pufc 
their  arms  in  a  good  state  for  service,  and  all  were  fresh  and  vigorous ;  each 
being  supplied  with  a  small  quantity  of  provisions  for  the  day. 

On  ascending  the  ridge,  where  we  had  passed  such  a  disagreeable  nlgjit, 
we  halted  to  take  breath,  and  view,  for  a  few  minutes,  this  delightful  valley, 
which  was  soon  to  become  a  scene  of  desolation.  From  the  hill  we  had  a 
distant  view  of  every  part,  and  all  appeared  equally  delightful.  The  valloj 
was  about  nine  miles  in  length  and  three  or  four  in  breadth,  surrounded  on 
every  part,  except  the  beach,  where  we  formerly  landed,  by  lofty  mountains  ; 
the  upper  part  was  bounded  by  a  precipice  of  many  hundred  feet  in  height, 
from  the  top  of  which  a  handsome  sheet  of  water  was  precipitated,  and 
formed  a  beautiful  river,  which  ran  meandering  through  the  valley  and  dis 
charged  itself  at  the  beach.  Villages  were  scattered  here  and  there ;  the 
bread-fruit  and  cocoa-nut  trees  flourished  luxuriantly  and  in  abundance  ; 
plantations  laid  out  in  good  order,  inclosed  with  stone  walls,  were  in  a  high 
state  of  cultivation,  and  everything  bespoke  industry,  abundance,  and  hap 
piness — never  in  my  life  did  I  witness  a  more  delightful  scene,  or  experience 
more  repugnance  than  I  now  felt  for  the  necessity  which  compelled  me  to 
punish  a  happy  and  heroic  people. 

A  larsce  assemblage  of  Typee  warriors  were  posted  on  the  opposite  banks 
of  the  river  (which  glided  near  the  foot  of  the  mountain)  and  dared  us  to 
descend.  In  their  rear  was  a  fortified  village,  secured  by  strong  stone  walls; 
drums  were  beating  and  war  conches  were  sounding  in  several  parts,  and  wo 
soon  found  they  were  disposed  to  make  every  effort  to  oppose  us.  I  gavo 
orders  to  descend  ;  Mouina  offered  himself  as  our  guide,  and  I  directed  him 
to  lead  us  to  their  principal  village  :  but  finding  the  fatigue  of  going  down 
the  mountain  greater  than  I  expected,  I  gave  orders  to  halt  before  crossing 
the  river,  to  give  time  for  the  rear  to  close,  which  had  become  much  scat 
tered,  and  that  all  might  rest.  As  soon  as  we  reached  the  foot  of  the  moun 
tain  we  were  annoyed  by  a  shower  of  stones  from  the  bushes,  and  from  be 
hind  the  stone  walls  ;  but  as  we  were  also  enabled  to  shelter  ourselves  behind 
others,  and  being  short  of  ammunition  I  would  not  permit  any  person  to 
fire. — After  resting  a  few  minutes  I  directed  the  scouting  parties  to  gain  the 
opposite  bank  of  the  river,  and  followed  with  the  main  body. 

We  were  greatly  annoyed  with  stones,  and  before  all  had  crossed,  the 
fortified  village  was  taken  without  any  loss  on  our  side.  Their  chief  warrior 
and  another  were  killed,  and  several  wounded — they  retreated  only  to 
stone  walls,  situated  on  higher  grounds,  where  they  continued  to  sling  their 
stones  and  throw  their  spears.  Three  of  my  men  were  wounded,  and  many 
of  the  Typees  killed  before  we  dislodged  them  ;  parties  were  sent  out  in 
different  directions  to  scour  the  woods,  and  another  fort  was  taken  after 
some  resistance;  but  the  party,  overpowered  by  numbers,  were  compelled 
to  retreat  to  the  main  body  after  keeping  possession  of  it  half  an  hour.  We 
were  waiting  in  the  fort  first  taken  for  the  return  of  our  scouting  parties — a 
multitude  of  Tayehs  and  Happahs  were  with  us,  and  many  were  on  tho 
outskirts  of  the  village  seeking  for  plunder  :  Lieutenant  M'Knight  had 
driven  a  party  from  a  strong  wall  on  the  high  ground,  and  had  possession 
of  it,  when  a  large  party  of  Typees,  which  had  been  lying  in  ambush,  rushed 
by  his  fire,  and  darted  into  the  fort  with  their  spears  :  the  Tayehs  and  Hap- 


OF  AMERICANS.  3d9 

pahs  all  ran,  the  Typees  approached  within  pistol  shot,  but  on  the  first  fire 
retreated  precipitate!}7,  crossing  the  fire  of  Mr.  'M' Knight's  party,  and 
although  none  fell,  we  had  reason  to  believe  that  many  were  wounded.  The 
spears  and  stones  were  flying  from  the  bushes  in  every  direction,  and 
although  we  killed  and  wounded  in  this  place  great  numbers  of  them,  w»o 
were  satisfied,  from  the  opposition  made,  that  we  should  have  to  fight  our 
whole  way  through  the  valley. 

It  became  now  necessary  to  guard  against  a  useless  consumption  of  am 
munition  the  scouting  parties  had  returned,  and  some  had  expended  all 
their  cartridges  ;  I  exhorted  them  to  be  more  careful  of  them,  and  after 
having  given  them  a  fresh  supply,  forbid  any  firing  from  the  main  body, 
unless  we  should  be  attacked  by  great  numbers.  I  now  left  a  party  in  this 
place,  posted  in  »  house,  with  the  wounded,  and  another  party  in  ambush 
behind  a  wall,  and  directed  Mouiria  to  lead  us  to  the  next  village  ;  but  before 
marching  I  sent  a  messenger  to  inform  the  Typees  that  we  should  cease  hos 
tilities  when  they  no  longer  made  resistance,  but  so  long  as  stones  were 
thrown  I  should  destroy  their  villages.  No  notice  was  taken  of  this  message. 
We  continued  our  march  up  the  valley,  and  met  in  our  way  several  beau 
tiful  villages,  which  were  set  on  fire,  and  at  length  arrived  at  their  capital, 
for  it  deserves  the  name  of  one.  We  had  been  compelled  to  fight  every 
inch  of  ground,  as  we  advanced,  and  here  they  made  considerable  oppo 
sition  ;  the  place  was  however,  soon  carried,  and  I  very  reluctantly  set  fire 
to  it. 

The  beauty  and  regularity  of  this  place  was  such,  as  to  strike  every  spec 
tator  with  astonishment,  and  their  grand  site,  or  public  square,  was  far  su 
perior  to  any  other  we  had  met  with  ;  numbers  of  their  gods  were  here  de 
stroyed,  several  large  and  elegant  new  war  canoes,  which  had  never  been 
used  were  burnt  in  the  houses  that  sheltered  them  ;  many  of  their  drums, 
which  they  had  been  compelled  to  abandon,  were  thrown  into  the  flames, 
and  our  Indians  loaded  themselves  with  plunder,  after  destroying  bread 
fruit  and  other  trees,  and  all  the  young  plants  they  could  find  ;  we  had  now 
arrived  at  the  upper  end  of  the  valley,  about  nine  miles  from  the  beach,  and  at 
the  foot  of  the  water-fall  above  mentioned  ;  the  day  was  advancing ;  we 
had  yet  much  to  do,  and  it  was  necessary  to  hasten  our  return  to  the  fort 
first  taken,  where  we  arrived  after  being  about  four  hours  absent,  leaving  be 
hind  us  a  scene  of  ruin  and  desolation.  I  had  hoped  that  the  Typees  had 
now  abandoned  all  further  thoughts  of  resistance;  but  on  my  return  to  the 
fort  I  found  the  parties  left  there  had  been  annoyed  the  whole  time  of  my 
absence  ;  but  being  sheltered  from  the  stones  and  short  of  ammunition,  they 
had  not  fired  on  the  enemy. 

This  fort  was  situated  exactly  half-way  up  the  valley  ;  to  return  by  the 
road  we  descended  the  hill  would  have  been  impossible,  it  became  therefore 
necessary  to  go  to  the  beach,  where  I  was  informed  that  the  difficulty  of 
ascending  the  mountains  would  not  be  so  great ;  many  were  exhausted  with 
fatigue,  and  began  to  feel  the  cravings  of  hunger,  and  I  directed  a  halt, 
that  all  might  rest  and  refresh  themselves.  After  resting  about  half  an  hour 
I  directed  the  Indians  to  take  care  of  our  wounded  :  we  formed  the  line  of 
march  and  proceeded  down  the  valley,  and  in  our  route  destroyed  several 
other  villages,  at  all  of  which  we  had  some  skirmishing  with  the  enemy. 


350  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

At  one  of  those  places,  situated  at  the  foot  of  a  steep  hill,  they  rolled  enor 
mous  stones  down,  with  a  view  of  crushing  us  to  death,  but  they  did  us  no 
injury.  The  number  of  villages  destroyed  amounted  to  ten,  and  the  de 
struction  of  trees  and  plants  and  the  plunder  carried  off  by  the  Indians  ia 
almost  incredible.  The  Type^s  fought  us  to  the  last,  and  even  at  first  ha- 
n»eed  our  rear  on  our  return  ;  but  parties  left  in  ambush  soon  put  a  stop  to 
any  further  annoyance.  We  at  length  came  to  the  formidable  fort  which 
checked  our  career  on  our  first  day's  enterprise,  and  although  I  had  witnessed 
man}'  instances  of  the  great  exertion  and  ingenuity  of  these  islanders,  I 
never  had  supposed  them  capable  of  contriving  and  erecting  a  work  liko 
this,  so  well  calculated  for  strength  and  defense. 

There  are  but  three  entrances  into  this  valley,  one  on  the  west,  which  we 
descended,  one  on  the  east,  and  one  from  the  beach.  No  force  whatever 
had  before  dared  to  attack  them  on  the  west,  on  account  of  the  impossibility 
of  retreating,  in  case  of  a  repulse,  which  they  calculated  on  as  certain.  The 
passage  on  the  east  led  from  the  valley  of  their  friends,  and  that  from  the 
beach  was  guarded  by  fortresses  deemed  impregnable,  and  justly  so  against 
any  force  which  could  be  brought  against  them  unassisted  by  artillery.  On 
viewing  the  strength  of  this  place  I  could  not  help  felicitating  myself  on 
the  lucky  circumstance  which  had  induced  me  to  attack  them  by  land,  for  I 
believed  we  should  have  failed  in  an  attempt  on  this  place. 

On  my  arrival  at  the  beach  I  met  Tavee  and  many  of  his,  the  Shoueme 
tribe,  together  with  the  chiefs  of  the  Happahs.  Tavee  was  the  bearer  of  a 
white  flag  and  several  of  the  same  emblems  of  peace  were  flying  on  the 
different  hills  around  his  valley ;  he  was  desirous  of  knowing  whether  I  in 
tended  going  to  their  valley,  and  wished  to  be  informed  when  he  should 
again  bring  presents,  and  what  articles  he  should  bring  :  he  inquired  if  I 
would  still  be  his  friend  and  reminded  me  that  I  was  Ternaa  Typee,  the 
chief  of  the  valley  of  Shoueme,  and  that  his  was  Tavee.  I  gave  him  as 
surances  of  my  friendship,  requested  him  to  return  and  allay  the  fears  of 
the  women,  who,  he  informed  me,  were  in  the  utmost  terror,  apprehensive 
of  an  attack  from  me.  The  chiefs  of  the  Happahs  invited  me  to  return  to 
their  valley,  assuring  me  that  an  abundance  of  everything  was  already  pro 
vided  for  us,  and  the  girls,  who  had  assembled  in  great  numbers  dressed  out 
in  their  best  attire  welcomed  our  return  with  smiles,  and  notwithstanding 
our  wet  and  dirty  situation — for  it  had  been  raining  the  greater  part  of  the 
day — convinced  us  by  their  looks  and  gestures  that  they  were  disposed  to 
give  us  the  most  friendly  reception. 

Gattanewa  met  me  on  the  side  of  the  hill  as  I  was  ascending  :  the  old 
man's  heart  was  full,  he  could  not  speak  ;  he  placed  both  my  hands  on  his 
head,  rested  his  forehead  on  my  knees,  and  after  a  short  pause,  raising  him 
self,  placed  his  hands  on  my  breast,  exclaiming,  Gattanewa !  and  then  on  his 
own  said,  Apotee,  to  remind  me  we  had  exchanged  names. 

When  I  had  reached  the  summit  of  the  mountain,  I  stopped  to  contem 
plate  that  valley  which,  in  the  morning,  we  had  viewed  in  all  its  beauty, 
the  scene  of  abundance  and  happiness — a  long  line  of  smoking  ruins  now 
marked  our  traces  from  one  end  to  the  other;  the  opposite  hills  were  cov 
ered  with  the  unhappy  fugitives,  and  the  whole  presented  a  scene  of  des 
olation  and  horror.  Unhappy  and  heroic  people  !  the  victims  of  your  own 


OF  AMERICANS.  351 

courage  and  mistaken  pride,  while  the  instruments  of  your  own  fate,  shed 
the  tears  of  pity  over  your  misfortunes,  thousands  of  your  countrymen — 
nay,  brethren  of  the  same  family — triumphed  in  your  distresses ! 

I  shall  not  fatigue  myself  or  the  reader  by  a  longer  account  of  this  ex 
pedition  ;  we  spent  the  night  with  the  Happahs,  who  supplied  us  most 
abundantly,  and  next  morning,  at  daylight,  started  for  Madison's  Ville, 
where  we  arrived  about  eight  o'clock,  after  an  absence  of  three  nights  and 
two  days,  during  which  time  we  marched  upward  of  sixty  miles,  by  paths 
which  had  never  before  been  trodden  but  by  the  natives.  Several  of  my 
stoutest  men  were  for  a  long  time  laid  up  by  sickness  occasioned  by  their 
excessive  fatigue,  and  one  (Corporal  Mahan  of  the  marines)  died  two  days 
after  his  return. 

The  day  of  our  return  was  devoted  to  rest ;  a  messenger  was,  however, 
dispatched  to  the  Typees  informing  them  I  was  still  willing  to  make  peace, 
and  that  I  should  not  allow  them  to  return  to  their  valley  until  they  had 
come  on  terms  of  friendship  with  us.  The  messenger  on  his  return  informed 
me  that  the  Typees  on  his  arrival,  were  in  the  utmost  consternation  ;  but 
that  my  message  had  diffused  the  most  lively  joy  among  them  :  there  was 
nothing  they  desired  more  than  peace,  and  they  would  be  willing  to  pur 
chase  my  friendship  on  any  terms".  He  informed  me  that  a  flag  of  truce 
would  be  sent  in  next  day  to  know  my  conditions. 

On  the  arrival  of  the  Typee  flag,  which  was  borne  by  a  chief  accompanied 
by  a  priest,  I  informed  them,  that  I  still  insisted  on  a  compliance  with  the 
conditions  formerly  offered  them,  to-wit,  an  exchange  of  presents  and  peace  : 
with  myself  and  the  tribes  who  had  allied  themselves  to  me.  They  readily 
cons  anted  to  these  terms,  and  requested  to  know  the  number  of  hogs  I  should 
require,  stating  that  they  had  lost  but  few,  and  should  be  enabled  to  supply 
us  abundantly  ;  I  told  them  I  should  expect  from  them  four  hundred,  which 
they  assured  me  should  be  delivered  without  delay.  Flags  were  now  sent 
to  me  again  from  all  the  tribes  in  the  island,  even  the  most  remote  and  in 
considerable,  with  large  presents  of  hogs  and  fruit,  and  we  had  never  at  any 
time  since  we  had  been  on  the  island  experienced  such  abundance. 

Peace  now  being  established  throughout  the  island,  and  the  utmost  har 
mony  reigning,  not  only  between  us  and  the  Indians,  but  between  the  dif 
ferent  tribes,  they  mixed  with  one  another  about  our  village  in  the  most 
friendly  manner,  and  the  different  chiefs  with  the  priests  came  daily  to  visit 
me.  They  were  all  much  delighted  that  a  general  peace  had  been  brought 
about,  that  they  might  now  all  visit  the  different  parts  of  the  island  in 
safety  ;  and  many  of  the  oldest  men  assured  me  that  they  had  never  before 
been  out  of  the  valley  in  which  they  were  born.  They  repeatedly  expressed 
their  astonishment  and  admiration  that  I  should  have  been  enabled  to  effect 
so  much  in  so  short  a  time,  and  that  I  should  have  been  able  to  extend  my 
influence  so  far  as  to  give  them  such  complete  protection,  not  only  in  the 
valley  of  Tieuhoy,  but  among  the  tribes  with  which  they  had  been  at  war 
from  the  earliest  periods,  and  had  heretofore  been  considered  their  natural 
enemies.  I  informed  them  that  I  should  shortly  leave  them  and  should 
return  again  at  the  expiration  of  a  year.  I  exhorted  them  to  remain  at  peace 
with  one  another,  and  assured  them  that  if  they  should  be  at  war  on  my 
return,  I  should  punish  the  tribes  most  in  fault.  They  all  gave  me  the 


352  ADVENTUIIES  AND   ACHIEVEMENTS 

strongest  assurances  of  a  disposition  to  remain  on  good  terms,  not  only  with 
me  and  my  people,  but  with  one  another. 

I  now  was  enabled  to  make  little  excursions  occasionally  into  different 
parts  of  the  valley,  and  visit  the  natives  at  their  houses,  which  was  what  I 
had  not  been  enabled  to  do  heretofore,  as  my  various  occupations  had  kept 
me  much  confined  to  our  village.  On  these  occasions  I  always  met  the 
most  hospitable  and  friendly  reception  from  the  natives  of  both  sexes. 
Cocoa-nuts  and  whatever  else  they  had  were  offered  me,  and  I  rarely  re 
turned  home  without  several  little  tie-ties  as  a  token  of  their  regard.  I 
generally  took  with  me  seeds  of  different  descriptions,  with  which  I  was  pro 
vided,  such  as  melons,  pumpkins,  peas,  beans,  oranges,  limes,  etc.,  together 
with  peach  stones,  wheat  and  Indian  corn,  which  were  planted  within  tho 
inclosures,  in  the  most  suitable  places  for  them,  the  natives  always  assisting 
in  pulling  up  the  weeds  and  clearing  the  ground  for  planting  them.  The 
nature  of  the  different  kinds  of  vegetables  and  fruit  that  each  kind  of  grain 
would  produce  was  explained  to  them,  and  they  all  promised  to  take  tho 
utmost  care  of  them  and  prevent  the  hogs  from  doing  them  any  injury.  I 
directed  them  not  to  pull  any  of  the  fruit  until  they  had  consulted  Wilson 
to  know  if  they  were  ripe.  Among  all  the  seeds  that  were  sown  there  was 
none  which  gave  them  so  much  pleasure  as  the  wheat,  which  they  called 
maie,  which  is  the  name  they  gave  the  bread-fruit ;  they  would  not  believe, 
however,  at  first  that  it  was  from  this  grain  we  made  our  bread  (which  they 
also  called  maie,  but  sometimes  potato)  until  I  had  ground  some  of  the 
grain  between  two  stones,  and  showed  them  the  flour,  which  produced  from 
them  the  most  joyous  exclamations  of  maie  !  maie  !  maie  !  and  all  began  to 
clear  away  spots  for  sowing  the  grain,  and  bringing  me  leaves  and  cocoa-nut 
shells,  begging  that  I  would  give  them  some  to  take  home  to  plant. 

I  endeavored  to  impress  them  with  an  idea  of  the  value  of  the  seeds  I 
was  planting,  and  explained  to  them  the  different  kinds  of  fruit  they  would 
produce,  assuring  them  of  their  excellence,  and  as  a  farther  inducement  to 
them  to  attend  their  cultivation,  I  promised  them  that,  on  my  return,  I 
would  give  them  a  whale's  tooth  for  every  ripe  pumpkin  and  melon  they 
would  bring  me  ;  and  to  the  chiefs  of  the  distant  tribes,  to  whom  I  distri 
buted  the  different  kinds  of  seeds,  I  made  the  same  promise.  I  also  gave 
them  several  English  hogs  of  a  superior  breed,  which  they  were  very  anx 
ious  to  procure.  I  left  in  charge  of  Wilson  some  male  and  female  goats, 
and  as  I  had  a  number  of  young  Galapagos  tortoises,  I  distributed  several 
among  the  chiefs,  and  permitted  a  great  many  to  escape  into  the  bushes  and 
among  the  grass. 

In  one  of  those  excursions,  I  was  led  to  the  chief  place  of  religious  cere 
mony  of  the  valley.  It  is  situated  high  up  the  valley  of  the  Havvous,  in  a 
fine  grove,  and  I  regret  extremely  that  I  had  it  not  in  my  power  to  make  a 
correct  drawing  of  it  on  the  spot,  as  it  far  exceeds  in  splendor  everything  of 
the  kind  described  by  Captain  Cook,  or  represented  in  the  plates  which  ac 
company  his  voyage. 

Some  time  previous  to  this  I  had  been  tabbooed  at  my  request  by  Gatta- 
newa;  this  gave  me  the  privilege  of  visiting  and  examining  all  their  places 
of  religious  worship,  and  I  now  took  advantage  of  my  right  in  going  into 
the  grove  among  the  gods,  accompanied  by  the  attendants  on  the  placo 


OF  AMERICANS.  353 

Wilson  could  not  accompany  me  there,  and  I  was  not  enabled  to  make  in 
quiry  on  many  subjects  ;  but  observing  that  they  treated  all  their  gods  with 
little  respect,  frequently  catching  them  by  their  large  ears,  drawing  my  at 
tention  to  their  wide  mouths,  their  flat  noses,  and  large  eyes,  and  pointing 
out  to  me,  by  signs,  all  their  other  deformities,  I  told  Wi.son  to  inform 
them  I  thought  they  treated  their  gods  very  disrespectfully — they  told  mo 
that  those  were  like  themselves,  mere  attendants  on  their  divinity,  as  they 
were  on  the  priest ;  that  I  had  not  yet  seen  their  greatest  of  all  gods,  that 
he  was  in  a  small  house,  which  they  pointed  out,  situated  at  the  corner  of 
the  grove  ;  and  on  my  expressing  a  desire  to  see  him,  after  a  short  consul 
tation  among  themselves,  they  brought  him  out  on  the  branch  of  a  co 
coa-nut  tree,  when  I  was  surprised  to  find  him  only  a  parcel  of  paper  cloth 
secured  to  a  piece  of  a  spear  about  four  feet  long  ;  it  in  some  measure  re 
sembled  a  child  in  swaddling  cloths,  and  the  part  intended  to  represent  the 
head  had  a  number  of  strips  of  cloth  hanging  from  it  about  a  foot  in  length  ; 
I  could  not  help  laughing  at  the  ridiculous  appearance  of  the  god  they  wor 
shiped,  in  which  they  all  joined  me  with  a  great  deal  of  good  humor, 
some  of  them  dandling  and  nursing  the  god,  as  a  child  would  her  doll. 

I  endeavored  to  ascertain  whether  they  had  an  idea  of  a  future  state,  re 
wards  and  punishments,  and  the  nature  of  their  heaven.  As  respects  the 
latter  they  believed  it  to  be  an  island,  somewhere  in  the  sky,  abound 
ing  with  everything  desirable  ;  that  those  killed  in  war  and  carried  off  by 
their  friends  go  there,  provided  the}'  are  furnished  with  a  canoe  and  pro 
visions,  but  that  those  who  are  carried  off  by  the  enemy,  never  reach  it  un 
less  a  sufficient  number  of  the  enemy  can  be  obtained  to  paddle  his  canoe 
there,  and  for  this  reason  they  were  so  anxious  to  procure  a  crew  for  their 
priest,  who  was  killed  and  carried  off  by  the  Happahs.  They  have  neither 
rewards  nor  punishments  in  this  world,  and  I  could  not  learn  that  they  ex 
pected  any  in  the  next — their  religion,  however,  is  like  a  plaything,  an 
amusement  to  them,  and  I  very  much  doubt  whether  they,  at  any  moment, 
give  it  a  serious  thought;  their  priests  and  jugglers  manage  those  matters 
for  them  ;  what  they  tell  them  they  believe,  and  do  not  put  themselves  to 
the  trouble  of  considering  whether  it  is  right  or  wrong.  They  are  very 
credulous,  and  will  as  readily  believe  in  one  religion  as  another.  I  have  ex 
plained  to  them  the  nature  of  the  Christian  religion,  in  a  manner  to  suit 
their  ideas  ;  they  listened  with  much  attention,  appeared  pleased  with  tho 
novelty  of  it,  and  agreed  that  our  God  must  be  greater  than  theirs.  Our 
chaplain  Mr.  Adams  endeavored  to  collect  from  one  of  their  priests  some 
notions  of  his  religion,  and  among  other  things  inquired  of  him  whether, 
according  to  their  belief,  the  body  was  translated  to  the  other  world  or  only 
the  spirit;  the  priest,  after  a  considrable  pause,  at  length  replied,  that  the 
flesh  and  bones  went  to  the  earth,  but  that  all  within  went  to  the  sky  :  from 
his  manner,  however,  the  question  seemed  greatly  to  embarrass  him,  and  it 
a]  peared  as  though  a  new  field  was  opened  to  his  view. 

Besides  the  gods  at  the  burying-place,  or  morai,  for  so  it  is  called  by  them, 
they  have  their  household  gods,  which  are  hung  round  their  necks,  generally 
made  of  human  bones,  and  others,  which  are  carved  on  the  handles  of  their 
fans,  on  their  stilts,  their  canes,  and  more  particularly  on  their  war  clubs; 
but  those  gods  are  not  held  in  any  estimation,  they  are  sold,  exchanged,  and 


354  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

given  away  with  the  same  indifference  as  any  other  object,  and  indeed  the 
most  precious  relics,  the  skulls  and  other  bones  of  their  relations,  are  disposed 
of  with  equal  indifference. 

When  we  were  at  war  with  the  Typees,  the  Happahs  and  Tayehs  made 
a  strict  search  in  thft  houses  of  the  enemy  for  the  skulls  of  their  ancestors, 
who  had  been  slain  in  battle  (knowing  where  they  were  deposited) ; 
many  were  found,  and  the  possessors  seemed  rejoiced  that  they  had  re  • 
covered  from  the  enemy  so  inestimable  a  relic.  Dr.  Hoffman  seein°-  a  man 
with  three  or  four  skulls  strung  round  his  waist,  asked  him  for  them,  and 
they  were  given  up  immediately,  although  they  had  belonged  to  his  father, 
brother,  or  some  near  relation.  Next  day  several  appeared  at  the  village 
with  .the  skulls  to  traffic  for  harpoons.  A  very  old  man  came  to  the  village 
as  a  representative  from  one  of  the  tribes,  and  wishing  to  make  me  a  present 
and  having  nothing  else  to  give  me,  took  from  his  neck  a  string  of  bones 
cut  in  the  form  of  their  gods,  and  assured  me  they  were  the  bones  of  his 
grandmother. 

In  religion  these  people  are  mere  children  ;  their  morais  are  their  baby- 
houses,  and  their  gods  are  their  dolls.  I  have  seen  Gattanewa  with  all  his 
sons,  and  many  others  sitting  for  hours  together  clapping  their  hands  and 
singing  before  a  number  of  little  wooden  gods  laid  out  in  small  houses  erec 
ted  for  the  occasion,  and  ornamented  with  strips  of  cloth ;  they  were  such 
houses  as  a  child  would  have  made,  of  about  two  feet  long  and  eighteen 
inches  high,  and  no  less  than  ten  or  twelve  of  them  in  a  cluster  like  a  small 
village  ;  by  the  side  of  this  were  several  canoes,  furnished  with  their  pad 
dles,  seines,  harpoons,  and  other  fishing  apparatus,  and  round  the  whole  a 
line  was  drawn  to  show  that  the  place  was  tabooed  ;  within  this  line  was 
Gattanewa  and  others,  like  overgrown  babies,  singing  and  clapping  their 
hands,  sometimes  laughing  and  talking,  and  appeared  to  give  their  ceremony 
no  attention  ;  he  asked  me  if  the  place  was  not  very  fine  ;  and  it  was  on 
this  occasion  that  he  tabooed  me,  in  order  to  give  me  an  opportunity  of 
approaching  the  gods  and  examining  them  more  closely.  The  whole  cere 
mony  of  tabooing  me  consisted  in  taking  a  piece  of  white  cloth  from  the 
hole  through  his  ear,  and  tying  it  around  my  hat  as  a  band  :  I  wore  this 
badge  for  several  days,  and  simple  as  it  was,  every  one  I  passed  would  call 
out  £0(00,  and  avoid  touching  me.  I  inquired  the  cause  of  this  ceremony  of 
Gattanewa,  and  he  told  me  he  was  going  to  catch  tortoise  for  the  gods,  and 
that  he  should  have  to  pray  to  them  several  days  and  nights  for  success 
during  which  time  he  should  be  tabooed  and  dare  not  enter  a  house  fre 
quented  by  women; 

Tattooing  among  these  people  is  performed  by  means  of  a  machine  made 
of  bone  something  like  a  comb  with  the  teeth  only  on  one  side  ;  the  points 
of  the  teeth  are  rubbed  with  a  black  paint  made  of  burnt  cocoa-nut  shell 
ground  to  powder,  and  mixed  with  water;  this  is  struck  into  the  flesh  by 
means  of  a  heavy  piece  of  wood  which  serves  the  purpose  of  a  hammer; 
the  operation  is  extremely  painful  and  streams  of  blood  follow  every  blow, 
yet  pride  induces  them  to  bear  this  torture,  and  they  even  suffer  themselves 
to  bo  tied  down  while  the  operation  is  performing  in  order  that  their  agony 
may  not  interrupt  the  operator.  The  men  commence  tattooing  as  soon  as 
tkey  are  able  to  bear  the  pain  ;  they  begin  at  the  age  of  eighteen  or  nineteen 


OF  AMERICANS.  355 

and  are  rarely  completely  tattooed  until  they  arrive  at  the  age  of  thirty- 
five.  The  women  begin  about  the  same  age ;  they  have  only  their  legs, 
arms,  and  hands  tattooed — which  is  done  with  extraordinary  neatness  and 
delicacy — and  some  slight  lines  drawn  across  their  lips.  >It  is  also  the  prac 
tice  with  some  to  have  the  inside  of  their  lips  tattooed,  but  the  object  of 
this  ornament  I  could  never  find  out,  as  it  is  never  seen  unless  they  turn  out 
their  lips  to  show  it.  Every  tribe  in  the  island,  I  observed,  were  tattooed 
after  a  different  fashion,  and  I  was  informed  that  every  line  had  its  meaning, 
and  gave  to  the  bearer  certain  privileges  at  their  feasts.  This  practice  of 
tattooing  sometimes  occasions  sores  which  fester  and  are  several  weeks  before 
they  heal ;  it  however  never  produces  any  serious  consequences,  or  leaves 
any  scars  behind. 

On  the  9th  December  I  had  all  my  provisions,  wood,  and  water  on  board, 
my  decks  filled  with  hogs,  and  a  most  abundant  supply  of  cocoa-nuts  and 
bananas,  with  which  we  had  been  furnished  by  the  liberality  of  our  Nooa- 
heevan  friends,  who  had  reserved  for  us  a  stock  of  dried  cocoa-nuts,  suita 
ble  for  taking  to  sea,  and  wore  calculated  for  keeping  three  or  four  months. 
I  now  found  it  necessary  to  stop  the  liberty  I  had  heretofore  given  to  my 
people,  and  directed  that  every  person  should  remain  on  board  and  work 
late  and  early  to  hasten  the  departure  of  the  ship ;  but  three  of  my  crew 
determined  on  having  a  parting  kiss,  and  to  obtain  it,  swam  on  shore  at 
night ;  they  were  caught  on  the  beach  and  brought  to  me.  I  immediately 
caused  them  to  be  confined  in  irons,  and  determined  to  check  any  farther 
disobedience  of  my  orders  by  the  most  exemplary  punishment.  I  next 
morning  caused  them  to  be  punished  severely  at  the  gangway,  and  set  them, 
to  work  in  chains  with  my  prisoners  :  this  severity  excited  some  discon 
tent  and  inurmurings  among  the  crew,  but  it  effectually  prevented  a  recur 
rence. 

Nooaheevah  had  many  charms  for  a  sailor,  and  had  part  of  my  crew  felt 
disposed  to  remain  there,  I  knew  they  would  not  absent  themselves  until  the 
moment  before  my  departure.  This  affair  had,  However,  like  to  have  ended 
seriously  ;  my  crew  did  not  see  the  same  motives  for  restraint  as  myself, 
they  had  long  been  indulged,  and  they  thought  it  now  hard  to  be  deprived 
of  their  usual  liberty  :  one  kiss  now  was  worth  a  thousand  at  any  other 
time  ;  they  were  restless,  discontented,  and  unhappy.  The  girls  lined  the 
beach  from  morning  until  night,  and  every  moment  importuned  me  to  take 
the  taboos  off  the  men,  and  laughingly  expressed  their  grief  by  dipping  their 
fingers  into  the  sea  and  touching  their  eyes,  so  as  to  let  the  salt  water  trickle 
down  their  cheeks.  Others  would  seize  a  chip,  and  holding  it  in  the  manner 
of  a  shark's  tooth,  declared  they  would  cut  themselves  to  pieces  in  despair ; 
some  threatened  to  beat  their  brains  out  with  a  spear  of  grass,  some  to  drown 
themselves,  and  all  were  determined  to  inflict  on  themselves  some  dreadful 
punishment  if  I  did  not  permit  their  sweethearts  to  come  on  shore.  The  men 
did  not  bear  it  with  so  much  good  humor :  their  situation,  they  said,  was 
worse  than  slavery." 

On  the  12th  Commodore  Porter,  having  the  Essex  and  Essex  Junior  ready 

for  sea,  sailed  for  the  coast  of  South  America  to  cruise  against  the  enemy. 

Previous  to  leaving  he  had  the  remainder  of  the  prizes  warped  in  under  the 

guns  of  the  fort.     The  command  of  the  fort  was  given  to  Lieutenant  Gara- 

23 


356  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

ble,  of  the  marines,  who  had  under  him  Messers,  Feltus  and  Clapp  two  of  tha 
midshipmen,  and  twenty-one  men.  Captain  Porter's  object  in  leaving  these 
vessels  was  to  secure  the  means  of  future  repairs  to  his  ships,  and  to  avoid 
an  unnecessary  detention,  he  gave  Lieutenant  Gamble  orders  to  leave  tho 
island  in  five  and  a  half  months  if  he  should  not  hear  from  him  in  tho 
meantime. 

The  Essex  had  nor  sooner  disappeared  than  the  savages  began  to  show  a 
turbulent  disposition.  This  was  for  the  time  quieted.  Soon  after  one  of 
the  men  was  drowned  and  four  deserted  in  a  whaleboat.  In  April  a  part  of 
the  men  mutinied  and  sailed  away  in  the  Seringapatam.  In  May  the  natives 
attacked  them  and  killed  midshipman  Feltus  and  three  of  the  men  and 
severely  wounded  another.  The  whole  party  was  now  reduced  to  eight  in 
dividuals  of  whom  only  four  were  fit  for  duty.  With  these  Mr.  Gamble  got 
to  sea  in  the  Sir  Andrew  Hammond  and  went  into  the  Sandwich  islands 
where  he  was  soon  after  captured  by  the  Cherub.  He  there  learned  the  fate 
of  the  Essex,  which  on  the  last  of  March,  after  a  bloody  and  long  sustained 
battle  with  the  British  ships  Phoebe  and  Cherub,  in  the  neutral  harbor  of 
Valparaiso,  had  surrendered.  The  action  had  been  fought  under  great  dis 
advantages  with  a  far  superior  force  of  the  enemy,  and  with  a  bravery  that 
reflected  great  credit  upon  Captain  Porter :  indeed  he  refused  to  surrender 
until  his  principal  officers,  and  more  than  one  half  of  "his  crew,  had  been 
killed  or  wounded.  Just  before  going  into  the  action  a  squall  of  wind  had 
carried  away  the  main  topmast  of  the  Essex,  so  that  Captain  Porter  could 
not  maneuver  his  vessel.  She  therefore  lay  completely  in  the  power  of 
the  enemy  who  could  choose  his  own  position  and  distance  and  with  his 
guns  of  longer  reach  pour  in  the  shot  upon  his  crippled  antagonist,  without 
the  latter  having  the  shadow  of  a  chance  of  a  successful  defense. 

Thus  terminated  this  enterprising  and  singular  cruise.  Its  end  was  as 
disastrous  as  its  commencement  had  been  fortunate ;  and  its  whole  history 
was  romantic  and  highly  creditable  to  the  spirit,  resources  and  self-reliance  of 
the  master  mind  who  originated  and  carried  it  into  execution. 

Captain  Porter  was  a  native  of  Boston,  Massachusetts,  where  he  was  bora 
in  1780,  so  that  at  the  time  of  starting  on  this  eventful  cruise  he  was  but 
thirty-two  years  of  age.  On  the  termination  of  the  war  in  1815  he  was 
appointed  a  naval  commissioner,  and  performed  the  duties  of  that  office 
until  1821.  Subsequently,  in  relation  to  an  insult  offered  the  American 
flag  at  Forado,  in  Porto  Rico,  of  which  he  was  cognizant,  he  obliged  the 
authorities  of  the  place  to  make  a  due  apology.  He  had  no  orders  to  do  so  ; 
and  consequently  was  suspended  for  six  mouths  by  a  court-martial.  He 
thereupon  resigned  his  commission  and  joined  the  Mexican  navy.  In  1829, 
President  Jackson  appointed  him  minister  to  Constantinople,  where  he 
rendered  his  country  most  valuable  aid,  in  the  formation  of  treaties.  He 
died  in  1843,  at  the  age  of  sixty-three  years. 

Captain  Porter  was  the  author  of  the  celebrated  motto,  "  Free  Trade  and 
Sailor's  Rights."  On  his  return  from  his  celebrated  cruise,  he  was  every- 
where  received  with  the  highest  honors.  Congress  and  the  several  States 
gave  him  a  vote  of  thanks,  and  by  universal  acclamation  he  was  called  "  ifo 
Hero  of  the  Pacific." 


THE  WISE  AND  HEROIC  CONDUCT 

OF 

JEHUDI     ASHMUN: 

AS  SHOWN   IN   SAYING   FROM  DESTRUCTION   AND   IN   ESTABLISHING   ON   A   FIRM   BABIi 

THE  AMERICAN  COLONY  OF  LIBERIA. 


AMONG  the  subjects  that  have  attracted  the  consideration  of  statesmen  and 
philanthropists  of  our  time,  that  of  African  Colonization  has  been  conspic 
uous.  Many  of  our  ablest  and  purest  men  have  regarded  this  as  the  only 
practicable  means  to  effect  the  ultimate  regeneration  of  a  degraded  class  of 
our  population;  and  also  as  the  mode  by  which  the  whole  continent  of 
Africa  will  eventually  have  opened  to  it  the  blessings  of  Christian  civiliza 
tion. 

Among  'those  names  connected  with  the  early  history  of  the  American 
colony  of  Liberia,  is  that  of  Jehudi  Ashmun.  He  it  was  that  in  its  darkest 
hour  saved  it  from  utter  extermination,  and  by  the  exercise  of  masterly 
abilities  in  his  agency  of  six  years'  duration,  gained  the  reputation  of  having 
been  one  of  the  most  remarkable  of  men.  In  the  midst  of  the  varying  cir 
cumstances  of  difficulty  and  danger,  he  exhibited  most  conspicuously  every 
variety  of  quality  and  talent  that  could  be  called  for — military  skill  and 
courage,  political  sagacity  and  address,  all  of  which  were  united  to  such  a 
spirit  of  self-sacrifice  that  finally  his  life  became  the  forfeit  of  his  devotion. 

Mr.  Ashinun,  was  born  in  April,  1794,  in  Champlain,  New  York.  His 
parents  were  respectable  people  in  moderate  circumstances.  He  was  edu 
cated  at  the  University  of  Vermont,  and  for  a  while  was  a  Professor  of  Class 
ical  Literature  in  a  Theological  Seminary  at  Hampden,  in  Maine.  He  also 
received  a  license  to  preach. 

The  subject  of  foreign  missions  had  taken  a  deep  hold  of  his  thought, 
and  it  was  his  ultimate  design  to  devote  his  life  to  that  department  of  labor. 
The  elements  of  intellectual  strength  are  generally  mingled  in  the  human 
character  with  ardent  feelings  and  powerful  assions.  The  talents  which 
render  men  capable  of  great  and  noble  actions,  may,  if  perverted,  cover  them 
with  all  the  disgrace  and  infamy  of  crime.  Ashmun  was  naturally  self- 
confident,  proud,  ambitious.  His  imagination  was  warm,  his  passions  ardent, 
his  sensibility  extreme.  His  religious  sentiments  at  this  time,  were  deeply 
tinged  with  a  romantic  enthusiasm.  In  allusion  to  this  period,  he  some 
years  after  oVserved  :  "My  genius  and  habits,  much  of  the  time,  were  de 
cidedly  af  the  ascetic  cast.  I  determined  not  only  to  forsake  the  gay,  but 

(357) 


358  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

even  the  civilized  world,  and  spend  my  life  among  distant  savages.  And 
from  long  dwelling  on  this  prospect,  and  naturally  directing  my  inquiries 
and  reading  by  it,  I  came  to  acquire  a  passion  for  the  sacrifice." 

Ashmun  eventually  moved  to  Washington  City,  where  he  took  charge 
of  the  Theological  Eepertory,  a  monthly  publication,  the  only  one  of  a  re 
ligious  character  then  published  south  of  New  York.  The  capacity  he  evinced 
as  editor  at  once  gained  the  attention  of  leading  minds,  especially  as  shown 
in  an  elaborate  review  of  the  second  Annual  Report  of  the  American  Col 
onization  Society. 

The  introduction  to  this  Review  is  in  the  following  words  : 
"Never  perhaps,  in  the  history  of  man,  has  an  object  affording  equal 
scope  for  the  exercise  of  Christian  benevolence,  been  found  capable  of  en 
gaging  in  its  support  such  a  compass  and  variety  of  powerful  motives  as 
that  of.  the  American  Colonization  Society.  Though  in  itself  this  object  is 
simple  and  definite,  and  to  superficial  observation,  of  limited  and  even 
questionable  utility,  the  beneficial  consequences  of  its  success  gradually  un 
fold  to  the  mind,  on  a  rational  investigation  of  its  nature,  and  may  be  traced 
up  to  the  highest  pitch  of  moral  magnificence." 

"It  is  an  opinion,"  he  farther  along  adds,  "which  we  believe  is  built  on 
incontestible  grounds,  that  an  African  colony  in  order  to  answer  any  benevolent 
design,  must  have  for  its  basis  the  promotion  of  the  Christian  religion — first 
within  the  colony  itself,  and  subsequently  by  means  of  the  colony  among  the 
contiguous  tribes."     From  this  period,  the  subject  of  African  colonization 
engrossed  the  thoughts  of  Ashmun,  and  he  devoted  all  his  leisure  to  the  pre 
paration  of  the  life  of  Rev.  Samuel  Bacon,  one  of  the  pioneers  in  that  cause. 
The  work  when  issued  was  judged  a  production  of  signal  ability ;  but  it 
failed  in  a  mercantile  sense,  and,  in  connection  with  the  want  of  patronage 
for  the  Repertory,  involved  him  in  pecuniary  embarrassments.  The  periodical 
also  failed  through  mismanagement  and  other  causes  over  which  he  had  no 
control.     In  settling  the  affairs  of  the  Repertory  suspicions  became  attached 
to  him,  which  the  busy  tongue  of  detraction  was  not  slow  to  reiterate.     Few 
conditions  are  more  perplexing  to  a  noble,  sensitive  mind  than  now  became 
his.     He  was  awakened  from  every  bright  dream  of  the  future,  by  the  calls 
-of  importunate  creditors  to  satisfy  delinquencies  for  the  past.     Friends,  too, 
began  to  desert  him,  and  looked  upon  him  with  reproachful  disappointment 
at  not  coming  up  to  their  expectations  ;  for,  meritorious  so  ever  as  one's  ef- 
, forts  may  be,  so  blinded  is  the  public  generally,  that  it  judges  only  of  merit 
by  success.     Reserved  both  by  inclination  and  habit  on  matters  of  private 
concern,  he  perhaps  sometimes  was%  silent,  when  he  should  have  made  ex- 
.planation  ;  and  while  acting  in  his  integrity,  forgot  what  discretion  would 
have  dictated,  as  due  to  the  opinions  of  others.     But  he  bowed  his  head  to 
no   useless  sorrow.     He  was  calm,  uncomplaining,  and  active.     He  knew 
that  to  seek  sympathy,  is  generally  to  lose  in  respect  more  than  is  gained 
in  compassion ;  and  that  for  a  wounded  spirit,  the  only  remedy  is  divine. 
No   mortal  eye  can  penetrate  those  deep  and  secret  places  of  the  heart, 
where  griefs  spring  up  and  are  nourished  from  the  very  fountains  of  life. 

As  introductory  to  the  new  and  important  field  in  whicn  the  abilities  of 
Ashmun  shone  so  conspicuously,  we  give  a  sketch  of  the  origin  and  progress 
of  the  Colony  of  Liberia. to  the  period  when  his  history  became  merged  in  it. 


OF  AMERICANS.  359 

Dr.  Fothergill,  a  member  of  the  Society  of  Friends  in  England,  first  sug 
gested,  and  Granville  Sharp  first  executed  the  project  of  colonizing  free  men 
of  color  in  Africa,  by  founding,  in  1787,  the  Colony  of  Sierra  Leone.  The 
same  year  the  philanthropic  Dr.  Wm.  Thornton  of  Washington  proposed  to 
conduct  a  company  of  free  colored  emigrants  from  the  United  States  to 
Africa,  but  circumstances  beyond  his  control  frustrated  his  design.  The 
aubject  was  discussed  in  the  Legislature  of  Virginia  early  in  the  present 
century,  and  the  General  Government  requested  by  that  body  to  aid  in  the 
selection  and  acquisition  of  territory  adapted  to  the  purposes  of  the  con 
templated  colony. 

But  the  establishment  of  the  American  Colonization  Society  resulted  lose 
from  political  motives,  than  from  Christian  benevolence.  Long  before  the 
formation  of  the  Colonization  Society,  there  were  generous  souls  in  Virginia 
and  probably  in  other  parts  of  the  South,  touched  with  a  tender  and  affecting 
charity  toward  the  people  of  color.  And  in  a  future  world  the  fact  may 
stand  revealed,  that  from  the  sacred  retirements  of  a  few  devout  ladies  in 
Virginia,  emanated  a  spirit  of  zeal  and  charity  in  behalf  of  the  afflicted 
Africans,  which  has  widely  spread ;  inspired  ministers  and  statesmen  with 
an  almost  divine  eloquence  in  their  cause. 

The  American  Colonization  Society  was  founded  in  Washington  City,  in 
December,  1816.  The  patriotic  and  pious  from  various  parts  of  the  country, 
united  in  its  organization.  Among  the  original  members  of  this  society 
were  Henry  Clay,  Daniel  Webster,  John  Eandolph,  and  others  of  the  most 
eminent  statesmen  from  all  parts  of  our  country,  North  and  South.  They 
could  not  close  their  eyes  upon  these  prominent  facts  : 

That  the  slavery  of  two  millions  of  colored  persons  in  the  Southern  por 
tion  of  this  Union  was  under  the  exclusive  control  and  legislation  of  the 
slaveholding  States — each  having  the  sole  right  of  regulating  it  within  its 
own  limits. 

That  the  two  hundred  thousand  colored  persons  scattered  throughout  the 
Union  and  legally  free,  enjoyed  few  of  the  advantages  of  freedom. 

That  there  were  powerful  causes  operating  to  frustrate  all  efforts  to  ele 
vate  very  considerably  men  of  color  in  this  country,  which  could  not  exist 
to  prevent  their  elevation  in  a  separate  community  from  the  whites. 

That  the  success  of  any  measures  for  the  good  of  this  race,  must  depend 
in  a  great  degree  upon  the  union  of  the  wise  and  pious  from  every  State 
and  section  of  the  country. 

That  Africa  was  inhabited  by  fifty  to  one  hundred  millions  of  uncivil 
ized  and  heathen  men,  and  that  to  render,  as  far  as  practicable,  the  elevation 
of  her  exiled  children  conducive  to  the  deliverance  and  salvation  of  her 
home  population,  was  required  alike  by  philanthropy  and  piety. 

In  view  of  these  facts,  what  humanity  and  benevolence  to  the  colored 
race  suggested,  was  embodied  in  the  constitution  of  the  American  Coloniz 
ation  Society.  It  was  expected  that  the  operations  of  this  Society,  would 
unfetter  and  invigorate  the  faculties,  improve  the  circumstances,  animate  tho 
hopes  and  enlarge  the  usefulness  of  the  free  people  of  color ;  that  by 
awakening  thought,  nullifying  objections,  presenting  motives  convincing  to 
the  judgment,  and  persuasive  to  the  humanity  of  masters,  they  would  en- 
couiage  emancipation;  that  in  Africa  their  results  would  be  seen,  in  civil- 


360  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

ized  and  Christian  communities ;  in  the  substitution  of  a  lawful  and  bene 
ficial  commerce  for  the  abominable  slave  trade  ;  of  peaceful  agriculture  for 
a  predatory  warfare  ;  knowledge  for  ignorance  ;  the  arts  that  refine  for  vices 
that  degrade  ;  and  for  superstitions  vile,  cruel  and  bloodstained,  the  en 
nobling  service  and  pure  worship  of  the  true  God.  It  was  believed  that  the 
fellowship  of  the  North  with  the  South,  in  African  colonization  would  tend 
powerfully  to  produce  just  opinions  on  the  subject  of  slavery,  and  prepare 
for  the  removal  of  the  evil  without  endangering  the  integrity  and  peace 
of  the  Union.  4-.  •  t 

In  the  year  1818,  the  American  Colonization  Society  sent  out  as  agents 
Messrs.  Ebenezer  Burgess  and  Samuel  Or.  Mills,  to  ascertain  if  suitable  terri 
tory  could  be  obtained  on  the  western  coast  of  Africa  for  the  proposed  colony. 
They  visited  Sierra  Leone,  the  Gambia  and  Sherbro,  and  their  report  encou 
raged  the  Society  to  proceed  in  its  enterprise.  Mr.  Mills  died  on  the  return 
voyage. 

In  1820,  the  first  band  of  colonists  of  the  Society  sailed  for  the  coast  of 
Africa.  It  consisted  of  eighty-eight  emigrants  under1  the  charge  of  Rev. 
Sam'l  Bacon,  J.  P.  Bankson  and  Dr.  S.  A.  Crozier,  as  agents.  They  landed 
on  the  Island  of  Sherbro,  where,  in  the  course  of  a  few  weeks,  the  climate  and 
exposure  brought  on  a  disease  by  which  all  the  agents  and  one  quarter  of 
the  emigrants  perished.  Early  the  next  year,  1821,  the  second  expedition 
was  sent  out  with  a  small  number  of  emigrants  who  remained  at  Sierra 
Leone  until  suitable  land  should  be  obtained  for  the  site  of  the  intended 
colony.  They  were  joined  there  by  the  surviving  emigrants  of  the  preced 
ing  year.  Finally,  by  great  skill  and  perseverance,  a  valuable  tract  of  land 
was  obtained  of  the  native  chiefs,  including  Cape  Montserado,  as  a  site  for 
the  first  settlement.  This  purchase  was  made  by  Capt.  Robt.  F.  Stockton 
of  the  U.  S.  Navy,  and  Dr.  Eli  Ayres,  the  chief  agent  of  the  Colonization 
Society.  The  colonists,  in  the  beginning  of  the  next  year,  removed  from 
Sierra  Leone  to  a  small  and  unhealthy  island  on  the  mouth  of  Montserado 
River.  The  natives  evinced  much  duplicity  and  a  determination,  if  possible, 
to  expel  them  from  the  country.  In  a  contest  with  them,  the  storehouse 
took  fire  and  most  of  the  provisions  and  utensils  of  the  colony  were  de 
stroyed.  In  July  of  this  year,  1822,  the  little  band,  having  endured  great 
trials  and  hardships,  were  enabled  entirely  to  abandon  the  island  and  plant 
themselves  beneath  their  own  humble  dwellings  in  the  Cape.  At  this  period 
their  agent,  Dr.  Ayres,  had  been  compelled  to  depart  for  the  United  Statesi 
leaving  the  colonists  in  charge  of  one  of  their  own  number  as  a  general 
superintendent.  Few  and  destitute,  and  exposed  to  the  treachery  of  savage 
foes,  far  away  from  the  abodes  of  civilized  men,  this  feeble  company  pa 
tiently  awaited  the  arrival  of  those  aids  and  supplies  which  their  necessities 
demanded. 

Such  was  the  condition  of  affairs,  when  Mr.  Ashmun,  accompanied  by  his 
wife,  arrived  at  Cape  Montserado,  in  Liberia,  early  in  August  of  this  year 
(1822).  He  was  at  this  period  in  his  twenty-ninth  year.  He  had  been 
sent  out  in  the  brig  Strong,  chartered  by  the  managers  of  the  Colonization 
Society,  in  charge  of  fifty-three  emigrants  ;  eighteen  of  these  were  native  Afri 
cans,  who  having  been  stolen  from  their  own  country,  had  been  delivered  over 
to  the  Society  to  return  them  to  their  native  soil.  His  instructions  were  that 


OF  AMERICANS.  361 

in  case  he  should  return  in  the  brig  to  report  the  condition  and  prospects 
of  the  colony ;  but  that  if  Dr.  Ayres  was  absent,  he  should  remain  and  tem 
porarily  assume  the  duties  of  agent.  Finding  that  Dr.  Ayres  had  left, 
Ashmun  remained  and  took  charge  of  the  colony.  He  summoned  all  his 
energies,  surveyed  rapidly  the  field  of  labor,  and  deferred  not  an  hour  the 
commencement  of  his  work. 

It  is  believed  Mr.  Ashmun  was  impelled  to  leave  his  country,  rather  by  a 
desire  to  realize  from  commercial  operations,  the  means  of  discharging  hea\\ 
debts,  which,  should  he  continue  in  America,  he  saw  it  impossible  soon  to  pay, 
than  by  any  expectation  of  occupying  the  station  which  Providence  destined 
him  to  fill  with  such  distinguished  honor  and  success.  That  he  felt  for  the 
cause  of  African  Colonization  an  ardent  affection,  and  hoped  essentially  to 
promote  it,  is  certain.  But  his  thoughts  were  directed  to  a  plan  of  exten 
sive  trade,  which  he  imagined  might  prove  of  some  advantage  to  himself, 
while  it  contributed  to  conciliate  and  civilize  the  Africans,  and  to  augment 
the  resources  and  facilitate  all  the  operations  of  the  Society.  The  informa 
tion  he  would  obtain  by  a  visit  to  the  African  coast,  must,  he  concluded, 
enable  him  to  judge  of  proper  measures  for  effecting  his  object ;  and  on  his 
return,  all  the  details  of  the  plan  might  be  satisfactorily  adjusted  with  the 
various  parties  concerned.  He  regarded  the  scheme  probably  at  the  time  of 
his  departure,  as  something  of  an  adventure,  since  it  does  not  appear  that 
he  had  submitted  it -to  the  consideration  of  the  managers  of  the  Society. 

Cape  Montserado,  elevated  from  seventy-five  to  eighty  feet  above  the  sea, 
forms  the  abrupt  termination  of  a  narrow  tongue  of  land,  in  length  thirty- 
six  miles,  and  from  one  and  a  half  to  three  miles  in  breadth  ;  bounded  on 
the  south-west  by  the  ocean,  and  on  the  north-east  by  the  Rivers  Mont 
serado  and  Junk. 

The  site  chosen  for  the  original  settlement  (now  Monrovia  Liberia),  is 
two  miles  from  the  point  of  the  Cape.  This  site,  and  a  large  portion  of  the 
peninsula,  was  covered  with  a  lofty  and  dense  forest,  entangled  with  vines 
and  brushwood  ;  the  haunts  of  savage  beasts,  and  through  which  the  bar 
barians  were  accustomed  to  cut  their  narrow  and  winding  pathways  to  the 
coast.  When  Mr.  Ashmun  arrived,  a  small  spot  had  been  cleared,  and  about 
thirty  houses  constructed  in  a  native  style.  The  rainy  season  was  at  its 
height ;  the  public  property  had  been  chiefly  consumed  by  fire ;  some  of 
the  settlers  already  on  the  ground,  were  but  imperfectly  sheltered  ;  and  for 
those  just  arrived,  no  preparation  had  been  made  ;  the  settlement  had  no 
adequate  means  of  defense,  while  the  chiefs  of  the  country  could  no  longer 
conceal  their  hostile  designs.  The  whole  population  of  the  settlement,  in 
cluding  the  emigrants  by  the  Strong,  did  not  exceed  one  hundred  and  thirty; 
of  whom  thirty-five  only  were  capable  of  bearing  arms.  A  comprehensive 
system  of  operations  was  immediately  commenced,  to  relieve  the  wants  and 
Improve  the  condition  of  the  infant  colony,  and  afford  security  against  tje 
dangers  to  which  it  was  exposed. 

As  hostile  demonstrations  soon  became  manifest,  the  colonists  prepared  to 
fortify  themselves.  Within  a  few  days  after  the  arrival  of  Mr.  Ashmun,  a 
fortified  tower  was  planned  and  commenced,  and  a  particular  survey  taken 
of  the  military  strength  and  means  of  the  settlers.  Of  the  native  Americans, 
twenty-seven,  when  not  sick,  were  able  to  bear  arms  ;  but  they  were  wholly 


362  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

untrained  to  their  use,  and  capable,  in  their  present  undisciplined  state,  of 
making  but  a  very  feeble  defense  indeed.  It  was  soon  perceived  that  the  means 
as  well  as  an  organized  system  of  defense  were  to  be  originated,  without  either 
the  materials  or  the  artificers  usually  considered  necessary  for  such  purposes. 

The  little  town  was  closely  environed,  except  on  the  side  of  the  river, 
with  the  heavy  forest  in  the  bosom  of  which  it  was  situated — thus  giving 
to  a  savage  enemy  an  important  advantage  of  which  it  became  absolutely 
necessary  to  deprive  him,  by  enlarging  to  the  utmost,  the  cleared  space 
about  the  buildings.  This  labor  was  immediately  undertaken,  and  carried 
on  without  any  other  intermission,  than  that  caused  by  sickness  of  the  people, 
and  the  interruption  of  other  duties  equally  connected  with  the  safety  of 
the  place.  But  the  rains  were  immoderate  and  nearly  constant. 

In  addition  to  these  fatiguing  labors,  was  that  of  maintaining  the  nightly 
watch ; — which,  from  the  number  of  sentinels  necessary  for  the  common 
safety,  shortly  became  more  exhausting  than  all  the  other  burdens  of  tho 
people.  No  less  than  twenty  individuals  were  every  night  detailed  for  this 
duty,  after  the  31st  of  August. 

On  the  25th  of  August,  Mr.  Ashmun  experienced  the  first  attack  of  fever. 
Sickness  soon  commenced  among  the  company  of  recent  emigrants,  and 
prevailed  so  rapidly,  that  on  the  10th  of  September,  of  the  whole  number, 
only  two  remained  in  health.  Mr.  Ashmun  was  enabled  to  maintain  a  dif 
ficult  struggle  with  his  disorder,  for  four  weeks  ;  in  which  period,  after  a 
night  of  delirium  and  suffering,  it  was  not  an  unusual  circumstance  for  him 
to  be  able  to  spend  an  entire  morning  in  laying  off  and  directing  the  execu 
tion  of  the  public  works.  About  the  first  of  September,  the  intercourse 
between  the  settlement  and  the  people  of  the  country  had  nearly  ceased. 

Mrs.  Ashmun  was  prostrated,  by  a  far  more  serious  attack  than  the  one 
experienced  by  her  husband.  Protected  from  the  rain  only  by  a  thatched 
roof,  "on  a  couch,  literally  dripping  with  water,"  that  devoted  young  wife 
continued  to  sink  under  the  most  malignant  of  fevers,  until  the  15th  of  Sep 
tember,  when  she  expired.  It  was  in  November  before  Ashmun  sufficiently 
recovered  to  resume  his  labors.  He  soon  learned  that  the  chiefs  were  still 
secretly  plotting  the  destruction  of  the  colony.  They  met  in  war  council, 
and  while  some  few  of  them  were  friendly  to  the  colonists,  the  voices  of  the 
majority  prevailed,  and  it  was  resolved  to  exterminate  them.  Through  a 
friendly  chief,  Ashmun  was  informed  of  all  their  movements  and  designs. 
He  informed  the  belligerents,  that  he  was  apprised  of  their  wishes,  and  that 
if  they  persisted  in  their  hostile  plans,  they  would  learn  what  it  was  to 
make  war  with  Americans. 

On  the  7th  of  November,  word  was  brought  him  that  a  combined  attack 
would  be  made  upon  the  settlement  within  four  days.  No  time  was  to  be 
lost.  Everything  was  done  to  put  their  forces  in  a  posture  of  defense,  and 
to  inspirit  the  men  that  could  be.  "A  coward,"  exclaimed  Ashmun,  "it  was 
hoped  did  not  disgrace  their  ranks  ;  and  as  the  cause  was  emphatically  that 
of  God  and  their  country,  they  might  confidently  expect  His  blessing  and 
success,  to  attend  the  faithful  discharge  of  their  duty."  On  the  8th  an  exam 
ination  by  Mr.  Ashmun  of  their  locality  showed  that  a  path  to  their  fortifi 
cation,  had  been  overlooked,  and  thus  an  avenue  of  attack  was  afforded  their 
enemies.  Men  were  instantly  posted  along  it,  and  instructed  to  keep  vigilant 


OF  AMEKICANS.  36S 

watch.  On  Sunday,  the  10th,  the  colonists  assembled  for  worship.  A  messen 
ger  broke  in  upon  their  devotions,  with  the  tidings  that  the  enemy,  in  fuli 
force,  had  crossed  Montserado  Kiver,  and  were  actually  within  a  few  miles  of 
them.  That  night  these  men  slept  on  their  arms.  The  watch  was  instructed 
to  keep  their  posts  till  sun-rise ;  but,  in  defiance  of  orders,  the  picket- 
guard  left  their  station  at  early  dawn.  The  consequences  almost  proved 
fatal.  They  had  no  sooner  deserted  their  places  than  the  enemy  came  upon 
them.  They  fired  a  volley  of  musketry,  at  the  distance  of  sixty  paces,  shot 
down  several  of  the  colonists,  and  then  rushed  forward  with  spear  in  hand  to 
take  possession  of  the  post.  Some  out-houses,  and  their  contents  fell  into  the 
enemy's  hands.  This  proved  most  fortunate.  For,  bent  on  plunder,  the  na 
tives,  instead  of  following  up  their  success,  turned  aside  to  ransack  the 
buildings,  which  afforded  the  colonists  time  to  re'coverfrom  their  surprise  and 
prepare  for  action.  They  seized  their  guns  and  poured  upon  the  natives  a 
raking,  murderous  fire.  The  savages  began  soon  to  recoil,  and  the  colonists 
regained  the  western  post  that  had  fallen  into  the  enemy's  hand,  in  the  be 
ginning  of  the  action,  when  they  brought  a  long  nine-pounder  to  rake  the 
whole  line  of  the  enemy.  Imagination  can  scarcely  figure  to  itself  a  throng 
of  human  beings  in  a  more  capital  state  of  exposure  to  the  destructive  power 
of  the  machinery  of  modern  warfare  !  Eight  hundred  men  were  hero  in 
line,  shoulder  to  shoulder,  in  so  compact  a  form  that  a  child  might  easily 
walk  upon  their  heads  from  one  end  of  the  mass  to  the  other,  presenting  in 
their  rear  a  breadth  of  rank  equal  to  twenty  or  thirty  men,  arid  all  exposed 
to  a  gun  of  great  power,  raised  on  a  platform,  at  only  thirty  to  sixty  yards 
distance  !  Every  shot  literally  spent  its  force  in  a  solid  mass  of  living  hu 
man  flesh  1  Their  fire  suddenly  terminated.  A  savage  yell  was  raised, 
which  filled  the  dismal  forest  with  a  momentary  horror.  It  gradually  died 
away  ;  and  the  whole  host  disappeared. 

On  the  part  of  the  settlers,  it  was  soon  discovered  that  considerable  in 
jury  had  been  sustained.  One  woman  who  had  imprudently  passed  the 
night  in  the  house  first  beset  by  the  enemy,  had  received  thirteen  wounds, 
and  been  thrown  aside  as  dead.  Another,  flying  from  her  house  with  her 
two  infant  children,  received  a  wound  in  the  head,  from  a  cutlass,  and  was 
robbed  of  both  her  babes ;  but  providentially  escaped.  A  young  married 
woman,  with  the  mother  of  five  small  children,  finding  the  house  in  which 
they  slept  surrounded  by  savage  enemies,  barricaded  the  door,  in  the  vain 
hope  of  safety.  It  was  forced.  Each  of  the  women  then  seizing  an  axe, 
held  the  irresolute  barbarians  in  check  for  several  minutes  longer.  Having 
'discharged  their  guns,  they  seemed  desirous  of  gaining  the  shelter  of  the 
house  previous  to  reloading.  At  length,  with  the  aid  of  their  spears,  and 
by  means  of  a  general  rush,  they  overcame  their  heroine  adversaries,  and 
instantly  stabbed  the  youngest  to  the  heart.  The  mother,  instinctively 
springing  for  her  suckling  babe,  which  recoiled  through  fright,  and  was  left 
behind,  rushed  through  a  small  window  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  house, 
and  fortunately  gained  the  lines,  unhurt,  between  two  heavy  fires. 

It  never  has  been  possible  to  ascertain  the  number  of  the  enemy  killed 
or  disabled  on  this  occasion  ;  but  it  is  estimated  to  have  been  about  ono 
hundred  and  fifty.  The  offensive  effluvium  from  the  numerous  dead  bodies 
in  the  adjacent  forest  soon  became  intolerable. 


364  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

Though  victorious,  they  were  by  no  means  in  an  enviable  position.  Im 
mediately  after  the  action,  their  intrenchments  were  compressed,  so  as  not 
to  embrace  so  much  area  of  ground,  but  to  admit  of  greater  concentration 
of  their  forces.  This  being  done,  they  began  to  reflect  upon  their  condition. 
It  was  deplorable  enough — shut  out  from  all  help,  in  the  midst  of  a  nu 
merous  and  barbarous  people,  and  destitute  of  means  either  to  advance  or 
to  recede.  Then,  too,  what  were  they  to  do  for  provisions  ?  They  had  not 
two  weeks'  supply.  Amid  this  gloorn  and  depression,  a  day  of  thanksgiving 
and  prayer  was  appointed  and  scrupulously  observed.  In  this  severe  strait, 
relief  for  their  most  pressing  wants  was  afforded  by  a  small  puichase 
from  a  Liverpool  vessel  that  happened  to  touch  at  the  Cape. 

Exasperated  by  their  recent  defeat,  the  natives  combined  in  greater  force 
for  another  attack.  Early  on  the  morning  of  the  2d,  the  works  were  again 
attacked  simultaneously  on  both  sides  with  great  fury,  when  a  few  rapid, 
well-aimed  discharges  of  artillery  drove  them  back  in  confusion  and  dismay 
In  another  quarter  they  rallied  for  the  assault.  To  shield  themselves  from 
the  guns,  they  fell  flat  on  their  faces,  behind  some  projecting  rocks,  and 
large  ant  hills.  Then  suddenly  they  arose  and  again  rushed  to  the  charge. 
This  was  repeated  several  times,  with  disastrous  results  to  themselves.  No 
sooner  did  they  become  exposed  than  they  fell  in  heaps,  by  the  balls  of  the 
guns.  They  then  filed  around  an  eminence,  with  a  view  of  attacking  the  south- 
em  posts  which  were  undefended.  Their  design  was  discovered,  and  the 
colonists  immediately  occupied  that  station.  Soon  as  the  enemy  came  in 
full  view,  their  guns  were  opened  upon  them  with  the  same  effect  as  before, 
and  they  at  length  gave  way  on  all  sides.  Thus,  the  colonists  were  again 
victorious.  They  lost  several  valuable  men,  however,  in  the  action.  Ash- 
mun  himself  had  several  balls  through  his  clothes,  but  was  not  hurt. 

The  natives  showed  great  skill  and  bravery  in  this  attack  ;  their  plan  of 
assault  was  the  very  best  that  they  could  have  devised.  It  was  certainly 
sustained  and  renewed  with  a  resolution  that  would  not  disgrace  the  best 
disciplined  troops.  But  they  were  not  fully  apprised  of  the  power  of  well 
served  artillery.  None  of  the  kings  of  this  part  of  the  coast  are  without 
cannon.  But  to  load  a  great  gun,  is  with  them  the  business  of  half  an  hour, 
and  they  were  seriously  disposed  to  attribute  to  sorcery  the  art  of  charging 
and  firing  these  destructive  machines  from  four  to  six  times  in  the  minute. 

The  result  of  this  action  disheartened  the  foe,  and  animated  for  a  moment 
the  hopes  of  the  colonists.  But  the  situation  of  the  latter  was  most  dis 
tressing.  The  small  number,  still  more  reduced — no  aid  near — provisions 
scanty,  so  that  for  six  weeks  they  had  been  on  an  allowance  of  meat  and 
bread  ;  the  sufferings  of  the  wounded,  relieved  by  little  surgical  knowledge, 
less  skill  and  no  proper  instruments,  indescribable  ;  and  on  an  equal  distri 
bution  of  the  shot  among  the  guns,  not  three  rounds  remaining  to  each  ! 
"  We  cried  unto  God,"  says  Mr.  Ashmun,  "  to  send  us  aid,  or  prepare  us,  and 
the  Society  at  home,  for  the  heaviest  earthly  calamity  we  could  dread." 

On  the  following  night,  an  officer  at  one  of  the  stations,  alarmed  by  some 
movement  in  the  vicinity,  discharged  several  muskets  and  large  guns,  and 
this  circumstance  was  the  means  of  bringing  relief  to  the  almost  despair 
ing  settlement. 

The  British  colonial  schooner,  Prince  Regent,  laden  with  military  stores, 


OF  AMERICANS.  3C5 

and  having  on  board  Major  Laing,  the  celebrated  African  traveler,  with  a 
prize  crew  commanded  by  Midshipman  Gordon,  and  eleven  seamen  of  his 
British  majesty's  sloop-of-war  Driver,  was  at  this  time  passing  the  Cape,  on 
her  way  to  Cape  Coast  Castle,  when  her  officers,  arrested  by  the  sound  of 
cannon  at  midnight  from  the  shore,  resolved  to  ascertain  the  cause  of  so  ex 
traordinary  a  circumstance.  No  sooner  did  they  learn  the  truth,  and  be 
hold  a  little  company  of  brave  men  contending  for  their  lives  against  the 
leagued  forces  of  nearly  every  barbarous  tribe  on  that  part  of  the  coast,  than 
they  generously  offered  all  the  aid  in  their  power.  By  the  influence  of 
Captaui  Laing,  the  chiefs  were  bound  to  a  truce,  and  to  refer  all  matters  of 
difference  between  them  and  the  colony,  to  the  judgment  of  the  Governor 
of  Sierra  Leone  ;  while  Midshipman  Gordon,  with  eleven  seamen,  voluntarily 
consented  to  remain,  and  see  that  the  agreement  was  preserved  inviolate. 
As  the  chiefs  had  no  just  grounds  of  complaint,  the  provision  for  a  reference 
was  never  afterward  recollected.  The  Prince  Regent  left  at  the  colony  a 
supply  of  ammunition,  and  took  her  departure  on  the  4th  of  December. 
From  that  hour  the  foundations  of  the  colony  were  laid  in  a  firm  and  last 
ing  PEACE. 

And  who  was  he,  that  "single  white  man,"  on  that  distant  forest-clad 
shore,  unbroken  in  spirit,  though  bowed  beneath  the  heavy  hand  of  sorrow 
and  sickness,  casting  fear  to  the  winds,  directing  and  heading  by  day  and 
night,  a  feeble,  undisciplined,  dejected,  unfortified  band  of  thirty-five  emi 
grants,  against  whom  the  very  elements  seemed  warring,  while  a  thousand 
to  fifteen  hundred  armed  savages  were  rushing  to  destroy  them  ?  Who  was 
he,  that,  in  reliance  on  God  for  wisdom  and  might,  imparted  such  skill  and 
courage  to  this  little  company, — so  ordered  every  plan  and  guided  every 
movement,  that  the  fierce  foe  retired  panic  struck  before  them,  and  they 
stood  rescued  and  redeemed  from  impending  destruction  ? 

Was  he  a  veteran  soldier,  inured  to  danger,  familiar  with  suffering,  and 
bred  amid  scenes  of  battle  and  blood  ?  Was  he  there  adorned  by  badges  of 
military  honor,  conscious  of  a  reputation  won  by  deeds  of  "  high  emprise," 
and  stimulated  to  valor  by  hopes  of  glory  and  fears  of  disgrace  ? 

That  was  no  tried,  no  ambitious  soldier.  He  was  a  young  man,  bred  to 
letters,  of  retired  habits,  educated  for  the  ministry  of  Christ,  unknown  to 
fame, — the  victim  of  disappointment,  burdened  with  debt,  and  touched  by 
undeserved  reproach.  He  had  visited  Africa  in  hope  of  obtaining  the  means 
of  doing  justice  to  his  creditors  ;  and  impelled  by  Humanity  and  Religion, 
had  consented,  without  any  fixed  compensation,  to  give,  should  they  be  re 
quired,  his  services  to  the  colony.  He  found  it  in  peril  of  extinction.  He 
hesitated  not.  He  failed  not  to  redeem  his  pledge.  He  gathered  strength 
from  difficulty,  and  motive  from  danger.  No  thronging  and  admiring  spec 
tators  cheered  him  ;  no  glorious  pomp  and  circumstance  were  there  to  throw 
a  brightness  and  a  beauty  even  upon  the  features  and  terrors  of  death.  He 
stood  strong  in  duty,  covered  by  the  shield  of  Faith.  His  frame  shaken  by 
disease  ;  the  partner  of  his  life  struck  down  by  his  side  ;  amid  the  groans 
of  the  afflicted  and  in  the  shadow  of  Hope's  dim  eclipse,  he  planned  and 
executed,  with  the  ability  of  the  bravest  and  most  experienced  general, 
measures  which  saved  the  settlement,  and  secured  for  Liberty  and  Chris 
tianity,  a  perpetual  home  and  heritage  in  Africa. 


366  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

The  agitations  of  this  sanguinary  conflict,  were  succeeded  by  the  ravages 
of  disease  and  the  gloom  of  death.  Within  four  weeks  from  the  time  of 
the  departure  of  the  Prince  Regent,  the  graves  were  closed  over  Midshipman 
Gordon  and  eight  out  of  the  eleven  seamen  who  remained  with  him.  The 
conduct  of  these  generous  Englishmen,  deserves  to  be  remembered  forever. 
Hardly  had  they  stepped  on  the  African  shore,  to  assist  a  few  humble,  dis 
tressed,  tut  brave  men,  to  whom  they  were  bound  only  by  the  common  ties 
of  humanity,  from  whom  they  could  expect  no  reward,  and  who  might  have 
perished  almost  unobserved,  when  they  fell,  and  were  borne  in  the  arms  and 
amid  the  lamentations  of  those  whom  they  came  to  relieve,  to  the  place  of 
the  dead. 

Mr.  Ashmun's  health  being  injured  by  excessive  exertion,  about  the  16th 
of  December  he  relapsed  into  a  slow,  constant  fever,  which  at  first  resisted 
all  ordinary  remedies,  and  left  him  no  hope  of  recovery.  As  a  last  resort,,  a 
strong  potion  was  administered  in  which  was  a  large  spoonful  of  calomel. 
A  distressing  salivation  ensued  when  the  fever  left  him. 

It  was  in  the  middle  of  February  before  Ashmun  was  able  to  resume  the 
active  duties  of  his  station.  He  saw  that  every  possible  exertion  was  re 
quired  to  prepare  for  the  approaching  season  of  rains.  With  the  exception 
of  the  store-house,  there  was  but  one  shingled  roof  and  frame  house  in  the 
settlement.  Many  of  the  cabins  were  wit.hout  floors,  covered  with  thatch, 
affording  but  an  imperfect  shelter.  The  war  had  for  months  occupied 
wholly  the  attention  of  the  colonists,  and  deranged  all  their  habits  of  in 
dustry  and  private  a'ffairs. 

"  We  long,"  said  Mr.  Ashmun  at  this  time  in  a  letter  to  the  board,  "  for 
an  arrival  from,  home.  Our  provisions  are  short ;  but  we  have  some  tobacco, 
and  the  country  abounds  in  cattle,  goats,  fowls  and  vegetables,  which  tobacco, 
will  always  buy  in  almost  any  quantities.  Our  last  barrel  of  salted  pro 
visions  is  to  be  opened  next  Saturday.  But  we  do  not  complain.  God  has 
not,  and  will  not  fail  to  be  our  provider.  I  have  only  to  regret,  that  the 
war  has  put  back  our  improvements  nearly  or  quite  a  whole  year.  But  I 
firmly  believe  the  work  of  fighting  is  over,  and  that  future  emigrants  will 
enjoy  without  molestation,  all  the  fruits  of  their  industry."  To  the  secre 
tary  of  the  Society,  on  the  20th  of  February,  he-  wrote  : — "  Divine  Provi 
dence  has,  since  my  last,  been  gradually  dispersing  the  clouds  which  then 
overhung  us,  My  health  is  nearly  restored.  I  stand  a  monument  of  God's 
mercy,  and  behold  the  graves  of  fifteen  white  persons  around  me  ;  all  of 
whom  have  died  since  I  landed  on  the  Cape." 

On  the  5th  of  March,  he  wrote, — "  I  have  said,  in  several  letters,  that  I 
thought  myself  recovering.  But  I  am  now  convinced  that,  in  this  climate,  it 
i.s  vain  to  expect  to  recover  the  health  I  enjoyed  in  America  :  certainly  im 
possible  for  me,  in  my  present  situation,  to  be  anything  else  but  a  sick  man. 
It  is  not  my  nature  to  complain  with  too  much  facility.  But  think  you 
see  a  young  man  formed  for  society,  separated  almost  entirely  from  the  civ 
ilized  and  Christian  world;  his  constitution  broken  with  a  fever  of  six  months; 
his  only  earthly  comforter  snatched  away  ;  mingling  for  months  together 
his  own  groans  and  sighs  with  those  of  the  sick,  wounded,  and  dying  ;  al 
most  for  weeks  together  pained  with  the  sight  of  the  corpses  of  the  whites 
who  had  undertaken  to  reside  here  for  our  protection ;  the  complaints  of  th« 


OF  AMERICANS.  367 

colonists,  a  statement  of  their  wants,  their  application  for  a  thousand  things 
with  which  it  is  impossible  to  supply  them,  constantly  presenting  them 
selves  ;  every  public  work  to  be  planned  and  superintended  ;  the  move 
ments  of  the  natives  to  be  closely  watched,  and  their  hostile  designs  to  be  pro 
vided  against;  provision  made  by  trade,  etc.,  for  the  subsistence  of  the 
people  ;  for  their  shelter  against  the  approaching  rains ;  and  a  ceaseless 
Anxiety  to  lay  the  foundation  of  the  colony  in  a  way  that  will  not  be  de 
trimental  to  its  future  prosperity  ;  the  books  to  be  kept  and  correspondence 
carried  on  ;  think,  of  all  this  falling  upon  an  individual,  and  say,  can  he 
recover  his  wonted  health  of  body  or  strength  of  mind  ?  I  might  go  on 
enumerating  other  causes  of  my  feeble  and  crazy  state  of  health,  but  it  is 
painful  to  have  said  what  I  have." 

An  account  of  the  suffering  state  of  the  settlement,  from  the  pen  of  Mr. 
Ashmun,  in  the  Sierra  Leone  Gazette,  with  information  derived  from  other 
sources,  induced  the  commander  of  the  Cyane,  Captain  Robert  Trail  Spence, 
though  his  health  was  impaired,  and  his  crew  enfeebled  by  a  cruise  of  twelve 
months  in  the  West  Indies,  to  adopt  efficient  measures  for  the  relief  and 
safety  of  the  colony. 

He  saw  the  importance  of  leaving  an  armed  vessel  on  the  coast,  and  by 
the  most  energetic  exertion,  the  hull  of  an  old,  abandoned  schooner,  the  Au 
gustine,  was  fitted  for  sea  and  manned  by  a  crew  of  twelve  men,  under  Lieut. 
Dashiell,  to  guard  this  coast,  and  render  the  colony  every  possible  aid  in 
any  exigency.  Capt.  Spence,  on  his  arrival  with  the  Cyane,  directed  a  large 
portion  of  his  crew  to  assist  for  twenty  days  in  the  building  of  an  ammuni 
tion  house  for  the  agent,  and  a  stone  fortress,  in  the  midst  of  his  benevo 
lent  exertions,  the  fever  attacked  his  men  so  fiercely  that  he  was  obliged  to 
abandon  the  colonists,  and  the  surgeon  of  his  ship,  Dr.  Dix,  and  forty  of  his 
men,  fell  victims  to  the  deadly  climate. 

Mr.  Richard  Seaton,  the  first  clerk  of  the  Cyane,  consented,  with  the 
approbation  of  Captain  Spence,  to  remain  as  assistant  to  Mr,  Ashmun,  who 
saw,  that  alone  and  with  health  impaired,  It  was  impossible  to  fulfill  the  nu 
merous  and  arduous  duties  of  the  agency. 

On  the  21st  of  April,  Mr.  Ashmun,  "  worn  down  with  cares  and  fatigue," 
having  organized  the  laboring  force,  and  obtained  the  consent  of  Mr.  Seaton 
to  superintend  the  public  works,  sailed  in  the  Augusta  for  Settra  Kroo,  two 
hundred  miles  south-eastward,  for  the  purpose  of  conveying  thither  forty 
Kroomen  (who  had  given  three  weeks'  labor  for  their  passage),  and  concil 
iating  the  regards  of  the  native  chiefs  of  the  country.  During  his  absence 
of  twenty-one  days,  nothing  escaped  his  observation ;  he  examined  the  fea 
tures  of  the  coast,  visited  and  ascertained  the  dispositions  of  several  tribes, 
and  having  engaged  twenty-five  Kroomen  as  laborers,  and  made  some  pur 
chases  of  valuable  articles  from  the  natives  and  the  English  factory  at  Ses- 
ters,  he  returned  to  the  Cape  on  the  13th  of  May. 

"One  century  ago,"  he  wrote,  "a  great  part  of  this  line  of  coast  was 
populous,  cleared  of  trees,  and  under  cultivation.  The  native  towns  are 
numerous,  but  not  large.  The  people  raise  their  own  rice,  cassada,  and  palm 
oil ;  and  procure  their  guns,  powder,  clothes,  tobacco,  knives,  cooking  uten 
sils,  and  luxuries  from  French  slave-traders.  We  saw  at  least  three  vessels  of 
this  description. 


368  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

Every  tribe  visited  on  this  trip,  declared  by  its  prince  or  head  man,  its 
intention  to  preserve  with  us  a  good  understanding,  and  to  trade  freely  to 
the  colony.  The  particulars  of  our  late  war,  especially  the  result  of  the 
two  engagements,  have  been  reported  far  and  near,  and  given  to  the  colony 
a  character  for  strength  and  invincibility,  which  must  in  different  ways  con 
tribute  greatly  to  its  advantage." 

On  the  return  of  Ashmun,  the  colonists  were  found  to  have  continued 
their  labors,  under  the  direction  of  one  of  their  own  number ;  while  Mr. 
Seaton  had  experienced  a  severe  attack  of  the  fever  of  the  climate ;  and 
which  terminated  a  few  weeks  later  in  his  too  filling  an  African  grave. 

Aware  of  the  dangers  of  the  settlement,  the  managers  of  the  Society  had, 
early  in  the  preceding  winter,  determined  to  dispatch  a  reinforcement  of 
emigrants,  with  stores,  under  the  direction  of  Dr.  Ayres,  whose  improved 
health  now  permitted  him  to  resume  his  duties  as  principal  agent  and  phy 
sician  in  the  colony,  a  station  which  he  had  filled  prior  to  the  arrival  of 
Mr.  Ashmun  in  Africa.  This  gentleman  embarked  at  Baltimore  with  sixty- 
one  colored  passengers,  on  the  16th  of  April,  and  arrived  at  Cape  Montse- 
rado  on  the  24th  of  May.  Such  an  accession  to  the  numbers  and  resources 
of  the  colony,  could  not  fail  to  confirm  the  hopes  and  resolution  of  the 
earlier  settlers  who  had  so  long  borne  up  against  want,  and  malevolence,  and 
misfortune. 

Notwithstanding  his  many  pressing  engagements,  and  the  illness  which 
had  so  severely  afflicted  him  nearly  up  to  this  time,  Mr.  Ashmun  had  ne 
glected  no  opportunity  of  transmitting  to  the  managers  of  the  Colonization 
Society,  an  account  of  his  proceedings,  with  all  such  facts  and  statements, 
as  he  thought  might  aid  their  deliberations,  and  light  the  way  to  measures 
best  suited  to  promote  the  permanent  welfare  of  the  colony. 

He  was  earnest  in  his  requests,  that  education,  not  only  in  letters  and 
science,  but  in  morals  and  religion,  should  be  esteemed  of  vital  importance. 
In  a  letter  forwarded  by  the  Cyane.  after  enumerating  sundry  improve 
ments  which  he  designed  to  make,  he  observes  :  "  Our  little  school  is  kept 
in  operation,  but  it  is  a  feeble  affair.  Our  poor  liberated  captives  [alluding 
to  little  children,  that  had  been  taken  from  a  slaver  and  sent  to  the  colony] 
work  hard  and  cheerfully,  but  receive  little  instruction.  My  heart  often 
bleeds  for  them  and  others  in  similar  circumstances.  When  can  you  send 
out  an  accomplished  and  pious  schoolmaster  ?  Permit  me  to  say  a  word 
about  a  minister  of  the  Gospel.  We  are  starving  for  want  of  the  able,  reg 
ular  administration  of  the  word  and  ordinances.  Does  not  even  the  colony 
deserve  the  attention  of  some  Missionary  Society  ?  Let  it  be  considered 
that  zealous  ministers,  catechists,  etc.,  residing  in  the  town,  may  bestow 
any  part  of  their  time  and  labors  on  the  heathen.  They  may  open  schools 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  which  will  immediately  be  partially  filled 
with  heathen  youth  and  children.  They  may  form  in  town  a  missionary 
family.  The  people  of  this  part  of  the  coast  have  no  inveterate  anti-reli 
gious  prejudices  to  prevent  their  attending  every  Sabbath  or  oftener,  to  hear 
the  Divine  word." 

"  I  wish,"  continues  Mr.  Ashmun,  "  to  afford  the  board  a  full  view  of 
our  situation,  and  of  the  African  character.  The  following  incident  I  relate, 
not  for  its  singularity,  for  similar  events  take  place,  perhaps,  every  month 


OF  AMERICANS.  369 

in  the  year ;  but  it  has  fallen  under  my  own  observation,  and  I  can  vouch 
for  its  authencity:  King  Boatswain,  our  most  powerful  supporter  and  steady 
friend  among  the  natives  (so  he  has  uniformly  shown  himself),  received  a 
quantity  of  goods  in  trade  from  a  French  slaver,  for  which  he  stipulated  to 
pay  young  slaves.  He  makes  it  a  point  of  honor  to  be  punctual  to  his  en 
gagements.  The  time  was  at  hand  when  he  expected  the  return  of  the 
slaver.  He  had  not  the  slaves.  Looking  round  on  the  peaceable  tribes 
about  him,  for  her  victims,  he  singled  out  the  Queahs,  a  small  agricultural 
and  trading  people,  of  most  inoffensive  character.  His  warriors  were  skill 
fully  distributed  to  the  different  hamlets,  and  making  a  simultaneous  assault 
on  the  sleeping  occupants,  in  the  dead  of  night,  accomplished,  without  dif 
ficulty  or  resistance,  the  annihilation  (with  the  exception  of  a  few  towns) 
of  the  whole  tribe.  Every  adult  man  and  woman  was  murdered  ;  every 
hut  fired  ;  very  young  children  generally  shared  the  fate  of  their  parents. 
The  boys  and  girls  alone  were  reserved  to  pay  the  Frenchman." 

It  has  been  stated  already,  that,  from  the  first,  Mr.  Ashmun  proposed,  as 
one  great  object  of  his  voyage,  to  ascertain  the  resources,  and  make  particula. 
observations  on  the  trade  of  Africa ;  and  to  establish  under  the  sanction  and 
auspices  of  the  Colonization  Society,  regular  commercial  intercourse  between 
that  country  and  the  United  States. 

His  letters  to  the  secretary  of  the  Society,  from  the  Capes  of  Virginia, 
and  from  Fayal,  contain  some  of  his  thoughts  on  the  subject.  In  September, 
soon  after  his  arrival  in  Africa,  his  opinions  and  plans  were  more  frilly  de 
veloped,  and  communicated  from  time  to  time  to  the  board  of  managers. 

On  his  way  to  Africa,  at  Fayal,  he  had  judged  it  necessary  to  purchase  a 
small  quantity  of  supplies,  and  give  in  payment  drafts  on  the  United  States 
Government  and  the  Society.  Observing,  on  his  arrival,  the  destitution  of 
the  colony,  he  obtained  goods  to  the  amount  of  fourteen  hundred  dollars, 
for  which  was  taken  in  payment,  an  order  on  the  Society,  payable  at  the  end 
of  six  months.  In  his  letter  of  advice,  he  suggested  that  the  Society  could 
either  pay  for  these  goods,  and  thus  realize  all  the  profits  to  be  derived  from 
them,  or  should  he  be  appointed  agent,  and  receive  (as  other  agents  had 
done)  a  year's  salary  in  advance — the  whole  or  such  portion  as  the  Society 
should  choose,  might  be  applied  in  payment.  He  did  not,  however,  conceal 
his  desire,  that  the  obligation  should  be  assumed  by  the  Society,  and  that 
his  salary  (should  there  be  one)  might  go  to  the  extinction  of  his  debts  in 
the  United  States. 

Unfortunately,  he  stood  not  now  in  the  clear  light  of  public  confidence. 
The  malign  eye  of  suspicion  was  upon  him.  The  managers  of  the  Society 
participated  in  the  general  distrust.  He  had  left  the  country  without  offer 
ing  apology  or  explanation  to  those  who  were  dissatisfied  with  his  manage 
ment  of  the  Repertory ;  feeling  no  obligation  to  unvail  his  private  affairs, 
and  cherishing  too  much  respect  for  his  own  integrity,  to  volunteer  in  its 
defense,  suspicions,  which  were  at  first,  from  misapprehension,  indulged 
against  him,  borrowed  shape  and  distinctness  from  the  imagination — grew 
by  time,  and  at  length,  gained  with  many,  the  weight  of  certainty  and 
truth, 

On  the  24th  of  May,  Dr.  Ayres  had  returned  to  the  colony  as  principal 
agent,  both  of  the  Government  and  Society.  By  dispatches  that  came  with 


370  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

him,  Mr.  Ashmun  had  the  mortification  to  learn,  that  his  drafts,  both  on  the 
Government  and  Society,  had  been  dishonored ;  that  neither  had  made  any 
appropriation  for  his  benefit;  that  he  had  been  appointed  to  no  agency  by 
the  Government ;  that  the  Society  had  invested  him  with  no  authority;  but 
while  it  gratefully  acknowledged  his  services,  and  engaged  liberally  to  re 
ward  them,  had  left  the  amount  of  his  compensation,  for  the  past,  unde 
termined  ;  and  for  the  future,  a  matter  for  negotiation  with  the  principal 
agent. 

In  June,  he  was  appointed  assistant  agent,  by  the  board,  though  it  is  not 
probable  he  received  knowledge  of  the  fact  until  late  in  the  fall,  when  soon 
after  Dr.  Ayres  left  the  station,  and  the  colonial  management  once  more  de 
volved  upon  his  hands.  Again  at  the  head  of  affairs,  he  thus  wrote  ;  "  We  are 
now  one  hundred  and  fifty  strong,  all  in  health,  have  about  fifty  houses,  in 
cluding  three  stores,  and  a  heavy  substantial  stone  tower,  fourteen  feet  high, 
mounting  six  pieces  of  ordnance.  We  have  a  good  frame  house,  sur 
rounded  with  a  piazza.  Harmony,  and  a  good  degree  of  industry,  at  present 
prevail.  Thus  you  see,  that  we  are  prepared  to  go  on  an.d  fulfill  the  anxious 
wishes  of  the  friends  of  the  cause,  in  relation  to  the  cultivation  of  the  lands, 
and  the  formation  of  a  regular  moral  and  happy  society." 

Never,  perhaps,  in  the  whole  annals  of  pioneer  civilization,  was  an  active 
participant  more  needed  to  the  success  of  a  mission,  than  was  Ashmun  to  that 
of  African  Colonization. 

Thej>resence  of  Dr.  Ayres  diminished,  for  a  time,  the  cares  and  responsi 
bilities  of  Mr.  Ashmun,  who,  considering  how  uncertain  was  the  time  ho 
might  remain  in  Africa,  resolved  to  add  as  much  as  possible  to  his  ntock  of 
general  knowledge,  and  prepare  himself  for  any  change  in  his  fortunes. 
Though  he  perceived  that  the  tide  was  fast  ebbing  with  him  toward  an 
ocean  dark  and  unexplored,  he  knew  that  "  wisdom  is  more  precious  than 
rubies,"  and  whatever  vicissitudes  or  dangers  might  await  him,  of  whatever 
else  he  might  be  deprived,  he  would  retain  her  incomparable  treasure. 

Amid  the  perplexity  and  uncertainty  of  his  affairs,  he  summoned  his  in 
tellectual  powers  to  their  highest  efforts.  Probably,  during  no  equal  period 
of  his  life,  did  he  pursue  his  studies  with  more  enthusiasm  or  success,  than 
from  the  arrival  of  Dr.  Ayres,  in  May,  1823,  to  his  departure  in  December 
of  the  same  year.  The  following  rules  for  conduct,  dated  September,  1823, 
indicate  the  principle  which  animated,  and  the  spirit  that  then  sustained 
him  : 

1.  Never  to  be  guilty  of  a  meanness  which  my  most  virtuous  and  spirited 
children  (should  I  be  blessed  with  children  possessing  these  qualities)  would 
blush  to  see  published  to  the  world  as  a  part  of  a  parent's  biography. 

2.  Never,  unless  compelled  by  poverty,  to  accept  of  a  situation,  or  engage 
in  an  occupation  which  experience  or  observation  have  taught  me  would 
cramp  the  exercise  of  abilities,  either  natural  or  acquired. 

3.  To  study  and  avail  myself  of  a  quick  sense  of  propriety,  in  all  matters 
small  or  great,  of  morality,  judgment,  manners,  dress  and  business. 

4.  To  build  on  my  own  foundation,  and  to  study  none  but  the  most  per 
fect  examples,  living  or  dead. 

5.  To  prefer  the  society  of  dead  authors  of  eminence,  to  that  of  living 
actors,  of  simple  mediocrity. 


OF  AMERICANS.  371 

6.  To  regard  the  contracting  of  a  debt,  as  a  mortgage  of  personal  liberty 
and  moral  principle.     (John  Basilworth  II,  of  Russia,  affixed  a  brand  of 
.nfamy  on  such  as  contracted  debts  they  could  not  pay,  and  sent  them  into 
banishment.) 

7.  To  avoid  exposing  myself  to  the  degradation  of  espousing  measures, 
which  the  situation  of  a  weaker  or  more  ignorant  man  may  give  him  the 
power  to  defeat. 

8.  Never  to  assert,  without  being  able  to  prove  to  a  candid  and  sensible 
man,  my  proposition  :  never  to  advise  unless  sure  that  the  neglecter  of  my 
counsel  will  repent  his  folly. 

9.  Never  to  talk  without  the  undivided  attention  of  all  to  whom  I  address 
my  discourse. 

10.  Always  to  utter  my  sentiments  with  precision  and  propriety — even 
should  it  cost  me  some  previous  reflection  ;  and  never  begin  an  expression 
without  bringing  it  to  a  perfect  close. 

11.  Let  me  search  after  truth,  and  contract  such  an  affection  for  it  as  to 
endure  in  my  mind  no  rival  prejudices,  or  opinions,  on  any  subject  whatever. 

12.  To  run  the  risk  of  being  candid,  open,  sincere  ;  and  abandon  utterly 
the  friendship  and  confidence  of  any  civilized  man  base  and  depraved  enough 
to  attempt  to  gain  an  undue  advantage  of  these  qualities. 

13.  Never  to  commence  an  enterprise  without  being  well  assured  of  its 
utility  ;  and  having  undertaken,  never  to  abandon  it  unaccomplished. 

14.  To  do  whatever  I  undertake  in  the  best  possible  manner, — always 
allowing  for  the  time  and  means  I  can  employ  on  the  object. 

15.  To  acquire  a  style  of  writing  and  expression,  of  conception  and  feel 
ing — of  manners  and  deportment,  which,  destitute  of  servility,  locality  and 
mannerism,  shall  pass  current  among  the  best  ranks  of  people  of  all  profes 
sions  and  in  all  countries. 

16.  To  continue  my  inquiries  and  reflections  on  whatever  subject  may 
engage  them,  until  either  my  information  is  perfectly  exact,  or  the  means  of 
extending  it  exhausted. 

17.  To  vitiate  no  one  of  the  appetites  so  far  as  to  render  it  necessary  t® 
health,  to  mental  vigor,  or  bodily  ease,  to  continue  the  indulgence. 

18.  To  be  rigorously  exact  in  keeping  my  pecuniary  accounts  ;  that  I  may 
not  appear  mean  in  my  disbursements. 

19.  To  turn  every  portion  of  my  time  to  good  account. 

20.  To  have  as  little  connection  as  possible  with  the  conceited,  the  over 
bearing,  the  pedantic,  the  blustering  ;  and  finally,  with  all  who  are  incapable 
of  measuring  and  esteeming  solid  acquirements  and  intellectual  superiority^ 
even  when  sheltered  from  the  vulgar  stare  by  a  plain  and  unassuming  ex 
ternal  demeanor. 

21.  In  my  estimation  of  others,  let  ignorance,  when  no  opportunity  has 
been  had  to  remove  it,  be  treated  with  kindness  and  indulgence ;  where  it 
co-exists  with  a  wish  and  effort  to  remove  it,  let  it  command  my  favor  and 
assistance ;  where  it  is  accompanied  with  the  contented  complacency  of  the 
fool  whom  it  debases,  let  it  make  me  blush  for  the  heart  of  a  brute  in  the 
form  of  a  human  being ;  but,  when  with  swaggering  pretensions  either  to 
knowledge  or  respect  on  some  other  grounds,  it  merits  an  equal  share  of  the 
profoundest  contempt  and  detestation. 

24 


372  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

To  conclude, — I  fully  believe  in  a  particular  providence  regulating  and 
ordering  the  conduct  and  purposes  of  men  ;  so  as  to  leave  the  voluntary 
agent  accountable.  We  shall  be  instruments  to  fulfill  the  Divine  purpose* 
nolentes  volentes.  If  wickedness  succeed  for  a  time,  it  prospers  by  the  Divine 
decree,  and  can  only  proceed  a  given  number  of  links  in  its  chain." 

For  more  than  twelve  months,  Mr.  Ashmun  had  been  on  the  continent, 
enduring  every  conceivible  hardship  and  privation.  Twice  had  the  colony 
been  on  the  verge  of  annihilation — a  fate  which  was  only  averted  by  bii 
heroic  devotion  and  superior  wisdom.  Yet  its  friends  at  home  were  disposed 
to  murmur.  His  drafts,  protested,  were  returned  to  him.  To  aggravate  his 
situation,  some  of  the  men  began  to  show  a  spirit  of  insubordination. 
Twelve  of  the  number  united  in  open  mutiny,  and  tried  to  carry  others 
with  them,  upon  which  Ashmun  gave  the  following  public  notice  :  "There 
are  in  the  colony,  more  than  a  dozen  healthy  persons,  who  will  receive  no 
more  provisions  out  of  the  public  store,  till  they  earn  them."  This,  it  was 
hoped  would  induce  them  to  return  to  duty.  Such  was  not  the  case.  All 
restraint  was  thrown  off,  and  they  became  more  openly  clamorous.  The 
rations  of  the  mutineers  were  thereupon  stopped,  upon  which  they  assembled 
at  the  agency  house,  and  stirred  up  quite  an  uproar,  threatening  to  drive  the 
agent  out.  Gaining  nothing  by  this,  they  proceeded  to  the  house  of  the 
commissary  who  was  then  giving  out  the  regular  rations.  They  rushed 
upon  him,  when  each  seized  a  portion  of  the  provision  and  made  off.  Ash 
mun  addressed  them,  with  a  dignified  circular,  setting  forth  in  firm  tones 
their  conduct,  and  warning  them  against  a  persistence  therein.  This  had 
the  desired  effect.  The  better  disposed  returned  to  duty,  and  the  othen 
being  deserted,  were  awed  into  acquiescence. 

Other  events  also  transpired  of  great  utility  to  the  colony.  In  February. 
the  United  States  ship  Cyrus  brought  to  their  assistance  a  reinforcement  of 
one  hundred  and  five  emigrants,  mostly  from  Virginia.  During  the  voyagei 
universal  health  prevailed  among  the  crew,  so  that  when  they  were  landed, 
much  was  expected  from  their  buoyant  vigor  ;  that  contrasted  advantageously 
enough  with  the  worn  down  colonists.  These  hopes,  however,  were  soon 
dampened.  The  emigrants  were  to  a  man  soon  prostrated  with  the  fever 
that  almost  invariably  attacked  the  unacclimated  stranger.  Provisions  again 
gave  out.  Of  rice,  which  was  an  essential  article  of  food,  to  all,  and  almost 
indispensable  to  the  sick,  they  ecarcely  had  a  pound.  To  these  distresses, 
were  added  those  of  mutiny  and  anarchy.  Uneducated  and  without  even 
the  remotest  conceptions  of  relative  duties,  they  wrere  not  slow  to  lay  the 
blame  of  their  sufferings  upon  Mr.  Ashmun,  whose  authority  the  most  reck 
less  began  openly  to  throw  off.  It  soon  became  necessary  to  reduce  the  daily 
rations,  giving  to  each  man  but  half  allowance,  which  in  no  way  tended  to 
allay  the  excited  feelings  of  the  mutineers.  Ashmun  assembled  the  colonists 
and  delivered  to  them  an  appropriate  address,  couched  in  tones  of  firmness 
and  decision. 

Though  this  was  not  without  good  effect,  so  general  had  became  tie  spirit 
of  insubordination,  that  It  was  some  time  before  the  united  co-operatic  n  of 
the  colonists  could  be  secured.  In  the  midst  of  these  efforts  for  the  good 
fOf  all.  Ashmun's  name  had  been  handled  somewhat  roughly,  by  .some 
journalists  at  home ;  and  his  conduct  was  a  theme  of  censure.  Their  vindi- 


OF  AMERICANS.  373 

cation  mortified  him  very  much.  Things  were  in  tins  state  when  he  started 
on  a  visit  to  the  Cape  De  Verde  Islands,  to  regain  his  health,  a  measure  made 
absolutely  imperative  by  a  complication  of  infirmities  which  had  reduced 
him  to  a  mere  wreck.  Before  embarking  he  met  with  a  serious  accident.  Ir 
endeavoring  to  pull  a  decayed  tooth,  an  artery  was  cut.  Profuse  bleeding 
followed.  While  enfeebled  from  loss  of  blood,  and  trying  to  make  his  way  to 
the  vessel,  he  was  robbed  of  what  he  had.  A  paper  was  left  on  the  Cape, 
stating,  that  he  had  spent  the  prime  of  his  life  in  the  service,  aiming  to  do 
his  duty,  claiming  to  have  kept  the  board  correctly  informed  of  the  condition 
of  affairs,  disavowing  any  misuse  of  funds,  or  the  reception  of  renumeration, 
save  a  slight  gratuitous  present — asserting  that  more  than  all  the  profits 
accruing  from  his  traffic  with  the  natives  had  been  applied  to  the  wants  of 
the  colony,  and  declaring  that  "  whoever  named  that  barter  after  his  absence 
except  to  his  advantage  was  an  ingrate,  who  thrusts  his  viper  sting  into  the 
bosom  which  has  nourished  his  existence." 

Ashmun  was  now  in  the  depths  of  misery.  He  was  so  weakened  from 
the  loss  of  blood  that  had  flowed  from  him  for  a  whole  day,  that  he  could 
scarcely  move  !  Indeed  his  life  was  despaired  of.  The  colony  too  was  iu  a 
distracted  condition,  and  his  name  abused  among  his  countrymen. 

At  this  period,  an  armed  schooner,  the  Porpoise,  had  been  dispatched 
from  the  United  States  to  the  coast  of  Africa,  for  the  purpose  of  farthering 
the  schemes  of  colonization.  In  July,  1824,  she  anchored  in  Porto  Praya 
Harbor  in  the  Cape  De  Verde  Islands,  soon  after  the  arrival  of  Mr.  Ashmun, 
who  immediately  went  on  board.  There  he  met  Mr.  Gurley,  who  had  been 
sent  out  by  the  Colonization  Society  to  examine  into  the  affairs  of  the  colony. 
This  gentleman  afterward  became  his  biographer,  and,  in  his  Life  of  Ashmun, 
thus  speaks  of  the  impression  he  made  upon  them  at  the  time  : 

"There  was  that  in  his  presence  and  aspect,  which  once  seen,  is  never 
forgotten.  The  officers  of  the  ship  who  were  strangers  to  him,  felt  that  ho 
was  an  extraordinary  man.  In  his  whole  appearance  were  blended  dignity 
and  humility.  The  serene  light  of  reason,  of  goodness,  of  meekness,  soft 
ened  the  stateliness  of  sorrow,  and  threw  a  charm  on  the  grandeur  of  his 
storr»^-«haken,  but  self-sustained  spirit.  His  soul  seemed  refreshed  by  ti 
dings  from  his  native  land,  and  his  social  affections  to  gush  forth,  pure  and 
simple,  as  those  of  childhood,  from  the  deeply-stirred  fountains  of  his  heart. 
His  remarks  on  the  colon}',  showed  an  extensive  and  thorough  knowledge 
of  its  interests,  and  the  tono  and  manner  in  which  they  were  delivered,  left 
it  hardly  possible  to  doubt  that  they  were  among  the  most  precious  objects 
of  his  affection.  TJbe  feelings  expressed  in  his  countenance  were  particularly 
observable,  varying,  as  less  or  more  intense,  the  light  and  shade,  so  that  his 
features,  as  was  said  of  those  of  a  great  poet,  like  "a  beautiful  alabaster  vase, 
were  only  seen  to  perfection,  when  lighted  up  from  within."  Nothing  was 
detected  betraying  a  single  motive  or  purpose  which  it  was  not  honor  to 
avow  ;  and  the  recollection  that  Satan  himself  is  sometimes  transformed  into 
an  angel  of  light,  alone  could  guard  the  judgment  against  the  instant  ad 
mission  of  his  integrity. 

At  our  second  interview,  the  proceedings  of  the  board  and  government 
were  developed,  and  the  object  of  the  special  mission  fully  explained.  He 
was  told  what  representations  of  his  conduct  had  been  received  from  tho 


374:  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

colony,  and  that  confidence  in  his  character  and  administration  had  given 
way  before  the  corroding  power  of  suspicion,  and  the  multiplied  insinuations 
and  allegations  directed  against  both.  'I  will  accompany  you  to  the  Cape,' 
said  he ;  '  my  long  and  familiar  acquaintance  with  the  affairs  of  the  colony 
may  enable  me  to  render  you  some  aid  in  effecting  the  arduous  duties  of 
your  mission.'  As  he  spoke,  you  marked  the  show  of  an  unalterable  purpose 
not  to  abandon  a  cause  for  which  he  had  sacrificed  everything  but  life ;  you 
admired  the  elevation  of  his  soul  above  all  selfish  considerations,  towering 
like  an  eagle  against  the  storm  and  the  thunder-cloud,  and  already  catching 
glimpses  of  the  purity  and  brightness  of  the  heavens.  But  his  moral  great 
ness  was  ordinarily  sober  and  grave,  as  though  it  had  felt  unkindness,  been 
touched  by  grief,  and  stood  a  solitary  monument  amid  ruined  hopes. 

My  favorable  impressions  of  Mr.  Ashmun's  character,  received  at  our 
interview,  were  deepened  by  each  successive  conversation,  inquiry,  and  re 
flection  on  our  passage  ;  nor  should  I  have  hesitated  to  predict  confidently, 
that  not  a  shadow  of  evidence  existed,  to  substantiate  the  charges  that  had 
been  urged  against  him.  The  prediction  would  have  been  verified.  There 
was  no  evidence.  Not  a  man  in  the  colony  dared  to  accuse  him  of  an  un 
wise  or  an  unworthy  action.  Every  individual  of  the  least  standing,  was 
examined  personally  by  me  on  the  subject ;  and  the  result  was,  to  my  mind, 
moral  demonstration,  that  no  man  could  more  faithfully,  more  disinterestedly, 
more  resolutely,  have  fulfilled  the  duties  of  his  station.  The  clouds  that 
had  darkened  his  reputation,  arose  from  the  low  grounds  of  ignorance  and 
the  putrescent  ingredients  of  malice,  and  the  light  of  an  investigation  that 
revealed  the  sources  of  their  origin,  dispelled  them  forever." 

On  the  13th  of  August,  they  safely  reached  Cape  Montserado.  Ashmun 
found  the  condition  of  affairs  somewhat  improved.  The  rebellious  spirit 
seemed  greatly  quieted,  and  a  partial  supply  of  provisions  had  temporarily 
relieved  their  distress.  Everything  now  looked  well ;  hospitals  were  built ; 
religious  exercises  attended  to  ;  schools  opened,  and  on  all  sides  progress 
was  seen.  The  condition  of  the  colony  was  transmitted  to  the  board  in  an 
early  report.  It  was  unsatisfactory.  Their  judgments  warped  by  undue 
suspicions,  and  blinded  by  prejudice,  they  began  to  look  around  for  a 
proper  person,  to  assume  the  management  of  affairs.  But  before  the  selec 
tion  was  made,  "  confirmation  strong  as  holy  writ,"  of  Ashmun's  efficiency 
was  received.  Everything  underwent  a  great  change,  in  an  almost  incred 
ible  short  space  of  time.  Positive  evidence  came  to  hand,  that  the  colony 
was  prospering,  beyond  all  precedent ;  laws  were  enacted,  buildings  erected, 
moral  sentiments  infused,  schools  opened,  and  the  truths  of  religion  success 
fully  proclaimed.  It  was  just  prior  to  this  time  that  he  was  given  an  oppor 
tunity  to  reply  to  the  slanderous  allegations  that  had  been  made  against  him 
in  connection  with  the  Repertory,  and  which  had  much  to  do  with  the  change 
of  opinion  on  the  part  of  the  board.  We  have  alluded  elsewhere  to  the 
unfortunate  differences  which  arose  between  him  and  others,  in  consequence 
of  the  pecuniary  embarrassments  of  the  Repertory.  These  differences  had 
their  origin,  principally,  if  not  entirely,  in  misapprehension.  A  public  notice, 
however,  had  been  sent  forth  on  the  cover  of  that  work,  after  Mr.  Ashmun's 
departure  from  the  country,  charging  him,  by  implication  at  least,  with  a 
breach  of  trust.  Though  this  publication  was  early  and  deeply  regretted 


OF  AMERICANS.  375 

by  some  who  lent  it  their  sanction,  others  still  retained  the  sentiments  which 
dictated  it,  and  to  these  sentiments  as  the  main  source  must  be  traced,  tho 
suspicion  and  distrust  of  Ashmun  which  so  long  infected  the  mind  of  the 
board  and  of  the  community  in  which  they  resided.  A  respectable  indi 
vidual  at  this  time  frankly  communicated  the  charges  which  existed  against 
him,  and  he  therefore  felt  required  by  duty  to  the  cause  in  which  he  was 
engaged,  as  well  as  to  himself,  to  meet  and  refute  them.  The  conclusion 
of  this  letter  to  the  board,  is  inserted  to  show  how  deep  were  his  feelings 
on  this  occasion,  and  how  eloquently  he  could  express  them  : 

"  However  lightly  the  accusations  in  question  may  have  been  resolved  on 
and  published,  the  deed  has  drawn  after  it  no  trivial  consequences.  To  have 
robbed  an  individual  who  is  known  to  have  the  sensibilities  of  a  man,  of 
so  great  a  share  of  his  peace  as  I  have  suffered  and  must,  would,  if  truly 
weighed,  be  regarded  as  something ;  to  shake,  for  a  season,  and  perhaps  till 
the  grave  shall  hide  them  from  me  forever,  the  confidence  of  two  venerable 
parents,  on  whose  names  calumny  never  before  dared  to  affix  a  stain,  and 
who  would  sooner  follow  their  nine  children  to  the  grave,  than  believe  that 
one  of  them  could  disgrace  it ;  to  blast,  for  a  season,  at  least,  the  fond  hopes 
of  one  of  the  most  respectable  and  numerous  families  in  the  United  States ; 
to  poison,  with  suspicion,  the  minds  of  a  numerous  connection  of  beloved 
and  confiding  friends,  in  half  the  States  of  the  Union  ;  to  place  me  as  an 
insulated  being  in  the  midst  of  the  lower  creation,  bound  to  no  part  by  the 
ties  of  a  sincere  respect;  to  injure  the  valued,  and  in  some  sense,  sacred 
cause  in  which  I  have  sacrificed  much  and  hazarded  more,  by  curtailing  my 
usefulness  and  weakening  the  bonds  of  mutual  confidence  between  my  em 
ployers  and  myself — between  me  and  the  colonists  ; — thus  to  tie  up,  for 
months,  from  efficient  exertion,  the  hands  of  a  young  man,  whose  advantages 
have  been  many,  and  whose  obligations  to  be  useful  are  felt  to  be  imperious ; 
these  are  some  of  the  actual  fruits  of  that  publication  :  the  end  of  it,  is  yet 
to  be  awaited.  The  board  have  seen  on  what  grounds  that  tremendous  re 
sponsibility  has  been  incurred.  As  a  dispensation  of  heaven,  I  accept  it 
with-  penitence  for  the  punishment  of  my  sins.  As  far  as  it  has  been  the 
work  of  man,  I  protest  against  it  with  all  the  abhorrence  and  force  which  its 
character  inspires.  And  I  have  done  it  in  language  which  must  have  its 
weight ;  because  it  is  the  language  of  truth — of  truth  which,  whoever  lives, 
will  see  every  opening  circumstance  in  future  to  corroborate  and  establish. 
On  leaving  the  United  States,  I  formally  assigned  all  the  uncollected  arrears 
of  the  Repertory  to  pay  its  debts.  Availing  myself,  from  conscientious  mo 
tives,  of  no  insolvent  laws,  I  delivered  up  every  dollar  of  disposable  property 
I  had,  in  proportionate  shares,  to  my  creditors.  The  compensation  I  received 
as  agent  of  your  board,  was  so  applied  ;  also  a  large  edition  of  the  Life  of 
Bacon,  which  I  have  been  mortified  to  learn,  has  not  answered  mv  expecta 
tions  in  the  sales,  and  consequently  left  a  larger  unsettled  balance,  to  be 
otherwise  paid,  than  I  anticipated.  I  do  not  allow  myself  to  cherish  a  bitter 
feeling  toward  any  man  living.  *  *  I  shall,  I  hope,  never  trouble  your 
respectable  body  with  a  similar  detail ;  and  most  probably,  let  the  whole 
matter  slumber  in  silence,  till  a  higher  power  shall  call  it  up  for  a  final  de 
cision  before  an  unerring  tribunal." 

The  next  report  of  Ashmun  was  warmly  received,  and  his  suggestions  at 


376  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

once  acted  upon.  He  now  began  to  experience  those  delightful  thrills  of 
satisfaction,  incident  to  a  just  appreciation  of  laborious  and  well-meant  ef 
forts.  In  the  spring  of  1825,  the  number  of  the  colonists  was  increased  by 
the  accession  of  over  sixty  settlers  from  the  United  States.  Ashmun  clearly 
saw  the  advantages  to  be  derived  from  agricultural  pursuits.  To  promote 
this  branch  of  healthful  industry,  he  wrote  some  elaborate  articles  for  the 
Liberia  Farmer,  which,  however,  were  not  published  at  the  time.  With  a 
view  of  advancing  farming  interests,  and  directing  the  minds  of  emigrants  to 
that  pursuit,  he  purchased  a  vast  tract  of  country,  lying  on  the  Montserudo 
and  St.  Paul  rivers,  of  which  final  possession  was  taken,  and  everything  went 
on  thrivingly.  Of  this  and  all  other  transactions,  Ashmun  was  careful  to 
keep  the  board  accurately  advised.  No  longer  was  any  distrust  entertained 
toward  him.  The  board  met  and  unanimously  recommended  that  he  be 
continued,  at  the  head  of  affairs  in  Liberia,  intrusted  with  the  full  preroga 
tives  of  chief  colonial  agent.  Thus,  after  treading  a  bleak  Zahara,  without 
an  Oasis  to  cheer  his  vision,  standing  alone  self-exiled  from  his  native  land, 
facing  danger,  toil,  affliction  and  death — no  company  but  the  ghost  of  his 
murdered  reputation — he  suddenly  found  himself  under  a  cloudless  sky,  the 
recipient  of  merited  fame,  and  an  acknowledged  benefactor  of  his  race. 
Ashmun  now  exercised  almost  paternal  authority  over  the  natives,  into  whose 
good  graces  he  had  completely  ingratiated  himself.  He  was  anxious  to  es 
tablish  the  colony  upon  a  basis  that  would  not  be  easily  overturned  or 
shaken — a  basis  upon  which  it  would  grow  and  develop  so  as  not  only  to  be 
a  credit  to  the  founders  and  the  nation,  but  a  model  for  those  who  hereafter 
should  undertake  schemes  of  colonization.  He  wished  under  the  broad 
banner  of  civil  liberty,  and  under  religion's  consecrated  seal,  to  establish  a 
republic  every  way  worthy  the  name.  With  the  passing  years,  his  anxiety 
became  more  than  ever  intense  ;  for,  as  he  felt  the  sands  of  life  ebb  away, 
the  necessity  of  devoting  the  remaining  portion  of  his  days  to  the  work 
became  to  him  more  apparent.  Of  his  genius,  heroism,  prudence,  and  energy, 
the  present  Republic  of  Liberia  stands  an  imperishable  monument. 

One  thing  caused  him  great  anxiety.  This  was  the  slave  trade.  Vessels 
still  engaged  in  the  traffic,  though  the  guns  of  the  colonists  frowned  upon 
them.  "The  purchase  money,"  said  he,  in  Juty,  1825,  "has,  during  this 
week  been  landed  in  our  waters  to  the  incalculable  detriment  of  the  colony, 
and  disgrace,  shall  I  say,  of  our  American  Government.  The  colony  only 
wants  the  right,  it  has  the  power,  to  expel  this  traffic  to  a  distance,  and  force 
it  at  least  to  conceal  some  of  its  enormities."  Soon  after  this,  he  began  to  think 
of  enlarging  the  limits  of  the  colony.  The  coast  from  Trade  Town  to  Cape 
Mount  was  explored,  with  a  view  to  bringing  that  portion  of  the  country  in 
^olonial  possession.  About  this  time,  also,  an  English  vessel  was  captured  by 
a  Spanish  slaver  at  Monrovia.  Under  the  supposition  th-a-t  many  slaves  were 
on  board  of  the  Spaniard,  Ashmun  determined  to  rescue  them.  With  a  small 
force,  he  proceeded  against  the  Spanish  factory  which  was  taken  without 
bloodshed  :  several  slaves  also  were  liberated.  This  was  followed  by  the 
breaking  up  of  two  other  slave  factories,  by  Ashmun,  whose  antipathy  to 
ward  that  odious  traffic  was  firm  and  deep-rooted. 

So  far  as  the  colony  was  concerned,  it  was  now  no  longer  an  experiment. 
In  January,  he  thus  wrote  concerning  their  prospects  :  "  Our  town  begins  to 


OF  AMERICANS.  377 

assume  the  appearance  of  a  beautiful  little  commercial  West  India  sea-port, 
and  certainly  has  one  of  the  most  delightful  situations  on  the  face  of  the 
globe.  In  beauty  and  grandeur  of  prospect,  no  station  on  the  coast  is  half 
so  charming  or  half  so  commanding.  It  would,  I  am  confident,  prove  to  the 
members  of  your  board  an  ample  renumeration  for  much  of  their  disinter 
ested  labors  for  Africa,  to  make  a  single  visit  to  their  colony,  and  see  a  well 
organized,  improving  and  Christian  society,  founded  by  their  hands." 

At  the  same  time,  preparations  were  made  for  sending  a  large  number  of 
emigrants  from  the  United  States,  and  to  increase  the  supply  of  books  and 
stationery,  needful  for  the  success  of  the  schools.  These  valuable  accessions 
arrived  in  due  time,  and  thus  things  continued  to  look  well.  A  printing- 
press,  and  a  missionary,  two  important  levers  of  civilization,  also  arrived, 
amid  the  liveliest  satisfaction.  From  these  harbingers  of  peace,  Ashmun 
hoped  the  greatest  results.  As  these  accessions  came  over,  the  limits  of  the 
colony  continued  to  enlarge — spreading  the  lines  of  civilization  and  con 
tracting  those  of  barbarism  and  ignorance.  One  of  the  greatest  nests  of  the 
slave-traffickers  was  at  Trade  Town.  Ashmun  resolved  on  its  destruction. 
A  Spanish  vessel  was  there  awaiting  her  cargo  of  slaves — not  having  her 
full  number  collected.  Ashmun  ordered  what  they  had  to  be  given  up,  and 
the  vessel  to  leave,  assuring  them  that  in  case  of  refusal,  the  whole  town 
would  be  destroyed.  This  warning  was  not  heeded.  He  then  sent  word  to 
a  French  brig-of-war,  by  which  the  slaver  was  speedily  captured.  This  tran 
saction  liberated  several  hundred  slaves.  The  nest  at  Trade  Town,  however, 
•was  not  broken  up.  Till  this  was  done,  Ashmun  desired  no  pause.  Two 
vessels  on  voyages  of  slave-traffic  soon  after  arrived  :  the  factories  were  all 
the  time  in  full  blast.  Ashmun  determined  to  stop  the  nefarious  business. 
With  no  great  number  of  troops,  a  vigorous  attack  was  made  upon  the  town. 
Considerable  resistance  was  offered  by  the  Spaniards,  who  drew  up  on  the 
beach  and  gave  them  a  warm  reception.  They  succeeded  in  effecting  their 
entrace  into  the  place  without  heavy  loss.  The  next  day,  Ashmun  vainly 
tried  to  settle  all  differences  without  violence.  The  slaves  were  rescued, 
placed  on  board,  and  the  town  set  on  fire.  The  flames  spread  with  great 
rapidity.  Scarce  had  the  last  troops  embarked,  when,  communicating  to  the 
magazine,  the  flames  ignited  six  hundred  casks  of  powder,  and  Trade  Town 
•was  instantly  blown  to  atoms.  The  destruction  of  this  place,  Ashmun 
hoped,  would  have  an  influence  favorable  to  the  suppression  of  the  slave- 
trade,  but  several  prominent  natives  leagued  with  the  slavers  to  establish 
the  iniquitous  traffic  on  its  old  footing.  Ashmun  learned  also  that  quite  an 
armament  of  Spanish  vessels,  resolving  to  maintain  Trade  Town  as  a  port 
for  their  business,  were  near  with  a  show  of  fight.  Upon  this,  he  immedi 
ately  ordered  the  erection  of  strong  fortifications,  in  close  proximity  to  the 
town,  overlooking  the  vessels  in  the  roadstead.  He  also  sent  word  to  the 
secretary  of  the  navy  that  a  sufficient  force  to  overawe  the  slavers  was  in 
dispensable  on  the  coast.  His  own  unbounded  influence  with  the  native 
chiefs,  however,  proved  requisite  to  the  task  of  holding  them  in  check. 

Ashmun  had  now  been  several  years  in  Africa  The  colony  was  estab 
lished  and  maintained  principally  through  his  own  great  exertions.  Five 
stations  were  Dlaced  on  a  solid  basis.  Education  was  prospering,  and  com 
mercial  intert^ts  being  regulated.  Never,  perhaps,  had  so  much,  under  civ- 


378  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

cumstances  so  singularly  embarrassing,  been  accomplished  by  one  man.  His 
most  ardent  aims  had  been  gratified — for  he  had  established  the  colony  on 
an  uniroperishable  basis.  Peacefully  now  might  he  fold  his  arms,  in  the  last 
quiet  sleep  of  the  grave,  feeling  that  "  well  done,"  would  be  whispered  to 
his  soul. 

A  celebrated  writer  has  remarked,  "  that  the  greatest  obstacle  to  the  im 
provement  of  the  world  is  that  prevailing  belief  of  its  improbability,  vvhioh 
dampens  the  exertions  of  so  many  individuals ;  and,  that  in  proportion  as 
the  contrary  opinion  becomes  general,  it  realizes  the  event  which  it  leads  us 
to  anticipate.  Surely,  if  anything  can  have  a  tendency  to  call  forth  in  the 
public  service  the  exertions  of  individuals,  it  must  be  an  idea  of  the  magni 
tude  of  that  work  in  which  they  are  engaged,  and  a  belief  of  the  perma 
nence  of  those  benefits  which  they  confer  on  mankind  by  every  attempt  to 
inform  and  enlighten  them.  As  in  ancient  Rome,  therefore  it  was  regarded 
as  a  mark  of  a  good  citizen  never  to  despair  of  the  fortunes  of  the  republic ; 
so  the  good  citizen  of  the  world,  whatever  may  be  the  political  aspect  of 
his  own  times,  will  never  despair  of  the  fortunes  of  the  human  race  ;  and 
that,  in  the  moral  world,  as  well  as  the  material,  the  farther  our  observations 
extend,  and  the  longer  they  are  continued,  the  more  shall  we  perceive  of 
order  and  design  in  the  universe." 

These  remarks  will  certainly  apply  to  Ashmun  in  his  early  efforts  at  Afri 
can  Colonization.  Not  only  was  the  scheme  looked  upon  as  improbable  and 
visionary,  but  he  was  himself,  as  we  have  seen,  the  victim  of  prejudice  and 
cruel  mistrust.  But,  not  despairing  of  a  cause,  in  the  furtherance  of  which 
he  felt  well  assured  he  had  the  smiles  and  protection  of  heaven,  he  perse 
vered  until  one  by  one  the  difficulties  began  to  give  way.  His  eminent  suc 
cess  in  founding  the  Colony  of  Liberia,  elicited  the  high  praise  of  all  parties. 
Warm  champions  came  to  the  rescue  of  colonization,  whose  practicability  they 
thus  saw  demonstrated.  Able  pens  were  weilded,  and  eloquent  voices  wero 
raised  in  its  behalf. 

Amid  these  auspicious  indications,  Ashmun  was  gratified  by  the  arrival,  on 
the  llth  April,  1826,  of  nearly  a  hundred  emigrants  from  South  Carolina, 
and  others  shortly  after  from  Georgia,  bringing  with  them  over  two  hundred 
re-captured  Africans..  He  had  for  some  time  manifested  an  inclination  to  re 
turn  to  his  native  land.  Soon  after  the  above  arrival,  feeling  that  it  was  at 
interesting  period  of  his  labors,  he  thus  wrote  to  the  board  :  "  I  am  at  length 
reluctantly  compelled,  by  a  sense  of  duty  to  the  colony,  to  relinquish  my  in 
tention,  so  long  indulged  and  so  fondly  cherished,  of  visiting  the  United 
States  the  present  season.  The  arrival  of  so  large  a  company  at  so  late  a 
period  of  the  dry  season — the  absence  of  my  colleague — the  multiplicity  of 
arduous  and  delicate  duties,  devolving  on  an  agent  in  consequence  of  the  re 
cent  extension  of  our  settlements,  the  very  expensive  improvements  com 
menced,  and  nearly  but  not  quite  completed,  are  motives  for  remaining  to  which 
I  dare  not  oppose  private  inclination  or  any  probable  good  which  might  grow 
out  of  my  return  to  the  United  States.  Mr.  Howley  has  intimated  to  m« 
his  opinion  of  the  impropriety  of  the  step  at  the  present  time,  and  I  confess 
that  the  report  just  received  of  the  untiring  and  laborious  struggle  in  which 
all  the  active  friends  of  the  cause  in  America  are  the  present  year  engaged 
in  its  behalf,  has  affected  me  with  no  slight  feeling  of  self  reproach,  for 


OF  AMERICANS.  379 

having  so  lightly  determined  myself  to  quit  even  for  n  season  the  important 
post  of  duty,  assigned  to  me.  My  friends,  I  fear,  will  do  little  justice  to 
these  motives  ;  but  I  shall  apologize  to  them  in  the  best  way  I  can — and 
put  up  with  the  accusation.  I  know  they  will  accuse  me  of  having  trifled 
with  their  feelings,  by  exciting  expectations  which  my  present  determination 
is  obliged  bitterly  to  disappoint." 

Much  as  he  wished  again  to  see  the  loved  scenes  of  his  youth,  private  en 
joyments,  in  this,  as  in  every  other  instance,  were  sacrificed  for  the  public 
duties  of  his  high  mission.  About  this  time,  a  friendly  schooner  was  blown 
ashore,  and  almost  completely  wrecked.  The  provisions  with  which  she 
was  laden,  were  much  needed  by  the  colonists.  Their  loss  reduced  them  to 
the  necessity  of  purchasing,  at  a  high  price,  such  articles  as  they  were  obliged 
to  have.  Nor  was  this  the  only  loss.  Ashmun  was  exposed  to  a  four  hours 
rain,  while  trying  to  save  the  vessel,  which  resulted  in  a  severe  fever,  and 
rheumatism  that  brought  him  to  death's  door.  For  three  weeks  he  suffered 
the  most  acute,  agonizing  pains  and  burning  fevers.  Soon  after  his  recovery, 
a  treaty  of  peace  was  concluded  with  the  refractory  chiefs,  at  Trade  Town, 
by  which  mutual  protection  and  encouragement  were  guaranteed  by  both 
parties.  Hostilities  now  began  '^etween  two  of  the  native  tribes,  which 
Ashmun  vainly  tried  to  reconc;le.  His  efforts,  however,  kept  both  of  the 
belligerent  parties  on  good  terms  with  the  colonists,  which  was  the  prime 
object  of  his  mediation  in  the  matter. 

At  this  time,  he  established  an  infirmary  for  the  benefit  of  the  sick  and 
disabled,  which  went  into  operation  under  happy  auspices,  that  insured  the 
best  results.  The  public  schools,  also,  were  re-organized,  and  put  more  effi 
ciently  to  work.  To  secure  that  economy  among  the  emigrants  so  essential 
to  success  and  prosperity,  he  also  recommended  that  such  goods  and  com 
modities,  as  were  shipped  by  the  United  States,  should  be  exchanged  for 
the  native  products,  as  being  much  the  cheapest,  and  easier  procured.  To 
internal  improvements,  too,  he  gave  considerable  attention,  and  put  a  good 
force  to  clearing  the  Montserado  River,  so  as  to  render  it  more  navigable  and 
better  adapted  to  faciliate  the  operations  of  commerce.  In  this  way,  his 
genius  and  devotion  were  always  actively  on  the  alert  for  the  benefit  of  the 
colony.  Nothing  conducive  to  a  spirit  of  industrious  enterprise,  and  pro 
gressive  refinement  was  neglected.  Several  military  companies  were  also 
organized,  as  a  defense  against  any  depredations  or  unforseen  emergencies 
that  might  occur.  The  stations  had  increased  to  eight  in  number,  and  each 
was  more  efficiently  organized  than  before.  While  all  this  had  been  accom 
plished,  remarkable  as  it  may  seem,  such  were  the  administrative  talents  of 
Ashrnun,  that  nearly  all  the  expenses  had  been  defrayed  by  the  internal 
workings  of  the  colony,  independent  of  exterior  aid.  In  fact,  the  last  year's 
operations  developed  a  profit  of  several  thousand  dollars.  Elated  at  his 
success,  Ashmun  left  no  means  untried  to  maintain  his  hard-earned  fame, 
and  ascendant  advantages.  Industrial  pursuits  and  education  he  looked  upon 
as  subjects  of  primary  interest,  in  the  enlightenment  of  Africa.  Farms  were 
opened,  and  the  natives  incited  to  their  tillage.  To  the  subject  of  schools, 
he  continued  his  earnest  attention.  This  he  looked  upon  as  being  one  of 
the  most  important  objects  of  his  mission.  "Whether,"  says  he,  "we  re-' 
gard  such  schools  as  a  cheap  means  of  extending  the  power  of  the  colon v — 


380  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

as  the  most  effectual  instruments  of  civilizing  the  continent — as  a  noble  ex 
ercise  of  Christian  philanthropy,  or  the  best  expression  of  Christian  piety — 
(and  the  object,  I  think,  is  susceptible  of  either  of  these  views) — no  work 
connected  with  the  rearing  of  the  colony,  is,  in  my  opinion,  more  desirable. 
I  think  it  nearly  capable  of  moral  demonstration,  that  the  African  tribes  may 
be  civilized  without  expulsion  from  their  chosen  settlements  and  villages, 
and  without  that  fearful  diminution  of  their  population,  which  has,  from 
causes  that  do  not  exist  here,  as  in  regard  to  the  Indians  of  America,  accom 
panied  the  march  of  civilization  in  that  hemisphere."  By  this  time,  through 
the  active  exertions  of  the  colonists,  not  only  were  all  things  working  well 
immediately  at  home,  but  the  interior  of  the  country  was  explored  with  re 
ference  to  enlarging  the  colonial  boundaries.  The  population  they  found  was 
of  an  active,  enterprising  sort,  and  had  made  considerable  progress  in  agri 
culture. 

Early  in  the  year  1828,  a  United  States  vessel  reached  Liberia,  with  over 
one  hundred  more  emigrants.  This  arrival  found  Ashmun  in  the  midst  of 
perplexing  engagements.  Several  vessels  were  in  port,  the  affairs  of  which 
demanded  his  personal  consideration.  Such  an  accumulation  of  labor,  he 
said,  "  I  never  felt  pressing  on  me  before.  Days  and  nights  were  too  short. 
But  I  dispatched,  previous  to  the  25th,  three  of  the  vessels,  when  another 
arrived  from  Sierra  Leone,  with  special  claims  on  my  attention."  In  addi 
tion  to  this,  a  piratical  Spanish  vessel  menaced  the  coast  in  a  threatening 
manner,  that  required  of  Ashmun  the  necessity  of  keeping  a  sharp  look-out 
upon  her  movements. 

Soon  after  this,  he  visited,  in  person,  all  the  principal  native  chiefs  of  the. 
vicinity,  giving  assurance  of  his  good  will  to  them.  From  excessive  fatigue 
incident  to  this  combination  of  arduous  duties,  he  was  attacked  by  a  severe 
fever,  from  the  effects  of  which  he  suffered  for  some  time.  His  embarrass 
ments  were  magnified  also,  by  the  sickness  of  the  recently-arrived  emigrants, 
among  whom  there  was  not  a  single  well  man.  After  awhile,  however, 
things  began  to  mend,  and  prospects  to  materially  brighten  up  again.  In 
February,  he  thus  wrote  :  "  For  the  last  four  days,  my  strength  has  returned 
almost  as  rapidly  as  it  went.  But  I  hope  the  event  will  advertise  the  board, 
that  the  constitution  of  their  agent  here  is  not  to  be  depended  on — and  that 
a  most  probable  item  of  intelligence  may  very  shortly  be,  that  he  too  is 
numbered  with  the  departed.  May  provision  be  made  accordingly.  For 
myself,  alone,  the  event  has  no  appalling  features — but  to  leave  the  colony, 
to  quit  a  field  of  labor  forever,  in  which  so  litt.le  is  yet  done  and  so  much 
ought  to  be  done — here  I  fear  will  be  the  distressing  pang  of  dying.  But 
the  colony  depends,  I  am  persuaded,  on  the  life  of  no  one  or  ten  indivi 
duals  ;  and  it  is  a  vanity  I  do  not  indulge,  that  it  has  any  such  dependence 
on  my  own.  But  it  is  a  field  of  labor  in  which  if  better  workmen  are  not 
employed,  I  wish  to  be  myself  so  long  as  with  the  Divine  blessing  I  can  do 
any  good." 

These  thoughts,  that  he  was  approaching  his  final  rest,  were  verified.  He 
soon  became  so  much  enfeebled,  that  his  physician  gave  his  written  opinion 
that  the  only  hope  for  his  life  was  in  his  return  to  the  United  States.  On 
the  28th  of  March,  he  embarked  on  board  of  a  vessel,  and  left  Africa  for 
ever.  Never  were  greater  tokens  of  respect  shown  by  any  community  oil 


OF  AMERICANS.  381 

taking  leave  of  their  head.  Nearly  the  whole  of  the  inhabitants  of  Mon 
rovia,  men,  women  and  children,  were  out  on  the  occasion,  and  nearly  all 
of  them  parted  from  him  in  tears.  He  suffered  so  intensely  on  the  voyage, 
that  it  was  doubtful  if  he  should  survive  to  reach  his  native  land.  He 
arrived  at  New  Haven,  Connecticut,  where  he  continued  to  sink  until  he 
expired,  August  25,  1828,  in  the  thirty-fifth  year  of  his  age. 

On  the  next  day,  a  large  concourse  of  the  citizens  of  New  Haven,  and  of 
the  neighboring  towns,  united  in  a  solemn  tribute  of  respect  to  his  memory, 
and  attended  his  remains  to  the  grave.  The  assembly  had  already  filled  tho 
Central  Church,  to  which  the  body  of  the  deceased  was  conveyed,  and  the 
minister  of  Christ  just  concluded  his  humble  supplications  to  the  God  of  all 
mercy  and  consolation,  when  a  venerable,  solitary  female  entered  the  con 
gregation,  and  with  a  look  which  told  what  her  tongue  might  in  vain  have 
essayed  to  speak,  approached  the  corpse.  It  was  the  mother  of  Ashmun  ! 
Every  heart  in  that  vast  assembly  beat  fainter,  as  they  beheld  this  aged 
matron,  who  had  traveled  for  several  days  and  nights  from  a  remote  part  of 
the  country,  in  the  hope  of  embracing  her  living  son,  pressing  her  lips,  and 
her  heart  upon  the  coffin  which  concealed  all  that  remained  of  that  son  in 
death,  forever  from  her  sight. 

The  discourse  of  the  Eev.  Leonard  Bacon,  on  this  occasion,  was  a  just 
and  eloquent  defense  of  the  spirit  that  animates  the  martyrs  to  a  great  and 
good  cause,  and  under  the  power  of  which  Ashmun  had  sacrificed  his  life 
in  the  service  of  Africa.  "  His  example  (said  the  preacher)  shall  speak. 
There  have  been  men  whose  names  are  as  way-marks ;  whose  examples, 
through  successive  ages,  stir  the  spirits  of  their  fellow-men  with  noble  emu 
lation.  What  has  been  done  for  God,  and  for  the  souls  of  men,  and  for  the 
cause  of  wretched  human  nature,  by  the  luster  which  gathers  around  the 
name  of  David  Brainerd.  How  many  lofty  spirits  has  the  simple  history 
of  his  toils  and  sorrows  kindled  and  roused  to  kindred  enterprise.  Other 
names  there  are,  which  beam  from  age  to  age  with  the  same  glory.  How 
ard,  Clarkson,  Swartz,  Mills, — what  meaning  is  there  in  such  names  as  these. 
Our  departed  friend  will  add  another  to  that  brilliant  catalogue.  He  takes 

his  olace 

'  Amid  th'  nugust  and  never  dying  light 
Of  constellated  spirits  who  have  gained 
A  name  iu  heaven  by  power  of  heavenly  deeds. 

Let  us  praUe  God  for  the  light  of  his  example,  which  shall  never  be  ex 
tinguished,  and  which,  as  it  beams  on  us,  shall  also  beam  on  our  childreo, 
moving  them  to  deeds  of  godlike  benevolence. 

•Praise  !  for  yet  one  more  name  with  power  endowed, 

To  cheer  and  guide  us,  onward  as  we  press ; 
Yet  one  more  image,  on  the  heart  bestowed, 
To  dwell  there,  beautiful  in  holiness.' 

We  have  come  to  his  grave.  A  simple,  but  beautiful  monument,  erected 
by  the  managers  of  the  American  Colonization  Society,  in  the  church-yard 
of  Now  Haven,  bears  the  name  of  Ashmun.  This  monument  may  perish, 
but  that  name  never.  It  is  engraven  on  the  heart  of  Africa.  In  his  person, 
Mr.  Ashmun  was  tall — his  hair  and  eyes  light — his  features  regular  and  cast 
in  the  finest  mould — his  mariners  mild,  yet  dignified — and  in  his  counte- 


382.  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

nance  an  expression  of  tho  gentlest  affections  softened  the  lineaments  of  a 
lofty,  firm,  and  fearless  minu." 

Liberia,  since  having  been  placed  on  a  firm  basis  through  the  exertions  of 
Mr.  Ashmun,  has  prospered  beyond  all  example.  It  now  extends  along  the 
Guinea  Coast  for  a  distance  of  four  hundred  and  twenty  miles,  with  an 
average  breadth  of  forty  miles  inland.  It  consists  of  Liberia  proper,  and 
Maryland  in  Liberia,  the  latter  being  that  part  south  of  Cape  Palmas.  The 
country  has  been  all  purchased  from  time  to  time  by  the  American  Coloni 
zation  Society,  and  its  climate  greatly  improved,  although  it  is  deadly  to 
whites,  by  a  systematic  drainage  and  clearance  of  the  woods.  Until  the  year 
1848,  Liberia  remained  a  dependency  upon  the  United  States.  In  that  year, 
it  was  formed  into  an  independent  republic,  and  as  such  was  recognized  by 
Great  Britain  and  France.  Its  government  is  upon  the  same  model  as  that 
of  the  United  States,  consisting  of  a  president,  a  vice  president,  and  two 
houses  of  congress. 

The  natural  resources  of  Liberia  are  immense.  Cotton  is  natural  to  the 
soil  of  which  it  produces  two  crops  a  year.  Coffee  thrives  well,  and  the 
sugar-cane  grows  luxuriantly.  Its  annual  exports,  principally  of  tropical 
productions,  amount  to  over  half  a  million  of  dollars.  The  population  of 
the  Republic  of  Liberia,  in  1850,  was  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand,  of 
whom  fifty  thousand  speak  the  English  language.  A  thirst  for  education 
has  been  awakened  among  the  surrounding  native  tribes,  for  four  hundred 
and  five  hundred  miles  ;  many  of  them  send  their  children  to  be  educated  in 
the  republic.  The  Liberians  have  built  for  themselves  about  thirty  churchesj 
possess  numerous  schools  and  printing  presses.  More  than  twenty  thousand 
natives  have  requested  to  be  taken  under  the  protection  of  the  state,  while 
not  less  than  one  hundred  thousand  live  on  its  territory  and  three  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  are  bound  to  it  by  treaties  to  abolish  the  slave-trade.  At 
different  times  ten  buildings,  erected  by  slave-traders  for  the  storage  of  slaves 
have  been  burned  down  by  the  Liberians,  arid  hundreds  of  their  fellow  crea 
tures  therein  confined  liberated  ;  and  they  at  all  times  afford  a  refuge  for  the 
weak  and  the  oppressed.  The  adjoining  English  colony  of  Sierra  Leone  is 
far  inferior  to  Liberia  having  but  about  one  quarter  of  its  population,  and  as 
yet  remaining  a  dependency  upon  the  English  crown. 

Monrovia  is  the  capital  of  Liberia.  It  has  a  population  of  about  twelve 
thousand ;  beside  this  there  are  twenty  other  towns  and  villages  in  the  terri 
tory.  It  is  said  to  be  a  beautiful  thriving  American-like  town,  with  hand 
some  churches,  elegant  private  residences,  imposing  business  stores  of  bnck 
on  almost  every  street ;  all  indicating,  the  most  complete  development  of  the 
amplest  resources  of  mind  and  body  on  the  part  of  its  citizens. 

Tho  men  of  color  who  have  migrated  to  Liberia  have  felt  the  influences 
of  enterprise  and  freedom,  and  are  improved  alike  in  their  condition  and 
character.  Those  who  were  slaves  become  masters;  those  who  were  once 
dependent  have  become  independent;  once  the  objects  of  charity,  they  are 
now  benefactors,  and  the  very  individuals  who,  a  few  years  ago,  felt  their 
spirits  oppressed  and  incapable  of  high  efforts  and  great  achievements,  now 
stand  forth  conscious  of  their  dignity  and  power,  sharing  in  all  the  privileges 
and  honors  of  a  respected,  a  free  and  a  Christian  people. 


•  J  *  • 


NARRATI-VE 


THE 


MIER    EXPEDITION 

WITH    A    HISTORY    OF    THE    SURVIVORS    WHO*'  WERE.  IMPRISONED    IN    TJI* 

• 

CASTLE  OF  PEROTE,  IN  MEXICO 


THE  'Texas  Revolution  was  a  remarkable  exhibition  of  American  character. 

For-nine  years  a  population  of  twenty  thousand  of  our  people  successfully.. 

'"•cop  tended  against  a   nation  of  eight  millions.     It  was  a  bloody  struggle, 

"  markedly  many  thrilling  episodes,  illustrating  the  coolest  bravery  in  peril, 

and-tKa  manliest  fortitude  in  adversity. 

The  "history  of  the  Mier  Expedition  well  exhibits  the  character  of  those 
heroic  peoplej  as  given  by  Thomas  J.  Green,  one  of  the  Texan  officers,  who 
subsequently  published  his  journal  of  its  events,  and  from  which  this 
article  is  derived. 

la  the'  year  1842,  the  Mexicans  having  twice  invaded  Texas,"  marking 
.their  course  by  the'  usual  atrocities  of  that    half- savage  people,  President 
.Houston,  in    September,  issued    a   proclamation    calling   for  volunteers 'to 
"rendezvous  at \Bexar,  pursue  the  enerjiy  into  Mexico,  and  chastise  him  for 
'   his  insolence  and  wrongs."     fey  Koy,ember,  some  twelve  hundred  Texans 
assembled  at  Bexar,  and  nvera  placed  under  the  command  of  General  Som- 
.    erville.     Through  various  .causes'  this  force  was  dwindled  down  to  a  few 
hundred  men,  witb.'$(}jicTi  Somerville  after  much  de,lay  marched  to  the  ;Rio 
Grande,  the  Mexican 'MOrces,  under  general  Woll  retreating  before  them. 
Then  Somerville  abandoned  all  the  objects  of  the  .camp'aign,  alleging  that 
"he  thought  it. imprudent  to.-.remain  lortger,  as  the  enemy  might  concen 
trate."     He  started  for  home,  accompanied  by  his  staff  and  a  few  over  two 
.-hundred  men,  leaving  behind  three  hundred  and  four  of  his  Texan  com 
panions  in  arms,  who,  having  come  to  fight,  determined  to  be  gratified  at 
all  hazards. 

This  little  band  elected  Colonel  William  S.  Fisher  commander,  and  de 
scended  the  Rio  Grande,  part  in  barges  and  part  on  land.  Colonel  Thomas 
J,  Green  held  the  office  of  commander  of  the  flotilla  and  right  wing  of  the 
forces.  On  the  21st  of  December,  they  arrived  in  the  vicinity  of  Mier, 
next  to  Matamoras,  the  most  important  town 'on  the  Rio  Grande.  As 
the  place  was  then  destitute  of  troops  for  its  defense,  they  marched  into  it 
without  molestation.  According  to  the  customs  of  war',,  and  which,  more 
over,  their  own  destitute  condition  warranted,  they  mad&'  requisition  upon 
the  alcalde  for  various  stores  of  provisions,  clothing,  arms,  etc.  This  was 
acceded  to,  upon  which  the  troops  retired  from  the  place,  carrying  with 

(383V 


334  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

them  to  their  camp  below  the  city  the  alcalde,  as  a  hostage  for  the  per 
formance  of  the  agreement.  Under  various  pretexts  its  fulfillment  was  de 
layed  until  on  the  25th,  when  news  came  that  seven  hundred  Mexicans, 
with  t\vo  field-pieces,  commanded  by  Ampudia  and  Canales,  had  arrived  on 
the  opposite  or  right  bank»of  the  river.  The  Texans  crossed  over  to  give 
them  battle,  upon  which  they  retreated  into  Mier. 

Two  of  the  most  efficient  of  the  Texan  spies  unfortunately  had  been 
made  prisoners.  One  of  these  was  the  afterward  much  noted  Captain 
Samuel  H.  Walker.  On  being  interrogated  by  Ampudia  as  to  the  numbers 
and  intentions  of  the  Texans,  with  the  threat  of  death  if  he  told  falsely, 
Walker  replied,  "that  his  life  was  in  the  general's  hands,  but  that  it  was 
neither  their  habit  nor  nationality  to  lie  ; — that  the  force  of  the  Texans  was 
about  three  hundred  men."  "They  surely  have  not  the  audacity  to  pursue 
and  attack  me  in  town,"  rejoined  Ampudia.  "Yes,  general,"  said  Walker, 
"you  need  not  have  any  doubts  on  that  point ;  they  will  pursue  and  attack 
you  in !" 

The  Texans  continued  in  pursuit  of  the  flying  Mexicans,  when  night 
closed  in  upon  them,  just  as  they  had  reached  the  outskirts  of  Mier.  The 
night  being  dark  and  drizzling  with  rain,  the  men  were  ordered  to  sit  and 
protect  their  rifles  from  the  damp  until  the  general  position  of  the  enemy 
could  be  learned.  This  was  -done,  when,  after  some  little  skirmishing,  the 
Mexican  outposts  were  carried,  and  the  Texans  fought  their  way  by  degrees 
in  the  direction  of  the  military  square,  making  openings  through  the  adobe 
walls  of  the  houses  by  crowbars.  All  night  long  the  battle  was  kept  up, 
and  many  a  Mexican  fell  before  the  unerring  rifle  of  those  frontiermen. 
When  day  dawned  they  were  in  the  very  heart  of  the  city,  with  the  loss 
of  only  one  man  killed  and  two  wounded,  having  beaten  all  opposition,  and 
being  strongly  posted  in  some  adobe  houses. 

"  In  less  than  an  hour,"  says  Green,  "  after  daylight  opened  upon  us, 
their  artillery  was  silenced  and  deserted,  and  the  enemy  had  recourse  to  the 
house-tops,  from  whence  they  ventured  to  pour  down  upon  the  houses  we 
occupied  volleys  of  musketry.  In  the  many  thousand  cartridges  discharged 
at  us,  an  occasional  one  would  take  effect,  and  we  hud  some  valuable  men 
killed  and  several  wounded.  In  this  situation,  some  of  our  best  rifles  and 
surest  shots  were  brought  into  play,  and  they  not  permitted  to  fire  except 
with  dead  rest  and  sure  aim.  This  explains  why  a  large  majoritv  of  their 
killed  and  wounded  were  shot  in  the  head  and  breast,  the  only  part  exposed 
in  firing  at  us.  However,  to  obtain  a  better  position  for  some  of  our  picked 
fifle.men,  holes  were  made  in  the  roofs  of  the  houses  we  occupied,  through 
which  they  ascended,  and  in  that  position  we  soon  cleared  all  the  houses 
within  reach.  Thus  the  battle  continued  until  12  M.,  and  it  was  perfectly 
clear,  fiom  the  manner  in  which  their  fire  had  slackened  in  every  quarter, 
that  they  were  badly  crippled.  One  movement  more  on  our  part  was  neces 
sary  to  complete  the  victory,  and  that  was  by  commanding  the  public  square, 
their  stronghold. 

About  this  time,  a  column  of  the  enemy  charged  down  a  street  upon  the 
north  of  the  building  we  occupied.  Colonel  Fisher,  being  at  that  point, 
threw  himself,  with  some  twenty  men,  suddenly  into  the  street,  and  received 
their  firo,  which  severoly  wounded  several  of  his  men,  cutting  off  also  the 


OF  AMERICANS.  385 

ball  of  his  right  thumb.  They  effectually  returned  their  fire,  when  the 
party  fled.  Up  to  this  time,  for  the  last  six  hours,  the  artillery  nearest  us 
had  been  silenced,  and  no  one  of  the  enemy  dared  approach  it.  It  had 
already,  as  we  were  afterward  told,  proved  the  death  of  fifcy-five  out  of 
their  sixty  choice  artillery  company.  To  get  it  out  of  our  reach,  they  had 
recourse  to  throwing  a  lasso  over  it  from  behind  a  corner,  and  dragging  it  off. 
Just  about  this  time,  they  were  blowing  a  charge  in  different  directions, 
1  he  writer  was  in  the  upper  end  of  the  buildings  nearest  the  square,  when 
he  received  information  that  Colonel  Fisher  was  wounded  :  hastening  to 
where  he  was,  he  found  him  vomiting  from  the  effects  of  his  wound.  At 
this  juncture,  in  the  midst  of  victory,  we  date  our  misfortunes. 

Dr.  Sinnickson,  one  of  the  eight  men  who  had  been  taken  prisoners  over 
the  Alcantra,  having  been  brought  to  General  Ampudia's  headquarters,  was 
put  upon  his  examination  as  to  our  force,  etc.; — it,  however,  corroborated 
Walker's  statement.  In  General  Ampudia's  staff,  as  surgeon -general,  was 
Dr.  Humphries,  a  Scotchman  by  birth,  formerly  surgeon  in  the  Texan  army. 
The  surgeon-general  knew  Dr.  Sinnickson  in  Brazoria,  and  as  soon  as  he 
communicated  the  fact  to  the  Mexican  officers,  the  cunning  Canales  and  Ca- 
rasco  suggested,  as  a  last  alternative,  that  their  old  deception  of  a  wliiteflag 
should  be  tried  upon  us.  At  this  time,  so  badly  were  they  whipped,  that 
we  were  told  by  Walker,  Lnsk,  and  other  prisoners,  tied  at  Ampudia's  head 
quarters,  that  the  officers'  horses  were  saddled,  and  held  each  by  the  bridle, 
and  that  the  gate  of  the  churchyard  upon  the  Matamoras  road  was  opened, 
and  every  preparation  was  being  made  for  flight,  when  Dr.  Sinnickson  was 
started  to  us  with  a  white  flag.  Walker  and  others,  who 'had  been  prison 
ers  since  the  day  previous,  had  witnessed  the  battle  from  where  they  were 
confined,  knew  the  enemy  was  badly  beaten,  and  knew  their  condition  too 
well  for  either  of  them  to  be  sent  in  to  us.  Dr.  Sinnickson,  having  just 
been  taken  prisoner,  and  knowing  but  little  of  the  condition  of  the  enemy, 
had  no  chance  to  communicate  with  the  other  prisoners,  and  on  this  ac 
count,  as  well  as  from  his  being  surgeon  in  our  army,  he  was  selected  to 
bring  in  the  flag  to  us.  At  the  time  he  started  with  it,  the  other  prisoners 
believed  it  was  for  the  purpose  of  asking  terms  from  us,  nor  were  they  un 
deceived  in  this  particular  until  they  saw  a  portion  of  our  men  marching 
into  the  public  square  to  lay  down  their  arms. 

Dr.  Sinnickson  was  ordered  by  General  Ampudia  to  say  to  the  Texan 
commander  "that  he  had  one  thousand  seven  hundred  regular  troops  in  the 
city,  and  eight  hundred  fresh  troops  near  by  from  Monterey,  which  would 
be  up  in  a  few  minutes  ;  that  it  was  useless  for  him  to  contend  longer 
against  such  odds,  and  that,  if  he  would  surrender  his  forces,  they  should 
be  treated  with  all  the  honors  and  considerations  of  prisoners  of  war;  and 
that  our  men  should  not  be  sent  to  Mexico,  but  kept  upon  the  frontier  until 
an  exchange  or  pacification  was  effected  ; — and  that,  if  these  terms  were 
not  acceded  to,  we  should  be  allowed  no  quarter." 

Some  few  moments  elapsed  between  Dr.  Sinnickson's  first  communica 
tion  with  Colonel  Fisher,  and  the  astounding  information  which  was  com 
municated  to  our  men,  that  it  was  a  demand  for  us  to  surrender,  for  up  to 
this  time  a  general  impression  prevailed  that  they  were  asking  terms  of  us. 
When  this  information  was  communicated  to  our  men,  it  was  promptly  me^ 


386  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

by  a  general  burst  of  disapprobation,  "that  they  never  would  surrender 
their  arms." 

Colonel  Fisher  sought  an  interview  with  General  Ampudia.  During  his 
absence,  such  good  use  was  made  of  the  time  by  those  in  favor  of  fighting 
it  out,  that  on  his  return  not  over  twenty  of  the  whole  number  were  in 
favor  of  surrendering.  Says  Green  :  Colonel  Fisher  formed  the  different 
companies  in  the  street,  to  communicate  the  result  of  his  interview  with 
the  Mexican  commander,  which  was  a  reiteration  of  his  former  promises, 
and  he  concluded  by  saying,  that  "I  have  known  General  Ampudia  foi 
years — know  him  to  be  an  honorable  man,  and  will  vouch  for  his  carrying 
them  out ;  that  if  you  are  willing  to  accept  of  these  terms,  you  will  march 
into  the  public-square  and  give  up  your  arms,  or  prepare  for  battle  in  five 
minutes ;  that,  in  any  view  of  the  case,  your  situation  is  a  gloomy  one,  for 
you  cannot  fight  your  way  out  of  this  place  to  the  Rio  Grande,  short  of  a 
loss  of  two  thirds  or  perhaps  the  wliole; — but  if  you  are  determined  to  fight, 
I  will  be  with  you,  and  sell  my  life  as  dear  as  possible."  This  speech  was 
a  deathblow  to  all  farther  prospect  of  fighting,  for  it  at  once  determined 
half  of  the  men  to  surrender,  who  instantly  separated  from  the  remainder, 
and  moved  off  in  the  direction  of  the  square. 

Now  a  scene  commenced  which  defies  description.  In  the  countenances 
of  those  whom  Colonel  Fisher's  speech  did  not  induce  to  surrender,  were 
disappointment,  sorrow,  rage  ;  many  shed  tears,  some  swore,  while  others 
maintained  a  sullen  determination,  which  showed  that  they  were  prepared 
for  the  worst.  Those  who  marched  off  with  the  intention  of  surrendering, 
showed  in  their  countenances  that  they  believed  the  act  would  purchase 
their  lives.  They  did  not  pass  Reese  and  Pearson's  companies,  which  were 
still  formed  nearest  the  square,  without  a  shower  of  imprecations  upon  their 
heads.  "Go  !"  said  one  ;  "I  hope  you  may  never  enjoy  the  sight  of  your 

country  and  liberty  again !"     "  Go,"  added  another,  "  you  cowards  ! 

and  rot  in  chains  and  slavery  !"  and  such  like  anathemas,  which,  from  their 
solemn  truths,  seemed  to  fall  heavily  upon  their  spirits,  for  they  returned 
no  answer,  but  marched  into  captivity  in  silent  obedience.  In  a  feeling  of 
rage  and  contempt,  which  I  was  far  from  controlling,  I  pursued  this  party 
several  steps,  determined  to  exhaust  the  last  shot  of  my  repeater  upon 
them,  and  take  the  consequences.  Here  I  was  met  by  an  old  friend,  whose 
head  was  frosted  by  seventy  winters;  he  addressed  me  in  a  tone  of  feeling 
and  friendship,  that  not  only  disarmed  me  of  my  intention,  but  possessed 
me  of  another  feeling  which  absorbed  my  whole  soul.  I  believed  that  we 
would  be  sacrificed,  felt  that  I  could  stand  it,  and  longed  to  see  whether  the 
others  could.  Under  this  feeling,  I  broke  my  arms  upon  the  pavement, 
and  said  to  them,  "  Now  we  will  see  who  can  stand  shooting  the  best."  In 
a  few  minutes  I  went  into  the  square,  where  I  found  a  group  of  officers  in 
front  of  several  companies  of  infantry.  Among  this  group  was  the  Mexi 
can  surgeon -general,  Dr.  Humphries,  who  knew  me  in  Texas  :  he  advanced 
and  spoke  to  me  cordially.  I  asked  him  to  show  me  General  Ampudia, 
which  he  did.  Unhooking  my  naked  sword-belt,  I  advanced  and  delivered 
it  to  him,  announcing  mj^self  at  the  same  time.  I  remarked  to  him,  that, 
"having  opposed  the  surrender  in  vain,  I  was  prepared  either  for  the  prison 
•>r  to  be  shot,  and  was  perfectly  indifferent  in  the  choice."  He  received  mi 


OF  AMERICANS.  387 

kindly,  and  replied,  that  "  he  appreciated  the  feelings  of  the  brave — but 
mine  was  the  fate  of  war ;  that  his  house  and  friendship  were  mine,  and 
that  he  hoped  I  would  consider  myself  his  guest,  and  call  upon  him  freely 
for  any  service  in  his  power."  I  thanked  him  for  his  personal  good  feel 
ings,  and  turned  to  look  for  the  party  who  had  preceded  me,  and  found 
their  rifles  laid  out  in  a  row  upon  the  ground,  and  two  or  three  officers 
counting  their  catskin  and  tiger-tailed  pouclies  with  an  indifference  which 
showed  they  knew  nothing  of  their  value.  This  was  a  melancholy  sight, 
from  which  I  was  relieved  by  some  one  calling  to  me  from  the  iron  grating 
of  a  window  about  forty  yards  distant.  I  approached  the  window,  and 
found  about  one  hundred  of  our  men  jammed  into  a  small  filthy  room ; 
and  the  man  who  was  calling  to  me  wished  me  to  "  keep  an  eye  upon  the 
disposition  of  their  arms,  for,"  said  he,  "we  find  too  late  that  you  were  cor 
rect,  and  if  we  can  get  hold  of  our  'tools'  once  more,  we  will  go  it  with  a 
looseness."  Thus  soon  did  their  repentance  commence,  and  long  will  it 
continue. 

The  balance  of  our  men,  as  their  arms  were  delivered  up,  were  thrust 
into  two  other  rooms,  each  distant  from  the  other  sixty  or  eighty  steps. 
General  Ampudia  invited  Colonel  Fisher  and  myself  to  his  headquarters, 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  square  adjoining  the  church.  In  this  room  was 
seated  at  a  table  the  cunning  Canales,  drawing  up  the  "Articles  of  Capitu 
lation,"  which  were  soon  after  imposed  upon  us  for  what  they  did  not  con 
tain. 

The  aggregate  number  of  Texans  engaged  in  the  battle  was  two  hundred 
and  sixty-one;  our  loss  being  ten  killed,  twenty-three  badly  and  several 
slightly  wounded.  The  aggregate  number  of  the  Mexican  forces  engaged 
was  twenty-three  hundred  and  forty.  Their  loss  was  between  seven  and 
eight  hundred  killed  and  wounded.  We  were  informed  at  Matamoras  by 
the  United  States  consul  and  several  American  and  English  gentlemen,  who 
had  it  in  confidence  from  the  Mexican  officers,  that  their  loss  exceeded 
eight  hundred  in  killed  and  wounded.  Their  official  report  to  the  war  de 
partment  of  the  amount  of  ammunition  expended  in  the  battle  was  nine 
hundred  cannon  cartridges  and  forty-three  thousand  musket  cartridges,  be 
sides  three  hundred  rockets,  etc.,  while  ours  was  between  fourteen  and  fif 
teen  hundred  of  every  description.  There  never  has  existed,  in  any  age, 
a  nation  who  understood  so  well  as  the  Texans  this  important  matter, 
"never  to  shoot  without  killing;"  and  this  will  explain  why  a  larger  pro 
portion  than  one  to  two  of  our  shots  took  effect  in  this  battle. 

With  the  permission  of  General  Ampudia,  I  visited  the  church  that 
evening  to  see  our  wounded,  and  carried  them  a  quantity  of  bandages. 
Doctors  Sinnickson,  Brennem,  and  Shepherd  were  then  attending  them. 
All  appeared  to  be  cheerful,  though  most  of  them  were  badly  and  several 
mortally  wounded.  I  have  never  yet  seen  a  calamity  so  great  befall  Texans 
as  to  prevent  their  making  fun  ;  and  upon  inquiry  as  to  how  they  \\ere  off 
for  rations,  they  replied,  "0!  we  have  plenty  of  brains,  general."  In  the 
same  building,  one  hundred  and  thirty-six  of  the  enemy's  wounded  were 
stretched  out  on  the  floor,  many  of  whom  had  been  shot  in  the  head,  and 
their  brains  had  oozed  out,  from  the  size  of  a  marble  to  that  of  one's  fist. 
It  was  a  horrible  sight,  but  will  explain  what  our  fun-making  wounded 
25 


388  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

meant.     The  enemy  were  mostly  wounded  in  the  head  and  breast,  a  largd 
portion  of  whom  died  the  first  night. 

Thus  ended  the  battle  of  Mier,  which,  in  its  moral  and  political  conse 
quences  to  our  country,  was  a  glorious  triumph.  It  was  there  that  the  peo 
ple  of  Texas  demonstrated  the  practicability  of  conquering  and  holding 
that  rich  valley  against  immense  odds.  It  was  there  that  the  people  ci 
Texas  pursued  and  fought  them  nine  to  one, 'killing  treble  their  own  num 
ber,  and  proving  themselves  invincible  to  everything  but  duplicity  and 
treachery  ;  and  it  was  there  that  the  Texan  made  the  sound  of  his  rifle  and 
death  synonymous  terms  throughout  Mexico. 

On  the  31st  of  December,  General  Ampudia  took  up  his  line  of  march 
for  the  City  of  Mexico,  via  Matamoras,  with  his  prisoners.  They  were 
strongly  guarded  by  artillery  behind,  and  before  and  on  each  side  by  cavalry 
and  infantry  with  fixed  bayonets.  The  men  were  hurried  along  at  a  rapid 
rate,  suffering  greatly  from  fatigue  and  want  of  water.  The  first  night  they 
encamped  opposite  Comargo.  Their  blankets  had  been  stolen  from  them, 
a  bleak  norther  was  blowing,  and  when  their  scanty  fires  had  burned  down, 
they  raked  away  the  burning  coals,  and  laid  in  piles  in  the  ashes  to  keep 
themselves  warm. 

The  next  day,  New  Year's  day,  1843,  they  entered  Comargo,  where  com 
menced  the  grand  menagerie  show  of  the  prisoners,  which  was  continued 
during  their  zig-zag  march  of  one  thousand  five  hundred  miles  in  Mexico. 
They  were  paraded  through  the  town  and  around  the  public-square  under 
the  ringing  of  bells,  firing  of  guns  and  crackers,  and  the  vivas  of  the  popu 
lace.  Little  boys  and  girls  preceded  them,  displaying  long  rolls  of  paper 
with  bombastic  mottoes — "  Glory  to  the  brave  Canales — Eternal  honor  to 
the  immortal  Ampudia,"  etc. 

Continuing  their  march,  they  were  the  next  night  herded  in  a  cow-pen, 
like  so  many  cattle.  The  fun-makers,  to  complete  the  character,  dropped 
down  upon  all- fours,  bowed  their  necks,  pawed  up  the  dirt,  and  lowed  like 
bulls,  to  the  no  small  astonishment  of  their  captors.  The  next  night,  their 
lodgings  being  a  sheep-pen,  the  comedians  had  a  new  character  to  play,  and 
it  is  certain  they  "bleated  more  like  sheep  than  any  sheep  in  all  Mexico." 
It  was  of  much  importance  to  their  captors  to  get  cow-pens  to  put  the  cap 
tives  in,  and  they  were  often  resorted  to  on  the  march,  for,  being  walled 
with  lofty  pickets,  they  were  the  more  easily  guarded. 

On  nearing  Matamoras  many  of  the  prominent  citizens  came  but  to  meet 
General  Ampudia,  and  to  congratulate  him  upon  his  victory.  "Among 
these,"  says  Green,  "  were  two  of  our  acquaintances,  Tom  and  Esau.  These 
yentlemen,  now  of  so  much  consequence  as  to  ride  three  leagues  in  a  coach 
to  congratulate  Gener.il  Ampudia  upon  his  splendid  victory,  were  General 
Sam  Houston's  two  barbers,  so  well  known  to  the  public  of  Texas.  Tom 
treated  us  with  marked  attention,  spoke  of  his  prospects  in  that  country, 
his  intended  nuptials,  invited  us  to  the  wedding,  and  said  that  General  Am* 
pu'dia  was  to  stand  godfather  on  the  occasion.  He  remarked  to  General 
Ampudia,  upon  meeting  him,  in  our  presence,  'Well,  general,  /  told  you, 
before  leaving  Matamoras,  that  when  you  met  these  gentlemen  you  would 
catch  it !' " 

The  next  day,  January  9th,  they  marched  to  Matamoras.     Says  Green : 


OF  AMERICANS. 

"  Many  women  and  girls  came  out  with  joyous  countenances  to  meet  their 
husbands  and  sweethearts ;  but,  alas !  for  them,  they  had  experienced  the 
effects  of  the  Texan  rifles  at  Mier,  and  they  returned  with  heavy  hearts 
and  bitter  lamentations.  A  triumphal  arch  was  thrown  across  the  principal 
street  through  which  we  passed  at  every  hundred  yards  ;  and,  to  make  the 
grand  pageant  as  imposing  as  possible,  soldiers  were  stationed  upon  each 
side  of  the  street,  about  thirty  feet  apart,  and  what  they  lacked  in  soldiers 
they  made  up  for  the  occasion  by  placing  soldier-clothes  upon  citizens. 
Our  men  followed  slowly  and  solemnly  up  one  street  and  down  another,  to 
give  the  populace  full  opportunity  to  gaze  at  and  heap  upon  them  dirty 
epithets,  of  which  their  language  is  so  copious.  Among  the  populace  were 
a  number  of  negroes,  who  had  absconded  from  Texas;  these  were  among 
the  foremost  in  their  abusive  epithets,  and  our  men,  without  the  power  of 
punishing  such  insolence,  would  gnash  their  teeth  in  rage." 

In  the  march  from  Matamoras,  Colonels  Fisher  and  Green,  Dr.  Shepherd, 
Adjutant  Murry,  S.  C.  Lyon,  and  the  interpreter,  Daniel  Drake  Henrie,  were 
each  furnished  with  a  horse,  placed  under  an  escort  of  a  company  of  cav 
alry,  and  sent  on  their  route  in  advance  of  the  main  body.  These  officers 
were  generally  treated  with  kindness.  At  Monterey,  which  they  reached 
on  the  22d  of  January,  they  remained  six  days  inmates  of  the  family  of 
Colonel  Bermudez,  a  fine  hospitable  old  gentleman,  with  several  beautiful 
daughters.  "  These  amiable  ladies,"  says  Green,  "  to  beguile  our  heavy 
hours,  would  sing  and  play  upon  the  guitar  and  piano  for  us,  and  at  even 
ings  would  invite  the  elite  of  the  city,  some  of  them  doubtless  coming  to, 
see  us  Texans,  whom  they  would  introduce  as  'muy  valiente,' — very  bravo,. 
At  these  evening  coteries,  we  would  endeavor  to  appear  as  if  nothing  had 
happened  to  us,  and  join  in  the  dance  as  lightsome  as  any.  The  ladies 
would  say,  'What  wonderful  people  you  must  be  !  here  you  are,  prisoners 
in  a  foreign  land,  having  already  passed  many  dangers,  and  you  must  expect 
to  fall  into  hands  who  will  treat  you  unkindly — for  all  Mexicans  are  not 
what  they  should  be — and  still  you  appear  as  if  nothing  had  befallen  you.' 

How  delightful  it  is  to  witness  the  salutations  of  Mexican  female  friends  ! 
they  trip  across  the  room  to  meet  each  other  with  a  gait  superior  to  that  of 
our  women,  and,  instead  of  grasping  the  hand,  they  embrace  with  a  be 
witching,  gossamer,  ethereal  touch,  which  cannot  properly  be  described.  In 
their  ball-dress  they  look  like  winged  creatures.  Most  of  the  Mexican 
dances  are  exceedingly  beautiful ;  there  is  a  luxury  in  the  music,  and  a 
fascinating  swing  in  their  women  peculiarly  winning.  Nothing  can  exceed 
the  grace  of  their  quadrilles  and  contra-danccs.  Their  fandango  is  a  lively 
operation,  mostly  danced  by  the  more  common  people,  in  which  the  gen 
tleman  leads  his  partner  to  the  center  of  the  room  ;  here  they  move  face  to 
face,  the  gentleman  beating  his  feet  against  the  floor  in  admirable  time  to 
the  music,  while  the  lady  faces  him  in  a  regular  monotonous  hitch-up  and 
back-down  step,  as  uniform  as  the  oscillation  of  a  pendulum.  Thus  it  is 
kept  up  until  each  party  is  relieved  by  some  other  groups." 

On  the  28th,  Colonel  Fisher  and  party,  under  escort,  started  for  Saltillo, 
where  they  arrived  on  the  30th.  The  main  body  of  the  prisoners,  under 
charge  of  Colonel  Canales,  with  six  hundred  infantry  and  cavalry,  arrived 
at  Saltillo  on  the  5th  of  February,  but  not  until  they  had  all  got  one  hun- 


390  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

dred  and  twenty  miles,  to  the  hacienda  Salado,  which  was  on  the  10th,  did 
any  chance  offer  for  private  communication  between  the  Texan  officers  and 
men.  The  latter  were  highly  elated,  and  a  plan  was  at  once  formed  to 
charge  their  guards  at  daybreak  the  next  morning,  and  make  a  bold  stroke 
for  liberty.  The  plot  was  successfully  put  into  execution  the  next  morning, 
but  too  late  for  the  assistance  or  the  benefit  of  the  officers,  who  had  been 
sent  on  with  their  escort,  and  had  gotten  nearly  a  mile  from  the  place  when 
the  event  took  place.  Green  thus  narrates  the  circumstances  : 

"The  llth  of  February  should  be  an  ever  memorable  day  in  the  history 
of  Texan  liberty,  alike  honorable  to  the  country  for  the  spirit  in  which  that 
glorious  movement  was  planned  and  executed.  As  our  men  advanced  far 
ther  into  the  country,  the  more  oppressive  became  the  conduct  of  those  un 
der  whose  charge  they  were.  On  sundry  occasions,  the  Mexican  soldiers 
had  been  permitted  to  beat  several  of  them.  This  was  in  such  gross  viola 
tion  of  our  articles  of  capitulation,  and  afforded  such  a  precious  foretaste 
of  'Mexican  magnanimity,'  that  they  determined  not  to  let  slip  this  last 
opportunity  of  regaining  their  liberty  ;  and  the  prospect  of  having  their 
officers  with  them  in  their  glorious  enterprise  determined  the  blow.  Among 
the  privates  foremost  in  the  charge,  as  well  as  in  bringing  about  the  result— 
and  to  their  lasting  honor  we  record  their  names — were  Dr.  II.  F.  Brennem, 
S.  H.  Walker,  J.  D.  Cooke,  Colonel  William  F.  Wilson,  Patrick  Lyons,  and 
others.  The  officers  were  generally  in  favor  of  the  attempt ;  and  at  the 
appointed  time,  the  lamented  Cameron,  with  a  quiet  coolness  peculiar  to 
him  in  trying  emergencies,  raised  his  hat,  and  giving  it  a  gentle  flourish  in 
the  air,  said,  in  a  distinct  tone,  a  little  mixed  with  his  Highland  'brogue, 
•*  Well,  boys,  we  will  go  it !'  Thus  saying,  and  suiting  the  action  to  the 
word,  he  grappled  one  of  the  sentinels  at  the  inner  door  of  their  prison- 
yard,  while  S.  H.  Walker  seized  the  other.  It  was  the  work  of  an  instant 
<to  upset  and  disarm  these,  and  get  possession  of  the  outer  court,  where  the 
.arms  and  cartridge  boxes  were  guarded  by  one  hundred  and  fifty  infantry. 
These  men  were  quickly  driven  out  or  made  to  surrender;  and  while  our 
4nen  were  arming  themselves  and  securing  ammunition,  the  cavalry  had 
formed  in  front  of  the  outer  gate,  which  was  also  guarded  by  the  company 
of  'Red -Caps.'  In  passing  through  the  gate  to  charge  this  company  and 
the  cavalry,  poor  Doctor  Brennem  and  Patrick  Lyons  fell,  and  several  others 
were  wounded.  That  portion  of  the  cavalry  which  was  mounted  quickly 
fell  back  beyond  the  reach  of  our  fire,  while  the  'Red-Caps'  retreated  round 
the  main  wall  of  the  buildings  to  the  south,  through  the  gate  into  the  court 
yard,  which  our  party  had  just  before  left.  A  portion  of  our  rnen  pressed 
around  to  force  this  gate,  believing  still  that  we  weje  in  our  quarters.  Here 
Captain  Fitzgerald  received  his  death-wound,  and  John  Stansbury,  quite  a 
boy,  had  his  left  eye  shot  out.  The  company  of  'Red-Caps'  soon  capitu 
lated,  and  gave  up  their  arms  :  the  only  condition  which  our  men  required 
of  Colonel  Barragan,  in  releasing  them,  was,  that  our  wounded  should  b« 
treated  kindly. 

We  had  three  killed — Dr.  Brennem,  Lyons,  and  Rice.     Captain  Fitzge 
rald  and  John  Higgerson  were  mortally  wounded,  and  died  soon  after;  and 
*  Captain  J.  R.  Baker,  privates  Stansbury,  Hancock,  Trehern,  and  Harvey, 
wounded.     The  enemy's  loss  was  nine  or  ten  killed,  and  many  more  badly 


OF  AMERICANS.  391 

wounded.  From  the  difficulty  of  getting  arms  in  the  commencement  of 
the  action,  it  was  not  possible  that  more  than  one  half  of  our  two  hundred 
and  fourteen  men,  with  the  exception  of  those  who  fought  with  brickbats, 
could  have  been  engaged. 

Thus  it  was  that  the  Texans  gave  the  world  another  evidence  of  theii, 
superiority  over  the  Mexicans,  when  one  hundred  unarmed  men  charged 
three  hundred  with  arms,  beat  them,  disarmed  them,  and  then  turned  them 
loose  as  harmless  things." 

By  ten  o'clock  A.  M.,  the  Texans,  to  the  number  of  one  hundred  and 
ninety-three,  mounted  their  horses,  and  took  up  their  line  of  march  home 
ward,  leaving  their  wounded  behind.  They  proceeded  on  for  a  day  or  two 
without  especial  molestation,  when  their  leader,  Captain  Edwin  Cameron, 
was  influenced  against  his  better  judgment,  to  leave  the  main  road  and 
take  to  the  mountains.  Had  they  continued  as  they  started,  there  is  no 
doubt  but  that  they  would  have  got  out  of  the  country  in  safety,  as  it  was 
subsequently  ascertained  that  the  Mexicans  were  not  in  sufficient  force  in 
that  quarter  to  make  any  effectual  opposition.  Once  in  the  mountains, 
their  troubles  commenced.  The  country  was  too  rough  for  their  horses, 
•water  was  very  scarce,  and  they  made  but  little  progress.  On  the  night  of 
the  14th,  they  encamped  in  a  deep  gorge  of  the  mountains.  The  next 
morning  they  found  water,  the  first  they  had  seen  in  twenty-four  liours. 
At  this  spot,  they  determined  to  kill  their  fattest  horses,  jerk  the  meat,  and 
then  proceed  on  foot.  So,  having  stationed  sentinels  upon  the  peaks  of  the 
highest  adjoining  mountains,  they  led  their  horses  down  into  thu  ravine  and 
commenced  the  mournful  task.  In  doing  so,  no  language  can  describe  the 
feelings  of  these  bold  men — men  who,  in  battle,  had  slain  their  scores  of 
Mexicans  without  winking — when  they  stood  with  unsheathed  knives  be 
side  their  faithful  animals,  they  found  that  their  bursting  hearts  had  un 
nerved  their  arms.  Many  turned  from  the  effort  and  wept,  while  others, 
as  much  affected,  performed  the  bloody  deed  in  conscientious  duty  to  their 
families,  their  country  and  liberty.  The  lamentable  groans  of  the  poo* 
horses,  as  the  keen  steel  \vould  press  to  the  heart's  core,  were  distressingly 
painful  to  hear.  Some,  in  the  agonies  of  death,  would  squeal  and  flounder, 
while  others  would  seem  to  look  upon  their  masters  in  deep  sorrow,  and 
press  against  the  fatal  blade.  This  never  to  be  forgotten  scene  was  the  work 
of  a  portion  of  this  day,  as  some  built  scaffolds  with  fire  underneath  to  dry 
the  meat,  while  others  butchered,  and  some  went  with  gourds  still  deeper 
into  the  ravine  for  water.  At  three  o'clock  p.  M.,  the  water  was  so  nearly 
exhausted  that  the  men  could  not  fill  their  gourds,  when  the  march  was  re 
commenced.  At  ten  o'clock  p.  M.,  they  encamped  in  a  deep  ravine  without 
water." 

They  continued  on  for  two  or  three  days  in  a  northerly  course,  suffering 
terribly  for  want  of  water,  until  the  17th,  when,  being  unable  to  travel  any 
farther,  they  halted  in  a  deep  valley.  The  sun  was  pouring  down  upon 
them  with  intense  power.  To  screen  themselves  from  its  blistering  rays, 
they  scattered  themselves  over  the  spot,  spread  their  blankets  upon  thorn- 
bushes,  and  got  underneath  them.  Water  !  water !  was  the  all-pervading 
cry.  In  the  delirium  of  consuming  fires  they  sought— 
"The  roughest  berry  on  the  rudest  hedge." 


392  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

Some  were  chewing  and  eating  negro-head  and  prickly-pear  leaves, 
produce  moisture  in  their  mouths,  but  these  astringents  greatly  aggravated 
their  sufferings  ;  while  others,  with  tongues  so  parched  and  swollen  that 
they  could  not  close  their  mouths,  were  scratching  in  the  shade  of  bushes 
for  cool  earth  to  apply  to  their  throats  and  stomachs  ;  yet,  even  yet,  their 
sufferings  were  to  be  increased.  Wild  delirium  seized  upon  those  who  had 
most  freely  used  the  astringent  plants,  and  in  their  last  agony  they  had  re 
course  to  their  own  urinary  secretion.  This  was  drinking  living  fire  !  and 
this  they  knew,  for  many  were  men  of  education  ;  but  still  they  drank  and 
drank  !  Several  expired,  and  all  prayed  for  death  to  relieve  them.  The 
phosphate  of  lime  contained  in  this  liquid  produces  a  consuming  agony  far 
worse  than  death  without  it. 

In  the  meantime,  so  slow  had  become  their  progress,  that  the  Mexicans 
had  time  to  rally  and  gather  a  large  force  to  intercept  them.  That  evening 
the  fires  of  the  Mexican  cavalry  camp  were  discovered  in  advance,  illumin 
ating  the  heavens.  When  the  day  dawned,  the  Texans  were  scattered,  ex 
hausted,  and  having  thrown  away  their  arms  from  mere  inabilit}7  to  carry 
them,  they  had  no  other  resource  but  to  surrender  to  a  force  which,  had 
they  kept  the  original  road,  they  could  easily  have  beaten. 

Now  began  the  return  march  to  Solado.  Their  captors  tied  them  in 
pairs  with  cords  of  rawhide.  These  were  exchanged  at  San  Antonio  for 
handcuffs.  Notwithstanding  this  precaution,  the  Mexicans  showed  great 
apprehension  lest  another  charge  would  be  made  upon  them,  for  they  would 
not  allow  the  Texans  to  stand  up  in  camp.  Under  all  these  cruelties,  tho 
men  bore  up  with  astonishing  fortitude.  They  received  their  irons  with 
smiles,  promised  a  fair  remuneration  the  first  opportunity,  and  concluded 
the  evening's  entertainment  by  telling  old  tales  and  singing,  to  the  utter 
astonishment  of  their  captors. 

On  the  25th  of  March,  they  arrived  at  Solado,  when  the  melancholy  in 
telligence  was  received  that  they  were  to  be  decimated,  and  each  tenth  man 
shot.  Full  particulars  of  the  bloody  drama  which  ensued  are  thus  given 
by  Green  :  *'  It  was  now  too  late  to  resist  this  horrible  order.  The  men 
were  closely  ironed  and  drawn  up  in  front  of  all  their  guards,  with  arms  in 
readiness  to  fire.  Could  they  have  known  it  previously,  they  would  have 
again  charged  their  guards,  and  made  them  dearly  pay  for  this  last  perfidi 
ous  breach  of  national  faith.  It  was  now  too  late  !  A  manly  gloom  and  a 
proud  defiance  pervaded  all  countenances.  They  had  but  one  alternative, 
and  that  was  to  invoke  their  country's  vengeance  upon  their  murderers, 
consign  their  souls  to  God,  and  die  like  men. 

The  decimator,  Colonel  Domingo  Huerta,  who  was  especially  nominated 
to  this  black  deed,  had  arrived  at  Solado  ahead  of  the  men.  The  '  Red- 
Cap  '  company  were  to  be  their  executioners — those  men  whose  lives  had 
been  so  humanely  spared  by  the  Texans  at  this  place  on  the  llth  of  Feb 
ruary.  The  decimation  took  place  by  the  drawing  of  black  and  white  beans 
from  a  small  earthen  mug.  The  white  cnes  signified  exemption,  and  the 
black  death.  One  hundred  and  fifty-nine  white  beans  were  placed  in  tho 
bottom  of  the  mug,  and  seventeen  black  ones  were  placed  upon  the  top  of 
them.  The  beans  were  not  stirred,  and  had  so  slight  a  shake  that  it  was 
perfectly  clear  they  had  not  been  mixed  together.  Such  was  their  anxiety 


OF  AMERICANS.  393 

to  execute  Captain  Cameron,  and  perhaps  the  balance  of  the  officers,  that 
first  Cameron,  and  afterward  they,  were  made  to  draw  a  bean  each,  from  the 
mug  in  this  condition. 

As  the  gallant  Cameron  stepped  up,  he  said,  with  his  usual  coolness  : 
'Well,  boys,  we  have  to  draw;  let's  be  at  it!"  So  saying,  he  thrust  his 
hand  into  the  mug,  and  drew  out  a  white  bean.  Next  came  Colonel  Wm. 
F.  Wilson,  who  was  chained  to  him  ;  then  Captain  Wm.  Ryan,  and  then 
Judge  F.  M.  Gibbon,  all  of  whom  drew  white  beans.  Next  came  Captain 
Eastland,  whc  drew  the  first  black  one,  and  then  followed  the  balance  of 
the  men.  They  all  drew  their  beans  with  that  manly  dignity  and  firmness 
which  showed  them  superior  to  their  condition.  Some  of  lighter  temper 
jested  over  the  bloody  tragedy.  One  would  say,  'Boys,  this  beats  raffling 
all  to  pieces  \'  another,  'This  is  the  tallest  gambling  scrape  I  ever  was  in  !' 
and  such  like  remarks.  None  showed  change  of  countenance  ; — and  as  the 
black  beans  failed  to  depress,  so  did  the  white  fail  to  elate.  The  knocking 
off  the  irons  from  the  unfortunate  alone  told  who  they  were.  Poor  Robert 
Beard,  tying  upon  the  ground  near  by  exceedingly  ill,  and  nearly  exhausted 
from  his  forced  marches  and  sufferings,  called  his  brother  William,  who  was 
bringing  him  a  cup  of  water,  and  said,  'Brother,  if  you  draw  a  black  bean, 
I'll  take  your  place  ;  I  want  to  die.'  The  brother,  with  overwhelming  an 
guish,  replied,  '  No,  I  will  keep  my  own  place  ;  I  am  stronger  and  better 
able  to  die  than  you.'  These  noble  youths  drew  clear,  but  both  soon  after 
died,  leaving  this  last  Roman  legacy  to  their  venerable  parents  in  Texas. 
Several  of  the  Mexican  officers  who  officiated  in  this  cruel  violation  of 
their  country's  faith,  expressed  great  dissatisfaction  thereat,  and  some  wept 
bitterly.  Soon  after,  the  fated  were  placed  in  a  separate  courtyard,  where, 
about  dark,  they  were  executed. 

Several  of  the  men  were  permitted  to  visit  the  unfortunate  previously  to 
the  execution,  to  receive  their  dying  requests.  Poor  Major  Cocke,  when  he 
first  drew  the  fatal  bean,  held  it  up  between  his  fore-finger  and  thumb,  and 
with  a  smile  of  contempt,  said,  •  Boys,  I  told  you  so ;  I  never  failed  in  my 
life  to  draw  a  prize  V  and  then  he  said  to  Judge  Gibson,  'Well,  Judge,  say 
to  my  friends  that  I  died  in  grace  !'  The  judge,  much  affected  at  this  last 
sad  parting,  showed  it  from  his  tears.  The  major  replied,  '  They  only  rob 
me  of  forty  years,'  and  then  sat  down  and  wrote  a  sensible  and  dignified 
letter  of  remonstrance  to  General  Waddy  Thompson,  the  United  States  Min 
ister  in  Mexico  ;  and,  knowing  that  his  remains  would  be  robbed  of  his 
clothes  after  his  death,  drew  off  his  pantaloons,  handed  them  to  his  surviv 
ing  comrades,  and  died  in  his  under-clothes. 

Poor  Henry  Whaling,  a  native  of  Indiana,  and  one  of  Cameron's  best 
fighters,  as  he  drew  his  black  bean,  said,  with  as  bright  a  look  as  ever  lighted 
man's  countenance,  'Well,  they  don't  make  much  off  me,  any  how;  for  I 
know  I  have  killed  twenty-five  of  the  yellow-bellies;'  then  demanding  his 
dinner,  in  a  firm  tone,  he  continued,  'They  shall  not  cheat  me  out  of  it,' — 
and  ate  heartily,  smoked  a  cigar,  and  in  twenty  minutes  after  was  launched 
into  eternity !  The  Mexicans  said  that  this  man  had  the  biggest  heart  of 
any  they  ever  saw.  They  shot  him  fifteen  times  before  he  expired. 

Poor  Tor:ey,  quite  a  youth,  but  in  spirit  a  giant,  said  that  he  was  'per 
fectly  willing  to  meet  his  fate  :  that  for  the  glory  of  his  countrv  he  fought^ 


394:  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

and  for  her  glory  he  was  willing  to  die  ;'  and,  turning  to  the  officer,  said : 
'After  the  battle  of  San  Jacinto,  my  family  took  one  of  your  prisoner 
youths,  raised  and  educated  him,  and  this  is  our  requital.' 

Edward  Este  spoke  of  his  fate  with  the  coolest  indifference,  and  said  that 
he  would  rather  be  shot  than  dragged  along  in  this  manner. 

Cash  said,  'Well,  they  murdered  my  brother  with  Colonel  Fannin,  and 
they  are  about  to  murder  me.' 

J.  L.  Jones  said  to  the  interpreter, '  Tell  the  officer  to  look  upon  men  who 
are  not  afraid  to  die  for  their  country. 

Captain  Eastland  behaved  with  the  most  patriotic  dignity;  he  desired  that 
his  county  should  not  particularly  avenge  his  death,  but  for  her  own  honor 
he  implored  her  never  to  lay  down  her  arms  until  the  most  ample  repara 
tion  and  her  unconditional  freedom  should  be  secured.  He  said,  '  I  know 
that  some  have  thought  me  timid,  but,  thank  God,  death  has  no  terrors  for 
me.' 

Major  Robert  Dunham  said  '  he  was  prepared  to  die,  and  would  to  God 
that  he  had  a  chance  to  do  the  same  thing  over  again  ;  that  he  gloried  in 
the  demonstration  they  had  made,  which  showed  Texans  without  arms  to 
be  more  than  equal  to  Mexicans  with  them.' 

James  Ogden,  with  his  usual  equanimity  of  temper,  smiled  at  his  fate, 
and  said,  '  I  am  prepared.' 

Young  Robert  W.  Harris  behaved  in  the  most  unflinching  manner,  and 
called  upon  his  companions  to  avenge  the  murder,  while  their  flowing  tears 
and  bursting  hearts,  invoking  heaven  for  their  witness,  responded  nobly  to 
the  call. 

They  one  and  all  invoked  their  country  to  do  both  them  and  herself  jus 
tice.  Captain  Cameron,  in  taking  leave  of  these  brave  men,  and  particularly 
of  Turubull,  a  brother  Scotchman,  with  whom  he  had  been  in  many  dan 
gers,  wept  bitterly,  and  implored  the  officers  to  execute  him  and  spare  hig 
men. 

Just  previous  to  the  firing  they  were  bound  together  with  cords,  and  their 
eyes  being  bandaged,  they  were  set  upon  a  log  near  the  wall,  with  their 
backs  to  their  executioners.  They  all  begged  the  officer  to  shoot  them  in 
front,  and  at  a  short  distance  ;  that  '  they  were  not  afraid  to  look  death 
in  the  face.'  This  he  refused,  and,  to  make  his  cruelty  as  refined  as  possi 
ble,  fired  at  several  paces,  and  continued  the  firing  from  ten  to  twelve  min 
utes,  lacerating  arid  mangling  these  heroes  in  a  manner  too  horrible  for  de 
scription. 

The  interpreter,  who  was  permitted  to  remain  with  them  to  the  last,  says 
that  'fifteen  times  they  wounded  that  iroVnerved  soul,  Henry  Whaling;' 
and  it  would  seem  that  Providence  had  a  special  care  in  prolonging  his  ex 
istence,  that  he  might  demonstrate  to  his  enemies  the  national  character 
they  had  to  contend  with  ;  for  he  gritted  his  teeth  at  and  defied  them  in 
terms  of  withering  reproach,  until  they  placed  a  gun  to  his  head  and  blew 
his  brains  against  the  wall.  Such  was  the  effect  of  this  horrible  massacre 
upon  their  own  soldiers,  who  were  stationed  as  a  guard  upon  the  wall  above, 
that  one  of  them  fainted,  and  came  near  falling  over,  but  was  caught  by  his 
comrades.  During  the  martyrdom  of  these  noble  patriots,  the  main  body  of 
the  men  were  separated  from  them  by  a  stone  wall  of  some  fifteen  feet  in 


OF  AMERICANS.  395 

height,  and  heard  their  last  agonized  groans  with  feelings  of  which  it  would 
be  mockery  to  attempt  the  description." 

After  this  horrible  tragedy,  the  main  body  of  the  Texans  were  marched 
on  the  road  to  the  City  of  Mexico,  a  distance  of  five  hundred  miles.  Their 
sufferings  were  dreadful.  Many  died  on  the  journey  ;  others,  too  worn 
down  to  travel,  were  left  in  hospitals  on  the  route,  from  which  miserable 
sinks  few  ever  returned.  Among  the  incidents  of  their  journey,  the  follow 
ing  is  given  by  Green  : 

"After  thirty  days'  march,  they  arrived  at  the  village  of  Huehuetoca, 
seven  leagues  from  the  City  of  Mexico,  where  they  were  all  crowded  to 
gether  in  a  room  too  small  to  admit  of  their  lying  down,  and  into  which  not 
a  breath  of  air  could  enter  when  the  door  was  closed.  In  a  very  little  time 
the  air  became  so  impure,  from  the  exhaustion  of  the  oxygen,  that  the 
candles  went  out,  and  respiration  became  exceedingly  difficult.  The  men 
in  vain  appealed  to  the  guards  at  the  door  to  let  in  fresh  air,  and  when 
death  the  most  cruel  stared  them  wholesale  in  the  face,  as  a  last  alternative, 
they  had  recourse  to  cutting  holes  in  the  door  with  their  pocket-knives, 
and  alternately  breathing  at  these  small  orifices. 

This  was,  indeed,  as  the  Mexican  soldiers  called  it,  la  noclie  triste, — 'the 
sad  night.'  Their  march  of  many  leagues  the  day  before,  through  an  in 
sufferable  dust,  a  burning  sun,  the  want  of  food  and  water,  and  then  at 
night  not  even  space  sufficient  of  the  stone  floor  to  lie  upon,  and  a  suffocat 
ing  atmosphere  to  breathe,  was  not  their  full  measure  of  woe.  About  eight 
o'clock  at  night,  a  menial  murderer,  with  a  pair  of  epaulettes  upon  his 
shjulders,  and  a  guard  of  about  a  dozen  men,  under  broad-brimmed  hats, 
arrived  with  orders  from  the  tyrant,  Santa  Anna,  to  shoot  their  leader,  the 
bold  and  beloved  Captain  Ewin  Cameron. 

The  next  morning,  after  the  men  were  marched  for  the  City  of  Mexico, 
he  was  taken  out  in  the  rear  of  the  village  to  the  place  of  execution.  A 
priest,  the  usual  attendant  of  Mexican  executions,  was  in  waiting,  and  when 
Cameron  was  asked  if  he  wished  to  confess  to  the  father,  he  promptly  an 
swered,  'No!  throughout  life  I  believe  that  I  havo  lived  an  upright  man, 
and  if  I  have  to  confess,  it  shall- be  to  my  Maker.'  His  arms  were  th^n 
tied  with  a  cord  at  the  elbows  and  drawn  back,  and  when  the  guard  a 
vanced  to  bandage  his  eyes,  he  said  to  his  interpreter  :  '  Tell  them,  No ! 
Ewin  Cameron  can  now,  as  he  has  often  before  done  for  the  liberty  of 
Texas,  look  death  in  the  face  without  winking !'  So  saying,  he  threw  his 
hat  and  blanket  upon  the  ground,  opened  the  bosom  of  his  hunting-shirt, 
'presented  his  naked  breast,  and  gave  the  fatal  command — 'Fire  !' " 

Arrived  in  the  City  of  Mexico,  the  major  part  of  the  Texans  were  placed 
at  most  disgusting  employments.  Some  were  driven  forth  into  the  streets 
with  sticks  and  bayonets  by  brutal  overseers,  as  scavengers  of  filth  too  hor 
rible  to  contemplate.  Others,  heavily  ironed,  were  placed  at  work  upon  the 
pavement  in  front  of  the  archbishop's  palace.  Disease  and  death  rapidly 
thinned  their  numbers.  The  survivors,  naked  and  emaciated,  were  eventu 
ally  consigned  to  the  dungeons  of  Perote  and  San  Juan  d'  Ulloa.  Few  of 
them  escaped,  many  died,  and  the  remainder  were  liberated  in  the  laiter 
part  of  the  year  1844,  through  the  intervention  of  Governor  Shannon,  th« 
then  United  States  Minister  in  Mexico. 


;;••;  ADVENTURES   AXD   ACHIEVEMENTS 

A;        -    :.-'..--:    -;.-:.     - :-    -':  -  - :  ;     -.:---,;  -.-;  ..^ 

got  muiy  started  on  their  journey  on  the  morning  of  the  rising  of  the  pris- 
Salado.     They  however  were  fully  apprised  of  the  event  by  the 
of  the  musketry,  and  soon  had  the  plea  i  am  of  seeing  the  Mexi- 
cavahy  and  inmetry  scampering  in  every  direction,  hither  and  thither, 
of  dus*  behind  them.     Then,  after  a  little  pause,  borne  anon 
the  still  memiiig  air,  came  loud  shouts  of  victory  from  the  Texans. 

•At  this  tune."9  says  Green,  "a  lieutenant  came  np  at  full  speed,  with 


to 

This 

to  I*  me;  m::h  coolness  arc 
our  part.  Colonel  Fbher  and  myself  asked  him,  •  if  he  was  most  bound  to 
obey  the  orders  of  Governor  Ortega,  to  take  us  to  Mexico,  or  any  subse 
quent  order  of  Colonel  Bamganr  and  that  we  expected  'we  were  in  the 
hands  of  a  4,1  nlli  mia  and  uaidier,  not  a  murderer.*  His  eyes  were  instantly 
••aiul  to  the  pommel  of  his  saddle,  and  his  countenance  underwent  hesi 
tation,  rhmgr  ami  •atJifaHiou  in  as  many  seconds,  when  he  raised  himself 
in  his  stirrups,  and,  proudly  dapping  his  hand  upon  his  bosom,  ordered  the 
iatapieiu  tosay  tothegcnriiwti.  *tlialU>eTg^ 

and  a  arfrVr,  and  that  /will  carry  out  Governor  Ortega's  orders.'     Thus 

d  toward  Mexico,  and  we  were  forced 


:       :   '        :;       .      ;     -     -  :--     i  f..:i  i.i:     :' 

By  very  rapid  tnvefin^  the  prisoners  reached  San  Lais  Potasi  on  the 
23d,  where  their  number  -was  a«gm€uted  by  sixteen  of  their  companions, 
who,  having  n  miini  il  behind  at  Salado,  wexe  again  taken  into  captivity. 

In  theEr  janrney  through  the  country,  they  were  subjected  to  more  or 
less  of  brctality  from  their  guards  and  from  the  people.  "The  only  ctm- 
jnmitm  we  met,"  says  Green,  "was  in  the  cunnteuaucei  of  the  females.  In 
•my  intercome  with  the  worid,  I  hare  had  frequent  occasion  to  observe  that 
•  !•!•  were  better  than  men  ;  in  Mexico  this  observation  is  forced  upon 

r  -  -"  -  -' . 

^    -         -      -     .          :,    :--  :  ::  :-•=  i  :i  :le  :      -  "  -    - :  T       :    -        ' 


"a  Mexican  officer  asked  us  where  our  musicians  were?     We  an- 

*  We  are  all  musicians  in  Texas.'     'Upon  what  instrument  do  yon 

*  'Upon  the  rifle,'  we  arnueud^when  suddenly  the  mosdes  of 
ould  elongate  fine*  the  pleasant  to  the  most  inexpressible  blank. 

OB  this  and  similar  occasions,  when  we  would  quiz  them—end  we  let  no  op 
portunity  pas  for  so  doing— chey  would  always  come  to  the  conclusion  that 

:*•  been  said  that  'a  Texan  is  born  with  a  rifle  in  his  hand,' and  with 
equal  truth  it  may  be  said,  that  'the  Mexican  is  born  with  a  rope  in  hi*,' 
for  at  every  Mexican  afttlpuwni  we  noticed  the  children,  from  knee  high 
and  upward,  with  little  ropes,  catching  the  ducks  and  chickens.  It  ap 
peared  to  be  their  only  amusement ;  and  they  would  throw  them  with  re 
markable  certainty.  Tne  old  roosters  and  drakes,  that  had  been  often  takes, 
JB  this  manner,  ieemed  to  know  how  use-lew  it  was  to  attempt  escape,  and 
•onVI  squat  to  receive  the  rope  when  they  saw  it  coming.  In  Mexico,  the 


OF  AMERICA  I 


lasso  is  used  for  catching  every  animal,  from  a  wild  bull  to  the 
hill  fowl ;  nor  is  its  use  unknown  in  recruiting  their  'caunuYxrv'  for  the 
army.    Our  comrades  used  to  say,  that  'these  blanketed,  pepper-eating  fel 
low*  would  not  believe  a  thing  was  caught  unless  it  was  done  with  a 
In  about  a  month's  continuous  traveling,  the  party  reached  the 
Castle  of  Perote,  the  place  of  their  destii 

miles  east  of  the  City  of  Mexico,  on  the  road  to  Vera  Crux.  They 
in  by  a  winding  entrance,  crossed  a  drawbridge  over  the  great  moat,  and 
passed  through  an  archway  into  a  large  plaza  in  front  of  the  prisouenf  quar 
ters.  The  bugle's  Wast,  the  roll  of  drums,  and  the  din  of  anus  and  the 
clank  of  chains,  which  then  saluted  their  ears,  opened  their  eyes  to  the 
reality  of  imprisonment.  There  they  met>  in  rag*  and  chains,  fifty  of  their 
coum'rymen,  who  had  been  kidnapped  front  their  homes  in  Bexar,  Texas. 
early  in  the  preceding  autumn. 

The  Castle  of  Perote  is  celebrated  in  Mexican  history.  It  is  built  in  an 
elevated  valley  between  mountains  in  the  vicinity  of  the  lofty  Orazabo,  with 
its  beautiful  conical  peak  rising  to  the  heavens  and  crowned  with  perpetual 
snow.  Although  one  hundred  miles  from  the  coast,  it  is  seen  from  vessels 
far  out  at  sea,  long  before  the  intervening  low-lands  rise  in  view.  The 
nearness  of  the  castle  to  the  snow-covered  mountains,  its  altitude,  and  ill 
ehadei  position  such  that  the  sun's  rays  reach  it  but  for  a  few  boors  in  the 
day,  renders  it  an  extremely  cold  place.  It  is  quadrangular  in  fen,  and 
occupies  about  rwenty-sx  acres  of  ground.  It  is  built  principally  of  vol 
canic  stone.  The  main  wall  is  sixty  feet  in  height.  Within  it  is  a  ditch 
or  moat  some  twenty  feet  in  depth  and  two  hundred  feet  in  width.  Inside 
of  the  moat  are  the  main  buildings,  containing  soldiers'  barracks,  work 
shops,  stables,  cells  for  the  prisoners,  etc.  The  center  is  a  paved  courtyard 
or  plaza,  five  hundred  feet  square,  used  as  a  military  parade-ground.  The 
walls  are  defended  by  eighty  pieces  of  artillery.  The  whole  works  were 
the  labor  of  many  years,  and  cost  several  millions  of  dollars;  and  but  for 
the  late  improvements  in  the  art  of  war  it  would  be  impregnable.  Such  is 
the  great  prison-house  of  Mexico,  in  which  many  a  Texan,  after  dwindling 
out  a  miserable  existence  in  chains  and  slavery,  in  rags  and  hunger,  has  at 
last  perished,  far  from  home  and  friends. 

Before  the  prisoners  jrere  ironed,  they  had  the  privilege  of  walking  about 
certain  parts  of  the  castle  for  three  days.  The  time  was  well  spent  in  ex 
amining  the  place,  estimating  its  strength,  etc.  Near  the  cells  occupied  by 
the  Bexar  men  were  the  rooms  of  the  Mexican  chain-gang,  convicts  guilty 
of  every  species  of  crime,  and  almost  without  an  exception  sunk  to  the  very 
lowest  depths  of  human  degradation.  One  of  these  fellows  boasted  that 
"it  was  the  fourth  time  he  had  been  imprisoned  for  rape,  and  it  would  ROC 
be  the  last  ;»  another,  clapping  his  hand  upon  his  breast,  in  the  proudest 
tone,  said,  "I  am  no  ladnme  (thief);  I  am  placed  here  for  murder!0  In 
Mexico,  murder  is  considered  more  honorable  than  theft,  though  the  ma 
jority  would  steal  the  value  of  a  pin.  The  moat  genteel  man  among  these 
convicts  was  in  for  killing  a  priest,  who  was  caught  kissing  his  wise,  fie 
had  been  in  good  circumstances,  but  in  killing  a  priest,  such  was  the  influ 
ence  of  the  church,  that  all  his  money  could  not  save  him.  His  wife  fol 
lowed  him  to  prison,  with  a  devotion  not 


398  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

Mexico.  He  was  a  tall,  graceful  man,  about  thirty-five  years  of  age,  and 
his  keen  black  eye  and  Roman  nose  bespoke  a  temper  fierce  as  a  lion  ;  not 
did  they  belie  him.  His  first  act  in  chains  was  to  beat  one  of  the  turnkeys 
severely  for  treating  him  as  if  he  were  merely  a  common  prisoner. 

"  Jn  the  next  room,"  says  Green,  "and  to  the  right  of  our  Bexar  prison 
ers,  myself  and  fifteen  companions  of  the  Mier  men  were  lodged.  At  six 
o'clock  in  the  evening,  all  the  prisoners  were  counted  and  turned  into  their 
respective  cells,  where  they  remained  until  six  the  next  morning,  when  the 
doo'rs  were  again  opened.  At  nine  o'clock,  we  were,  as  usual,  counted,  and 
turned  over  to  the  officer  of  the  new  guard  ;  at  which  time  our  men  were 
made  first  to  take  the  filth  out  of  the  castle  in  handbarrows,  and  after  that 
to  pack  in  stone  and  sand  to  repair  the  fortification.  The  stone  they  had  to 
pack  from  over  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  mountain  ;  the  sand  a  shorter 
distance.  In  the  performance  of  this  labor,  our  men,  being  chained  in 
pairs  by  the  ankle  with  large  log-chains,  and  only  about  four  feet  between 
them,  had  to  walk  very  close  together,  and  on  each  hand  was  a  file  of 
guards  with  fixed  bayonets  to  keep  them  in  order. 

At  nine  o'clock  of  the  fourth  day  after  our  incarceration,  the  Mier  men 
were  ordered  to  stand  aside  to  receive  their  chains,  a  full  tun  of  which  had 
been  brought  out  and  laid  in  a  heap,  with  a  corresponding  quantity  of  cum 
brous,  rudely-made  clevises  to  fit  around  the  ankles.  Here  stood  the  fat 
old  officer  in  charge,  a  Captain  Gozeman,  who,  from  the  immense  protuber 
ance  of  his  abdominal  region,  our  boys  dubbed  'Old  Guts.'  This  genius 
was  exceedingly  civil  at  times.  He  desired  Colonel  Fisher  and  myself  to 
make  choice  of  our  chain  ;  but,  if  fact,  there  was  no  choice  between  them, 
the  lightest  weighing  about  twenty  pounds — and,  even  if  there  had  been 
any  difference,  neither  of  us  was  in  a  temper  to  make  the  choice.  I  felt 
that  placing  those  irons  upon  me  would  make  Mexico  greatly  my  debtor, 
which  some  day  I  would  cancel  with  most  usurious  interest.  We  held  out 
each  a  foot,  the  one  a  right  and  the  other  a  left,  and  the  son  of  Vulcan  riv 
eted  us  together,  as  though  we  had  been  a  pair  of  unbroken  oxen  just  being 
introduced  to  the  yoke.  It  is  the  habit  of  soldiers,  in  walking  together,  to 
step  at  the  same  time  with  their  right  feet,  and  then  with  their  left;  but 
these  chains  subverted  this  well-established  and  strictly-observed  custom, 
as,  one  being  chained  by  the  right  and  the  other  by  the  left  ankle,  those 
even  and  odd  had  to  move  together,  or  they  would  pay  the  penalty  by  a 
severe  jerk.  Colonel  Fisher  and  myself  being  first  ironed,  we  laughed  at 
the  'jewelry,'  as  the  boys  called  the -chains,  but  it  was  the  laugh  of  a  con 
suming  vengeance.  "We  started  to  our  cells,  and  upon  reaching  our  apart 
ment,  we  looked  out  for  the  means  of  breaking  so  large  a  chain.  Texans 
are  a  most  ingenious  people,  and  are  usually  equal  to  the  emergency. — We 
soon  found  means  to  accomplish  our  purpose. 

'Our  companions,  in  turn,  were  all  ironed,  and  many  were  the  devices  they 
resorted  to  in  order  to  free  themselves  from  their  chains  when  not  in  the 
presence  of  the  officers.  In  that  horribly  cold  place,  sleeping  upon  the  cold 
pavement,  and  with  the  still  colder  iron  for  your  bedfellow,  is  no  very  en 
viable  situation.  Some  would  bribe  the  blacksmith  to  make  them  leaden 
instead  of  iron  rivets,  which,  when  blackened  with  charcoal,  had  much  tho 
appearance  of  iron,  while  they  could  be  easily  taken  out  and  re  headed 


OF  AMERICANS.  399 

One  medio  would  buy  a  leaden  rivet;  and  for  some  time  this  ruse\vas  prac 
ticed.  Frequently,  however,  when  the  officers  would  enter  our  cells,  they 
would  find  our  comrades  without  chains,  and  as  suddenly  every  fellow 
would  jump  to  his  'jewelry,'  and  clamp  it  on  with  a  magic  celerity,  which 
entirely  bewildered  the  senses  of  the  officers,  and  then  as  suddenly  put  on 
a  demure,  inoffensive  countenance,  after  the  manner  of  school-boys  cutting 
up  their  juvenile  antics  upon  the  sudden  appearance  of  the  pedagogue. 
Our  old  friend  with  the  large  corporation,  after  much  fretting  about  our  not 
wearing  the  'jewelry,'  told  the  governor  'that  it  would  take  as  many  black 
smiths  to  keep  us  ironed  as  there  were  Texans  in  the  castle.' " 

Fisher  and  Green  being  officers  were  excused  from  labor.  The  time, 
however,  passed  heavily,  and  the  coldness  of  their  quarters  and  the  want  of 
proper  food  so  affected  their  health,  that  the  surgeon  ordered  their  irons  to 
be  taken  off,  when  they  had  full  liberty  to  walk  about  the  castle  uncon 
trolled.  The  anniversary  of  the  battle  of  San  Jacinto  approaching,  the 
prisoners  made  preparations  to  celebrate  the  event.  They  purchased  a  few 
gallons  of  vino  mascal,  a  quantity  of  ass's  milk,  and  several  dozens  of  eggs, 
and  such  egg-nogg  was  compounded  "as  never  before  was  seen  or  drank 
under  the  nineteenth  degree  of  north  latitude.  We  went  around  to  the 
prison  rooms,  and  summoned  all  hands  to  attend  the  thanksgiving.  When 
these  noble  fellows  stood  round  the  bowl  in  rags,  with  their  'jewelry'  riv 
eted  upon  their  ankles,  brought  up  and  tied  around  the  waist  with  a  cord 
hanging  in  a  graceful  festoon  between  each  pair,  the  sight  filled  my  heart  to 
overflowing.  Though  the  body  was  oppressed,  they  looked  like  caged 
lions,  and  every  face  bespoke  the  invincible  spirit  of  a  freeman." 

Various  toasts  were  drank  amid  cheers  and  songs.  Daniel  Drake  Henrie 
gave  his  best  ditties  with  unusual  eloquence — "  Long,  long  Ago,"  "  The  Sol 
dier's  Tear,"  etc.  "Thus,"  continues  Green,  "we  were  getting  along  swim 
mingly,  when  our  liberty-shouts  rose  high  above  the  walls  of  the  prison, 
and  alarmed  our  keepers.  They  supposed  that  we  intended  to  swallow 
them  and  take  the  castle.  When  our  fat  captain  came  round  with  the  guard 
to  know  the  cause  of  the  riot,  we  told  him  it  was  a  mode  we  had  in  our 
country  of  celebrating  our  saints'  days,  and  hoped  he  would  not  disturb  us 
in  our  worship,  as  we  did  not  disturb  him  in  his.  He  replied,  '  BUCKO, 
senorj — Very  well,  sir, — and  started,  when  we  gave  the  wink  to  Trimble. 
Upon  this,  Trimble  squared  himself,  rolled  his  eyes  over  in  their  sockets, 
twisted  his  head  'clean  round'  on  his  shoulders,  and  gave  a  whoop  that  beat 
the  best  of  owls." 

The  prisoners  were  very  much  troubled  with  vermin.  The  first  business 
of  the  morning  was  louse-hunting.  Usually  several  dozen  of  these  dis 
gusting  vermin  were  discovered  upon  each  of  the  men.  At  times,  when 
one  of  these  animals  showed  himself  particularly  fleet  on  foot,  he  was  cap 
tured  and  saved  for  the  races — for  the  Texans  soon  fell  into  the  customs  of 
the  place.  Says  Green:  "This  very  delicate  pursuit  of  louse-racing  has 
V>ng  been  known  in  Mexican  prisons  as  one  of  the  very  few  amusements  of 
those  dull  regions.  The  races  come  off  in  the  following  manner  :  The 
Mexican  prisoners  draw  a  circle  upon  a  beef's  hide  about  eighteen  inches  in 
diameter,  inside  of  which  they  draw  a  smaller  one,  and  in  the  center  of  this 
they  make  a  holy  cross— even  to  this  vile  purpose  is  that  emblem  of  purity 


400  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

prostituted  !  The  racers  are  placed  on  the  outside  of  the  inner  ring,  and 
the  one  that  first  crosses  the  double  ring,  and  arrives  at  the  holy  goal,  wins 
the  stakes.  We  have  witnessed  the  most  ludicrous  scenes  around  these 
pools. 

As  the  tiny  animals  start,  their  owners  become  as  much  excited,  doubt 
less,  as  those  of  Fashion  and  Boston  at  their  great  race.  They  jump  and 
climb  over  each  other  to  get  a  better  view  :  it  is,  '  Hurra  for  the  white,'  and 
'  Well  done  for  the  red,'  and  many  such  expressions,  accompanied  with  the 
most  antic  capers,  each  countenance  being  expressive  of  different  degrees  of 
hope  and  despair,  according  to  the  locality  of  their  respective  coursers. 
On  these  funny  occasions,  we  have  stood  off  to  watch  the  countenances  of 
the  parties  interested,  and  have  witnessed  grimaces  which  would  have 
shaken  the  pencil  from  the  hand  of  Hogarth.  The  only  thing  comparable 
to  it  are  the  negroes  around  a  cock -pit,  on  a  Whitsuntide  in  North  Carolina 
or  Virginia,  a  festival  of  ancient  fashion  in  those  good  old  States,  where  the 
negroes  are  as  free  of  constraint  as  were  the  slaves  of  Rome  on  their 
Saturnalia. 

The  Texan  prisoners  thus  simplified  this  mode  of  racing  :  they  drew  a 
charcoal  circle  upon  a  plank,  in  the  center  of  which  the  racers  were  turned 
loose,  at  a  given  signal,  and  the  one  that  'first  crosses  the  black  ring  is  the 
winner.' " 

Green,  growing  wearied  with  confinement,  and  fully  imbued  with  the 
great  American  desire,  i.  e..,  to  improve  his  condition,  determined  to  escape  or 
perish  in  the  attempt.  The  project  required  caution,  coolness,  and  calcula 
tion.  He  made  known  his  determination  to  Captain  Reese,  who  agreed  to 
join  him  in  the  enterprise.  Their  first  plan  was  to  escape  by  scaling  the 
walls,  and  they  had  all  their  arrangements  perfected  to  that  end,  when  they 
learned  that  in  one  of  the  prison  rooms  which  contained  ttiirty-six  of  their 
countrymen,  a  few  lion-hearted  fellows  had  determined  also  to  make  the 
attempt.  They  had  commenced  the  operation  of  going  through  an  eight 
feet  wall ;  Green  and  Reese  thought  it  best  to  join  them,  and  all  escape  to 
gether.  Green  says  : 

"  Our  arched  cells  were  twenty  feet  wide  by  seventy  long,  with  a  door  at 
one  end  opening  in  the  castle,  and  a  loophole  at  the  other  opening  upon 
the  outside,  underneath  which  is  the  great  moat.  This  loophole  is  a  small 
aperture,  upon  the  outside  about  four  by  twelve  inches,  and  gradually 
widening  through  the  eight  feet  wall  upon  the  inside  to  about  two  feet. 
Could  we  have  jfursued  this  aperture  by  widening  it,  our  labor  would  have 
been  less ;  but  soon  we  found,  from  the  hard  character  of  the  stones,  and 
the  secure  fastenings  immediately  around  the  hole,  difficulties  which,  with 
our  poor  means  of  operating,  were  impossible  to  surmount.  We  conse 
quently  struck  off  to  the  left,  leaving  these  difficulties  entirely  to  our  right, 
and  prepared  to  bore  through  the  solid  masonry. 

To  avoid  discovery,  both  from  the  sentinel  at  the  door  and  the  officers 
when  they  came  in  the  room  upon  inspection,  a  careless  rap  upon  the  door 
or  post  by  our  lookout  man,  was  sufficient  for  our  operator  in  the  hole  to  lie 
low.  These  men  engaged  in  the  work  alternately,  as  only  one  at  a  time 
could  operate,  and  he  was  secreted  by  the  shutter  inclosing  the  loophole, 
and  blankets  carefully  hung  about  it.  The  labor  was  extremely  tiresome* 


OF  AMERICANS.  401 

as  the  hole  had  to  be  made  horizontally  through  the  wall,  and  consequently 
required  the  operator  to  lay  upon  his  abdomen,  and  rest  upon  his  elbows, 
which  position,  after  a  few  hours,  became  very  painful.  After  making  his 
tour,  he  would  gather  up  the  fragments  of  stone  and  mortar  which  his  labor 
had  detached,  and  bury  them  under  some  loose  stone  and  brick  in  the  floor. 
As  the  quantity  thus  buried  would  raise  the  pavement  too  high,  it  would  be 
taken  out  under  our  blankets,  and  emptied  into  the  co^fiun — privy. 

The  tools  with  which  we  operated  were  narrow,  inferior  carpenter's  chis 
els — the  Mexican  tools  were  generally  of  an  inferior  kind,  which  our  car 
penters  would  bring  from  the  shop.  As  a  water-drip  will  wear  away  the 
hardest  granite,  so  the  breach  in  the  wall,  in  the  course  of  a  few  weeks, 
gradually  grew  deeper  under  our  incessant  labor.  This  work  was  princi 
pally  accomplished  by  drilling  holes  into  the  stone  and  mortar  with  a  chisel 
and  prying  off  small  pieces  ;  and  frequently,  after  a  day's  hard  labor,  not 
more  than  a  hatful  could  be  disengaged.  The  greatest  difficulty,  however, 
was,  that  as  the  hole  grew  deeper,  it  grew  smaller,  and  the  position  of  the 
operator  rendered  it  next  to  impossible  to  avoid  this  difficulty  ;  so  that  when 
the  hole  reached  the  outside  of  the  wall,  it  had  a  funnel  shape,  the  outer 
end  being  reduced  to  teri  by  fourteen  inches.  On  the  first  day  of  July,  the 
hole  had  been  drilled  down  to  a  thin  shell  on  the  outer  side,  which  could 
be  easily  burst  out,  after  the  final  preparation  was  made  for  leaving. 

For  some  weeks  previous  to  our  escape,  those  who  intended  to  go  were 
busily  engaged,  every  safe  opportunity,  in  completing  their  arrangements — 
fixing  their  knapsacks,  saving  all  the  bread  they  could  procure,  laying  aside 
every  cent  to  purchase  fat  bacon  and  chocolate.  We  considered  it  impru 
dent  to  start  with  less  than  two  weeks'  rations  each,  as  we  calculated  to  be 
all  of  that  time  in  the  mountains  before  venturing  into  a  settlement  to  re 
plenish  our  stores. 

It  was  considered  the  safest  plan,  after  getting  out  of  the  castle,  to  pair 
off,  and  not  more  than  two  or  three  go  together,  as,  the  smaller  the  com 
pany,  the  more  easily  they  could  secrete  themselves,  the  whole  not  being 
sufficent  to  carry  on  either  offensive  or  defensive  operations  to  advantage. 
Under  this  arrangement,  I  had  selected  Dan.  Drake  Henrie,  mainly  on  ac 
count  of  his  speaking  the  language  of  the  country. 

Several,  who  had  previously  determined  to  come,  from  prudential  mo 
tives,  now  declined  it,  as  they  considered,  and  very  rghtly,  that  getting 
through  the  walls  of  the  prison  was  the  least  difficult  part  of  the  undertak 
ing.  To  escape  several  hundred  miles  through  an  enemy's  country,  speak 
ing  an  unknown  tongue,  was  a  difficulty  which  could  not  be  too  cautiously 
weighed.  If  retaken,  all  calculated  to  be  shot ;  and  we  farther  calculated 
the  chances  of  success  greatly  against  reaching  our  country  in  safety. 

Knowing  President  Santa  Anna's  personal  hostility  to  myself,  and  believ 
ing  that  all  he  wanted  was. some  reasonable  pretext  for  having  me  shot,  I 
believed  it  was  worth  my  life  to  be  recaptured,  and  the  chances  of  escaping 
were  ten  to  one  against  me.  Sixteen  of  our  number  finally  determined  to 
make  the  effort. 

I  left  a  note  upon  my  table  for  President  Santa  Anna,  in  which  I  stated, 
that,  'not  having  been  trusted  upon  my  parole,  which  neither  the  love  of  life 
nor  fear  of  death  could  have  induced  me  to  forfeit,  and  the  climate  of  Perote 


402  ADVENTURES    AND    ACHIEVEMENTS 

not  suiting  my  health,  I  should,  for  the  present,  retire  to  one  in  Texas  more 
congenial  to  my  feelings.' 

At  half  past  five  o'clock,  I  took  leave  of  my  friends,  and  a  sad  parting  it 
was.  Most  of  those  who  remained,  believed  it  was  a  voluntary  sacrifice  ol 
ourselves,  and  few  believed  it  possible  for  us  to  escape.  I  never  shall  for 
get  that  hour.  As  we  grasped  each  other's  hands,  many  believing  it  for  the 
last  time,  the  big  tear  filled  the  eyes  of  those  brave  men,  and  they  wished 
me  success  with  an  utterance  which  showed  their  hearts  were  overflowing. 

At  six  o'clock,  we  heard  the  turnkey,  with  his  ugly  load  of  securities 
clanking  their  dull  music  to  the  blast  of  many  bugles  in  the  great  plaza.  It 
was  a  moment  of  intense  excitement,  as  a  discovery  of  one  man  out  of  his 
place  would  blowup  the  whole  plot.  At  seven  o'clock,  we  commenced  our 
final  preparations  before  emerging  from  the  room.  This  was  to  remove  the 
shell  of  the  wall  yet  upon  the  outside,  then  to  make  one  end  of  the  rope 
fast  inside  of  the  room,  and  pass  it  through,  by  which  we  would  have  to  let 
ourselves  down  to  the  bottom  of  the  moat.  When  this  was  done,  it  was 
found  that  the  breach  was  too  small  upon  the  outside  to  admit  of  any  but 
the  smallest  of  our  men  passing  through  it ;  and  it  required  two  hours' 
hard  work  to  scale  some  pieces  of  stone  and  mortar  from  one  side  of  it,  so 
as  to  permit  the  larger  ones  to  pass.  This  required  until  nine  o'clock. 

All  things  being  now  ready,  John  Too  wig  first  got  into  the  breach,  and, 
feet  foremost,  drawing  his  bundle  after  him,  inch  by  inch,  squeezed  out, 
and  let  himself  down,  hand  over  hand,  about  thirty  feet,  to  the  bottom  of 
the  moat.  The  depth  and  smallness  of  the  hole  rendered  this  operation 
exceeding  slow.  Another  and  another  followed,  and  at  half  past  twelve, 
after  three  and  a  half  hours'  hard  labor,  all  of  the  sixteen  had  safely  landed. 

I  found  much  difficulty  in  passing  through,  though  I  was  now  reduced 
from  one  hundred  and  sixty  pounds,  my  usual  weight,  to  one  hundred  and 
twenty.  The  gradual  funnel  shape  of  the  breach  made  it  like  driving  a 
pin  into  an  augur-hole,  for  the  deeper  we  went,  the  closer  the  fit.  The 
smallest  of  us  having  gone  through  first,  for  fear  that  the  largest  might 
hang  in  the  hole  and  stop  it  up,  it  now  came  to  Stone's  turn,  who  was  a 
lirge  man.  He  hung  fast,  and  could  neither  get  backward  nor  forward.  In 
this  situation,  being  wedged  in  as  fast  as  his  giant  strength  could  force  him, 
our  friends  on  the  inside  of  the  room,  who  had  been  assisting  us,  had  to 
tie  ropes  to  his  hands,  and  draw  him  back.  This  operation  was  very  like 
drawing  his  arms  out  of  his  body,  but  did  not  satisfy  him.  'I  have  a  \ufe 
and  children  at  home,'  said  he,  'and  I  would  rather  die  than  stay  hero  any 
longer:  I  will  go  through,  or  leave  no  skin  on  my  bones.'  So  saying,  he 
disrobed  himself:  his  great  exertion,  causing  him  to  perspire  freely,  an 
swered  nearly  as  well  for  the  second  effort  as  if  he  had  been  greased,  and 
he  went  through  after  the  most  powerful  labor,  leaving  both  skin  and  flesh 
behind. 

John  Young,  if  anything,  was  a  larger  man  than  Stone,  but  was  much 
his  junior  in  years  ;  he  was  as  supple  as  a  snake,  and  no  Roman  gladiator 
ever  exhibited  more  perfectly-formed  muscles;  nor  was  his  determined  tem 
per  in  bad  keeping  with  his  physical  conformation.  He  was  the  last  who 
came  out;  and  while  the  balance  of  us  sat  under  the  side  of  the  wall,  we 
feared  that  it  would  be  impossible  for  him  to  get  through.  Presently,  with 


OF  AMERICANS.  403 

the  aid  of  a  dim  sky  above  us,  we  saw  his  feet  slowly  protruding,  then  his 
knees,  and  when  he  came  to  his  hip-joints,  here  for  many  minutes  he  hung 
fast.  When  this  part  of  his  body  was  cleared,  the  angular  use  of  his  Knees 
gave  him  additional  purchase  to  work  by;  but  still  our  boys  said,  'Poor 
fellow  !  it  will  be  hardly  possible  for  him  to  get  his  muscular  arms  and 
shoulders  through.'  We  sat  under  him  in  an  agony  of  feeling  not  to  be 
described,  while  he  ceased  not  his  efforts.  His  body  was  now  cleared  to  his 
shoulders,  but  still  he  hung  fast.  Having  the  full  purchase  of  his  legs,  he 
would  writhe,  first  up  and  down,  and  then  from  side  to  side,  with  herculean 
strength  ;  and  when  he  disengaged  himself,  if  it  was  not  like  the  drawing 
of  a  cork  from  a  porter-bottle,  it  was  with  the  low,  sullen,  determined  growl 
of  a  lion." 

As  the  castle  bell  tolled  half  past  twelve,  the  whole  party  were  in  the 
open  common  outside  of  the  castle.  Here  they  divided  into  pairs,  and 
after  shaking  hands  and  wishing  each  other  good  luck,  they  separated,  each 
pair  endeavoring  to  make  the  best  way  it  could  to  the  country  a  thousand 
miles  distant  on  the  other  side  of  the  Eio  Grande. 

Colonel  Green  and  "Dan"  (Dan.  Drake  Henrie)  started  in  the  direction 
of  Vera  Cruz,  following  on  the  main  road.  In  about  an  hour  they  were 
overtaken  by  Reese  and  Toowig,  and  the  four  kept  on  in  company.  Near 
daylight,  they  left  the  road,  and  for  safety  turned  off  to  the  right  and  made 
for  the  mountains.  In  a  short  time  they  had  ascended  so  far.  as  to  leave  all 
tho  settlements  far  below.  At  daybreak,  they  selected  a  dark  cove  and 
laid  down  to  rest.  Just  before  sundown,  they  started  again  and  traveled  all 
night,  and  the  next  morning  again  stopped  to  rest  through  the  day.  This 
course  was  followed  for  several  days. 

With  the  assistance  of  a  map  and  pocket  compass,  they  ascertained  their 
general  course,  but  the  almost  bottomless  ravines  and  inaccessible  moun 
tains  succeeded  so  rapidly  that  their  progress  was  slow  and  fatiguing  beyond, 
all  expression.  It  was  in  the  midst  of  the  rainy  season,  and  they  were  wet 
continually,  which,  in  the  lofty  altitude  they  were  traveling,  occasioned  in 
tense  suffering  from  the  cold.  The  rain,  too,  made  the  sides  of  the  moun 
tains  almost  as  slippery  as  soap.  Weak  from  their  long  confinement  in 
prison,  and  sore  and  stiff  from  cold  and  rains,  they  frequently  slipped  and 
fell  with  great  violence.  One  dark  night,  they  had  a  most  narrow  escape, 
which  Green  thus  details  : 

"Our  course  was  over  an  excessively  broken  country,  alternate  mountains 
and  valleys  of  exceeding  height  and  fearful  depth.  Briers,  thornbushes, 
and  sharp  stones  impeded  our  progress,  and  made  the  labor  of  the  foremost 
much  the  most  difficult.  Accordingly,  we  alternately  took  the  lead.  When 
it  came  to  my  turn  to  lead,  we  fell  into  a  path  comparatively  level,  which 
we  pursued  several  hundred  yards,  carefully  keeping  the  end  of  my  walk 
ing-stick  always  ahead  of  me  about  two  feet,  feeling  the  way.  At  length  I 
felt  no  bottom,  and  from  habit  stopped  as  quick  as  thought,  not  making  an 
other  step,  at  the  same  time  speaking  to  my  companions  behind  to  halt. 
Stooping  down  where  I  stood,  with  my  walking-cane  I  reached  as  far  as  my 
arm  would  allow,  but  still  I  found  no  bottom  ;  and,  after  laying  down  and 
straining  our  eyes,  we  discovered  the  appearance  of  tree-tops  far  below  us. 
Changing  our  course,  we  felt  our  way  down  a  steep  descent  of  at  least  one 
26 


4:04:  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

mile  to  a  valley,  the  creek  through  which  washed  the  base  of  the  danger 
ous  precipice  we  had  just  escaped.  How  inscrutable  are  the  ways  of  Prov 
ider  je  I  One  step  more,  myself,  then  Reese,  and  then  Dan  would  have 
fallsn  a  thousand  feet ! — for  no  alarm  from  the  foremost  would  have  reached 
the  next — leaving  no  one  on  earth  a  knowledge  of  our  destiny  !" 

When  they  looked  back  upon  their  narrow  escape,  they  likened  it  to 
the  "Valley  of  Death."  Daylight  found  them  again,  as  usual,  lying  under 
their  wet  blankets  in  some  thick  bushes.  From  the  distance  and  general 
course  traveled,  they  believed  themselves  not  far  from  the  City  of  Jalapa, 
The  next  night  they  heard  the  ringing  of  the  city  bells.  Having  understood 
that  the  city  lay  in  a  valley  between  two  mountains,  which  were  then 
plainly  discernible  in  the  light  moonlight,  they  understood  for  the  first 
time  their  precise  locality. 

At  first  they  thought  to  avoid  the  city  by  leaving  it  to  the  right ;  but  the 
more  they  tried  to  avoid  it,  the  thicker  seemed  the  settlements — so  they 
concluded  to  enter  the  town  and  play  their  game  boldly.  By  Indian  file 
they  passed  up  one  street  and  down  another,  under  their  broad-brimmed 
ranchero  hats,  their  shoulders  covered  by  their  blankets.  To  the  frequent 
"quien  viva"  of  the  sentinels  they  made  no  reply,  but  continued  silently 
on.  The  town  was  swarming  with  dogs,  which,  as  if  knowing  they  were 
strangers,  kept  up  a  continual  barking  as  they  moved  on.  At  daylight  they 
secreted  themselves  on  an  insulated  conical  mound  of  several  hundred  feet 
in  height  in  the  outskirts  of  the  city,  where  they  remained  all  day  hid  in 
the  weeds.  At  dusk,  they  again  went  into  the  town  and  took  up  their 

quarters  with  an  old  and  faithfully  tested  Mexican,  Don .     As  they 

-entered  his  house,  they  found  his  good  senora  preparing  a  warm  supper, 
•"with,  a  most  delightful  toddy  mixed."  Our  narrator  continues  : 

"Here  we  remained  five  days,  and  were  treated  with  a  kindness  by  these 
good  people  we  never  shall  forget.  Mexican  women  are  kind-hearted  to  a 
•degree,  which  makes  their  goodness  contrast  singularly  with  the  vices  of 
the  men.  Our  feet  and  legs  were  bathed  and  poulticed  ;  and  we  sent  out 
and  purchased  good  shoes,  and  all  the.  paraphernalia  of  the  mountain  ran- 
diero,  preparatory  to  our  farther  journey.  At  ten  o'clock  of  the  sixth  night, 
the  Don  said  to  us,  'Prepare  to  follow  me,  and  ask  no  questions.'  We  did 
so,  and  he  led  us  through  the  city  into  a  dark  valley  about  two  miles  off; 
where,  after  telling  us  to  hide  in  the  bushes,  he  went  about  one  hundred 
yards  farther  down  the  hollow,  and  bringing  a  shrill  whistle,  a  tall,  well- 
made,  active  man,  about  thirty-five  years  of  age  came  to  him.  A  very  few 
words  passed  between  them,  they  having  been  together  the  night  previous, 
and  perfected  all  arrangements.  The  moon  shone  bright ;  they  came  in 
the  direction  of  where  we  were  concealed  in  the  shade  of  some  bushes,  and 
called  to  us  to  come  forth.  'This  man,'  said  the  Don,  'you  must  follow — 
but  ask  no  questions.  My  express  ahead  will  complete  ever}'  arrangement 
for  you  in  Vera  Cruz,  and  be  under  no  alarm  as  to  the  result — this  man 
knows  his  business.'  Both  the  place  and  circumstances  wore  much  the  air 
of  mystery  :  it  looked  like  'treason,  stratagem,'  and  murder;  and  to  our 
question,  '  Might  not  this  fellow  betray  us  for  the  reward  ?'  'No,'  said  the 
Don;  'I  have  looked  to  that.  'He,'  pointing  to  our  conductor,  'is  the 
most  noted  robber  and  murderer  in  Mexico,  and  is  in  more  danger  of  losing 


OF  AMERICANS.  405 

his  head  than  you.  He  dare  not  show  himself  to  the  authorities.'  Thus 
saying,  we  took  affectionate  leave  of  the  generous  Don,  he  returning  to  the 
city,  and  we  following  our  silent  conductor  down  the  hollow. 

Silently,  in  single  file,  we  moved  on  ;  and  in  a  disfnal-looking  place,  in  a 
second  ravine,  we  came  upon  his  companion,  holding  by  the  bridle  five 
mules  and  horses.  A  whistle  and  the  answer  told  that  all  was  right.  The 
head  man  placed  a  bridle  into  each  of  our  hands  without  saying  a  word, 
then  drew  from  his  goat-skin  bag  a  bottle,  out  of  which  he  drank,  to  satisfy 
us  that  it  was  not  poison,  and  passed  it  to  us — we  all  drank  and  returned  it. 
Stowing  it  carefully  away,  he  turned  to  the  east,  and  placing  the  fore-finger 
of  his  right  hand  perpendicularly  across  his  lips,  which  was  a  caution  fof 
silence,  pointed  in  the  direction  he  faced,  and  gave  the  sign  to  mount.  We 
mounted,  and  followed  on  a  narrow  winding  path,  leading  through  deep  ra 
vines  and  broken  cliffs,  until  daylight,  not  one  word  passing  between  us 
during  this  long  ride.  At  the  appearance  of  day  he  turned  off  the  trail, 
and  went  into  the  hollow  of  a  mountain  covered  with  thick  shrubbery. 
Here  he  dismounted,  and  giving  us  the  sign,  we  did  the  same.  Placing  by 
our  side  his  goat-skin  bags  filled  with  provisions  and  a  gourd  of  water,  ho 
told  us  that  night,  precisely  at  eight  o'clock,  he  would  return,  and  we  must 
answer  a  particular  whistle,  which  he  then  made.  So  saying,  he  and  his 
comrades  led  away  the  horses  and  mules.  After  eating,  we  laid  ourselves 
upon  the  ground,  and  slept  soundly  until  near  night. 

At  eight  o'clock  p.  M.,  we  heard  the  preconcerted  whistle,  and  answered 
it,  when  our  robber  guide  approached,  with  the  never-failing  caution  of  his 
fore-finger  across  his  lips.  He  made  the  sign  to  follow,  which  we  did,  and 
after  winding  through  a  very  rough  tract  for  about  a  mile,  another  whistle 
and  its  response  discovered  to  us  his  companion  holding  our  animals. 

At  the  given  sign  we  mounted,  and  followed  this  night,  as  we  had  done 
the  last,  under'that  dead  silence,  which  made  our  journey  the  more  oppres 
sive.  Our  rugged  and  winding  way  through  the  mountains,  which  caused 
us  frequently,  in  the  same  hour,  to  travel  to  every  point  of  the  compass, 
showed  that  our  conductor  knew  the  country  well.  Our  faithful  animals, 
so  well  used  to  that  mountainous  region,  were  astonishingly  sure-footed. 
Frequently,  in  passing  around  almost  perpendicular  cliffs,  in  paths  exceed 
ingly  stony  and  frightfully  narrow,  with  a  dark  abyss  on  the  one  hand  and 
a  perpendicular  mountain  on  the  other,  the  thought  of  our  animals  stum 
bling  would  make  our  hair  stand  on  end.  Those,  however,  who  are  used  to 
these  paths  seem  not  to  apprehend  danger,  and  they  have  the  utmost  confi 
dence  in  their  animals,  which  pick  their  way  with  a  loose  rein,  and  seem  to 
know  the  necessity  of  a  sure  foothold. 

Nearly  the  whole  of  this  night  we  rode  in  a  heavy  rain,  -and  for  two 
hours  in  the  most  tremendous  storm.  About  one  hour  before  daylight,  we 
approached  the  Rio  Antigua,  near  the  Puente  National,  and  across  the  great 
road  leading  from  Vera  Cruz  to  the  capital.  Keeping  the  river  to  our  right, 
we  traveled  through  a  flat  marshy  bottom  until  daylight,  when  we  were 
told  to  'dismount  and  lay  low.'  We  had  been  drenched  the  whole  night 
with  cold  rain,  and  had  now  to  repose  in  water  ankle  deep,  which  covered 
the  bottom.  Excessive  fatigue  soon  brought  sweet  sleep  to  us,  from  which 
we  were  aroused  at  noon  by  the  known  whistle  of  our  guide. 


406  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

He  had  under  his  blanket  a  delightfully-cooked  chicken,  eggs,  and  tor 
tillas,  smoking  hot,  which  showed  that  he  was  in  the  vicinity  of  his  accom 
plices.  We  never  enjoyed  a  meal  better.  After  we  had  finished  eating,  he 
threw  around  his  shoulders  his  dark -colored  serape,  and,  with  his  usual 
sign  of  silence,  disappeared  through  the  bushes. 

Everything  in  this  life  is  good  by  comparison.  We  had  slept  several 
hours,  and  a  sumptuous  meal  madte  us  feel  vastly  more  comfortable ;  but, 
yet,  we  were  deprived  of  our  desert,  for  Dan  could  neither  sing  'Long, 
long  Ago,'  nor  'The  Soldier's  Tear.'  After  whispering  to  one  another 
our  anecdotes,  we  slept  several  hours  more,  when  our  well  known  whistle 
again  started  us.  Our  guide  approached  and  beckoned  us  to  follow  him. 
After  winding  through  the  boggy  bottom  half  an  hour,  we  came  to  an  un 
occupied  hut,  built  of  bamboos,  and  covered  with  palm  leaves.  Here  he 
told  us  we  might  sleep  this  night,  as  he  must  rest  his  horses ;  that  he  had 
some  friends  at  hand,  and  if  any  alarm  should  be  given,  we  must  disappear 
in  the  thick  bushes  near  by. 

In  a  short  time  he  again  returned,  with  a  new  friend,  a  long  gray-bearded, 
though  athletic  old  man.  This  old  man  greeted  us  very  kindly,  with  many 
professions  of  devotion  to  our  interest,  and  from  his  signs  we  readily  recog 
nized  him  to  be  a  brother  in  the  same  cause  as  our  guide.  We  gave  him 
two  dollars  to  procure  us  supper,  and,  after  an  absence  of  an  hour,  he  re 
turned  with  one  smoking  hot,  which  we  the  more  enjoyed,  as  our  clothes 
were  now  measurably  dry.  The  old  man  lived  in  the  immediate  neighbor 
hood,  and,  true  to  his  promises,  he  and  his  family  kept  a  close  watch  over 
us  that  night  and  the  next  day. 

At  sundown  our  horses  were  brought  up,  and  an  additional  one  for  the 
old  gray-headed  man,  with  all  his  traveling  paraphernalia,  showed  that  he 
meant  to  see  us  safe  through  our  journey.  This  veteran,  with  all  the  pride 
of  many  years,  mounted  upon  a  gay,  plaited-tailed  charger,  rode  ahead  of 
the  party.  He  was  a  man  of  ready  words  and  many  compliments  ;  next  to 
him  came  our  head  man,  of  much  less  address,  who  knew  that  our  greatest 
difficulty  was  yet  to  be  encountered.  This  night  we  met  frequent  compa 
nies  of  smugglers  and  robbers,  but  the  gray-bearded  old  man  passed  them 
with  as  much  ease  of  address  as  one  could  speak  to  his  neighbor  upon  a 
court-green.  We  would  follow  in  our  dark  robber  costume  without  saying 
a  word,  and  doubtless  passed  as  citizens  in  the  same  trade. 

Our  course  still  lay  down  the  River  Antigua,  and  on  the  personal  estate 
of  Santa  Anna,  through  a  dense  forest  of  large  trees,  many  of  which  were 
new  to  our  northern  raising.  It  was  necessary  that  the  Antigua  should  be 
crossed  before  reaching  Vera  Cruz,  and  the  only  practicable  point  for  doing 
so  was  at  the  small  town  of  the  same  name  near  its  mouth.  This  place, 
which  we  entered  about  ten  o'clock  at  night,  has  for  many  years  been  noted 
for  smuggling.  Vessels  anchor  off  the  mouth  of  this  river,  under  pretense 
of  getting  fresh  water,  which  affords  them  an  excellent  opportunity  to  carry 
on  the  contraband  trade.  The  wide  and  dense  bottom  which  lay  upon  each 
side  of  this  river,  interspersed  with  circuitous  paths,  known  only  to  smug 
glers  and  robbers,  affords  ample  shelter  for  this  illicit  trade.  Here,  our  old 
man  was  well  acquainted  ;  and  when  we  entered  the  town,  he  drew  up  his 
horse  opposite  a  store,  with  a  light  burning  on  the  counter,  where  a  Mexi- 


OF  AMERICANS.  407 

can  cavalry  officer  was  writing  at  the  desk.  He  whispered  to  us  not  to  dis 
mount ;  that  he  would  go  in  and  buy  some  cheese  and  crackers  for  our  sup 
per,  and  'see  how  the  land  lay.' 

Upon  entering  the  house,  he  appeared  to  be  well  acquainted,  and  rolled 
out  his  salutations  with  his  usual  volubility.  The  cavalry  officer  first  ad 
dressed  him,  '  Who  are  those  upon  their  horses  in  the  street  ?  I  have  been 
sent  here  with  my  troop  these  two  weeks,  with  orders  to  send  every  for 
eigner  without  passports  to  the  Castle  of  San  Juan  d'  Ulloa.  Do  you  know 
that  sixteen  of  those  daring  Texans  have  escaped  from  the  Castle  of  Perote, 
and  several  of  them  are  yet  abroad  ?'  Before  the  old  man  had  time  to  re 
ply,  the  officer  added,  'As  soon  as  I  finish  this  note,  I  will  examine  their 
papers.' 

The  old  man,  with  his  ready  wit,  replied,  '  They  have  all  got  passports, 
and  from  the  English  minister  at  that,  and  they  are  going  home,'  at  the 
same  time  setting  a  large  tumbler  of  aguardiente  before  the  officer,  with 
many  compliments.  He  drank  to  the  venerable  old  man,  and  resumed  his 
writing  in  much  hurry,  so  as  to  examine  our  passports. 

The  old  man  continued  talking  with  his  usual  volubility,  and  threw  an 
other  dollar  upon  the  counter  for  more  brandy,  and  before  the  note  was 
finished,  the  officer  had  to  stop  and  take  another  drink.  Watching  his  op 
portunity,  the  old  man  slipped  out  into  the  street,  and  spoke  to  the  head 
robber  to  'put  off  in  haste,  and  cross  the  ferry  as  soon  as  possible,'  while  he 
would  stay  and  drink  with  the  officer.  The  ferry  was  at  the  other  end  of 
the  town,  about  four  hundred  yards  distant,  and  we  made  as  little  delay  in 
reaching  it  and  getting  into  the  boat  as  possible.  We  had  barely  started 
from  the  store  before  the  officer  came  into  the  street  to  examine  our  papers, 
when  the  old  man  remarked  that  he  expected  we  would  wait  for  him  at  the 
ferry.  The  old  man  now  feigned  to  be  highly  excited  with  drink,  and 
mounting  his  fiery  horse,  swept  by  them  as  though  he  could  not  control  the 
animal.  He  reached  the  ferry  just  as  we  were  getting  into  the  boat,  and 
the  shortest  explanation  showed  the  necessity  of  our  hurry. 

The  old  man  had  no  sooner  spoke  to  our  head  robber  than  he  threw  his 
lasso  over  the  limb  of  a  tree,  and  ran  back  to  meet  the  officer.  He  knew 
that  one  minute  of  time  was  of  the  last  importance  to  us ;  and  meeting  the 
officer  about  one  hundred  yards  from  the  ferry,  he  said,  *  They  are  waiting 
for  us,'  and  drawing  his  bottle  of  aguardiente  from  his  goat-skin  bag,  he 
passed  it  to  the  officer;  then  lie  took  a  drink  with  a  long  speech  of  saluta 
tions,  and  begged  the  officer  to  let  him  pass  it  to  his  guards.  This  was  ac 
ceded  to,  and  it  gained  us  those  few  minutes  of  time  necessary  to  our  liberty. 
When  they  arrived  at  the  ferry,  we  were  half  way  across ;  the  old  man  ap 
peared  in  a  towering  passion,  and  bawled  out  to  us,  '  to  stop  upon  the  other 
bank  until  he  came  over ;'  he  then  turned  to  the  officer  and  said,  '  Senor, 
you  need  not  trouble  yourself  farther  about  these  foreigners:  I'll  vouch  for 
their  passports ;  but  if  you  would  rather,  you  can  go  over  with  me  and  ex 
amine  for  yourself.'  In  the  meantime,  while  the  boat  was  returning,  the 
bottle  was  freely  passed  between  them,  the  old  man  feigning  both  to  drink 
and  to  be  drunk.  It  was  no  sham  with  the  officer,  for  by  the  time  the  boat 
returned  for  them,  he  was  willing  to  take  the  old  man's  word  for  our  pass 
ports. 


408  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

As  soon  as  we  had  crossed,  we  put  off  it  the  direction  of  Yera  Cruz,  arid 
stopped  upon  the  roadside  to  wait  for  our  good  old  friend,  and  to  keep  a 
bright  look-out  who  was  with  him.  In  a  few  minutes  the  boat  recrossed, 
and  we  discovered  that  only  one  passenger  was  in  it ;  and  as  the  old  man 
galloped  to  where  we  waited  him,  he  proudly  clapped  his  hand  upon  his 
breast  and  said,  '  It  is  useless  for  young  boys  to  try  their  wits  upon  me ;  I 
have  been  too  long  in  the  service.' 

The  old  fellow  strutted  to  and  fro,  and  recounted  the  adventure  with  the 
self-satisfaction  of  a  Wellington  after  the  battle  of  Waterloo.  He  finished 
his  speech  by  turning  to  us  and  saying,  'Now,  caballeros,  you  have  but  cne 
more  danger  before  you,  and  trust  this  old  head  for  that.'  So  «f  ying,  we 
moved  on." 

They  were  now  within  fifteen  miles  of  Vera  Cruz,  which  was  reached 
without  any  farther  incidents  of  note.  There  they  were  secreted  in  a  secure 
place  until  an  opportunity  was  afforded,  two  weeks  later,  to  escape  in  an 
American  vessel  to  New  Orleans.  Several  of  their  companions  had  been 
recaptured  ;  among  these  was  the  herculean  John  Young,  who  had  fallen 
over  a  precipice  in  the  mountains,  badly  crippling  himself. 

We  close  this  narrative  with  Green's  account  of  their  leave-taking  with 
their  robber  guides,  and  the  consternation  among  the  Mexicans  in  the  Castle 
of  Perote  on  the  discovery  of  their  escape. 

"After  we  had  been  safely  ensconced  in  our  hiding-place,  our  three  faith 
ful  guides  came  to  take  leave  of  us.  They  did  so  in  the  most  feeling  man 
ner.  The  gray-bearded  old  man  made  the  valedictory.  He  congratulated 
us  upon  our  extreme  good  luck  in  falling  into  the  hands  of  '  honorable  men,* 
for,  said  he,  'as  humble  as  your  apparel  appears  to  be,  you  must  know  that 
there  are  thousands  in  this  country  who  would  murder  you  for  that  dirty 
jacket,' pointing  to  the  one  I  had  on.  'I  thank  God,' said  he,  'that  as 
long  as  I  have  worn  this  gray  beard,  I  have  never  once  forfeited  my  word 
of  honor.' 

During  this  speech,  he  strutted  across  the  room  with  the  utmost  self- 
satisfaction,  slapping  his  hand  upon  his  bosom  whenever  he  spoke  of  a  man 
of  honor.  We  then  drew  from  the  waistband  of  out  pantaloons  several 
ounces  of  gold,  which  we  had  been  careful  to  keep  dark  until  now,  and  dis 
tributed  among  them  as  a  gratuity  over  and  above  their  contract.  We 
thought  this  precaution  would  seal  their  allegiance,  as  we  had  been  often 
told  that  the  most  honest  collectors  of  customs  in  Mexico  will  say  to  the  im 
porter,  *  That,  as  thin  as  is  a  doubloon,  no  man  can  see  through  it.'  When 
they  saw  the  gold  come  forth  from  its  hiding-place,  a  look  of  surprise  was 
exchanged  ;  and  when  they  fingered  the  yellow  stuff,  their  countenances 
beamed  with  renewed  devotion  to  our  interest. 

We  certified,  in  writing,  that  they  had  been  true  and  faithful  to  us,  and 
the  tall  dark-skinned  robber,  after  kissing  the  paper,  carefully  stored  it  in  a 
secret  place  under  his  shirt.  Upon  taking  leave,  the  old  man,  after  several 
facetious  jokes,  '  how  we  would  surprise  our  sweethearts  when  we  reached 
home,'  embraced  us  with  a  Mexican  hug,  both  long  and  short.  In  Mexico, 
one's  regard  for  another  is  graduated  in  proportion  to  the  length  and  the 
strength  of  the  embrace.  Thus  each  of  these  robbers  embraced  us,  and 
thus  we  returned  it :  for  if  we  found  in  all  Mexico  the  most  fearless  devo- 


OF  AMERICANS.  409 

tion  to  our  interest  while  in  our  misfortunes,  it  was  in  these  three  robber 
guides. 

Let  us  now  for  a  moment  look  into  our  late  prison  abode  at  the  Castle  of 
Perote. 

On  the  night  of  our  escape,  and  the  next  morning  up  to  the  time  of 
counting  the  prisoners,  as  might  have  been  expected,  our  companions  were 
tinder  the  most  excited  apprehension,  not  only  on  our  account,  but  also  as 
to  what  the  discovery  might  cost  them.  Under  this  excitement,  everything 
remained  quiet  as  usual,  for  no  one  iii  the  castle  except  themselves  knew  a 
word  of  it.  At  nine  o'clock  next  morning, '  Guts '  arid  the  new  guard  came 
around  to  the  prison  rooms  with  the  sharp  and  often-repeated  order,  '  a-for- 
men — a-formen.'  This  order  was  well  understood  by  our  Countrymen  ;  it 
meant  '  to  form,'  and  that  in  front  of  the  prison  doors,  as  usual,  for  inspec 
tion,  in  the  morning ;  but  still,  believing  every  moment  gained  would  in 
crease  our  chances  of  success,  and  determining  to  favor  us  as  much  as  pos 
sible,  they  held  back,  and  were  slow  to  come  out  of  the  cells  :  some  mak 
ing  one  excuse,  arid  others  another.  'Guts'  raved  and  stormed  at  their 
tardiness  ;  he  went  into  the  cells  in  person  to  look  where  the  absent  were, 
and  found  them  not ;  he  inquired  of  the  balance,  and  received  from  one  in 
answer,  '  Perhaps  they  are  at  the  comun  ;  and  from  another,  '  They  may  be 
at  the  tienda.'  These  places  were  sent  to  and  thoroughly  searched,  but  still 
they  were  not  to  be  found.  Our  boys  would  repeat  among  themselves, 
'We  will  put  them  off  to  the  last  moment,  for  every  minute  will  enable 
our  comrades  to  get  deeper  and  deeper  into  the  mountains.' 

During  all  this  time,  'Guts'  swelled  and  raved  :  'Where  are  they  ?'  he 
thundered  out  to  the  interpreter.  '  Well,  Van,'  one  of  them  said  to  Van 
Ness,  '  it  is  no  use  to  put  it  off  any  longer ;  let  him  have  it.'  Van  replied, 
•  Diez  y  seis  faltan' — sixteen  deficient.  'Where  have  they  gone  to,  and 
how  did  they  all  get  off?'  bawled  'Guts,'  in  a  itill  louder  tone.  '  Quien 
gale  p — who  knows  ?  was  the  reply. 

Here  commenced  the  greatest  possible  row  ;  the  whole  castle  was  imme 
diately  alarmed — officers  and  soldiers  turned  out — the  governor  came  forth 
with  death-like  horror  upon  his  countenance — officers  and  guards  flew  all 
over,  the  castle ;  examined  every  nook  and  corner — the  top  walls — went 
round  the  great  moat,  but  still  did  not  discover  the  breach,  the  hole  having 
been  so  carefully  stopped  with  a  blanket.  The  last  place  where  they 
thought  of  looking  was  in  the  prison  cells,  and  after  much  useless  search, 
one  of  the  officers  pulled  back  the  small  shutter  in  the  center  room  which 
covered  the  loophole,  and  found,  to  his  inexpressible  horror,  our  breach  ob 
liquing  to  the  left. 

'  Who  could  have  thought  these  daring  Texans  would  have  undertaken 
such  a  task  ?  They  surely  are  akin  to  the  devil.  This  castle  has  stood  for 
these  hundred  years,  and  no  one  ever  dared  such  a  thing  before.'  These, 
and  many  such  exclamations  of  wonder  and  astonishment,  burst  forth  from 
men,  women  and  children,  officers,  soldiers,  and  culprits ;  for  they  all,  from 
the  governor  to  the  smallest  child,  came  to  satisfy  themselves  of  what  their 
astonishment  mixed  up  with  miracle. 

Our  old  comrades  were  doubly  ironed,  and  guarded  with  increased  vigil 
ance.  The  officers  now  thought  that  nothing  was  impossible  with  Texans  ; 


410  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

and  one  of  my  friends,  writing  from  the  castle,  said  that  '  they  even  believe 
that  we  will  escape  in  a  letter.' 

While  the  best  informed  Mexicans  will  admit  our  superiority  in  war,  both 
in  daring  and  the  use  of  arms,  the  more  uninformed  entertained  the  most 
strange  notions  of  us.  Many  believe  that  we  have  a  magic  power ;  others 
believe  us  to  be  northern  barbarians,  of  one  of  two  tribes  of  white  Indians, 
who  form  the  connecting  link  between  mankind  and  the  other  world — imps. 
The  Texan,  in  fact,  is  looked  upon  by  them  with  far  more  astonishment 
than  was  the  Kentuckian,  who  said  he  was  sired  by  a  steamboat  and  came 
out  of  a  penitentiary.'' 


INCIDENTS  IN  THE  LIFE 

OF 

AMOS     LAWRENCE, 

THE  MODEL  MERCHANT  AND  CHRISTIAN  PHILANTHROPIST,  WHO,  FROM  AN  HUMIJLE  21- 
GINNING,  BECAME  ONE  OF  THE  WEALTHIEST  MEN  IN  AMERICA,  AND  REMARKABLE  FOR 
HIS  ENLARGED  BENEVOLENCE — HE  HAVING  GIVEN  AWAY,  IN  THE  COURSE  OF  HIS 
LIFE,  MORE  THAN  SEVEN  HUNDRED  THOUSAND  DOLLARS, 

FOR  THE  BENEFIT  OF  MANKIND. 


IT  sometimes  happens  that  the  death  of  a  good  man,  instead  of  bringing 
his  usefulness  to  an  end,  as  is  commonly  the  case,  only  serves  to  augment 
that  usefulness,  by  greatly  enlarging  the  number  of  those  whose  characters 
are  formed  upon  the  model  his  life  has  presented.  While  men,  whoso 
chief  distinctions  lie  in  their  goodness,  remain  among  the  living,  their  in 
fluence  is  ordinarily  limited  within  the  sphere  of  their  personal  associations; 
but  when  such  men  die,  if  the  story  of  their  usefulness  has  been  at  all  a 
memorable  one,  its  publication  at  once,  and  largely,  widens  their  field  of 
influence.  Their  example  is  no  longer  bounded  by  the  narrow  limits  of  their 
parish  or  town,  but  extends  often  to  distant  countries,  to  places  the  most  re 
mote,  to  hearts  everywhere  that  can  be  moved  by  the  narration  of  simple 
and  single-hearted  goodness,  of  unostentatious  benevolence,  or  of  munifi 
cent  generosity. 

The  life  of  Amos  Lawrence  is  illustrative  of  this  truth.  Few  men  have 
ever  used  their  stewardship  more  wisely  than  he  ;  few  or  none,  whose  for 
tunes  were  wholly  the  fruit  of  their  own  enterprise  and  labor,  ever  gave 
away  so  much  in  charities,  both  public  and  private,  as  Mr.  Lawrence ;  and 
yet,  the  good  he  did  with  his  abundant  means,  while  living,  is  probably 
much  less  than  the  good  which  will  result,  now  that  he  is  departed,  from 
the  recorded  probity,  conscientiousness  and  goodness  of  his  daily  life. 

On  the  22d  of  July,  1775,  Samuel  Lawrence,  the  father  of  Amos,  was 
married  at  Groton,  a  small  village  thirty  or  forty  miles  from  Boston,  to 
Susannah  Parker.  The  young  bridegroom  was  then  a  soldier  in  the  army 
of  the  Revolution,  and  his  marriage  was  necessarily  a  hasty  one.  When 
hostilities  first  commenced,  he  was  a  subaltern  officer  in  the  Groton  company 
of  minute  men.  The  morning  of  the  19th  of  April,  1775,  General  Prescott, 
whose  residence  was  in  the  town,  rode  rapidly  down  the  street  of  Groton  to 
the  homestead  of  the  Lawrences,  crying  out,  "  Samuel,  notify  your  men— 
the  British  are  coming  ! "  In  three  hours,  these  minute  men,  scattered 
over  seven  miles  of  country,  were  on  their  march  to  Cambridge.  At  tho 
battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  these  Groton  men  gave  a  good  account  of  themselves, 
particularly  their  veteran  captain,  Farwell,  who  was  shot  through  the  body 

(4m 


412  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

and  taken  off  for  dead.  When  the  indignant  captain  heard  himself  so  re 
ported  by  those  who  were  bearing  him  from  the  field,  he  broke  out,  "  It  aini 
true! — dont  let  my  poor  wife  hear  of  this  ;  I  shall  live  to  see  my  country 
free,"  and  so  he  did.  Young  Lawrence  carried  off,  as  his  trophies  from 
the  battle-field,  two  holes  in  his  beaver  hat,  drilled  by  the  same  bullet  which 
plowed  a  furrow,  from  front  to  rear,  through  his  hair,  beside  a  contusion 
on  his  arm  from  a  spent  grape-shot.  He  afterward  served  as  adjutant  to 
General  Sullivan,  who  was  in  command  in  Rhode  Island  ;  was  next  in  ser 
vice  near  New  York,  and  subsequently  returned  with  his  regiment  to  Cam 
bridge,  in  Massachusetts. 

While  on  a  short  leave  of  absence,  from  this  latter  station,  his  marriage 
took  place  ;  his  mother  having  given  it  as  her  opinion  that  in  the  event  of 
anything  fatal  happening  to  her  son,  "  it  would  be  better  for  the  youthful 
Susannah  to  be  Sam's  widow,  rather  than  Sam's  forlorn  damsel." 

While  the  marriage  ceremony  was  in  progress,  the  half-wedded  husband 
was  summoned  by  the  clangor  of  the  alarm-bell,  to  join  his  regiment. 
Within  the  hour,  h«  was  hastened  away  from  his  wife  to  fulfill  his  military 
duties.  His  case  was  certainly  a  hard  one,  and  so  his  colonel  seemed  to 
have  thought,  for  he  allowed  him  to  return  to  Groton  to  his  wife,  to  rejoin 
his  regiment  within  three  days,  at  Rhode  Island.  After  this  short  furlough, 
husband  and  wife  saw  nothing  more  of  each  other  for  the  next  half  year. 
Once  after  a  battle,  in  which  his  friends  knew  he  must  have  been  engaged, 
but  before  it  was  known  who  had  been  killed  or  who  had  esriped,  the 
anxious  mother  said  to  the  agitated  wife,  "  She  did  not  know  but  Sam  was 
killed."  The  possibility  of  such  an  event  took  away  her  strength,  and  she 
fell  prostrate  upon  the  floor.  Pie  had  indeed  been  in  great  peril,  but  the 
desperate  efforts  of  a  company  of  blacks,  together  with  the  fleetness  and 
strength  of  his  horse,  had  saved  him  from  capture.  Soon  after  this,  he  passed 
a  few  days  with  his  friends,  not  to  be  with  them  again  till  the  autumn  of  the 
next  year,  when  he  retired  from  the  army  to  be  with  his  Susannah  in  her 
first  confinement.  This  was  the  termination  of  his  military  services. 

His  religious  character  may  be  inferred  from  the  fact,  that  for  many  years, 
and  until  his  death,  he  was  a  deacon  in  the  Congregational  Church,  in  Groton. 
As  a  citizen,  he  discharged  the  duties  of  the  magistracy  with  fidelity  and 
success.  For  thirty-three  years,  he  was  trustee  of  the  academy  in  his  na 
tive  town,  which,  in  gratitude  to  him  and  his  son,  now  bears  the  family 
name.  Such  was  the  father  of  Amos  Lawrence. 

Of  his  mother,  Mr.  Lawrence  always  spoke  in  the  strongest  terms  of  ven 
eration  and  love.  Her  form,  bending  over  the  bed  of  her  children  in  silent 
prayer,  when  about  leaving  them  for  the  night,  was  among  their  earliest 
recollections.  She  was  a  woman  well  fitted  to  rear  a  family  through  the 
troubled  times  in  which  she  lived.  To  the  kindest  affection,  she  united 
energy  and  decision  of  character,  and  in  her  household  enforced  that  strict 
and  unhesitating  obedience,  which  she  regarded  as  lying  at  the  foundation  of 
all  success  in  the  education  of  children.  Her  hands  were  never  idle,  as  may 
be  supposed,  when  it  is  remembered  that  in  those  days,  throughout  New 
England,  in  addition  to  the  cares  of  a  farming  establishment,  much  of  tho 
material  for  clothing  was  manufactured  by  the  inmates  of  the  family. 

Am«s  Lawrence,  the  second  son  of  his  parents,  was  born  at  Groton,  tho 


OF  AMERICANS.  413 

22d  day  of  April,  1786.  His  constitution  was  naturally  a  feeble  one,  which 
in  childhood,  often  kept  him  from  the  district  school,  near  his  father's  house, 
where  he  acquired  the  first  rudiments  of  knowledge.  From  this  small  vesti 
bule  of  learning,  he  was  transferred  to  the  academy  not  far  distant,  where 
lie  concluded,  at  the  rather  premature  age  of  thirteen,  his  school  education. 
He  then  went  from  learning  to  trading,  and  soon  penetrated  the  mystery 
of  a  New  England  country  store.  He  learned  to  sell  rum  and  brandy  by  the 
puncheon  and  by  the  pint ;  cloth  by  the  bale  and  the  yard  ;  tobacco  in  kegs 
and  tobacco  in  plugs ;  together  with  tea-kettles,  molasses,  silks,  gimblets} 
indigo,  grindstones,  rhubarb,  school-books,  etc.  Superadded  to  those  mul 
tifarious  duties,  was  that  of  acting  as  a  kind  of  a  dispensatory  clerk,  to  the 
medical  profession  of  Groton,  and  the  neighboring  towns,  who  looked  to 
this  store  of  James  Brazier  for  the  replenishment  of  their  exhausted  saddle- 


During  this  apprenticeship  of  young  Lawrence,  and  for  many  years  after 
it  was  customary,  throughout  New  England,  for  clerks  and  apprentices, 
journeymen  and  employers,  to  prepare  ardent  spirits  in  some  form,  to  be 
drank  in  the  middle  of  the  afternoon.  In  common  with  the  other  clerks  of 
the  establishment,  he  partook  of  the  pleasant  beverage,  until  he  found  him 
self  longing  for  the  stimulus,  as  the  hour  for  serving  it  approached,  when  he 
had  the  resolution  to  abandoned  the  dangerous  habit.  Many  years  afterward, 
he  wrote  to  a  young  friend,  respecting  this  incident  in  his  life,  as  follows  : 
"In  the  first  place,  take  this  for  your  motto,  at  the  commencement  of  your 
journey,  that  the  difference  of  going  just  right,  or  a  little  wrong,  will  be  the 
difference  of  finding  yourself  in  good  quarters,  or  in  a  miserable  bog  or 
slough  at  the  end  of  it.  Of  the  whole  number  educated  in  the  Groton 
stores,  for  some  years  before  and  after  myself,  no  one  else,  to  my  knowledge, 
escaped  the  bog  or  slough  ;  and  ray  escape,  I  trace  to  the  simple  fact  of  my 
having  put  a  restraint  upon  my  appetite. 

We  five  boys  were  in  the  habit,  every  forenoon,  of  making  a  drink  com 
pounded  of  rum,  raisins,  sugar,  nutmeg,  etc.,  with  biscuit — all  palatable  to 
eat  and  drink.  After  being  in  the  store  four  weeks,  I  found  mvself  ad 
monished,  by  my  appetite,  of  the  approach  of  the  hour  for  indulgence. 
Thinking  the  habit  might  make  trouble,  if  allowed  to  grow  stronger,  with 
out  further  apology  to  my  seniors,  I  declined  partaking  with  them.  My 
first  resolution  was  to  abstain  for  a  week,  and  then  for  a  year.  Finally,  I 
resolved  to  abstain  for  the  rest  of  my  apprenticeship,  which  was  for  five 
years  longer.  During  that  whole  period,  I  never  drank  a  spoonful,  though 
I  mixed  gallons  daily  for  my  old  master  and  his  customers. 

I  decided  not  to  be  a  slave  to  tobacco  in  any  form,  though  I  loved  the 
odor  of  it  then,  and  even  now  have  in  my  drawer  a  superior  Havana  cigar, 
given  me,  not  long  since,  by  a  friend,  but  only  to  smell  of.  I  have  never  in 
my  life  smoked  a  cigar;  never  chewed  but  one  quid,  and  that  was  before  I 
was  fifteen ;  and  never  took  an  ounce  of  snuff,  though  the  scented  rappee 
of  forty  years  ago  had  great  charms  for  me.  Now,  I  say,  to  this  simple  fact 
of  starting  just  right,  am  I  indebted,  with  God's  blessing  on  my  labors,  for 
my  present  position,  as  well  as  that  of  numerous  connections  sprung  up 
around  me." 

After  leaving  school  and  going  into  the  store,  he  writes  on  another  occ*. 


414  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

sion  :  "  There  was  not  a  month  passed  before  I  became  impressed  with  tha 
opinion,  that  restraint  upon  appetite  was  necessary  to  prevent  the  slavery  I 
saw  destroying  numbers  around  me.  Many  and  many  of  the  farmers,  me 
chanics,  and  apprentices,  of  that  day,  have  filled  drunkards'  graves,  and 
have  left  destitute  families  and  friends." 

Few  other  details  of  his  seven  years'  apprenticeship  can  now  be  gathered. 
On  the  -2d  of  April,  1807,  Mr.  Lawrence  became  of  age.  One  week  later, 
he  was  seen  on  his  way  to  Boston,  with  twenty  dollars  in  his  pocket,  hit 
seven  years'  experience,  and  his  good  principles,  as  his  only  capital  with 
which  to  begin  the  business  of  life.  After  a  brief  clerkship  in  Boston,  he 
commenced  business  for  himself,  in  December,  1807,  in  a  small  store,  in 
what  was  then  known  as  Cornhill,  having  a  Lancaster  youth,  by  the  name 
of  Henry  Whiting,  for  his  only  clerk.  This  lad  afterward  became  better 
known  as  Brigadier- General  Whiting,  of  the  United  States  Army.  The 
pecuniary  condition  of  the  Lawrence  family,  at  this  time,  was  not  promis 
ing.  Speaking  of  this  period,  he  says  :  "I  was  then,  in  the  matter  of  pro 
perty,  not  worth  a  dollar.  My  father  was  comfortably  off  as  a  farmer, 
somewhat  in  debt ;  with,  perhaps,  four  thousand  dollars.  My  brother, 
Luther,  was  in  the  practice  of  law,  getting  forward,  but  not  worth  two  thou 
sand  dollars;  William  had  nothing;  Abbott,  a  lad  just  fifteen  years  old,  at 
school ;  and  Samuel,  a  child  seven  years  old." 

This  stout-hearted  father,  with  "perhaps  four  thousand  dollars,"  but 
"somewhat  in  debt,"  with  four  other  sons  and  three  daughters  to  provide 
for,  voluntarily  mortgaged  his  small  farm,  that  he  might  loan  the  proceeds 
to  his  son.  The  history  of  this  transaction  is  creditable  to  both.  Forty 
years  afterward,  Mr.  Lawrence  wrote  as  follows  upon  the  back  of  the 
original  mortgage  deed  :  "  My  honored  father  brought  to  me  the  one  thou 
sand  dollars,  and  asked  me  to  give  him  my  note  for  it.  I  told  him  he  did 
wrong  to  place  himself  in  a  situation  to  be  made  unhappy,  if  I  lost  the 
money.  He  told  me  lie  guessed  I  would'nt  lose  it,  and  I  gave  him  my 
note.  The  first  thing  I  did  was  to  take  four  per  cent,  premium  on  my 
Boston  bills  (the  difference  then  between  passable  and  Boston  money),  and 
sent  a  thousand  dollars  in  bills  of  the  Hillsborough  Bank  to  Am  h erst, 
New  Hampshire,  by  my  father,  to  my  brother  Luther,  to  carry  to  the  bank 
and  get  specie,  as  he  was  going  there  to  attend  court  that  week.  My  brother 
succeeded  in  getting  specie,  principally  in  silver  change,  for  the  bills,  and 
returned  it  to  me  in  a  few  days.  In  the  meantime,  or  shortly  after,  the 
bank  had  been  sued,  the  bills  discredited,  and  in  the  end,  proved  nearly 
worthless.  I  determined  not  to  use  the  money  except  in  the  safest  way  ; 
and  therefore  loaned  it  to  Messrs.  Parkman,  in  whom  I  had  entire  confi 
dence.  After  I  had  been  in  business,  and  had  made  more  than  a  thousand 
dollars,  I  felt  I  could  repay  the  money,  come  what  would  of  it;  being  in 
sured  against  fire,  and  trusting  nobody  for  goods.  I  used  it  in  my  business, 
but  took  care  to  pay  off  the  mortgage  as  soon  as  it  would  be  received. 
This  incident  shows  how  dangerous  it  is  to  the  independence  and  comfort  of 
families,  for  parents  to  take  pecuniary  responsibilities  for  their  sons  in  trade, 
beyond  their  power  of  meeting  them  without  embarrassment.  Had  my 
Hillsborough  bank  notes  not  been  paid  as  they  were,  nearly  the  whole 
amount  would  have  been  lost,  and  myself  and  family  might  probably  have 


OF   AMERICANS.  415 

Deftn  ruined.  The  incident  was  so  striking,  that  I  have  uniformly  discour 
aged  young  men,  who  have  applied  to  me  for  credit,  offering  their  fathers^ 
as  bondsmen;  and,  by  doing  so,  I  have,  I  believe,  saved  some  respectable 
families  from  ruin.  A  young  man  who  cannot  get  along  without  such  aid, 
will  not  be  likely  to  get  along  with  it." 

How  the  young  merchant  got  on  in  his  new  business,  without  capital, 
mny,  in  part,  be  guessed  at  from  what  he  wrote  years  afterward  to  a  friend  : 
'I  practiced  upon  the  maxim,  'Business  before  friends,'  from  the  commence- 
nent  of  my  course.  During  the  first  seven  years  of  my  business  in  this 
city,  I  never  allowed  a  bill  against  me  to  stand  unsettled  over  the  Sabbath. 
If  the  purchase  of  goods  was  made  at  auction  on  Saturday,  and  delivered 
to  me,  I  always  examined  and  settled  the  bill  by  note  or  by  crediting  it,  and 
having  it  clear,  so  that,  in  case  I  was  not  on  duty  on  Monday,  there  would 
be  no  trouble  for  iny  boys ;  thus  keeping  the  business  before  m-e,  instead  of 
allowing  it  to  drive  me." 

Another  extract  referring  to  certain  regulations  adopted  in  the  house 
where  he  boarded,  may  also  throw  some  light  upon  his  early  course  as  a 
successful  business  man.  "  The  only  rule  I  ever  made  was,  that  after  sup- 
]  er,  all  the  boarders  who  remained  in  the  public  room  should  remain  quiet 
at  least  one  hour,  to  give  those  who  chose  to  study  or  read,  an  opportunity 
of  doing  so  without  disturbance.  The  consequence  was,  that  we  had  the 
most  quiet  and  improving  set  of  young  men  in  the  town.  The  few  who 
did  not  wish  to  comply  with  the  regulation,  went  abroad  after  tea,  some 
times  to  the  theater,  sometimes  to  other  places,  but,  to  a  man,  became  bank 
rupt  in  after  life,  riot  only  in  fortune,  but  in  reputation  ;  while  a  majority  of 
the  other  class  sustained  good  characters,  and  some  are  now  living  who  are 
ornaments  to  society,  and  fill  important  stations." 

Certain  other  principles  by  which  Mr.  Lawrence  governed  his  conduct 
in  business,  are  worthy  the  notice  and  imitation  of  young  men.  He  writes: 
"  I  adopted  a  plan  of  keeping  an  accurate  account  of  merchandise  bought  and 
sold  each  day,  with  the  profit  as  far  as  practicable.  This  plan  was  pursued 
for  a  number  of  years,  and  I  never  found  my  merchandise  fall  short  in 
taking  an  account  of  stock,  which  I  did  as  often,  at  least,  as  once  in  each 
year.  I  was  thus  enabled  to  form  an  opinion  of  my  actual  state  as  a  busi 
ness  man.  I  adopted,  also,  the  rule  always  to  .have  property,  after  my 
second  year's  business,  to  represent  forty  per  cent,  at  least  more  than  I 
owed ;  that  is,  never  to  be  in  debt  more  than  two  and  a  half  times  my  cap 
ital.  This  caution  saved  me  from  ever  getting  embarrassed.  If  it  were 
more  generally  adopted,  we  should  see  fewer  failures  in  business.  Exces 
sive  credit  is  the  rock  on  which  so  many  business  men  are  broken.  I 
made  about  fifteen  hundred  dollars  the  first  year,  and  more  than  four 
thousand  the  second.  Probably,  had  I  made  four  thousand  the  first  year, 
I  should  have  failed  the  second  or  third  year.  I  practiced  a  system  of 
rigid  economy,  and  never  allowed  myself  to  spend  a  fourpence  for  unneces 
sary  objects  until  1  had  acquired  it." 

In  rather  less  than  a  year  after  the  name  of  Amos  Lawrence  had  appeared 
in  Cornhill,  his  young  clerk,  whose  vocation  seemed  to  lie  in  the  direction 
of  gunpowder  and  musketry,  rather  than  in  that  of  Manchester  goods,  left 
hid  clerkship  vacant  for  a  successor,  whose  vocation,  after  events  went  to  show. 


4:16  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

lay  about  equally  toward  commerce,  cotton-spindles,  and  diplomacy.  On 
the  8th  of  October,  1808,  Abbott  Lawrence,  late  minister  to  England,  took 
down  the  shutters  of  his  brother's  store  for  the  first  time.  In  one  of  Mr. 
Lawrence's  letters,  he  speaks  of  his  new  clerk  as  follows  :  "  In  180Sr  he 
came  to  me  as  my  apprentice,  bringing  his  bundle  under  his  arm,  with  less 
than  three  dollars  in  his  pocket  (and  this  was  his  fortune)  ;  a  first  rat« 
business  lad  he  was ;  but  like  other  bright  lads,  needed  the  careful  eye  of 
a  senior  to  guard  him  from  the  pitfalls  that  he  was  exposed  to." 

But  few  details  of  Mr.  Lawrence's  life  from  this  time  to  the  year  1814 
are  now  known.  In  1811  (June  6),  he  thought  himself  sufficiently  pros 
perous  to  take  to  himself  a  wife.  Her  name  was  Sarah  Richards,  the 
daughter  of  Giles  Richards,  whose  machinery  for  the  manufacture  of  cards 
for  wool  was  one  of  the  earliest  examples  of  that  aptitude  for  mechanical 
inventions,  by  which  the  New  England  mind,  in  later  years,  has  so  honor 
ably  distinguished  itself.  We  learn  from  his  correspondence  that  no  man 
was  ever  more  domestic  in  his  tastes  or  was  better  satisfied  with  the  refined 
enjoyments  and  pleasures  of  home.  A  few  days  after  the  birth  of  a  daugh 
ter,  he  writes  to  a  friend  : 

"  I  am  the  richest  man,  I  suppose,  on  this  side  of  the  water,  and  the 
richest,  because  the  happiest.  On  the  23d,  I  was  blessed  by  the  birth  of  a 
fair  little  daughter ;  this,  as  you  may  well  suppose,  has  filled  our  hearts  with 
joy.  ...  I  wish  you  were  a  married  man,  and  then  (if  you  had  a  good 
wife)  you  would  know  how  to  appreciate  the  pleasures  of  a  parent.  I  have 
lately  thought  more  than  ever  of  the  propriety  of  your  settling  soon.  It  is 
extremely  dangerous  to  defer  making  a  connection  until  a  late  period,  for  a 
man  is  more  and  more  in  danger  of  not  forming  one,  the  longer  he  puts  it 
off;  and  any  man  who  does  not  form  this  connection,  grossly  miscalculates 
in  the  use  of  the  means,  which  God  has  given  him,  to  supply  himself  with 
pleasures  in  the  downhill  journey  of  life."  He  concludes  by  enjoining  his 

friend,  that  Mrs.  L has  her  eye  on  a  wife  for  him — and  after  describing 

her  accomplishments,  remarks  :  "that  the  only  objection  to  her,  so  far  as  he 
has  observed,  is  that  she  has  a  few  thousand  dollars  in  cash  ;  but  this,  how 
ever,  might  be  remedied,  for  after  furnishing  a  house,  the  balance  might  be 
given  to  her  relations,  or  to  some  public  institution." 

Six  years  after  the  Groton  boy  had  first  begun  to  do  business  for  himself, 
he  made  a  change  in  the  proprietorship  of  the  store,  which  he  describes  as 
follows:  "On  the  first  of  January,  1814,  I  took  my  brother  Abbott  into 
partnership  on  eqml  shares,  putting  fifty  thousand  do'lars,  that  I  had  then 
earned,  into  the  concern.  Three  days  afterward,  the  'Bramble  News'  came, 
by  which  the  excessive  high  price  of  goods  was  knocked  down.  Our  stock 
was  then  large,  and  had  cost  a  high  price.  He  was  in  great  anguish,  con 
sidering  himself  a  bankrupt  for  at  least  five  thousand  dollars.  I  cheered 
him  by  offering  to  cancel  our  co-partnership  indentures,  give  him  up  his  note, 
and  at  the  end  of  the  year  give  him  five  thousand  dollars.  He  declined 
he  offer,  saying  I  should  lose  that,  and  more  beside,  and  as  he  had  enlisted 
would  do  the  best  he  could.  This  was  in  character,  and  it  was  well  for  us 
both.  We  still  continue  mercantile  business  under  the  first  set  of  incen- 
tures,  and  under  the  same  firm,  merely  adding,  '  &  Co.,'  a-s  new  partners 
have  been  admitted." 


OF  AMERICANS.  417 

In  about  a  year  from  the  formation  of  this  auspicious  partnership,  peace 
was  declared  between  this  country  and  Great  Britain  ;  soon  after  which  the 
junior  member  of  the  firm  took  passage  on  the  first  vessel  that  sailed  from 
Boston  to  Liverpool.  He  carried  with  him  the  following  written  advice 
from  his  elder  brother,  which  will  help  to  illustrate  the  moral  principles  upon 
which  Mr.  Lawrence  habitually  acted  : 

"  My  dear  brother,  I  have  thought  best,  before  you  go  abroad,  to  suggest 
a  few  hints  for  your  benefit,  in  your  intercourse  with  the  people  among 
whom  you  are  going.  As  a  first  and  leading  principle,  let  every  transaction 
be  of  that  pure  and  honest  character  that  you  would  not  be  ashamed  to 
have  appear  before  the  whole  world,  as  clearly  as  to  yourself.  In  addition 
to  the  advantages  arising  from  an  honest  course  of  conduct  with  your  fellovv- 
men7  there  is  the  satisfaction  of  reflecting  within  yourself,  that  you  have 
endeavored  to  do  your  duty  ;  and,  however  greatly  the  best  may  fall  short 
of  doing  all  they  ought,  they  will  be  sure  not  to  do  more  than  their  princi 
ples  enjoin.  It  is,  therefore,  of  the  highest  consequence,  that  you  should 
not  only  cultivate  correct  principles,  but  that  you  should  place  your  stan 
dard  of  action  so  high  as  to  require  great  vigilance  in  living  up  to  it.  In 
regard  to  your  business  transactions,  let  everything  be  so  registered  in  your 
books,  that  any  person,  without  difficult}'',  can  understand  the  whole  of  your 
concerns.  You  may  be  cut  off  in  the  midst  of  your  pursuits,  and  it  is  of  no 
small  consequence  that  your  temporal  affairs  should  always  be  so  arranged 
that  you  would  be  in  readiness.  If  it  is  important  that  you  should  be  well 
prepared  in  this  point  of  view,  how  much  more  important  is  it  that  you 
should  be  prepared  in  that  which  relates  to  eternity. 

While  here,  your  conduct  has  been  such  as  to  meet  ray  entire  approba 
tion  ;  but  the  scenes  of  another  land  may  be  more  than  your  principles  will 
stand  against.  I  say,  may  be,  because  young  men,  of  as  fair  promise  as  your 
self,  have  been  lost  by  giving  a  small  latitude  (innocent  in  the  first  instance) 
to  their  propensities.  But,  I  pray  the  Father  of  all  mercies  to  have  you  in 
his  keeping,  and  preserve  you  amid  temptations." 

In  a  subsequent  letter,  is  found  this  additional  advice :  "  My  next  and 
constant  direction  will  be  to  keep  a  particular  watch  over  yourself,  that  you 
do  not  fall  into  any  habits  of  vice  ;  and  as  a  means  of  preserving  yourself, 
I  would  most  strictly  enjoin  that  your  Sabbaths  bo  not  spent  in  noise  and 
riot,  but  that  you  attend  the  public  worship  of  God.  This  you  may  think 
an  unnecessary  direction  to  you,  who  have  always  been  in  the  habit  of  doing 
so.  I  hope  it  may  be ;  at  any  rate,  it  will  do  no  harm." 

Amid  the  growing  cares  of  his  largely  increased  mercantile  operations, 
Mr.  Lawrence  continued  to  find  his  chief  solace  and  enjoyment  in  the  bosom 
of  his  family.  His  evenings  were  passed  at  home,  and  urgent  must  have 
been  the  call  which  could  then  have  drawn  him  from  his  fireside.  So  much 
did  the  interests  of  his  little  household  transcend  all  other  interests,  in  his 
regards,  that  he  watched,  on  one  occasion,  by  the  side  of  a  sick  child,  for 
an  entire  fortnight,  day  and  night,  and  then  had  the  satisfaction  of  wit 
nessing  its  recovery,  though  physician  and  friends  had  pronounced  it  hope 
less. 

These  domestic  qualities  of  Mr.  Lawrence  were  soon  to  be  subjected  to 
one  of  the  severest  of  earthly  trials.  In  the  spring  of  1818,  Mrs.  Lawrenci 


418  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

was  troubled  with  a  cough,  which  speedily  became  so  obstinate  as  to  induce 
her  to  make  trial  of  the  pure  air  of  her  husband's  native  place.  Within 
two  or  three  months,  he,  in  turn,  was  seized  with  an  alarming  illness,  which, 
brought  her  to  his  side.  After  a  few  weeks'  watching,  and  when  the  hus 
band's  life  was  despaired  of,  the  wife  was  seized  with  hemorrhage  from  the 
lungs.  It  seemed  likely  that  their  journey  of  life  would  terminate  together, 
but  HE  that  controls  such  things  had  determined  differently.  Mr.  Lawrence 
slowly  and  imperfectly  regained  his  health  ;  and  on  the  14th  of  January, 
1819,  closed  the  eyes  of  her  whom,  a  little  more  than  seven  years  before,  he 
had  taken  as  his  companion  till  death  should  part  them. 

Previous  to  this  bereavement,  his  constitution  had  been  greatly  shattered, 
but  after  this  event,  his  sense  of  loss  and  mental  depression  became  such 
that  he  was  induced  to  make  trial  of  a  change  of  scene  and  occupation  by 
a  protracted  visit  to  the  Middle  States  and  Virginia.  On  his  return,  with 
health  somewhat  improved,  he  sought  to  direct  his  mind  from  painful  rem 
iniscences,  by  devoting  himself  with  increased  ardor  to  his  business.  By 
pursuing  this  course,  aided  by  the  judicious  sympathy  and  kindness  of  his 
brother  Abbott,  and  his  family,  with  whom  he  now  resided,  his  mind  re 
gained  its  tone,  his  health  was  restored,  and  he  was  again  the  efficient  and 
successful  man  of  business. 

In  April,  1821,  Mr.  Lawrence  was  married  to  Mrs.  Nancy  Ellis,  widow 
of  the  late  Judge  Ellis,  of  Claremont,  N.  H.,  and  daughter  of  Robert 
Means,  Esq.,  of  Amherst,  in  the  same  State.  The  same  year,  he  was  elected 
as  representative  from  Boston  to  the  legislature,  which  was  the  only  occasion 
on  which  he  served  in  a  public  legislative  body.  About  this  time  he  gave 
the  subjoined  valuable  advice  in  a  letter  to  Hon.  Frederick  Walcott,  of  Con 
necticut,  whose  son  was  then  a  clerk  in  his  employ,  and  subsequently  became 

his  partner.     "  H will  have  much  leisure  in  the  evening,  which,  if  he 

choose,  may  be  profitably  devoted  to  study  ;  and  we  hope  he  will  lay  out 
such  a  course  for  himself,  as  to  leave  no  portion  of  his  time  unappropriated. 
It  is  on  account  of  so  much  leisure,  that  so  many  fine  youths  are  ruined  in 
this  town.  The  habit  of  industry  once  well  fixed,  the  danger  is  over.  Will 
it  not  be  well  for  him  to  furnish  you,  at  stated  periods,  an  exact  account  of 
his  expenditures  ?  The  habit  of  keeping  such  an  account  will  be  serviceable, 
and  if  he  is  prudent,  the  satisfaction  will  be  great,  ten  years  hence,  in  look 
ing  back  and  observing  the  process  by  which  his  character  has  been  formed." 

From  the  passage  by  Congress  of  the  tariff  of  1824,  the  firm  of  which 
Mr.  Lawrence  was  the  senior  partner,  became  largely  engaged  in  domestic 
manufactures.  To  them,  perhaps,  more  than  any  other  single  establishment, 
is  New  England  indebted  for  the  success  of  that  system  of  manufacturing 
industry  which,  in  multiplying  so  vastly  her  material  wealth,  has  also  de 
monstrated  the  compatibility  of  female  labor  in  factories,  with  intelligence, 
relf-respect,  and  many  of  the  refinements  of  life,  on  the  part  of  such  opera 
tives.  Mr.  Lawrence  watched  with  great  solicitude,  the  progress  of  Lowell 
and  other  manufacturing  towns,  not  only  in  the  increase  of  wealth,  but  also 
in  morals,  religion,  and  the  facilities  for  instruction  and  education.  Churches, 
libraries,  hospitals,  in  these  communities,  found  in  him  a  munificent  friend, 
and  it  was  with  feelings  of  exultation,  both  as  a  patriot  and  a  manufacturer, 
that  he  could  point  an.  intelligent  stranger  to  the  industry  of  Manchester 


OF  AMEK.CANS. 

without  its  vice,  to  the  ingenuity  of  Birmingham,  without  its  suffering  and 
disease. 

For  the  thirty-eight  years  previous  to  his  death,  Mr.  Lawrence  was  in  the 
habit,  annually,  of  noting  down  the  amount  of  his  property,  both  as  a  guide 
to  himself  and,  in  case  of  his  death,  as  a  means  of  facilitating  the  settle 
ment  cf  his  estate.  In  the  little  memorandum  book  where  these  statements 
were  recorded,  occurs,  under  date  of  January  1,  1826,  the  following  entry  : 
"  I  have  been  extensively  engaged  in  business  during  the  last  two  years, 
and  hace  added  much  to  my  worldly  possessions  ;  but  have  come  to  the 
same  conclusion  in  regard  to  them  that  I  did  in  1818.  I  feel  distressed  in 
mind  that  the  resolutions  then  made  have  not  been  more  eifectual  in  keep 
ing  me  from  this  wer-engagedness  in  business.  I  now  find  myself  so  en 
grossed  with  its  cares,  as  to  occupy  my  thoughts,  waking  or  sleeping,  to  a 
degree  entirely  disproportioned  to  its  importance.  The  quiet  and  comfort 
of  home,  broken  in  upon  by  the  anxiety  arising  from  the  losses  and  mis 
chances  of  a  business  so  extensive  as  ours,  and,  above  all,  that  communion 
which  ought  ever  be  kept  free  between  man  and  his  Maker,  is  interrupted 
by  the  incessant  calls  of  the  multifarious  pursuits  of  our  establishment. 
Property  acquired  at  such  sacrifices  as  I  have  been  obliged  to  make  the  past 
year,  costs  more  than  its  worth ;  and  the  anxiety  ot  protecting  it  is  the  ex 
treme  of  folly." 

A  year  later  he  writes  as  follows  :  "  The  principles  of  business  laid  down 
a  year  ago,  have  been  very  nearly  practiced  upon.  Our  responsibilities  and 
anxieties  have  greatly  diminished,  as  also  have  the  accustomed  profits  of 
business ;  but  there  is  sufficient  remaining  for  the  record  of  our  labor  to 
impose  on  us  increased  responsibilities  and  duties,  as  agents  who  must,  at 
last,  render  an  account.  God  grant  that  mine  be  found  correct." 

On  the  first  of  January,  1828,  after  giving  an  account  of  his  pecuniary 
circumstances,  he  writes  :  "  The  amount  of  property  is  great  for  a  young 
man  under  forty-two  years  of  age,  who  came  to  this  town  when  he  was 
twenty-one  years  old,  with  no  other  possessions  than  a  common  country 
education,  a  sincere  love  for  his  own  family,  and  habits  of  industry,  econ 
omy,  and  sobriety  :  under  God,  it  is  these  same  self-denying  habits,  and  a 
desire  I  always  had  to  please,  so  far  as  I  could  without  sinful  compliance, 
that  I  can  now  look  back  upon  and  see  as  the  true  ground  of  my  success. 
I  have  many  things  to  reproach  myself  with  ;  but  among  them  is  not 
idling  away  my  time,  or  spending  money  for  such  things  as  are  improper. 
My  property  imposes  upon  me  many  duties,  which  can  only  be  known  to 
my  Maker.  May  a  sense  of  these  duties  be  constantly  impressed  upon  my 
mind  ;  and  by  a  constant  discharge  of  them,  God  grant  me  the  happiness  ai 
last  of  hearing  the  joyful  sound,  '  Well  done,  good  and  faithful  servant,  enter 
thou  into  the  joy  of  thy  Lord.' " 

Few  letters  of  Mr.  Lawrence,  previous  to  the  year  1828,  seem  to  have 
been  found  by  his  biographer  ;  but  from  that  time  to  his  death,  his  corres 
pondence,  particularly  with  his  children,  is  mostly  preserved,  and  fills  many 
volumes.  His  advice,  about  this  time,  to  his  second  son,  then  at  school 
at  Andover,  is  deserving  the  attention  of  other  parents.  He  writes  :  "  Get 
the  habit  firmly  fixed,  of  putting  down  every  cent  you  receive  and  every 
cent  you  expend.  In  this  way  you  will  acquire  some  knowledge  of  the 
27 


420  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

relative  value  of  things,  and  a  habit  of  judging  and  of  care  which  will  be 
of  uso  to  you  during  all  your  life.  Among  the  numerous  people  who  have 
failed  in  business,  within  my  knowledge,  a  prominent  cause  has  been  a 
want  of  system  in  their  affairs,  by  which  to  know  when  their  expenses  and 
losses  exceeded  their  profits.  This  habit  is  as  necessary  for  professional 
men  as  for  a  merchant,  because,  in  their  business,  there  are  mimercns  ways 
to  make  little  savings,  if  they  find  their  income  too  small,  which  they 
would  not  adopt  without  looking  at  the  detail  of  all  their  expenses.  It  if 
the  habit  of  consideration  I  wish  you  to  acquire ;  and  the  habit  of  being 
accurate  will  have  an  influence  upon  your  whole  character  in  life." 

While  Mr.  Lawrence  was  most  solicitous  that  his  children  should  acquire 
just  principles,  as  the  most  important  of  all  earthly  possessions,  he  did  not 
under- value  the  worth  of  graceful  and  amiable  manners.  To  his  eldest  son, 
then  at  school  in  France,  he  writes  :  "  I  beseech  you  to  consider  well  the 
advantages  you  enjoy,  and  to  avail  yourself  of  your  opportunities  to  give 
your  manners  a  little  more  care  and  polish  ;  for  you  may  depend  upon  it, 
manners  are  highly  important  in  your  intercourse  with  the  world.  Good 
principles,  good  temper,  and  good  manners,  will  carry  a  man  through  the 
world  much  better  than  he  can  get  along  with  the  absence  of  either.  The  most 
important  are  good  principles.  Without  these,  the  best  manners,  although 
for  a  time  very  acceptable,  cannot  sustain  a  person  in  trying  situations.  Do 
not  omit  the  opportunity  to  acquire  a  character  and  habits  that  will  con 
tinue  to  improve  during  the  remainder  of  life.  At  its  close,  the  reflection 
that  you  have  thus  done,  will  be  a  support  and  stay  worth  more  than  any 
sacrifice  you  may  ever  be  called  on  to  make  in  acquiring  these  habits." 

Little  is  known,  with  certainty,  of  the  extent  of  Mr.  Lawrence's  charities 
previous  to  the  year  1829.  Up  to  this  time,  he  had  kept  no  account  of  his 
benefactions,  whether  large  or  small.  It  can  hardly  be  doubted,  however, 
that  his  liberality  was  as  great  then,  in  proportion  to  nis  means,  as  it  was 
known  to  be  during  the  last  twenty-three  years  of  his  life.  On  the  same 
page  with  the  estimate  of  his  property  in  1830,  is  the  following  memoran 
dum  :  "With  a  view  to  know  the  amount  of  my  expenditures  for  objects 
other  than  the  support  of  my  family,  I  have,  for  the  year  1829,  kept  a  par 
ticular  account  of  such  other  expenses  as  came  under  the  denomination  of 
charities,  and  appropriations  for  the  benefit  of  others,  not  of  my  own  house 
hold,  for  many  of  whom  I  feel  under  the  same  obligation  as  for  my  own 
family."  His  son  and  biographer  says  :  "This  memorandum  was  commenced 
on  the  first  of  January,  1829,  and  is  continued  until  December  30,  1852,  the 
last  day  of  his  life.  It  contains  a  complete  statement  of  his  charities  during 
that  whole  period,  including  not  only  what  he  contributed  in  money,  but 
also  all  other  donations,  in  the  shape  of  clothing  materials,  books,  pro 
visions,  and  his  custom  was  to  note  down  the  cost  value  of  the  donation, 
after  it  had  been  dispatched  ;  whether  in  the  shape  of  a  book,  a  turkey,  or 
one  of  his  immense  bundles  of  varieties  to  some  poor  country-minister's 
family,  'as  large,'  as  he  says  in  addressing  one,  'as  a  small  hay-cock.'  Two 
rooms  in  his  house,  and  sometimes  three,  were  used  principally  for  the  re 
ception  of  useful  articles  for  distribution.  There,  when  stormy  weather  or 
ill  health  prevented  him  from  taking  his  usual  drive,  he  was  in  the  habit  of 
passing  hours  in  selecting  and  packing  up  articles  which  he  considered  suit- 


OF  AMERICANS.  421 

able  to  the  wants  of  those  he  wished  to  aid.  On  such  days,  his  coachman's 
services  were  put  in  requisition  to  pack  and  tie  up  '  the  small  hay-cocks,' 
and  many  an  illness  was  the  result  of  over-exertion  and  fatigue  in  supplying 
the  wants  of  his  poorer  brethren.  These  packages  were  selected  according 
to  the  wants  of  the  recipients,  and  a  memorandum  made  of  the  contents. 
Most  of  them  contained  substantial  articles  for  domestic  use,  and  were  often 
accompanied  by  a  note  containing  from  five  to  fifty  dollars  in  money. 

The  distribution  of  books  was  another  mode  of  usefulness  to  which  Mr. 
Lawrence  attached  much  importance.  In  his  daiJy  drives,  his  carriage  was 
well  stored  with  useful  volumes,  which  he  scattered  among  persons  of  all 
classes  and  ages,  as  he  had  opportunity.  These  books  were  generally  of  a 
religious  character,  whrle  others  of  a  miscellaneous  nature  were  purchased 
in  large  numbers,  and  sent  to  institutions  or  individuals  in  remote  parts  of 
the  country. 

Old  and  young,  rich  and  poor,  shared  equally  in  these  distributions ;  and 
he  rarely  allowed  an  occasion  to  pass  unimproved,  when  he  thought  an  in 
fluence  could  be  exerted  by  the  gift  of  an  appropriate  volume.  While 
waiting  one  day  in  his  carriage  with  a  friend,  in  one  of  the  principal  thor 
oughfares  in  the  city,  he  beckoned  to  a  genteelly  dressed  young  man  who 
was  passing,  and  handed  him  a  book.  Upon  being  asked  whether  the  young 
man  was  an  acquaintance,  he  replied,  '  No,  he  is  not ;  but  you  remember 
where  it  is  written,  '  Cast  thy  bread  upon  the  waters,  for  thou  shalt  find  it 
after  many  days.'  'A  barrel  of  books,'  is  no  uncommon  item  found  in  his 
record  of  articles  almost  daily  forwarded  to  one  and  another  of  his  distant 
beneficiaries." 

While  Mr.  Lawrence  was  thus  doing  good,  in  many  quiet  and  unostenta 
tious  ways,  and  while  his  means  for  doing  this  good  were  rapidly  augment 
ing,  under  the  successful  efforts  of  himself  and  other  New  England  cap 
italists,  to  build  up  in  her  midst  a  great  manufacturing  community,  the 
hand  of  God  was  laid  heavily  upon  him,  depriving  him  suddenly  of  health, 
and  of  the  capacity  for  fulfilling  many  of  the  duties  of  an  active  commercial 
life.  On  a  very  warm  day  of  June,  1831,  while  in  his  counting-room,  Mr. 
Lawrence  drank  too  freely  of  cold  water;  soon  after  he  was  seized  with  a 
violent  and  alarming  illness,  by  which  the  function  of  the  stomach  seemed 
to  have  been  destroyed,  and  which  for  a  time  threatened  his  life.  Though 
he  lived  for  more  than  twenty  years  after  this  affliction,  his  life  continually 
hung  upon  a  thread. 

What  the  feelings  of  Mr.  Lawrence  were  at  this  time,  when  his  days 
were  apparently  drawing  to  a  rapid  close,  will  be  seen  from  these  extracts 
from  two  letters,  one  to  his  son  in  Europe,  and  the  other  to  his  honored 
mother.  "In  that  dread  hour  when  I  thought  that  the  next  perhaps  would 
be  my  last  on-  earth — my  thoughts  resting  upon  my  God  and  Saviour,  then 
upon  the  past  scenes  of  my  life,  then  upon  my  dear  children, — the  belief 
that  their  minds  are  well  directed,  and  that  they  will  prove  blessings  to 
society,  and  fulfill  in  some  good  degree,  the  design  of  Providence  in 
placing  them  here,  was  a  balm  to  my  spirits  that  proved  more  favorable  to 
my  recovery  than  any  of  the  other  remedies.  May  you  never  forget  that 
every  man  is  individually  responsible  for  his  actions,  and  must  be  held  ac 
countable  for  his  opportunities  !" 


£22  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

To  his  mother  he  wrote  :  "  Daring  that  period  in  which  I  considered  my 
recovery  as  hardly  probable,  my  mind  was  calm,  and  while  in  review  of  the 
past,  I  found  many  things  to  lament ;  and  in  contemplation  of  the  future, 
much  to  fear,  but  more  to  hope,  I  could  find  no  other  words  in  which  to 
express  my  thoughts,  than  the  words  of  the  publican,  '  God  be  merciful  to 
me  a  sinner ! '  All  the  small  distinctions  of  sects  and  forms  dwindled  into 
air,  and  seemed  to  me  more  worthless  than  ever.  The  cares  and  anxieties 
of  the  world  did  not  disturb  me,  believing  it  to  be  of  small  moment  whether 
I  should  be  taken  now,  or  spared  a  few  years  longer." 

For  many  weary  months,  Mr.  Lawrence  was  confined  as  an  invalid  to  the 
seclusion  of  home  ;  but  instead  of  making  his  ill-health  an  apology  for  self- 
indulgence,  he  finds  occasion  for  it  to  widen  the  field  of  his  benevolence, 
and  to  deepen  his  conviction  of  the  necessity  of  doing  all  in  his  power  for 
the  benefit  of  his  fellow-men. 

In  speaking  of  some  application  for  aid  from  a  charitable  institution, 
he  writes  to  his  son  :  "  I  think  you  will  find  great  advantage  in  doing 
this  part  of  your  duty  upon  a  system  which  you  can  adopt ;  thus,  for  in 
stance,  divide  your  expenses  into  ten  parts,  nine  of  which  may  be  termed 
for  what  is  considered  necessary,  making  a  liberal  calculation  for  such  as 
your  situation  would  render  proper,  and  one  part  applied  for  the  promotion 
of  objects  not  directly  or  legally  claiming  your  support,  but  such  as  every 
good  citizen  would  desire  to  have  succeed.  This,  I  think,  you  will  find  the 
most  agreeable  part  of  your  expenses ;  and  if  you  should  be  favored  with 
an  abundance  of  means  later  in  life,  you  may  enlarge  your  appropriations  of 
this  sort,  so  as  to  be  equal  to  one  tenth  of  your  income.  Neither  yourself 
nor  those  who  depend  upon  you,  will  ever  feel  the  poorer.  I  believe  the 
rule  might  be  profitably  adopted  by  many  who  have  small  means ;  for  they 
would  save  more  by  method,  than  they  would  be  required  to  pay." 

To  the  same  general  purport,  is  a  letter  written  about  the  same  time  to 
his  second  son,  at  Andover  :  "  It  is  one  of  my  privileges,  not  less  than  one  of 
my  duties,  to  be  able  thus  to  minister  to  the  comfort  of  a  circle  of  very 
dear  friends.  I  hope  you  will  one  day  have  the  delightful  consciousness  of 
using  a  portion  of  your  means  in  a  way  to  give  you  as  much  pleasure  as  I 
now  experience.  Your  wants  may  be  brought  within  a  very  moderate 
compass  ;  and  I  hope  you  will  never  feel  yourself  at  liberty  to  waste  on 
yourself  such  means  as  by  system  and  right  principles,  may  be  beneficially 
applied  to  the  good  of  those  around  you.  Providence  has  given  us  unerring 
principles  to  guide  us  in  our  duties  of  this  sort.  Our  first  duty  is  to  those 
of  our  own  household,  then  extending  to  kindred,  friends,  neighbors  (and  the 
term  'neighbor'  may,  in  its  broadest  sense,  take  in  the  whole  human 
family),  citizens  of  our  State,  then  of  our  country,  then  of  the  other  countries 
of  the  world." 

A  subsequent  letter,  written  soon  after  the  preceding,  speaks  of 
some  of  the  causes  of  his  success  in  business.  "  The  secret  of  the  whole 
matter  was,  that  we  had  formed  the  habit  of  promptly  acting,  thus  taking 
the  top  of  the  tide,  while  the  habit  of  some  others  was  to  delay  until  about 
half-tide,  thus  getting  on  the  flats ;  while  we  were  all  the  time  prepared  for 
action,  and  ready  to  put  into  any  port  that  promised  well.  I  wish,  by  all 
these  remarks,  to  impress  upon  you  the  necessity  of  qualifying  yourself  to 


OF  AMERICANS.  423 

support  yourself.  The  best  education  that  I  can  secure,  shall  be  yours,  and 
such  facilities  for  usefulness  as  may  be  in  my  power,  shall  be  rendered ;  but 
no  food  to  pamper  idleness  or  wickedness,  will  I  over  supply  willingly  to 
any  connection,  however  near.  I  trust  I  have  none  who  will  ever  misuse 
so  basely  anything  that  may  come  to  them  as  a  blessing." 

The  great  end  for  which  Mr.  Lawrence  seems  to  have  lived  is  thus  ex 
pressed  in  a  letter  to  his  daughter  :  "  The  tenure  of  my  life  seems  frail ;  stilt 
it  may  continue  longer  than  the  lives  of  my  children  ;  but  whenever  it  shall 
•please  God  to  call  me  hence,  I  hope  to  feel  resigned  to  his  will,  and  to  leave 
behind  me  such  an  influence  as  shall  help  forward  the  timid  and  faint 
hearted  in  the  path  of  duty." 

During  the  summer  and  autumn  of  1832,  and  the  early  months  of  1833, 
it  seem  3d  probable  that  he  would  regain  his  health,  and  be  able  to  resume 
the  active  duties  of  life.  But  this  hope  proved  fallacious.  While  he  was 
restored  to  such  a  measure  of  health  as  to  be  able  to  ride  his  horse  almost 
daily  (on  which  occasion  he  was  constantly  accompanied  by  some  of  the 
city  clergy,  without  much  regard,  however,  to  the  denomination  to  which 
they  belonged),  his  liability  to  a  relapse  was  constant.  Bad  news,  annoying 
occurrences,  anxiety  of  mind,  or  a  slight  cold,  would  so  impair  his  digestion, 
as  to  rediice  his  strength  to  the  lowest  point.  It  was  this  unusual  sensitive 
ness  of  constitution  which  ultimately  induced  Mr.  Lawrence  to  adopt  that 
peculiar  system  of  diet  which  he  practiced  for  the  last  sixteen  years  of  his 
life.  His  food  was  simple  in  kind  and  limited  in  quantity.  To  avoid  all 
temptation  to  excess,  his  meals  were  taken  apart  from  those  of  his  family, 
after  having  been  scrupulously  weighed.  In  a  letter  to  President  Hopkins, 
of  Williams  College,  he  says  :  "If  your  young  folks  want  to  know  the 
meaning  of  epicurianism,  tell  them  to  take  some  bits  of  coarse  bread  (one 
ounce  and  a  little  more),  soak  them  in  three  gills  of  coarse  meal  gruel,  and 
make  their  dinner  of  them  and  nothing  else  ;  beginning  very  hungry,  and 
leaving  off  more  hungry.  The  food  is  delicious,  and  such  as  no  modern 
epicurianism  can  equal.". 

Under  all  the  perplexities  and  discouragements  arising  from  shattered 
nerves  and  impaired  health,  his  correspondence  continues  to  show  the  em 
inently  conscientious,  as  well  as  practical  character  of  his  mind.  To  his 
Bon  in  the  country,  he  writes:  "I  want  you  to  analyze  more  closely  the 
tendency  of  principles,  associations,  and  conduct,  and  strive  to  adopt  such 
as  will  make  it  easier  for  you  to  go  right  than  to  go  wrong.  The  moral 
taste,  like  the  natural,  is  vitiated  by  abuse.  Gluttony,  tobacco,  and  intox 
icating  drinks,  are  not  less  dangerous  to  the  latter,  than  loose  principles,  bad 
associations,  and  profligate  conduct,  are  to  the  former.  Look  well  to  all 
these  things." 

A  letter  to  a  young  friend  is  also  characteristic  :  "  When  you  get  married, 
do  not  expect  a  higher  degree  of  perfection  than  is  consistent  with  mor 
tality,  in  your  wife.  If  you  do,  you  will  be  disappointed.  Be  careful,  and 
do  not  choose  upon  a  theory  either.  I  dislike  much  of  the  nonsense  and 
quackery  that  is  dignified  with  the  name  of  intellectual  among  people. 
Old  faihioned  common-sense  is  a  deal  bett'er.  .  .  .  There  was  a  part  of 
Boston  which  used  to  be  visited  by  young  men  out  of  curiosity,  when  I  first 
came  here,  into  which  I  never  set  foot  for  the  whole  time  I  remained  a 


ADVENTUKES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

single  man.  I  avoided  it,  because  I  not  only  wished  to  keep  clear  of  the 
temptations  common  in  that  part,  but  to  avoid  the  appearance  of  evil,  i 
never  regretted  it ;  and  I  would  advise  all  young  men  to  strengthen  their 
good  resolutions  by  reflection,  and  to  plant  deep  and  strong  the  principles 
of  right,  and  to  avoid  temptation,  as  time  gives  them  strength  to  stand 
against  it." 

Of  the  same  character  is  the  advice,  as  to  marriage,  which  he  gives  to  an. 
other  young  friend  :  "  Take  care  that  fancy  does  not  beguile  you  of  youi 
understanding,  in  making  your  choice :  a  mere  picture  is  not  all  that 
is  needful  in  the  up-and-down  hills  of  life.  The  arrangements  of  the 
household  and  the  sick-room,  have  more  in  them  to  fasten  upon  the 
heart,  than  all  the  beauties  and  honors  of  the  mere  gala  days,  however  suc 
cessfully  shown  off.  Be  careful,  when  you  fish,  to  get  a  heart,  a  soul,  and 
a  body  ;  not  the  show  of  a  body  that  has  mere  vitality." 

As  years  rolled  over  his  head,  Mr.  Lawrence's  conviction  of  his  in 
debtedness  to  the  instruction  and  example  of  his  now  widowed  and  ven 
erable  mother,  seems,  from  his  correspondence,  to  have  been  greatly  deep 
ened.  Writing  to  his  sister,  under  date  of  October  25,  1835,  he  says  :  "My 
thoughts  this  morning  have  been  much  engaged  with  my  early  home.  I 
conclude  it  best  to  embody  them  in  part,  and  send  them  forward  to  add  (if 
they  may)  a  token  of  gratitude  and  thankfulness  to  that  dear  one  who  is 
left  to  us,  for  her  care  of  our  early  days,  and  her  Christian  instruction  and 
example  to  her  children,  grand-children,  great-grand-children  ;  each  gener 
ation  of  whom,  I  trust,  will  be  made  better  in  some  of  its  members  by 
her.  It  is  more  natural,  when,  in  our  weakness  and  want,  to  turn  our 
thoughts  to  those  whom  they  have  been  accustomed  to  look  to  for  assist 
ance  ;  and  thus  to  me  the  impression  of  the  blessing  I  enjoy  in  having  such 
a  home  as  mine  is,  and  the  blessing  I  early  enjoyed  in  having  such  a  home 
as  mine  was,  under  my  father's  roof,  say  to  my  heart,  'All  these  increase 
thy  responsibilities,  and  for  their  use,  thou  must  account.'  I  have  had  one 
of  my  slight  ill  turns,  within  the  last  two  days,  that  has  brought  back  all 
these  feelings  with  increased  force ;  and  I  look  upon  these  as  gentle  mon 
itors,  calculated  to  make  me  estimate  more  fully  my  blessings  and  my  duties. 
Frequently  as  I  am  admonished  of  the  frail  tenure  by  which  I  hold  my  life, 
I  am  negligent  and  careless  in  the  performance  of  those  high  and  every 
day  duties  which  I  should  never  lose  sight  of  for  an  hour.  I  have  also 
such  buoyancy  of  spirits,  that  life  seems  to  me  a  very,  very  great  blessing, 
and  I  do,  at  times,  strive  to  make  it  useful  to  those  around  me." 

In  Mr.  Lawrence's  memorandum-book  of  property,  under  date  of  Decem 

ber  31,  1835,  occurs  the  following  entry :   "  My  expenses  have  been 

thousand  dollars  this  year,  of  which  about  one  half  went  for  persons  and 
objects  that  make  me  feel  that  it  has  been  well  expended,  and  is  better  used 
than  to  remain  in  my  possession." 

A  letter  to  his  mother,  written  two  years  later,  shows  the  habitual  feeling 
which  influenced  Mr.  Lawrence  in  h-is  use  of  his  property  :  "  This  day  com 
pletes  thirty  years  since  my  commencing  business,  with  the  hope  of  acquir 
ing  no  very  definite  amount  of  property,  or  having  in  my  mind  any  antici 
pation  of  ever  enjoying  a  tithe  of  that  consideration  my  friends  and  the 
public  are  disposed  to  award  me  at  this  time.  In  looking  back  to  that  period* 


OF  AMERICANS.  425 

and  reviewing  tha  events  as  they  come  along,  I  can  see  the  good  hand  of 
God  in  all  my  experience  ;  and  acknowledge,  with  deep  humiliation,  my 
want  of  gratitude  and  proper  return  for  all  his  mercies.  May  each  day  I 
live  impress  me  more  deeply  with  a  sense  of  duty,  and  find  me  better  pre 
pared  to  answer  His  call,  and  account  for  my  stewardship.  The  changes  in 
our  family  have  been  perhaps  no  greater  than  usual  in  other  families  in  that 
period,  excepting  in  the  matter  of  the  eminent  success  that  has  attended  our 
efforts  of  a  worldly  nature.  This  worldly  success  is  the  great  cause  of  our 
danger  in  its  use,  and  may  prove  a  snare,  unless  we  strive  to  keep  constantly 
in  mind,  that  to  whom  much  is  given,  of  him,  will  much  be  required.  I 
feel  my  own  deficiencies,  and  lament  them  ;  but  am  encouraged  and  re 
warded  by  the  enjoyment,  in  a  high  degree,  of  all  my  well-meant  efforts 
for  the  good  of  those  around  me.  In  short,  I  feel  as  though  I  can  still  do 
a  little  to  advance  the  cause  of  human  happiness  while  I  remain  here." 

The  pecuniary  embarrassment  in  the  business  of  the  country,  in  the  year 
1837,  will  long  be  remembered.  At  the  close  of  this  year,  he  writes  in  his 
diary :  "The  violent  revulsion  in  the  business  of  the  country,  during  the 
past  year,  has  been  ruinous  to  many  ;  but  so  far  as  my  own  interests  are  con 
cerned,  has  been  less  than  I  anticipated.  My  property  remains  much  as  it 
was  a  year  ago.  Something  beyond  my  income  has  been  disposed  of;  and 
I  have  no  debts  against  me,  either  as  a  partner  in  the  firm  or  individually. 
Everything  is  in  a  better  form  for  settlement  than  at  any  former  period,  and 
I  hope  to  feel  ready  to  depart  whenever  called." 

The  following  admirable  advice  was  written  in  an  account-book,  which 
he  gave  to  his  youngest  son,  when  a  lad  of  twelve  years  old  :  "  My  dear  son, 
I  give  you  this  little  book,  that  you  may  write  in  it,  how  much  money  you 
receive,  and  how  you  use  it.  It  is  of  much  importance,  in  forming  your 
early  character,  to  have  correct  habits,  and  a  strict  regard  to  truth  in  all  you 
do.  For  this  purpose,  I  advise  you  never  to  cheat  yourself  by  making  a 
false  entry  in  this  book.  If  you  spend  money  for  an  object  you  would  not 
willingly  have  known,  you  will  be  more  likely  to  avoid  doing  the  same 
thing  again,  if  you  call  it  by  its  right  name  here,  remembering  always  that 
there  is  ONE  who  cannot  be  deceived,  and  that  He  requires  his  children  to 
render  an  account  of  all  their  doings  at  last.  I  pray  God  so  to  guide  and 
direct  you,  that  when  your  stewardship  here  is  ended,  he  may  say  to  you, 
that  the  talents  entrusted  to  your  care  have  been  faithfully  employed." 

To  his  sister  he  writes,  December  22,  1848  :  "  It  is  thirty-one  years,  this 
week,  since  I  commenced  business  on  my  own  account,  and  the  prospects 
were  as  gloomy  at  that  period  for  its  successful  pursuit,  as  at  any  time  since; 
but  I  never  had  any  doubt  or  misgiving  as  to  my  success,  for  I  then  had 
no  more  wants  than  my  means  would  justify.  The  habits  then  formed,  and 
since  confirmed  and  strengthened  by  use,  have  been  the  foundation  of  my 
good  name,  good  fortune,  and  present  happy  condition.  At  that  time,  my 
gains  were  more  than  my  expenses  ;  thus  strengthening  and  encouraging 
me  in  the  steady  pursuit  of  those  objects  I  had  in  view  as  a  beginner,  From 
that  time  to  this,  I  am  not  aware  of  ever  desiring  or  acquiring  any  great 
amount  by  a  single  operation,  or  of  taking  any  part  of  tho  property  of 
any  other  man  and  mingling  it  with  my  own,  when  I  had  the  legal  right  to 
do  so.  I  have  had  such  uniform  success,  as  to  make  my  fidelity  a  matte/ 


4:26  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

of  deep  concern  to  myself;  and  my  prayer  to  God  is,  that  I  may  be  found 
to  have  acted  a  uniform  part,  and  receive  the  joyful  c  well  done,'  which  is 
substantial  wealth,  that  no  man  can  take  away." 

The  band  of  brothers,  five  in  number,  who  had,  for  so  many  years,  gone 
hand  in  hand,  united  by  a  common  affection,  and  rejoicing  together  in  a 
common  prosperity  was  now  to  be  broken.  Their  father  had  early  charged 
them  "not  to  fallout  by  the  way;  for  a  three-fold  cord  is  not  quickly 
broken."  This  injunction  had  been  to  them  a  sacred  one.  Whoever  has 
Been  them  walking  arm  and  arm,  on  a  Sunday  evening,  after  service,  can 
hardly  have  failed  to  feel  "  how  good  and  pleasant  a  thing  it  is  for  breth 
ren  to  dwell  together  in  unity." 

The  17th  of  April,  1839,  the  eldest  brother,  Luther,  then  mayor  of 
Lowell,  while  showing  a  relation  through  the  buildings  of  the  Middlesex 
Manufacturing  Company,  recently  erected  by  his  brothers,  made  a  mis-step, 
which  precipitated  him  into  a  deep  wheel-pit,  causing  almost  instant  death. 
This  sad  event  was  deeply  felt  by  Mr.  Lawrence,  and  by  all  who  knew  the 
character  of  the  deceased.  In  a  letter  to  his  sisters,  he  says  :  "  Brother  L.'s 
death  may,  perhaps,  be  more  efficient  in  instructing  us  in  the  path  of  duty 
than  would  have  been  his  life  ;  and  the  whole  community  is  admonished 
by  this  event  in  a  way  that  I  have  rarely  seen  marked.  The  homage  to  his 
character  is  a  legacy  to  his  children  of  more  value  than  all  the  gold  in  the 
mint." 

The  character  of  Mr.  Lawrence's  mind  naturally  inclined  him  to  reverence 
for  the  past.  He  looked  with  great  distrust  upon  some  of  the  tendencies 
which  an  unprecedented  prosperity  had  begun  to  develop  in  our  country. 
"I  hardly  know  when  I  have  been  more  forcibly  impressed  with  a  plain 
truth  than  I  was  yesterday,  while  sitting  alone  on  horseback,  on  the  top  of  the 
redoubt  on  Dorchester  Heights,  and  the  considerations  of  the  past,  the  present, 
and  the  future,  were  the  subjects  of  my  thoughts,  connecting  the  men  of  those 
days  with  the  present,  and  the  men  of  these  days  with  the  future,  the 
evidence  is  irresistable,  that  there  is  a  downhill  tendency  in  the  character 
of  the  people,  which  in  sixty  years  more,  will  make  us  more  corrupt  than 
any  other  enlightened  nation  so  young  as  ours,  unless  we  are  checked  by 
adversity  and  suffering.  There  seems  to  be  a  spirit  of  reckless  adventure 
in  politics  and  religion,  not  contemplated  seventy  years  ago.  How  far  our 
experience  in  self-government  in  this  country  is  going  to  advance  the  cause 
of  good  government,  and  the  ultimate  happiness  of  man,  \s  yet  a  problem. 
Our  principles  are  of  the  most  elevating  character  ;  our  practices  under 
them,  of  the  most  debasing ;  and  if  we  continue  in  this  way  another  gen 
eration,  there  will  not  be  virtue  enough  in  active  use  to  save  the  forms  of 
our  government." 

On  the  thirty-third  anniversary  of  his  commencing  business,  he  enters  in 
his  diary  :  "  My  daily  aspirations  are  for  wisdom  and  integrity,  to  do  what 
is  required  of  me  ;  but  the  excuses  for  omissions,  and  the  hidden  promptings 
of  pride  or  selfishness  in  the  sins  of  commission,  take  away  all  confidence 
that  all  is  done  as  it  should  be.  I  am  in  the  enjoyment  of  as  much  as  be 
longs  to  our  condition  here  ;  wife,  children,  and  friends,  those  three  little 
blessings  that  were  spared  to  us  after  the  fall,  impart  enjoyment  that  makes 
my  home  as  near  a  heaven  on  earth  as  is  allowed  to  mortals." 


OF   AMERICANS.  427 

At  this  time,  tho  reputation  of  Mr.  Lawrence,  for  benevolence,  had  be* 
came  so  established,  that  not  only  the  necessitous,  but  such  as  make  a  trade 
of  speculating  upon  the  charity  of  the  liberal,  were  frequent  applicants  for 
his  aid.  So  serious  had  this  annoyance  become,  that  he  felt  himself  con 
strained  to  deny  himself  to  all  applicants,  who  were  neither  known  to  him 
self  nor  properly  commended  by  those  in  whom  he  had  confidence.  He 
was  in  the  habit  of  keeping  a  record  of  the  names,  ages,  occupations,  etc.,  of 
those  who  solicted  his  assistance.  These  memoranda  are  sometimes  both 
quaint  and  plain  spoken  ;  —  for  instance  :  "June,  6. — G.  M.  called  to  sell 
a  lot  of  sermons,  called  the ,  which  he  says  he  caused  to  be  pub 
lished  to  do  good,  but  he  repeated  it  so  often  that  I  doubted  him.  He  seems 
to  me  a  wooden-nutmeg  fellow,  although  he  has  the  Rev.  Mr. 's  cer 
tificate." 

One  of  the  most  striking  as  well  as  amiable  traits  in  Mr.  Lawrence's  char 
acter  was  his  absolute  freedom  from  sectarian  bitterness.  Though  con 
nected  with  a  Unitarian  Church  (that  of  Brattle  street),  from  his  first  com 
mencement  in  business,  down  to  the  day  of  his  death,  he  had  the  pleasure 
of  numbering  among  his  most  intimate  friends,  clergymen  of  all  shades  and 
theological  opinions. 

It  would  be  impossible,  within  the  scope  of  this  article,  to  give  even  a 
full  outline  of  the  life  of  such  a  man  as  Amos  Lawrence.  His  Diary  and 
Correspondence,  a  work  of  three  hundred  and  sixty  pages,  duodecimo,  com 
piled  by  his  son,  was  thought  of  such  inestimable  value  to  the  young,  that 
many  of  the  Boston  merchants  presented  a  copy  to  each  of  their  clerks ; 
one  house  taking  sixty  for  that  purpose. 

"The  publication  of  the  Diary  of  Amos  Lawrence,"  states  a  print  of 
the  time,  "naturally  recalls  many  anecdotes  of  his  life,  and  one  of  a  cer 
tain  remarkable  pocket-book,  that  belonged  to  him,  deserves  to  be  repeated. 
We  will  try  to  relate  the  fact  in  the  way  it  was  once  told  by  Father  Tay 
lor,  of  Boston.  On  the  occasion  of  an  anniversary  celebration  in  that  city, 
a  large  number  of  orthodox  clergymen  wore  seated  on  the  platform,  and 
among  them  was  the  well-known  preacher  to  seamen.  A  remark  had  been 
dropped  by  one  of  the  speakers,  implying  a  doubt  'whether  any  Unitarian 
could  go  to  heaven.'  Father  Taylor  fired  up  at  the  word,  and  springing  to 
his  feet  he  exclaimed,  in  his  indescribable  manner  :  '  No  Unitarian  go  to 
heaven  !  Mr.  Chairman,  I  have  a  word  to  say  about  that.  I  have  this  day 
seen  Amos  Lawrence's  pocket-book.  It  is  such  a  pocket-book  as  was  never 
made  before.  On  one  fold  of  it  is  printed  in  gilt  letters,  'What  shall  it 
profit  a  man  if  he  gain  the  whole  world  and  loose  his  own  soul?'  You 
open  another  fold  and  read,  '  The  gold  is  mine,  saith  the  Lord  of  Hosts.* 
On  still  another  fold  is  printed,  '  He  that  giveth  to  the  poor,  Icndeth  to  the 
Lord.'  I  asked  Mr.  Lawrence  what  all  this  was  for.  He  told  me  that  he 
remembered  that,  as  men  grew  old,,  they  sometimes  grew  selfish,  and  every 
time  he  looked  to  his  money,  he  wanted  to  be  reminded  of  the  great  prin 
ciples  of  the  Gospel,  by  which  he  ought  to  hold  and  use  his  worldly  goods; 
and  therefore  he  kept  money  in  each  of  those  folds  of  his  pocket-book,  for 
all  good  uses  which  Divine  Providence  might  suggest.  Now,  Mr.  Chair 
man,  what  are  you  going  to  do  with  a  man  who  carries  such  a  book  in  his 
pocket  ?  Do  you  mean  to  send  him  to  hell  ?  Do  you  think  the  devil  and 


428  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

his  angels  would  permit  a  man  with  principles  like  these  to  enter  his  do 
mains  ?  Why,  sir,  such  doctrines  carried"  to  hell,  would  make  an  uproar 
and  revolution  there  more  terrible  than  ever  before-  known,  and  it  never 
could  be  easy  till  he  was  cast  out.  I  ask  again,  what  do  you  mean  to  do 
with  him?'  Father  Taylor's  question  was  not  answered;  but  whatever 
trouble  the  case  he  supposed  might  create  in  the  locality  named,  certain  it 
is  that  his  own  speech  made  quite  a  sensation  on  the  platform." 

Mr.  Lawrence  finished  his  earthly  pilgrimage  on  the  last  day  of  the  year 
1852.  All  his  temporal  affairs  had  been  arranged  in  view  of  this  event ; 
and  there  can  be  no  doubt  but  that  he  was  fully  prepared  for  that  world  of 
love  to  which  he  was  undoubtedly  called. 

".Religion  was  eminently  a  part  of  Mr.  Lawrence's  business — not  the  re 
ligion  of  a  dead  faith  only,  but  a  religion  in  which  an  active  faith,  and  the 
works  of  love  and  human  charity  were  united  with  humility.  His  pastor 
remarks  of  him  in  his  funeral  discourse,  that  '  he  was  a  constant  worshipper 
in  his  (the  old  Brattle  street)  church  for  forty-six  years,  and,  for  more  than 
forty  years,  was  a  communicant,  and  for  ten  years  a  deacon,  which  office  he 
was  compelled  to  resign  on  account  of  continued  ill-health.  His  Diary  and 
Letters  show  a  heart  full  of  reverence,  and  imbued  with  a  Christian  vitality, 
that  might  put  many  louder  and  more  clamorous  professors  to  shame.' 

He  not  unfrequently  sent  to  his  store  for  one  or  two  thousand  dollars  at 
a  time,  in  small  bills,  to  be  used  in  the  service  of  his  charities.  He  nevei 
gave  without  due  examination,  and  his  gifts  were  more  generally  voluntary, 
than  the  results  of  solicitation  or  personal  appeals.  His  biographer  esti 
mates  the  sum,  which  he  devoted  to  charities  during  his  life,  and  mostly 
during  the  last  ten  years  of  it,  to  be  not  less  than  seven  hundred  thousand 
dollars,  and  remarks,  that  'although  many  persons  have  done  more,  few 
have  done  so  much  in  proportion  to  the  means  they  had  to  bestow.' 

Amos  Lawrence  takes  a  place  among  the  great  men  of  his  time.  He  was 
not  a  great  scholar,  nor  a  great  orator,  nor  a  great  politician.  He  had  not 
great  learning,  nor  great  genius  ;  but,  nevertheless,  he  was  a  great  man.  He 
had  a  great  heart,  and  any  mind  that  could  direct  it  so  wisely  as  it  was 
directed,  is  a  great  mind  ;  for  wisdom  in  action,  requires  such  a  combination 
and  proportion  of  qualities  that  any  man  who  exhibits  it,  is  pre-eminently 
entitled  to  the  appellation  of  'great.'  " 

He  was  a  living  example  of  a  successful  merchant,  who  had  from  the 
earliest  period  of  his  business  career,  risen  above  all  anticipation,  and  had 
never  been  willing  to  turn  to  advantage  the  ignorance  or  misfortunes  of  others. 
Even  while  an  apprentice,  in  his  native  town,  many  of  his  customers  relied 
upon  his  judgment,  rather  than  their  own,  in  the  selection  of  goods  for  their 
purchase.  He  never  deceived  them.  What  "Amos"  said  was  right,  no 
one  could  gainsay.  It  was  this  sterling  honesty,  more  than  any  other  one 
thicg,  that  contributed  to  his  success  in  life. 


*   Si! 


5     "I."! 


I 

•^      o  *:: 


- 


FIVE   TEARS 


AMERICAN    SOLDIER 


COMPRISING  ADVENTURES  AT  PALO  ALTO,  RESACA  DE  LA  PALMA,  MONTEREY,  VKR* 
CRUZ,  CERRO  GOROO,  AND  IN  THE  BATTLES  IN  THE  VALLEY  OF  MEXICO,  INTER 
SPERSED  WITH  ANECDOTES  OF 

MILITARY  LIFE,  IN  PEACE  AND  IN  WAR. 


IF  anxious  mothers  always  had  their  own  way,  and  if  young  men  pos 
sessed  a  little  more  knowledge,  the  business  of  the  world  would  suffer. 
Both  commerce  and  war,  those  agents  of  civilization,  would  be  shorn  of 
recruits,  by  the  force  of  maternal  influence  and  a  vivid  sense  of  the  evils 
which  these  pursuits  are  apt  to  bring  upon  their  followers. 

But  young  lads  are  ignorant,  imagination  is  active,  and  they  are  often 
lured  on  by  the  charm  of  novelty  to  rush  from  the  quiet  scenes  of  home, 
and  launch  forth  upon  perilous  adventures.  It  is  well  that  it  should  be  so. 
Nature  has  implanted  this  desire  in  young  hearts,  because  the  world  has 
use  for  them.  Many  fall  by  the  wayside — perish  miserably  through  perils 
by  jea  and  perils  by  land  :  others,  with  broken  constitutions  and  blasted 
hopes,  crushed  by  poverty  and  wasted  by  disease,  eke  out  a  miserable  exist 
ence  ; — yet  the  race,  as  a  whole,  is  benefited. 

Of  this  unfortunate  class,  I  am  one.  A  little  more  knowledge,  in  my 
start  in  life,  would  not  only  have  saved  me  much  suffering,  but  would  have, 
probably,  preserved  to  this  day  some  quite  respectable  gentlemen  of  Mex- 
co,  whom  I,  in  the  way  of  business  in  that  country,  assisted  in  gathering  to 
their  fathers.  By  my  early  ignorance,  doubtless,  you  can  here,  at  this  late 
period,  obtain  a  knowledge,  of  the  life  of  the  American  Soldier,  including  a 
glimpse  at  some  of  the  ugly  shadows  that  are  cast  athwart  it. 

My  name  is  C.  M.  REEVES.  You  never  before  heard  of  it — it  is  unknown 
to  fame.  The  French  have  a  proverb,  that  "  the  world  never  knows  its 
'great  men."  This  is  certainly  a  consolatory  axiom  to  such  of  us  as  know 
the  world  better  than  it  knows  us.  I  was  born  in  the.  year  1825,  in  Trum- 
bull  County,  Ohio,  and  nineteen  years  after,  viz:  on  the  9th  day  of  Decem 
ber,  1844,  descended  from  a  stage-coach  before  the  Monongahela  House  at 
Pittsburgh,  entered  the  clerk's  office,  and  wrote  my  name  on  the  hotel 
register.  Between  these  dates,  I  had  passed  from  an  infant  into  the  suc 
cessive  developments  necessary  to  constitute  a  raw  youth,  with  nineteen 
years  only  of  rural  experience. 

My  business  at  Pittsburgh  was  to  enlist  in  the  army.  I  had  never  seen 
any  of  the  soldiers  of  the  United  States,  and  was  under  the  impression  that 
the  army  was  composed  of  the  elite  of  the  country — that  none  were  taken 

(429^ 


430  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

into  the  service,  but  gentlemen,  fine,  straight,  good-looking  Americans.  So 
much  was  my  mind  exercised  upon  what  the  good  qualities  of  men  must 
be,  that  I  greatly  feared,  upon  being  examined,  I  should  not  equal  the  requi 
site  standard. 

At  the  hotel,  I  took  a  room  with  a  fire,  and  ordered  up  my  baggage,  con 
sisting  of  an  ancient  hair-trunk,  which  contained  a  few  quite  common  arti 
cles  of  personal  clothing.  This  was  a  first-class  house  and  was  crowded 
with  guests,  and  as  my  attire  was  seedy,  I  expect  I  was  the  most  plainly 
dressed  of  any  in  that  numerous  family.  On  retiring  to  my  room,  I  thor 
oughly  overhauled  my  pockets,  and  was  astonished  to  find  that  I  only  had 
just  thirteen  cents  !  Well,  here  was  a  dilemma.  Ho\v  was  I  to  settle  my 
bill  with  that  money  ?  My  brain  was  so  active  with  the  project  of  enlist 
ing,  that  I  slept  poorly,  and  arose  very  early  next  morning.  While  stand 
ing  by  the  stove  in  the  office,  I  observed  that  the  clerk  surveyed  me  very 
attentively.  Thinks  I,  you  look  as  if  you  suspect  I  am  about  to  slip  off 
without  settling  my  bill.  I  walked  out,  still  under  the  discomfort  of  his 
sharp  vision,  until  I  turned  around  a  corner  of  the  street. — I  was  in  search 
of  the  recruiting  rendezvous,  which  I  soon  found. 

The  sergeant  saluted  me  very  blandly,  and  invited  me  in  to  see  the  men 
drill.  When  they  were  through,  he  took  his  seat  beside  me,  and  inquired 
if  I  wished  to  enlist  ?  I  replied,  "  Yes."  "Very  well,"  he  rejoined;  "  have 
you  considered  the  consequences  of  such  a  step?"  On  my  answering  in 
the  affirmative,  he  continued,  "Well,  as  soon  as  the  lieutenant  comes  in, 
you  shall  be  enlisted."  He  then  went  on  to  state  what  the  pay  of  a  soldier 
was,  his  clothing,  rations,  etc.  When  the  lieutenant  entered,  I  was  duly 
enlisted,  and  all  the  papers  made  out.  From  thence,  the  sergeant  took  me 
to  the  garrison,  a  mile  above  the  city,  to  be  examined  by  the  surgeon  and 
sworn  into  the  service  by  a  magistrate.  I  had  some  delicacy  in  divesting 
myself  of  my  clothing,  and  standing  naked  for  the  inspection  of  the  medi 
cal  gentleman.  I  passed  through  the  ordeal,  however,  and  before  night  was 
an  American  soldier,  sworn  to  serve  for  the  term  of  five  years  in  the  army 
of  the  United  States. 

A  recruiting  rendezvous  is  generally  under  the  charge  of  a  lieutenant  and 
a  sergeant.  The  duty  of  the  latter  is  to  instruct  the  candidate  in  all  the 
particulars  of  the  service,  so  that,  if  he  should  subsequently  repent  of  it,  he 
can  have  no  excuse.  By  the  regulations,  none  are  to  be  enlisted  while  in 
toxicated,  but,  as  a  general  thing,  no  sooner  does  a  man  make  his  appear 
ance  at  a  rendezvous,  than  the  sergeant  showers  upon  him  a  torrent  of  ful 
some  flattery,  takes  him  to  the  nearest  grog-shop,  and  pours  whisky  down 
his  throat  until  hi*  patriotism  is  at  the  flood,  and  then  he  is  ready  to  "  Mist." 
This  is  one  of  the  reasons  why  so  many  of  the  very  lowest  foreigners  enter 
our  army,  to  the  exclusion  of  a  better  class  of  men. 

The  first  night's  experience  as  a  soldier,  is  undying  in  my  recollection.  I 
do  not  believe  I  slept  one  hour.  I  lay  in  my  coarse  soldiers'  bunk,  covered 
with  but  a  single  blanket,  shivering  with  the  cold,  and  brooding  over  all  tho 
mishaps  of  my  short  life.  I  did  not  like  the  way  things  opened  to  me, 
being  sadly  disappointed  in  the  kind  of  men  taken  into  the  service,  in  the 
clothing,  rations,  etc.  In  fact,  nothing  was  as  I  had  preconceived.  A  fore 
boding  sense  of  doing  something  wrong  passed  over  me  ;  I  felt  as  though  I 


OF  AMERICANS.  431 

had  forfeited,  in  a  great  measure,  that  inestimable  boon  to  all  Americans— 
liberty  !  and  that  I  had  subjected  myself  to  the  authority  of  those  above, 
whom  to  obey  would  be  degradation,  and  for  this  there  was  no  remedy. 
After  following  up  this  train  of  thought  for  awhile,  I  would  chase  away  the 
phantoms  by  the  reflection,  that  I  would  bo  occupying  an  honorable  posi 
tion — the  "  military  glory,"  so  to  speak,  would  buoy  me  up.  I  thought  too, 
that  the  army  would  be  a  good  school  to  me  ;  that  if  I  did  not  find  every 
thing  to  my  mind,  I  would  be  fully  compensated  by  the  knowledge  I  should 
gain  of  human  nature  and  the  world.  In  the  morning,  I  awoke,  feeling 
very  bad  from  the  loss  of  sleep.  Our  breakfast  consisted  of  weak  coffee, 
baker's  bread,  and  a  few  slices  of  ham — no  butter,  no  milk  for  coffee,  and 
no  kind  of  vegetables.  With  the  exception  of  bean-soup  or  potatoes  some 
times  at  dinner,  this  was  all  the  variety  of  diet  we  had  at  the  rendezvous. 

After  breakfast,  I  had  issued  to  me  my  first  year's  clothing.  The  next 
thing  was  to  dispose  of  my  citizen's  clothing.  John,  the  cook,  introduced 
me  to  an  old  man,  who  kept  a  pawn-broker's  shop,  and  bought  and  sold 
cast-off  clothing.  I  bundled  up  my  relics,  passed  them  over  to  him,  and 
got  him  to  go  with  me  to  the  Monongahela  House  for  my  trunk.  Here  he 
paid  my  bill,  which  was  one  dollar  and  fifty  cents,  seized  one  end  of  the 
trunk  to  help  me  out  with  it,  when  the  clerk,  who  had  scrutinized  me  so 
attentively,  called  out  in  ringing  tones,  "  Young  man,  what  under  heavens 
have  you  enlisted  for — why  have  you  thrown  yourself  away  ?"  I  muttered 
something  in  reply — that  it  was  "my  business."  "Come  on!"  called  out 
the  old  man,  pulling  at  the  other  end  of  the  trunk.  "  You  hare  entirely 
ruined  yourself,"  continued  the  clerk  ;  "  you  had  better  have  gone  down  to 
a  steamboat,  and  worked  for  your  daily  bread."  "  Come  on  !"  again  shouted 
my  companion,  getting  out  of  patience,  and  dragging  me  and  the  trunk  out 
of  the  door,  from  whence  we  made  for  his  dingy  shop  as  fast  as  possible. 

On  returning  to  my  quarters,  I  sat  down  on  a  bench  and  gave  myself  up 
to  reflection.  The  words  of  the  hotel  clerk  rang  in  my  ears ;  I  saw  how 
completely  I  had  deceived  myself — that  as  a  soldier  of  the  United  States, 
\  was  but  little  better  than  a  slave,  and  with  the  most  abandoned  and  dis 
gusting  of  men  as  associates.  I  thought  of  my  home  in  Ohio.  Would  I 
ever  see  the  faces  of  the  loved  ones  again  ? 

I  was  the  eighth  of  that  "  batch  "  of  recruits.  The  term  "  batch  "  is  ap 
plied  to  any  number  of  recruits  collected  and  sent  together  to  a  military 
depot.  Two  others  were  afterward  added.  Seven  of  this  batch  were 
Irish  ;  one  was  a  German,  and  two  only  Americans.  The  Irish  were  as 
filthy,  debased,  and  illiterate  creatures  as  could  be  got  out  of  a  whole  ship 
load  of  paupers  ;  they  were  useless  save  to  pour  down  bad  rum  and  to 
quarrel — eventually,  all  of  these  either  deserted  or  were  dishonorably  dis 
charged.  The  German  was  a  dirty,  lazy  lout,  of  whora  I  shall  again  speak. 
Keller,  the  other  American,  was  a  six-foot  Pennsylvania!,,  who,  like  my 
self,  had  taken  a  resolution  not  to  drink  liquor  while  in  the  army.  A  mu 
tual  separation  ensued  between  us  two  and  the  others,  and,  as  a  natural 
consequence,  a  common  enmity  arose.  The  drunkards  became  very  much 
enraged  against  us,  for  not  joining  in  with  them  in  stealing  and  smuggling 
liquor  into  the  quarters,  and  swore  revenge  on  the  "  spalpeens  of  Ameri 
cans  ;"  they  never  attempted  anything  but  once,  however,  when,  in  a  des« 


432  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

perate  fight,  we  teetotallers  came  off  victorious.  In  their  drunken  orgie^ 
they  broke  the  furniture,  yelled  and  laughed,  and  with  demoniac  expres 
sions  on  their  countenances,  reminded  me  forcibly  of  a  description  I  onca 
read  of  fiends  just  emerging  from  pandemonium,  to  visit  our  earth  and  ter 
rify  and  torment  mankind. 

On  January  18th,  we  learned  we  were  to  leave  en  the  next  day  for  New 
port  (Ky.)  Barracks,  there  to  join  a  large  number  of  recruits ;  from  thence 
the  whole  were  to  be  dispatched  to  supply  a  deficiency  in  the  Fourth  In 
fantry,  at  Camp  Salubrity,  on  Upper  Red  River,  in  Louisiana.  I  cheerfully 
packed  up  my  things,  and,  as  I  had  on  my  new,  neatly-fitting  suit,  was,  and 
it  is  not  saying  much,  the  best-looking  man  of  the  batch.  Our  Irish  and 
the  German  were  perfectly  content  with  their  bungling  garments  in  any 
shape. 

As  we  were  paraded  in  front  of  the  quarters  next  morning,  some  of  the 
boys  of  Pittsburgh — and  worse  cannot  be  found  anywhere — gathered  about 
us  by  dozens,  and  followed  us  to  the  steamer,  all  the  while  yelling  out  at 
the  top  of  their  voices,  "  Here's  the  dirty  sogers  !"  "  Soger,  will  you  go  to 
work  ?"  Then  they  would  answer  the  question  themselves,  "  No,  I  '11  sell 
my  shirt  first !"  "  Here,  dirty  soger ;  going  to  be  shot  at — and  missed,  eh  !" 
"  What's  the  price  of  whisky,  soger  ?"  etc.  And  thus  they  kept  it  up, 
hooting  at  us  as  though  we  were  a  gang  of  thieves  on  the  way  to  a  jail.  I 
am  naturally  "  thin  skinned,"  and  what  were  my  emotions  on  this  occasion, 
the  reader  may  guess. 

Out  West,  when  they  wish  to  express  contempt  for  any  person,  they  say, 
"  he's  a  miserable  stern-wheel  affair."  The  boat  we  were  put  upon  was  the 
Queen,  and  one  of  the  worst  of  even  stern-wheel  steamers.  She  was  an 
"  old  tub,"  and  very  dirty.  We  were  put  on  deck  ;  a  great  portion  of  her 
weather- boarding  had  been  torn  off,  letting  in  the  cold  and  snow.  A  barrel 
of  biscuit  was  set  on  board.  This  was  to  constitute  our  provision  until  we 
reached  Newport — no  coffee,  no  meat,  and  no  place  to  cook  any  if  we  had 
it.  "  Well,"  thought  I,  "  Uncle  Sam,  you  are  quite  a  generous  old  fellow, 
after  all !"  Once,  the  sergeant  condescended  to  come  down  from  the  cabin, 
to  see  how  we  were  getting  along.  To  our  inquiries,  if  we  had  been  left  to 
starve,  he  replied,  that  "  the  lieutenant  allowed  a  barrel  of  bread  was  enough 
for  us  1"  We  had  the  gracious  privilege  of  an  old  stove,  and  plenty  of 
wood.  At  night,  we  slept  on  some  pork  barrels,  which  we  packed  around 
the  stove,  and  thus  managed  to  keep  from  freezing.  I  confess,  I  felt  as  if  I 
was  an  outcast  from  society — a  criminal  on  his  way  to  some  penal  colony. 

We  remained  at  Newport  three  days.  As  this  is  a  general  recruiting  sta 
tion,  sixty-five  recruits  were  ready  to  go  on  with  us.  All  were  again  sub 
jected  to  a  rigid  examination  by  the  surgeon  at  the  post.  The  whole  were 
simultaneously  ordered  to  undress  3*1  the  large  sleeping-room  of  the  bar 
racks.  No  sooner  said  than  done — a  hundred,  nearly,  of  the  genus  homo, 
of  the  masculine  gender,  stood  forth,  ready  to  undergo  the  scrutinizing  ex 
amination  of  the  medical  inspector.  After  leaping  over  benches,  jumping 
around,  stooping  down,  raising  up  one  arm,  and  then  the  other,  as  was  com 
manded,  our  examiner  began  to  thump  us  in  the  breast,  and  beat  us  all  over 
the  person,  as  though  we  were  some  new  kind  of  drums.  He  also  looked 
into  our  mouths,  examined  our  teeth,  and,  in  short,  did  evervthing  but  turn 


OF  AMERICANS.  433 

us  inside  out.     Finding  no  defects,  he  pronounced  us  able-bodied  men,  and 
ordered  us  to  dress. — So  ended  this  degrading  scene. 

With  three  exceptions,  I  never  suffered  so  much  from  hunger  as  while  at 
this  post.  Take  a  man  from  citizens'  life  to  that  of  the  soldier,  and  his 
powers  of  endurance  will  be  most  effectually  tried,  especially  if,  like  my 
self,  he  be  at  the  time  young  and  growing.  This  deprivation  of  the  food 
that  government  had  provided,  was  owing  to  the  rascality  of  the  first  ser 
geant  of  the  barracks,  who,  having  the  management  of  the  business,  with 
held  our  full  rations,  in  order  that  he  might  save  the  flour,  beans,  sugar  and 
coffee  for  his  own  purposes.  I  saw  some  poor  recruits  selling  their  spare 
clothing  to  the  old  soldiers,  and  then  running  to  the  grocery  to  buy  addi 
tional  provisions. 

We  left  Newport  for  New  Orleans  on  the  steamer  Champion.  As  deck 
passengers,  we  were  allowed  to  go  on  the  hurricane-deck,  where  I  passed 
whole  days  in  gazing  upon  the  river  scenery.  Upon  the  great  "  Father  of 
Waters,"  I  was  especially  delighted  with  the  glorious  panorama,  and  felt 
sorry  when  evening  came  to  shut  out  the  scene.  Often,  however,  I  would 
remain  until  late  at  night,  scarcely  knowing  which  most  to  admire,  the  gor 
geous  starry  vault  above,  or  the  broad  placid  Mississippi,  hedged  in  on  both 
sides  by  the  dark  and  silent  forests,  and  flowing  in  ever- varying  majestic 
curves  on  its  return  home  to  the  gulf. 

The  recruits  were  under  the  immediate  charge  of  Crosby,  an  old  soldier, 
and  a  complete  scamp.  He  kept  back  from  us  our  full  allowance  of  rations, 
that  he  might  sell  the  surplus  at  New  Orleans,  as  we  subsequently  learned. 
Some  of  our  men  discovered  and  slyly  tapped  a  barrel  of  whisky  with  a 
gimlet,  and,  until  found  out,  sucked  away  at  the  vile  stuff.  For  two  or 
three  days,  I  had  observed  some  of  my  comrades  cooking  and  eating  eggs, 
very  freely.  Not  being  in  the  secret,  I  was  envious  of  their  good  fortune  in 
having  the  means  to  purchase  such  a  luxury,  which  I  supposed  they  had 
done  at  some  of  the  landings  on  the  river.  On  one  of  these  occasions,  I 
stood  gazing  at  a  soldier  enjoying  himself  over  a  large  dish,  my  mouth 
fairly  watering  over  the  scene,  for  our  slim  fare  had  put  my  stomach  on  the 
"  qui  vive,"  most  anxiously  hoping  he  would  invite  me  to  share  with  him 
when  he  said,  "Reeves,  why  don't  you  cook  yourself  some  eggs? — real 
nice,  old  fellow  !"  "  Humph  !"  I  answered,  "  if  I  only  had  the  money  to 
buy  them."  "  Why,  God  bless  you,  man  !"  he  rejoined,  "you  don't  want 
any  money  ;  take  them  like  the  rest — only  be  sly  about  it,  or  you  may  be 
caught !"  "  Where  do  you  get  them  ?"  I  eagerly  inquired.  "  There  !" 
continued  he,  pointing  to  a  barrel  that  stood  end-up  amid  a  large  number  on 
their  sides ;  "  take  your  haversack  (a  bag  for  food),  watch  your  opportunity, 
slip  along  close  to  the  wheel-house,  and  get  as  many  as  you  can."  "  My 
eye  1"  I  exclaimed,  "  and  is  that  the  way  you  have  all  got  the  eggs  you 
have  been  eating  the  past  two  days  ?"  It  is  only  necessary  to  add,  that  the 
collapsed  state  of  my  stomach  blunted  all  my  conscientious  scruples,  and  ere 
long  I  had  a  realizing  sense  of  the  efficacy  of  a  good  dish  of  fried  eggs. 
There  was  some  swearing  when  that  pilfering  was  discovered  ;  but  no  one 
knew  anything  of  it — the  soldiers  had  bought  their  eggs  ! 

At  Vicksburgh,  a  Red  River  planter  came  on  board  with  forty  negroes. 
The  drunken  soldiers,  the  smell  of  the  poor  darkeys,  and  the  yelping  and 


34:  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

filth  of  the  crew,  were  all  horrible.  The  slaves  would  throw  themselves 
around  the  boilers — the  hands  ditto ;  soldiers  would  trample  and  stumble 
over  them  ;  negroes  would  growl,  soldiers  curse,  and  the  hands  yelp — all 
forming  a  most  delectable  scene.  Poor  Wilson,  from  Maryland,  a  slave 
State,  I  pitied  him  from  my  whole  heart !  for  he  was  sick  all  the  way 
down,  and  to  have  to  eat,  drink,  and  sleep  with  a  pack  of  cotton-field  ne 
groes,  took  him  down  effectually — but  he  lived  through  it  to  see  harder 
times.  Such  is  a  soldier's  life. 

From  New  Orleans,  we  continued  on  up  through  wild  and  picturesque 
scenery  three  hundred  miles,  to  Grand  Ecore,  and  then,  by  a  march  of  three 
miles,  arrived  one  Sabbath  afternoon  at  Camp  Salubrity.  Here,  with  twelve 
others,  I  was  assigned  to  company  "  B."  Two  of  these,  Wilson  and  Ins- 
keep,  were  men  for  whom  I  had  formed  an  especial  liking,  and  whom  I 
shall  have  occasion  again  to  mention. 

Camp  Salubrity  was  a  collection  of  log-huts  built  by  the  soldiers,  situated 
in  a  rich  rolling  country,  interspersed  with  dark  gloomy  forests  of  pine,  and 
well  adapted  to  sugar  and  cotton.  The  original  inhabitants,  Spaniards  and 
French,  werf  giving  way  to  an  American  population.  The  rnild  climate 
produces  myriads  of  fleas,  red-bugs,  musquitoes  and  chamelions  ;  the  latter 
resembles  our  lizard  in  size  and  shape,  is  harmless,  and  occupies  its  time 
mainly  in  fly-catching.  WTe  were  much  annoyed  by  the  fleas  ;  these,  how 
ever,  were  a  light  affliction  compared  to  the  red-bug — a  sort  of  wood-tick 
that  buries  itself  in  the  flesh,  causing  an  intolerable  itching,  rendered  ten 
fold  more  tormenting  by  scratching.  The  only  alleviating  remedy  was  to 
grease  well  the  parts  affected.  For  awhile,  every  evening  at  camp,  might 
be  seen  men  and  women  greasing  for  red-bugs,  for  when  this  was  neglected 
a  sleepless  night  was  certain  to  ensue. 

Our  army  officers  are  mostly  a  meritorious  set  of  men  ;  but,  like  all  other 
human  beings,  have  their  failings.  No  kind  of  breeding  will  make  gentle 
men  of  naturally  coarse-grained  men.  Officers  of  this  class  are  generally 
tyrannical,  and,  as  my  experience  taught  me,  almost  invariably  cowardly. 
It  would  be  thought  degrading  in  an  officer  to  be  in  the  least  familiar  with 
the  men.  He  is  never  to  address  a  soldier  as  Mr.,  but  to  use  his  surname 
only.  In  addressing  an  officer,  a  soldier  must  always  call  him  by  his  title, 
and  give  the  salute  :  his  manner  must  be  perfectly  respectful  and  dignified, 
and  he  is  never  to  enter  the  presence  of  his  superiors  except  on  business. 
Government  designs  that  the  officers  should  exercise  a  kind  of  fatherly  care 
over  the  men,  and  those  who  do  so,  and  many  there  are  of  this  sort,  win 
their  love  and  gratitude. 

All  this  is  necessary  to  discipline.  It  is  the  same  at  sea  with  sailors  and 
their  officers.  I  will  digress  to  give  an  anecdote  I  once  heard,  as  tending  to 
show  how  an  act  of  condescension  on  the  part  of  an  officer  astonishes  an  in 
ferior.  The  late  Lieutenant  K.  S.  Woodward,  of  the  revenue  service,  was 
pacing  the  deck  of  his  vessel,  when  a  knife,  dropped  from  above,  passed 
close  by  his  head,  and  stuck  quivering  in  the  deck  at  his  feet.  The  lieu 
tenant  reprimanded  a  sailor  he  saw  aloft  for  his  carelessness.  He  subse 
quently  ascertained  he  had  blamed  the  wrong  man.  On  the  first  opportu 
nity,  he  asked  his  pardon  in  the  presence  of  his  companions.  The  man 
was  so  flustered  at  such  an  unusual  act  on  the  part  of  his  superior,  that  he 


OF  AMEEICANS. 

blushed  and  stammered  to  reply,  but  could  not  utter  a  word.  An  act  like 
this  wins  tho  undying  affection  of  the  men,  and  they  will  follow  such  a 
man  to  the  last. 

Many  of  the  young  graduates  of  West  Point  are  perfect  tyrants;  but  a 
campaign  of  heavy  marches,  lying  out  at  night,  and  undergoing  other  hard 
ships,  takes  the  wind  out  of  the  sails  of  these  young  gentlemen  amazingly. 
Often  have  I  had  my  blood  boil  to  hear  some  one  of  these  youngsters,  for 
a  mere  trifle,  order  a  gray-headed  old  soldier  to  undergo  a  most  painful  and 
ignominious  punishment ;  yet  there  was  no  help  for  it — to  resist  an  officer 
is  A  high  crime,  and  to  strike  him,  death.  Tyrannical  officers  are  hated  like 
reptiles.  If  one  is  so  gross  as  to  be  beneath  the  respect  of  his  men,  the  po 
sition  must  be  honored.  Often  have  I  heard  soldiers,  in  speaking  of  such, 
say  :  "  It  is  not  him  that  I  respect,  but  Uncle  Sam's  cloth  which  he  carries 
on  his  shoulders  !" 

The  washing  for  the  men  is  done  by  laundresses,  of  which  there  are  a 
few  to  each  regiment.  These  are  generally  soldiers'  wives,  and  usually  pos 
sess  rather  questionable  characters.  Many  a  pure  young  girl,  having  be 
come  enamored  of  a  good-looking  soldier,  has  left  home  and  friends  to 
share  his  fortunes  as  a  wife.  For  awhile  she  would  continue  a  strictly  chaste 
and  lovely  woman ;  but  life  in  a  camp  is  polluting — temptations  would 
come,  and  in  a  few  short  years  she  would  be  changed  into  a  bloated,  sot- 
tishly  disgusting  creature,  too  degraded  for  companionship  with  even  the 
lowest  of  men.  After  a  recruit  is  turned  to  duty,  "  guard  "  is  the  first  he  has 
to  perform.  In  time  of  war,  when  near  an  enemy,  it  is  the  most  responsible 
of  all  situations,  for  the  safety  of  a  whole  army  often  depends  on  the  vigil 
ance  of  a  single  sentinel.  It  is  a  great  military  crime  for  one  to  be  found 
Bleeping  on  his  post.  Certain  matters  connected  with  the  duty  of  a  sentinel 
in  standing  post,  require  presence  of  mind  :  such  as  receiving  aright  the 
officer  of  the  day,  facing  in  the  right  manner,  promptly  giving  bis  orders, 
hailing  at  night,  recollecting  the  countersign,  of  whom  to  demand  it,  etc. 
Even  old  soldiers  often  get  into  trouble  for  allowing  the  officer  of  the  day 
to  come  up  before  he  hails,  etc.  When  I  first  mounted  post,  I  was  under 
considerable  trepidation  lest  I  should  blunder.  As  ill  luck  would  have  it, 
Major  Allen,  the  officer  of  the  day,  came  unexpectedly  toward  me  ;  my 
heart  was  in  my  mouth,  I  trembled  like  an  aspen,  but  managed  to  receive 
him  aright.  He  asked,  "  What  are  your  orders  on  this  post,  sir  ?"  Bless 
my  soul !  I  could  not  utter  a  word,  though  I  tried  with  all  my  might ;  my 
chin  quivered ;  my  tongue  cleaved  to  the  roof  of  my  mouth,  and  I  stood 
as  mute  as  a  dumb  man.  As  it  happened,  the  major  was  easy  with  the 
men,  and  relieved  me  by  inquiring.  "  if  I  was  a  recruit  ?"  My  tongue  then 
obeyed  me,  and  I  answered,  "  Yes,  sir."  After  admonishing  me,,  he  turned 
and  left. 

The  next  duty  was  "  fatigue."  Most  of  the  time  working  parties  were 
sent  into  the  woods,  to  make  shingles  and  clapboards  for  repairing  the  quar 
ters.  When  I  came  off  guard,  I  was  ordered  into  the  woods,  and  went  at 
it  with  a  will.  One  of  the  old  soldiers  saw  me,  and  coming  up,  said,  "  That 
will  never  do  ;  you  must  old  soldier  /"  I  asked  him  to  explain.  "  You 
must,"  continued  he,  "  be  awkward  with  the  axe,  and  act  as  though  you  had 
never  chopped  a  stick  in  your  life,  otherwise  these  officers  will  kill  you  with 
28 


436  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

work."  I  now  "  smelt  a  mouse,"  and  saw  why  the  other  soldiers  were,  as 
I  had  thought,  lazy.  I  was  ravenous  that  day,  and  could  have  eaten  threo 
times  my  rations.  Since  I  had  enlisted,  I  had  not  been  satisfied  with  but 
two  or  three  exceptions.  I  often  suffered  from  extreme  hunger,  and  would 
beg  food  from  the  cook  or  of  some  of  the  old  soldiers  who  lived  on  whisky. 
This  working  in  the  woods  brought  on  untold  pangs  of  hunger.  Othera 
•uffered  in  the  same  way  ;  many  is  the  time  I  have  seen  men  seize  a  dirty, 
mouldy  biscuit  that  had  been  thrown  away,  and  devour  it  with  the  eager 
ness  of  starvation.  And  thus  it  was  with  me,  until  I  actually  got  starved 
down  to  a  point  that  my  full  rations  were  sufficient.  This  was  not  under 
two  years. 

While  here  most  of  the  hard  stock  deserted,  so  that  we  finally  got  win 
nowed  down  to  a  pretty  repectable  body  of  men.  Lambert,  the  dirty  Ger 
man,  tried  to  desert ;  not  being  very  sharp,  he  was  caught  and  sentenced  to 
receive  fifty  lashes^  which  were  administered  one  Sunday  afternoon.  He 
yelled  most  vociferously  under  the  infliction,  and  was  a  much  better  soldier 
afterward. 

In  June,  two  events  occurred  :  I  was  made  corporal,  and  our  regiment, 
the  Fourth  Infantry,  was  ordered  to  Texas,  hostilities  being  threatened  be 
tween  us  and  Mexico.  We  soon  left  for  New  Orleans,  glad  to  escape  from 
that  flea-bitten  country,  and,  on  our  arrival  there,  were  ordered  into  the  bar 
racks  until  the  vessels  should  be  ready.  We  were  joined  by  the  Third  In 
fantry,  and  Bragg's  company  of  artillery,  afterward  so  famous  at  Buena 
Vista ;  the  whole  under  the  command  of  General  Taylor. 

In  the  latter  part  of  July,  we  embarked  to  cross  the  gulf  to  Texas.  Tho 
vessel  which  our  regiment  occupied  was  the  Sophia,  a  slow  sailer,  very  old, 
and  a  mere  hulk.  Not  a  berth  was  put  up,  and  we  were  obliged  to  sleep 
on  the  decks,  which  were  covered  with  filth.  Our  passage  was  a  stormy 
one,  and  the  crowding  of  so  many  between  decks,  and  the  filth  consequent 
from  so  much  sea-sickness,  rendered  it  a  very  disagreeable  voyage. 

It  was  on  the  15th  of  August,  184:5,  when  we  arrived  and  encamped  at 
Corpus  Christi.  We  remained  there  until  the  ensuing  March.  Corpus 
Ohristi,  i.  e.,  Body  of  Christ,  was  a  miserable  village  of  a  few  huts  onl}',  a 
mile  or  so  south  of  the  Nueces,  and  in  a  prairie  country.  By  November, 
from  additions  to  our  forces,  we  were  four  thousand  and  fifty  strong.  It 
was  the  purpose  of  government  to  collect  a  large  force  here,  to  be  ready  for 
any  emergency  ;  but  when  we  finally  moved  it  had  been  reduced  to  a  mere 
skeleton,  from  disease  and  death,  and  other  causes — many  sinking  uuder 
the  dysentery  owing  to  the  unhealthiness  of  the  country. 

A  kind  of  disease  prevailed  among  many  of  the  men  here,  which  was 
called  moon-blindness.  Its  effects  were  very  singular.  Men  laboring  under 
it  would  be  stone  blind  when  the  moon  was  shining  brightly,  while  at  all 
other  times  they  possessed  their  sight  as  usual.  The  medical  men  could 
not  account  for  it.  Like  the  yellow-fever,  cholera,  Tyler-gripe,  or  any 
other  epidemic,  the  characteristics,  and  not  the  cause  of  the  disease,  aro 
ever  known.  Our  camp  was  on  a  shell  bank,  and  in  hot  weather  the  rays 
of  the  sun  were  reflected  upon  our  persons  by  the  shells  with  such  in 
tensity,  that  at  times  it  seemed  as  if  we  should  suffocate.  The  skin  of  the 
dark  complexioned  men  became  tanned,  while  that  of  the  light  complex- 


OF  AMERICANS.  437 

ioned  men  peeled  off;  and  the  whole  army  grew  of  almost  negro  blackness. 
Having  a  light  skin,  my  face  peeled,  and  I  presume  I  shed  the  skin  off  my 
lips,  cheeks  and  tip  of  the  nose  fifty  times.  This  continued  peeling  at  last 
changed  into  a  continuous  sore — many  being  seen  going  round  with  patches 
f  paper  on  their  faces. 

I  never  witnessed  such  severe  thunder  storms  as  here.  A  sentinel  while 
ne  day  walking  his  post  with  fixed  bayonet  was  struck,  his  musket  broken, 
the  barrel  twisted  like  an  augur-bit,  and,  strange  to  say,  the  man  was  not 
killed.  We  lived  in  tents,  and  ours  were  old  ones  which,  having  been  worn 
out  in  the  Florida  war,  let  in  water  like  seives.  We  suffered  terribly  in  the 
winter  season  from  the  cold  rains  and  cutting  winds. 

I  must  relate  a  little  incident  that  occurred  while  here,  in  which  one  of 
our  drummer  boys  and  General  Taylor  were  concerned.  This  boy,  Tatnall, 
by  name,  was  often  tipsey,  and  when  so,  uncontrollable  in  his  propensity  for 
practical  jokes.  A  little  after  dark  one  evening,  old  Zack  was  sitting  in 
his  marquee,  when  Tatnall  came  along  unperceived  by  any  of  the  officers, 
and,  being  on  a  spree,  was,  as  usual,  on  mischief  bent ;  so  he  out  with  his 
knife,  and  rip,  rip,  went  the  cords  of  the  general's  tent,  and  before  he  had 
time  to  escape,  down  it  went  burying  him  in  its  folds.  Tatnall  then  ran 
away  at  full  speed.  As  Taylor's  orderly  was  absent,  when  he  had  crawled 
out  he  came  over  to  Garland's  tent,  where  I  was  stationed  as  orderly,  and 
got  me  to  go  with  a  detail  of  men  and  put  things  to  rights.  This  being 
done  and  my  men  dismissed,  he  inquired  of  me,  "  if  I  knew  anything  of 
the  fellow  that  did  it  ?"  Now,  I  had  seen  the  whole  transaction,  and  when 
Tatnall  ran,  he  passed  so  near  me  that  I  recognized  him.  Not  wishing  to 
expose  him,  I  evaded  the  question.  "  General,  I  did  see  some  one  run 
but  the  night  is  so  dark  that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  distinguish  a  man." 
'The  scoundrel  1"  exclaimed  old  Zack,  "if  I  knew  who  it  was,  I  would 
pull  his  ears  sorely."  And  this  was  all  that  was  said  about  it  by  that  easy 
tempered  old  gentleman. 

Time  passed  wearily  at  Corpus  Christi — hard  duty  and  plenty  of  it ;  a 
soldier  must  take  things  patiently,  and,  like  a  machine,  cannot  move  except 
at  the  bidding  of  a  master  hand.  We  were  glad  when  the  order  came  to 
break  up  and  march  to  the  Rio  Grande.  We  moved  in  two  divisions  :  that 
of  Twiggs  on  the  8th,  and  Worth's  on  the  llth  of  March,  1846.  Our  regi 
ment  was  in  the  latter  division.  This  was  my  first  march,  and  also  that  of 
a  large  part  of  the  troops.  The  first  day  was  one  of  incredible  fatigue  to 
me,  for  I  had  on  an  ill-fitting  pair  of  shoes,  so  that  my  feet  were  soon  badly 
blistered,  and  I  was  also  detailed  to  watch  a  soldier  who  was  so  beastly  drunk 
that  he  required  constant  help.  At  night  I  was  so  lame  and  sore  that  I 
could  not  stir  without  excruciating  pain.  Thinks  I,  if  this  is  the  way  it  is 
to  be,  I  will  never  get  through  ;  I  shall  d'ie  with  misery  ! 

The  soldier  usually  carries  on  a  march,  his  musket,  weighing  fourteen 
pounds ;  cartridge-box,  if  filled  with  ball,  eight  pounds  ;  which,  with  belts, 
bayonets,  scabbard,  haversack,  etc.,  in  all  make  a  weight  of  about  twenty -six 
pounds.  Aside  from  these,  is  his  knapsack,  with  overcoat,  blanket  and  change 
cf  clothing,  which  brings  up  the  total  burden  to  over  forty  pounds.  Generally 
we  managed  to  get  our  knapsacks  taken  into  the  baggage  wagons.  A  soldier  on 
the  march  is  bound  up  by  his  belts  like  a  barrel,  the  cool  air  cannot  circulate 


435  ADVENTURES  AtfD  ACHIEVEMENTS 

under  his  thick  woolen  clothes,  for  he  is  not  in  a  situation  to  throw  open 
his  coat  to  the  bracing  grateful  breeze.  We  found  the  large  men  were  the 
first  to  break  down  on  a  march.  The  light  delicate  fellows,  that  a  stranger 
in  such  matters  would  suppose  would  be  the  first  to  give  out,  were  the  very 
men  to  move  with  the  most  rapidity,  carry  the  greatest  burdens,  stand  the 
longest  marches,  and  endure  the  greatest  hardships.  It  is  on  the  principle 
seen  through  all  nature — strength  never  increases  in  proportion  to  weight.  The 
man  who  weighs  two  hundred  pounds  has  eighty  pounds  more  to  carry  than 
one  who  weighs  one  hundred  and  twenty,  yet  his  strength  to  carry  that  in 
crease  is  by  no  means  in  a  like  proportion.  Small  sized  men  for  a  cam 
paign  are  always  best. 

When  it  comes  to  that  especial  duty  for  which  soldiers  are  created,  viz  : 
fighting,  a  man  should  be,  if  possible,  unincumbered,  as  much  so  as  a  laborer 
in  a  harvest  field.  How  would  it  look  for  a  farmer  to  order  his  hands  upon 
his  entrance  into  his  fields  of  grain,  to  put  on  heavy  woolen  clothes ;  then  to 
button  them  up  to  the  throat  over  a  thick  leather  stock,  or  dog  collar ;  then 
to  strap  over  these  a  parcel  of  belts  ;  then,  again,  to  pack  all  their  clothing 
into  a  knapsack,  and  strap  this  on  their  backs  ?  How  much  work  would  he 
get  out  of  them  ?  Yet  this  is  precisely  the  way  that  a  soldier  has  to  do. 
Fighting  in  battle  is  the  most  laborious  work  that  ever  fell  to  the  lot  of  mor 
tal  man,  and  it  would  seem  as  if  one  should  be  dressed  accordingly.  Sailors, 
who  are  differently  situated,  when  they  board  an  enemy's  vessel,  often  strip 
everything  but  their  trowsers. 

The  country  between  the  Nueces  and  the  Kio  Grande  is  mostly  prairie. 
One  day  we  were  entirely  out  of  water.  The  part  of  the  prairie  we  then 
marched  over  had  been  burnt  by  the  Indians,  and  a  fine,  suffocating  dust 
arose  from  the  ashes  and  sand,  which  got  into  our  mouths  and  nostrils,  and 
added  to  our  sufferings.  Several  dogs  belonging  to  the  officers  perished  for 
want  of  water,  and  it  was  feared  that  some  of  the  horses  would  likewise 
die.  In  the  midst  of  our  choking  thirst  it  seemed  as  if  the  fates  had  turned 
against  us.  About  noon,  when  man  and  beast  were  nearly  exhausted,  we 
came  in  sight  of  two  small  and  beautiful  lakes.  "  Thank  God  ! " — "  Good  ! 
Good  !" — "  Now,  we  '11  drink  !"  was  shouted  out  by  the  poor  men,  as  each 
company  and  division  camo  in  sight  of  those  glorious  sheets — "Water! 
water ! "  was  the  cry ;  and  as  it  passed  to  the  rear,  "  Water !  my  God  ! 
water!"  was  heard  from  a  thousand  dry  and  parched  throats.  The  men 
began  to  quicken  their  pace  ;  they  broke  their  ranks  in  their  haste  to  get  to 
the  delicious  liquid.  The  officers  tried  to  preserve  order ;  but  they  might 
as  well  have  tried  to  have  stopped  a  herd  of  wild  buffaloes.  Each  man 
rushed  forward  regardless  of  his  neighbor,  and  ere  they  were  within  several 
hundred  yards  of  the  lakes  a  thousand  tin  cups  had  suddenly  been,  un 
strapped  and  fiercely  clutched,  ready  to  dip  in  the  precious  element. 

On  we  go  ;  now  we  ascend  the  little  hillock  on  the  edge  of  the  lake ; 
down  we  rush  madly,  blindly,  into  the  sparkling  fluid,  and  jump  in  where 
there  will  be  no  trouble  to  get  our  cups  full.  We  dip — we  raise  it  hurriedly 
and  nervously  to  our  mouths.  Ye  Gods  !  we  dr —  !  No  we  don't !  it  choke* 
us ;  we  can't  swallow  that  stuff.  "  What  in is  that  ?  "  said  an  old  sol 
dier,  who  in  his  hurry  had  let  some  go  down,  and  ere  he  had  spoken  the 
whole  truth  flashed  on  our  minds.  SALT  !  yes,  SALT  !  and  so  much  so 


OF  AMERICANS.  439 

that  pure  salt  had  collected  on  the  edge  of  the  lake.  "Don't  drink,  men  ! 
don't  drink  !"  shouted  out  those  who  had  been  bitten  ;  but  they  all  had  to 
taste  for  themselves  before  they  would  believe.  If  those  lakes  had  never 
before  been  the  cause  of  any  profanity,  I  think  that  on  this  occasion  they  re 
ceived  their  full  share.  What  bitter  curses  were  poured  out  upon  them ! 
We  sullenly  resumed  our  march,  and  moved  on  for  about  four  miles  when 
we  came  to  a  hole  of  rain-water,  full  of  animalculse,  manure,  etc. ;  it  tasted 
to  me  most  delicious,  and  I  drank  four  cups,  brim  full,  without  stopping. 

On  the  18th,  having  overtaken  Twiggs'  division,  we  arrived  at  the  Colo 
rado  River.  Some  Mexican  cavalry  appeared  on  the  opposite  banks  and 
signified  that  any  attempt  to  cross  would  be  an  act  of  hostility.  After  we 
had  got  over,  the  whole  army  marched  in  battle  array  on  the  prairie,  so  as  to 
be  ready  for  those  southern  gentlemen  should  they  be  desirous  of  giving  us 
a  brush.  I  was  peculiarly  impressed  by  a  singular  kind  of  "fruit,"  that  was 
here  to  be  found  in  the  chaparral ;  large  quantities  of  human  skulls  had 
been  picked  up  by  people  traveling  through,  and  hung  on  the  bushes. 
These  were  skulls  of  whites  and  Indians  that  had  lost  their  lives  in  the  con 
tinual  warfare  going  on  here  from  time  immemorial.  The  skull  of  many  a 
wealthy  old  Spaniard,  that  had  lost  its  vitality  by  having  been  carried  by  its 
owner  too  far  from  home,  graced  the  limb  of  some  musqueet  tree. 

On  the  28th  of  March,  we  arrived  opposite  Matamoras,  and  planted  the 
United  States  flag  on  the  banks  of  the  Rio  Grande.  The  next  day,  a  depu 
tation  of  Mexican  officers,  dressed  like  peacocks,  came  over,  and  a  conference 
was  held  as  to  the  objects  in  advancing  the  army.  They  threatened  to  fire 
upon  us  if  we  did  not  leave,  hence  it  became  necessary  to  fortify  our  posi 
tion,  and  Fort  Mansfield,  afterward  called  Fort  Brown,  was  built.  The 
country  people  began  to  come  in  with  eggs,  milk,  bread,  chickens,  and  a 
liquor  called  "  Muscal,"  and  with  them  some  spies.  Numerous  guerrilla 
parties  scoured  the  country,  so  that  it  became  dangerous  for  single  men  or 
small  parties  to  leave  the  camp ;  these  bands  of  prowling  Mexicans  were 
mostly  banditti.  The  chief  quarter-master,  Colonel  Cross,  was  killed  by 
Mexicans,  one  afternoon,  a  little  outside  of  camp.  A  few  days  later,  a  detail 
of  men  went  out  on  a  scout  under  Lieutenant  Porter,  when  a  heavy  rain 
coming  on  rendered  their  flint-lock  muskets  useless  ;  they  fell  into  an  am 
buscade  of  lancers  who  killed  one  man  outright  and  mortally  wounded 
their  lieutenant.  Our  men  tried  to  fire,  but  not  a  musket  would  go  off;  the 
lancers  seeing  their  situation  charged  upon  them,  and  they,  panic-stricken, 
ran,  paying  no  attention  to  the  cries  of  Porter  for  assistance.  A  more  fright 
ened  set  of  men  I  never  saw  than  were  those  when  they  entered  the  camp. 
In  their  flight  they  were  separated,  and  came  straggling  in  one  after  another, 
and  no  two  of  them  told  the  same  story.  Poor  Porter  was  afterward  found 
weltering  in  his  blood,  stabbed  in  more  than  a  dozen  places.  On  the  24th 
of  April,  Thornton's  company  of  dragoons  were  attacked,  sixteen  killed,  and 
the  rest  made  prisoners.  Three  days  later,  the  camp  of  Captain  Walker's 
Texan  Rangers  was  surprised. 

All  kinds  of  rumors  were  now  afloat  about  the  strength  and  position  of 
the  enemy,  and  curious  lights  were  continually  to  be  seen  during  the  night 
at  Matamoras ;  rockets  were  sent  up,  bugles  sounding,  drums  beating,  etc. 
Our  men  knew  that  we  should  soon  have  a  fight,  but  they  were  calm  and 


440  ADVENTUKES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

cool ;  a  careless  unconcern  appeared  to  be  the  pervading  feeling  in  that 
little  array. 

»  Throwing  a  garrison  into  Fort  Brown,  General  Taylor,  on  the  1st  of  May, 
broke  up  the  camp  and  started  with  the  whole  army  for  Point  Isabel,  to 
bring  up  a  large  depot  of  provisions  to  the  fort ;  we  arrived  there  the  suc 
ceeding  forenoon,  and  were  set  to  work  building  entrenchments,  while  Cap 
tain  May  and  other  officers  were  sent  out  to  scour  the  country  between  the 
Point  and  the  fort,  to  ascertain  if  possible  where  the  enemy  were  lurking ; 
some  parties  were  detailed  to  load  up  teams,  and  the  rest  worked  on  the 
entrenchments.  For  my  part,  I  felt  as  if  I  had  as  lief  fight  as  not — others 
were  like  me  ;  for  with  hard  work  on  the  trenches,  marching  and  losing 
sleep,  and  living  on  bread  and  meat  that  was  unfit  for  a  dog,  I  became  as 
careless  and  cross  as  need  be. 

On  Sunday  morning,  May  3d,  about  reveille,  boom  !  boom  !  came  down 
from  the  direction  of  Fort  Brown.  "What's  that?"  exclaimed  a  multi 
tude  of  voices  at  once.  For  the  first  time  there  was  considerable  excite 
ment  ;  the  officers  and  men  respectively  gathered  in  groups.  It  was  at  the 
time  scarcely  believed  to  be,  as  it  in  truth  was,  a  fight  at  the  fort.  The  next 
day  a  party  of  dragoons  galloped  into  camp,  bringing  the  report  that  a  large 
body  of  Mexicans  were  advancing  on  the  prairie.  The  drum  beat  to  arms, 
and  the  troops  paraded  ;  but  it  proved  a  false  alarm. 

On  the  7th,  the  army  set  out  on  its  return  to  Fort  Brown,  and  after  pro 
ceeding  about  seven  miles,  we  encamped  beside  a  pond,  where  the  musque- 
toes  and  rattle-snakes  were  so  plenty  that  we  could  not  sleep.  The  next 
morning  we  resumed  our  march,  calculating  to  get  through  if  nothing  pre 
vented ;  but  about  noon,  the  dragoons  brought  intelligence  that  the  enemy 
were  in  force  in  front.  "Now  we'll  have  it,  boys !"  said  the  men  ;  and,  I 
must  confess,  I  felt  a  sudden  thrill  at  this  intelligence.  General  Taylor  in 
a  few  minutes  ordered  a  halt  beside  a  pond  of  water,  for  the  men  to  fill  their 
canteens. 

Here  we  got  our  first  view  of  the  enemy.  "  Look  !  look  !  Oh  !  look  at 
them!"  cried  several  at  once.  "My  stars!  what  a  host!"  exclaimed 
others.  We  now  advanced  slowly  in  order  of  battle,  occasionally  halting, 
until  we  were  within  a  little  over  half  a  mile  distant  from  them.  Their 
appearance  was  exceedingly  grand  :  directly  in  front  stood  their  infantry, 
with  here  and  there  an  interval  of  artillery — their  bright  brass  guns  reflect 
ing  the  rays  of  the  sun.  On  each  side,  stretching  over  the  prairie,  was  their 
cavalry,  with  a  host  of  sharp-pointed,  bright-shining  lances  with  their  pen 
dants  of  red  and  blue.  Vast  masses  of  infantry,  in  rear  of  their  front  line, 
were  moving  into  different  positions  for  the  coming  fray,  and  their  field- 
officers  were  galloping  up  and  down,  giving  out  their  respective  orders. 
When  all  was  completed,  their  army  stood  perfectly  still ;  their  right  rest 
ing  on  a  dense  thicket  of  chaparral,  and  their  left  stretching  across  the  road, 
and  protected  at  the  end  by  a  swamp.  Their  whole  line  was  about  one 
mile  in  length ;  they  had  eleven  field-pieces  and  about  six  thousand  men. 
It  was  an  awe-inspiring  spectacle— those  Mexicans  on  the  field  of  Palo 
Alto. 

Now  let  us  look  at  our  little  .army.  Our  regiments,  from  sickness  and 
other  causes,  had  not  over  one-half  of  the  usual  number  of  men,  and  hero 


OF  AMERICANS.  441 

we  were  on  the  day  of  battle  in  a  miserably  weak  condition.  The  company 
to  which  I  belonged,  "  B,"  had  only  sixteen  bayonets.  We  had  nine  regi 
ments,  and  they  numbered,  officers  and  all,  but  a  little  over  twenty-two 
hundred  men ;  but  there  was  a  self-reliance  among  them  that  seemed  to 
augur  success.  No  boasting  was  heard,  none  expressed  a  desire  to  have  a 
brush  with  the  enemy ;  good  soldiers  never  boast  of  what  they  are  going  to 
do  or  have  done,  nor  speak  in  terras  of  derision  of  their  enemy.  I  have 
heard  boasting  braggarts,  with  oa^hs,  swear  "I '11  fix  'em!  I'll  put  them 
through  !"  and  then,  when  A>he  balls  were  flying  thick  and  fast,  I  have  seen 
these  same  men  hide  in  ditches  or  behind  rocks,  crying  like  children.  Good 
soldiers  feel  as  if  they  were  in  a  situation  that  was  disagreeable — that  they 
had  rather  not  be  in  such  business,  but  a  sense  of  duty  impels  them  on — a 
strong  sense  of  honor  not  to  disgrace  their  country  and  flag.  It  is  said  that 
a  soldier  is  a  mere  mercenary  machine  :  this  is  not  so,  for  the  more  charac 
ter  and  mind  a  man  has  the  better  is  he  as  a  soldier.  In  our  battles  in 
Mexico,  I  believe  that  the  enemy  would  have  been  as  thoroughly  beaten  if 
half  the  officers  had  been  absent.  It  was  a  knowledge  of  the  material  of 
his  army  that  led  General  Taylor  to  say  to  General  La  Vega,  that  "  all  his 
men  were  generals."  Each  man  went  into  and  fought  a  battle  as  though 
everything  depended  upon  his  individual  exertions  ;  and  it  is  this  sentiment 
that  nerves  men  to  invincibility.  It  is  very  common  to  say  that  this  officer 
did  so  and  so — that  officer  took  such  a  battery — when,  in  truth,  in  nine  cases 
out  of  ten,  the  whole  business  was  done  ere  they  came  up,  and  they  had  to 
walk  over  the  dead  bodies  of  their  own  soldiers  before  they  could  claim  the 
honor.  "  To  him  that  hath,  much  shall  be  given,"  peculiarly  applies  in 
such  cases. 

General  Taylor,  for  simple  hard  fighting,  was  an  excellent  officer,  but  he 
knew  little  of  tactics,  rarely  put  any  military  evolution  in  practice,  and  had 
not  the  confidence  of  the  army  like  Worth  and  Scott.  In  this  battle  we 
had  two  light  batteries — Ringgold's  and  Duncan's — of  four  pieces  each,  and 
two  eighteen-pound  iron  guns,  under  the  command  of  Lieutenant  Churchill, 
and  the  battle  was  mainly  fought  with  artillery.  The  eighteen-pounders 
were  on  the  right  of  our  regiment,  which  was  near  the  center  of  our  line  ;  I 
was  on  the  extreme  left  of  the  regiment.  Churchill's  guns  were  each 'drawn 
by  two  yoke  of  oxen.  A  Texan  boy  drove  one  of  the  teams  ;  as  we  were 
coming  into  position  his  coolness  was  remarkable,  and  his  talk  to  his  oxen 
amusing.  "Go  along,  buck  !"  he  said,  "if  you're  killed,  you  are  fat  and 
will  make  good  beef."  When  all  was  ready,  both  armies  stood  still  for 
about  twenty  minutes,  each  waiting  for  the  other  to  begin  the  work  of  death, 
and  during  this  time,  I  did  not  see  a  single  man  of  the  enemy  move  ;  they 
stood  like  statues. 

We  remained  quiet  with  two  exceptions ;  General  Taylor,  followed  by 
liis  staff,  rode  from  left  to  right  at  a  slow  pace,  with  his  right  leg  thrown 
over  like  a  woman,  and  as  he  passed  each  regiment,  he  spoke  words  of  en 
couragement.  I  know  not  what  he  said  to  the  others,  but  when  he  came 
*ip  to  where  we  stood,  he  looked  steadily  at  us  ;  I  suppose,  to  see  what  effect 
the  circumstances  in  which  we  were  placed  had  upon  us,  and,  as  he  gazed, 
he  said:  "The  bayonet,  my  hardy  cocks!  the  bayonet  is  the  thing!"  The 
•>ther  occasion  was  that  of  Lieutenant  Blake,  of  the  Engineers,  who  volun- 


M2  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

teered  to  gallop  along  the  enemy's  line,  in  front  of  both  armies,  and  count 
their  guns ;  and  so  close  did  he  go,  that  he  might  have  been  shot  a  hundred 
times.  One  of  the  officers  of  the  enemy,  doubtless  thinking  he  had  some 
communication  to  make,  rode  out  to  meet  him  ;  Blake,  however,  paid  no 
attention  to  him,  but  rode  on,  and  then  returned  and  reported  to  Taylor. 

Thus  stood  those  two  belligerent  armies,  face  to  face.  What  were  the 
feelings  of  those  thousands  !  How  many  thoughts  and  fears  were  crowded 
into  those  few  moments  !  Look  at  our  men  !  a  clammy  sweat  is  settled  all 
over  faces  slightly  pale,  not  from  cowardly  fear,  but  from  an  awful  sense  of 
peril  combined  with  a  determination  not  to  flinch  from  duty.  These  are  the 
moments  in  which  true  soldiers  resign  themselves  to  their  fate,  and  console 
themselves  with  the  reflection  that  whatever  may  befall  them  they  will  act 
with  honor ;  these  are  the  moments  when  the  absolute  coward  suffers  more 
than  death — when,  if  not  certain  he  would  be  shot  in  his  tracks,  he  would 
turn  and  flee.  Fighting  is  very  hard  work  ;  the  man  who  has  passed 
through  a  two  hours'  fight,  has  lived  through  a  great  amount  of  mental  and 
physical  labor.  At  the  end  of  a  battle  I  always  found  that  I  had  perspired 
so  profusely  as  to  wet  through  all  my  thick  woolen  clothing,  and  when  I 
had  got  cool,  I  was  as  sore  as  if  I  had  been  beaten  all  over  with  a  club. 
When  the  battle  commences,  the  feelings  undergo  a  change.  Reader,  did 
you  ever  see  your  house  on  fire  ?  if  so,  it  was  then  you  rushed  into  great 
danger;  it  was  then  you  went  over  places,  climbed  up  walls,  lifted  heavy 
loads,  which  you  never  could  have  done  in  your  cooler  moments  ;  you  then 
have  experienced  some  of  the  excitement  of  a  soldier  in  battle.  I  always 
knew  my  danger — that  at  any  moment  I  was  liable  to  be  killed,  yet  such 
was  my  excitement  that  I  never  fully  realized  it.  All  men  are  not  alike  ; 
some  are  cool ;  some  are  perfectly  wild  or  crazy ;  others  are  so  prostrated 
by  fear  that  they  are  completely  unnerved — an  awful  sinking  and  relaxation 
of  all  their  energies  takes  place,  pitiable  to  behold ;  they  tremble  like  an 
aspen,  slink  into  ditches  and  covert  places,  cry  like  children,  and  are  totally 
insensible  to  shame — dead  to  every  emotion  but  the  overwhelming  fear  of 
instant  death.  We  had  a  few,  and  but  a  few,  of  such  in  our  army. 

As  the  two  armies  were  facing  each  other,  it  was  remarkable  to  see  the 
coolness  of  our  men  ;  there  they  stood,  chewing  bits  of  biscuit,  and  talking 
about  the  Mexicans — some  wondering  if  they  would  fight ;  others  allow 
ing  that  they  would,  and  like  demons,  etc.  I  kept  my  eye  on  the  artillery 
of  the  enemy,  and  happened  to  be  looking  toward  their  right-wing,  when 
suddenly  a  white  curl  of  smoke  sprang  up  there  from  one  of  their  guns,  and 
then  I  saw  the  dust  fly  some  distance  in  front  where  the  ball  struck.  In 
stantly  another,  and  then  another  rich  curl  of  smoke  arose,  succeeded  by  a 
booming  sound,  and  the  shot  came  crashing  toward  us.  The  enemy  fired 
very  rapidly,  and  their  balls  knocked  the  dust  about  us  in  all  directions — 
some  went  over  our  heads,  others  struck  the  ground  in  front  and  bounded 
away. 

Our  batteries  now  went  to  work,  and  poured  in  upon  them  a  perfect  storm 
of  iron  ;  Lieutenant  Churchill  and  his  men  began  with  his  eighteen-poi.nd- 
ers,  and  when  the  first  was  fired,  it  made  such  a  loud  report  that  our  men 
gave  a  spontaneous  shout,  which  seemed  to  inspire  us  with  renewed  confi- 
'ence.  I  could  hear  every  word  the  lieutenant  said  to  his  men.  When  the 


OF  AMERICANS. 

first  shot  was  fired,  he  watched  the  ball,  saying,  "  Too  high,  men  ;  tij  an 
other  !" — "too  low,  men  ;  try  again — the  third  time  is  the  charm  !"  The 
third  shot  was  fired,  and  I  saw  with  my  own  eyes  the  dreadful  effect  of  tha 
and  the  following  shots.  "  That's  it,  my  boys  !"  shouted  Churchill,  jump 
ing  up  about  two  feet;  "you  have  them  now!  keep  her  at  that!"  and  so 
they  did,  and  every  shot  tore  complete  lanes  right  through  the  enemy's 
lines  ;  but  they  stood  it  manfully.  The  full  chorus  of  battle  now  raged  ; 
twenty-three  pieces  of  artillery  belched  forth  their  iron  hail. 

We  were  ordered  to  lie  down  in  the  grass  to  avoid  the  shot ;  this  puzzled 
the  enemy,  and  they  could  not  bring  their  guns  to  bear  upon  us,  making  our 
loss  very  small.  While  in  this  position,  a  six-pound  ball  grazed  the  head 
of  Wickes,  of  G  company,  who  yelled  "I'm  killed!"  Many  were  the 
narrow  escapes :  one  ball  came  within  six  inches  of  my  left  side.  The 
force  of  the  shot  was  tremendous  ;  a  horse's  body  was  no  obstacle  at  all ; 
a  man's  leg  was  a  mere  pipe-stem.  I  watched  the  shot  as  it  struck  the  roots 
of  the  grass,  and  it  was  astonishing  how  the  dust  flew.  In  about  an  hour, 
the  grass  caught  on  fire,  and  the  clouds  of  smoke  shut  out  the  opposing 
armies  from  view.  We  had  not  as  yet  lost  a  man  from  our  regiment.  In 
the  obscurity,  the  enemy  changed  their  line,  and  the  eighteen- pounders, 
supported  by  our  regiment,  took  a  new  position  on  a  little  rise  of  ground. 
As  we  moved  on  to  the  spot,  a  six-pound  shot  carried  away  the  lower  jaw 
of  Captain  Page,  and  then  took  off  a  man's  head  on  the  right,  as  clean  as  if 
with  a  knife.  The  blood  of  poor  Page  was  the  first  blood  I  saw  ~  he  was 
knocked  down  in  the  grass,  and  as  he  endeavored  to  raise  himself,  he  pre 
sented  such  a  ghastly  spectacle  that  a  sickly,  fainting  sensation  came  over 
me,  and  the  memory  of  that  sight  I  shall  carry  with  me  to  my  dying  day. 
Corporal  Howard  was  literally  covered  all  over  his  back  with  the  blood  and 
brains  of  private  Lee's  head,  and  Lieutenant  Wallen,  who  was  near  Page, 
had  a  tooth,  either  out  of  the  head  of  Page  or  of  Lee,  driven  clear  through 
the  bac£  of  his  coat  so  that  it  pierced  the  skin  ;  he  thought  he  was  shot. 
A  little  later,  Major  Ringgold  was  mortally  wounded,  at  his  battery ;  I  saw 
him  just  after  it.  The  shot  had  torn  away  a  portion  of  the  flesh  of  his 
thighs ;  its  force  was  tremendous,  cutting  off  both  his  pistols  at  the  locks, 
and  also  the  withers  of  his  horse — a  splendid  steed  which  was  killed  to 
relieve  him.  of  his  misery.  The  enemy  tried  hard,  but  without  avail,  to  hit 
our  eighteen-pounders.  The  battle  continued  until  night  put  an  end  to  the 
scene.  We  bivouacked  where  we  were,  and  laid  on  our  arms  ;  we  slept, 
however,  but  little,  thinking  that  we  might  be  attacked  in  our  sleep. 

During  the  battle,  many  were  the  remarks  of  the  men  upon  its  incidents; 
when  the  balls  began  to  whistle  over  our  heads,  one  who  was  not  very 
bright  sang  out,  "I  declare,  I  believe  they  are  firing  balls!"  This  single 
speech  produced  an  explosion  of  laughter,  and,  afterward,  we  teased  tho 
fellow  so  about  it  that  he  almost  hated  himself.  I  was  much  amused  at  the 
conduct  of  one  of  our  men,  by  birth  a  Prussian,  and  from  his  actions  it  was 
evident  he  had  rather  have  been  in  Prussia  than  there.  When  a  ball  struck 
near  him  he  made  some  of  the  most  accomplished  of  bows  ;  one  shot,  in  its 
wicked  fancy,  knocked  a  large  mass  of  grass,  with  its  roots  and  dust,  plump 
into  his  face  and  breast.  Between  the  force  of  the  sod  and  his  fright,  he 
went  pitching  backward  into  a  small  water-hole ;  I  thought  he  was  gon 


444  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

sure  enough  ;  but  presently  he  arose,  pale  and  trembling,  and  when  wo 
saw  he  was  unhurt,  he  was  the  subject  of  a  hearty  laugh.  An  officer,  near 
us,  I  noticed  laboring  under  considerable  excitement ;  he  was  pale  and 
covered  with  perspiration,  which,  however,  did  not  indicate  any  want  of 
bravery.  A  major  in  the  vicinity  of  our  position,  was  a  subject  of  contempt 
to  the  men ;  he  was  evidently  a  sleepy,  don't-care  sort  of  a  man,  and  had,  it 
seemed  to  me,  but  a  poor  idea  of  military  tactics.  I  believe  he  did  not 
give  or  repeat  a  single  order  during  the  whole  action  ;  for  all  the  good  he 
did  there,  he  might  as  well  have  been  in  New  Orleans.  Men  would  prefer 
to  see  an  officer  do  something — either  act  bravely  or  cowardly — this  major 
did  neither  ;  but  sat  on  his  horse  in  a  perfectly  listless  manner,  and  had  no 
control  over  his  animal  which  followed  along  with  the  troops.  I  do  not 
know  what  he  might  have  done  had  the  horse  taken  a  notion  to  desert ; 
but  of  all  the  contemptible  objects,  he  was  the  cap-sheaf — he  had  not  even 
the  ambition  to  draw  his  sword  ;  there  he  sat,  his  hands  swinging  by  his 
side,  his  eyes  set,  his  mouth  wide  open,  like  a  dolt. 

The  enemy  had  been  very  severely  handled,  owing  to  the  superiority  of 
our  ajtillery.  The  gunners  went  into  it  more  like  butchers  than  military 
men  ;  each  man  stripped  off  his  coat,  rolled  up  his  sleeves,  and  tied  his  sus 
penders  around  his  waist ;  they  all  wore  red  flannel  shirts,  and,  therefore, 
were  in  uniform.  To  see  them  limbering  and  unlimbering,  firing  a  few 
shots,  then  dashing  through  the  smoke,  and  then  to  fire  again  with  light 
ning-like  rapidity,  partly  hid  from  view  by  dense  clouds  of  dust  and  smoke, 
with  their  dark-red  shirts  and  naked  arms,  yelling  at  every  shot  they  made, 
reminded  me  of  a  band  of  demons  rather  than  of  men. 

On  the  morning  of  the  ninth,  the  sun  rose  in  splendor.  The  enemy  hav 
ing  retired  into  the  chaparral,  we  resumed  our  march  toward  the  fort.  On 
arriving  at  the  position  the  enemy  had  occupied  the  day  before,  the  scene 
was  shocking  ;  here  lay  a  beautiful  black  horse  and  rider,  both  dead  ;  a  littlo 
bevond  was  a  heap  of  artillery-men  horribly  mangled,  some  entirely  head 
less,  others  with  their  bowels  torn  out,  and  again  others  with  a  leg  or  an 
arm,  sometimes  both,  shot  away.  One  man,  I  noticed,  had  been  shot  in  a 
singular  manner ;  the  ball  must  have  bounded,  and,  as  it  was  rising,  struck 
its  victim  about  his  right  haunch,  then  passing  up  diagonally  through  his 
body,  came  out  under  his  left  arm.  The  positions  of  the  dead  were  in 
many  instances  peculiar ;  some  in  their  death-agonies  had  caught  with  their 
hands  in  the  grass,  and  thus  died  ;  some  were  in  a  kind  of  sitting  posture: 
the  countenances  of  some  were  horribly  distorted,  others  had  a  smile — an 
absolute  laugh.  The  enemy  had  left  behind  a  part  of  their  wounded  ;  one 
poor  fellow  who  appeared  to  be  quite  intelligent,  was  badly  wounded  in  the 
ankle  :  when  we  came  near  him,  he  called  out  piteously,  "Bueno  Ameri 
cano  t  Agua,  Senor  !  agua,  Senor  !  " — Good  American  !  Water,  sir  !  water, 
sir !  We  ran  and  offered  him  our  canteens,  and  gave  him  biscuit,  for  which 
he  appeared  grateful. 

Our  advance  guard  had  been  through,  and  ascertained  that  the  enemy 
were  posted  at  Resaca  de  la  Palma,  a  few  miles  off.  A  ravine  hertf  crossed 
the  road,  and  on  each  side  it  was  skirted  with  dense  chaparral ;  the  ravine 
was  occupied  by  their  artillery.  We  marched  on  the  narrow  road  through 
the  chaparral  toward  their  position.  The  battle  commenced  with  those  iu 


OF  AMERICANS.  415 

advance.  The  balls  began  to  crash  through  the  woods  over  our  heads,  when 
our  regiment  deployed  to  the  left  and  then  to  the  right  of  the  road,  and  ad- 
vanced  through  the  chaparral  toward  the  enemy,  whom  we  could  not  then 
see.  Lieutenant  Haller  called  out,  "Fourth  and  Fifth  Infantry,  charge!" 
Both  regiments  responded  with  a  cheer,  and  rushed  on.  In  a  few  paces  we 
came  to  a  small  pond,  and  here  I  had  my  first  chance  for  a  shot  at  the 
Mexicans,  who  were  in  line  on  the  opposite  bank,  and  were  pouring  their 
balls  right  into  our  faces.  The  bushes  screened  all  below  their  waists.  I 
kneeled  down  on  my  right  knee,  cocked  my  musket,  and  brought  it  to  an 
aim  on  the  mass  in  front  of  me,  making  my  first  shot  at  the  human  family. 
I  fired  four  shots  in  this  manner,  the  branches  in  the  meanwhile  dropping 
off  and  the  dust  springing  up  all  about  me  from  the  shot  of  my  friends 
across  the  little  water.  The  word  was  then  given  to  charge,  and  we  dashed 
into  the  water  which  took  me  about  half-thigh  deep  ;  .when  in  the  middle, 
a  ball  just  grazed  my  right  ear,  and  another  struck  a  lieutenant  by  me  in 
the  right  arm.  The  Mexicans  broke  and  ran,  and  we  continued  charging 
along  the  pond  until  we  came  to  where  their  guns  were  stationed.  Here 
our  troops,  of  different  regiments,  got  mixed  up.  The  Mexicans  fought 
desperately,  and  many  were  slain. 

When  our  infantry  closed  upon  their  artillery,  some  of  our  men  were 
killed  by  shot  from  Duncan's  battery,  which  remained  on  the  east  side  of 
the  ravine.  The  fight  was  now  confined  to  this  central  position  ;  their  guns 
on  the  right  and  left  of  it  having  been  taken.  Here  stood  General  La 
Vega  almost  alone,  his  men  having  been  shot  down  around  him  from  the 
combined  effects  of  our  infantry  on  the  right  and  left,  and  Duncan's  battery 
in  front.  Just  at  this  moment,  when  the  infantry  of  all  the  regiments  there 
engaged  rushed  in  upon  La  Vega's  position,  Captain  May  charged  with 
the  dragoons  who  received  the  last  gun  that  the  enemy  fired ;  but  before 
the  dragoons  had  got  up,  La  Vega  was  captured  with  a  large  number  of  the 
officers  and  men  of  the  enemy.  The  dragoons  charged  clear  past  this  point, 
and  having  received  a  heavy  volley  from  the  enemy's  infantry  and  cavalry 
who  were  rallying  beyond,  May  ordered  a  retreat.  As  he  was  returning,  La 
Vega,  already  a  prisoner  and  held  as  such  by  the  infantry,  judging  that  May 
was  a  superior  officer,  gave  up  his  sword  to  him.  Thus  Captain  May  got 
credit  for  what  he  never  did,  and  thus  drops  into  non-entity  that  great  story 
about  May's  charge,  which  in  reality  effected  nothing. 

After  those  guns  were  captured,  about  thirty  of  us  went  in  pursuit  of  the 
retreating  enemy  until  we  came  upon  an  open  space  of,  perhaps,  two  acres ; 
here  we  found  a  large  pack  of  mules  arid  the  abandoned  tent  of  General 
Arista ;  we  stopped  a  moment,  and  then  continued  on  the  road  until  we 
were  charged  by  the  lancers.  Lieutenant  Hays  sang  out,  "  They  are  too 
strong  for  us,  boys  ! — retreat  1  retreat !"  which  we  did  for  a  short  pace,  and 
then  faced  the  enemy.  The  lancers  came  down  upon  us,  when  we  poured 
in  a  volley  which  sent  them  back.  Lieutenant  Cochrane,  instead  of  coming 
on  with  us,  ran  behind  a  small  clump  of  bushes  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
road,  when  a  lancer  rode  up  and  deliberately  lanced  him.  We  reloaded, 
and  on  they  came  again,  headed  by  an  officer  mounted  on  a  splendid  white 
horse.  Some  one  sang  out,  "Shoot  that  man  on  the  white  horse!"  We 
poured  in  another  volley,  and  down  went  both  horse  and  rider,  beside 


446  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

numerous  others  ;  among  them  was  the  man  that  had  killed  Lieutenant 
Cochrane.  I  went  out  and  picked  up  his  lance ;  it  was  covered  with  the 
blood  of  the  poor  lieutenant.  At  this  moment  came  up  our  light  artillery 
and  the  dragoons,  who  pursued  the  enemy  to  the  river  where  many  were 
drowned  in  crossing,  and  thus  was  ended  the  battle  of  Eesaca  de  la 
Palma. 

When  the  battle  was  over,  I  never  heard  such  shouting  as  came  from  our 
men ;  they  seemed  nearly  crazy  with  joy.  I  cannot  describe  my  feelings 
when  I  saw  what  a  victory  we  had  won.  The  next  day  we  camped  at  Fort 
Brown.  We  had  left  our  knapsacks  at  the  fort  when  we  departed  for  Point 
Isabel,  and  now  many  of  our  articles  were  missing;  some  men  found 
nothing,  others  not  half  of  their  things,  and  others  more  than  they  had  left. 
During  the  bombardment  our  knapsacks  had  been  taken  to  hup  build 
bomb-proofs.  I  was  at  this  time  made  sergeant. 

Preparations  were  made  to  cross  the  Rio  Grande  into  the  enemy's  country. 
General  Arista  was  in  Matamoras,  and  we  expected  opposition  to  our  land 
ing.  Our  whole  pontoon  train  consisted  of  one  dilapidated  old  boat,  and 
where  that  came  from  I  know  not.  It  would  carry  just  one  company,  and 
ours  was  the  one  selected  to  cross  first.  On  the  morning  of  the  18th  of 
May  the  embarkation  commenced.  When  we  struck  the  Mexican  shore 
Captain  Buchanan  was  the  first  man  to  set  foot  in  Mexico,  in  the  capacity 
of  conqueror,  and  I  myself  was  the  second.  As  soon  as  we  got  out,  the  boat 
returned,  and  we  posted  ourselves  in  a  cornfield,  looking  out  for  the  enemy, 
who,  however,  unknown  to  us,  were  then  on  the  full  retreat  for  Monterey ; 
we,  therefore,  soon  had  quiet  possession  of  Matamoras. 

This  was  the  tima  that  the  enemy  should  have  been  followed  up  ;  if  our 
politicians  at  Washington  had  possessed  genuine  energy,  they  would  have 
finished  this  war  in  half  the  time,  and  at  less  than  half  the  expense  of  blood 
and  treasure  that  were  actually  incurred.  We  had  then  no  means  to  advance, 
and  the  enemy  were  given  full  leisure  to  recover  from  their  stunning  defeats 
ere  we  were  ready  to  do  so. 

While  we  were  at  Matamoras  several  men  were  sentenced,  for  various 
offenses,  by  court-martial,  to  have  their  heads  shaved,  be  dishonorably  dis 
charged,  and  drummed  out  of  camp.  One  of  them  had  very  light,  muddy- 
colored  hair;  he  was  hired  in  the  quarter-master's  department,  and  after  his 
hair  again  grew,  it  was  of  a  beautiful  auburn  color. 

On  the  17th  of  July  we  left  for  Comargo,  one  hundred  and  forty  miles  up 
the  river,  which  was  made  one  of  the  depots,  and  afterward  became  memo 
rable  for  a  new  invention  in  the  science  of  military  engineering — the  con 
struction  of  a  ditch  inside  of  a  breastwork.  We  lay  there  six  weeks,  wait 
ing  for  reinforcements,  and  in  the  beginning  of  September  continued  our 
march  for  Monterey. 

We  were  badly  off  for  means  of  trnsportation,  owing  to  the  neglect  of 
government,  and  were  obliged  to  hire  of  our  enemy.  Sixteen  hundred 
muleteers  with  their  mules  were  obtained,  who  entered  our  service  in  oppo 
sition  to  the  commands  of  their  government,  which  had  forbidden  any  of 
their  citizens  from  rendering  aid  and  comfort  to  the  "barbarians  of  the 
north."  We  were  proceeding  to  the  strongly  fortified  position  of  Monterey 
without  any  siege  train  ;  one  solitary  mortar  was  the  only  gun  we  had  heavy 


OF  AMERICANS.  447 

enough  for  this  purpose,  when  we  should  have  had  at  least  a  dozen.  The 
veriest  booby  in  our  army  knew  that  government  was  sadly  neglectful 
of  us. 

Beyond  Mier  the  scenery  grew  bold,  and  on  ascending  a  high  ridge,  a  sol 
dier  exclaimed,  "  We  are  going  to  have  a  heavy  storm  ! — did  you  ever  sea 
such  dark,  heavy  clouds  ?"  Above  the  western  horizon  appeared  a  heavy 
mass  of  clouds,  but  I  noticed  a  peculiar  notch  in  those  "clouds,"  which,  as 
We  advanced,  did  not  alter  in  shape.  In  an  hour  more  we  saw  that  our 
clouds  were  mountains  ;  they  were  truly  sublime,  cutting  their  outlines 
against  the  clear  sky,  like  huge  masses  of  indigo.  Although  seeming  in  our 
vicinity,  their  nearest  spur  was  more  than  seventy  miles  distant. 

This  country  from  time  immemorial  had  been  infested  with  banditti,  and 
along  our  route  were  immense  numbers  of  crosses,  reared  by  the  relations  of 
murdered  travelers,  at  the  places  where  they  had  been  slain.  These  crosses 
were  usually  of  wood,  about  four  feet  in  height,  with  inscriptions  neatly  carved 
upon  them  :  some  were  venerable  from  age,  and  covered  with  moss.  Here  was 
one  whose  inscription  portrayed  the  virtues  and  untimely  fate  of  a  promising 
young  man  ;  there  stood  another  to  an  aged  father  who,  while  on  his  way 
to  visit  an  only  daughter,  was  met  by  ruffians,  and  not  only  robbed,  but  left 
with  his  snowy  locks  weltering  in  gore.  Again,  a  cluster  of  crosses  met  the 
eye,  the  inscriptions  setting  forth  that  a  party  —  young  men,  old  men, 
women,  and  children — while  on  their  way  to  Matamoras  to  see  their  friends, 
were  met  by  a  band  of  savages  and  killed.  Those  artificial  flowers,  tacked 
to  one  of  the  crosses,  were  for  the  little  child  that  was  murdered  with  its 
mother.  At  the  foot  of  the  crosses  were  heaps  of  small  stones — in  some 
cases,  large  piles — each  stone  being  the  offering  of  some  passer-by  as  a  token 
of  respect.  Bad  as  were  those  banditti,  they  never  touched  one  of  those 
memorials,  but  on  our  return  from  Monterey,  out  of  hundreds,  I  did  not  see 
scarcely  a  dozen  left;  they  had  been  used  for  fire-wood  by  our  volunteers. 
Protestants  generally  have  anything  but  a  reverence  for  the  cross. 

On  a  march  a  soldier  is  his  own  washer-woman,  for  which  purpose  soap  is 
issued  to  the  men.  I  got  so  practiced  in  keeping  myself  in  gear,  that  I 
could  march  for  any  length  of  time  without  getting  foot-sore.  At  every 
opportunity  I  bathed  my  feet  and  washed  my  stockings  in  cold  water,  by 
which  I  prevented  the  accumulation  of  perspiration,  and  so  did  not  have  a 
single  blister  in  all  the  way  to  Monterey. 

We  halted  at  Marin  two  days.  Various  rumors  were  afloat  as  to  the 
strength  and  intentions  of  the  enemy  at  Monterey ;  opinions  were  conflict 
ing  as  to  whether  the  Mexicans  would  make  a  stand  there.  General  Tay 
lor,  as  the  result  proved,  was  misinformed  upon  all  these  matters ;  he  did 
not  expect  the  resistance  he  met  with.  I  had  an  opinion  of  my  own,  based 
upon  indications  I  never  knew  to  fail.  When  at  Marin  the  conduct  of  our 
muleteers  suddenly  changed  ;  I  saw  them  talking  to  their  countrymen,  and 
I  knew  by  their  manner — the  way  they  shrugged  up  their  shoulders — 
trouble  was  ahead.  They,  doubtless,  ascertained  the  true  state  of  affairs, 
a^d  did  not  want  to  go  further,  for  they  naturally  supposed  we  should  ba 
beaten.  From  this  I  knew  the  enemy  were  strong  ahead.  I  asked  an  honest- 
faced  old  Mexican,  at  Marin,  who  seemed  quite  intelligent,  whether  or  not 
"mucho  fandango,  jpoco  tiempo?" — his  answer  was,  "£»,  senor;  mucno  /an- 


443  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

dango  es  la  ultima  en  Monterey — mucho  muertos  !  "  which  was  :  there  would 
be  much  fighting  and  many  deaths.  I  never  knew  a  Mexican  to  say  that 
there  would  be  much  fighting  ahead,  but  his  words  were  verified.  Again, 
if  fighting  was  in  store  for  us,  the  people  would  be  shy  and  look  as  if  they 
despised  us  ;  when  otherwise,  they  flocked  around  with  things  to  sell,  and 
acted  in  a  confidential  manner. 

We  again  took  up  our  line  of  march,  and  as  we  neared  Monterey,  the 
volunteers  were  anxious  "to  see  the  elephant,"  and  they  crowded  up  at  a 
hurried  paqe :  but  this  anxiety  was  taken  out  of  them  in  less  than  three 
days.  These  ambitious  young  men  made  considerable  noise ;  cheering 
when  they  saw  some  new  object  that  indicated  an  enemy.  They  even 
cheered  as  their  general  and  staff-officers  rode  back  and  forth,  and  talked  a 
great  deal  among  themselves.  Our  men  and  officers  were  much  amused  at 
their  enthusiasm.  We  felt  serious  in  view  of  the  bloody  work  in  store  for 
us,  as  we  knew  from  experience,  that  th.e  terrors  of  the  battle-field  were  too 
awful  a  reality  to  be  heedlessly  entered  into  in  the  spirit  of  a  grand  frolic. 

On  the  19th  of  September,  we  arrived  in  the  outskirts  of  Monterey  and 
camped  at  a  place  called  Walnut  Springs.  The  city  is  in  the  valley  of  San 
Juan,  and  around  it  rise  the  lofty  ridges  of  the  Sierra  Madre.  Its  natural 
and  artificial  defenses  were  very  strong.  Two  days  previously,  Taylor 
wrote  to  the  war  department:  "It  is  even  doubtful  whether  Ampudia  will 
attempt  to  hold  Monterey.  His  regular  force  is  small — say,  three  thou 
sand — eked  out  perhaps  to  six  thousand  by  volunteers,  many  of  them 
forced."  The  truth  was,  the  garrison  numbered  about  ten  thousand,  of 
whom  seven  thousand  were  regular  troops ;  so  little  did  even  General  Tay 
lor  know  of  the  facts  in  the  case.  The  little  army  destined  to  attack  this 
strongly-fortified  place  was  far  inferior  to  the  enemy.  We  had  less  than  six 
thousand  seven  hundred  in  all,  half  of  whom  were  volunteers. 

On  the  day  succeeding  our  arrival,  Sunday  the  20th,  Major  Mansfield, 
of  the  engineers,  made  a  reconnoisance  of  the  enemy's  works  ;  the  exami 
nation,  for  some  unknown  reason,  appears  riot  to  have  been  sufficiently 
thorough.  General  Worth  was  ordered  to  make  a  detour  to  the  west  end 
of  the  city,  and  act  as  circumstances  should  dictate.  That  night  our  regi 
ment  was  ordered  under  arms,  and  thinking  we  should  return  to  camp  in  a 
few  hours,  we  went  out  without  any  provisions  in  our  haversacks.  We  took 
up  our  position  about  eleven  hundred  yards  from  the  Black  Fort.  Here  we 
planted  the  ten-inch  mortar  and  two  twenty-four  pound  howitzers.  No  bed 
was  made  for  the  mortar,  nor  was  any  breastwork  thrown  up  for  the  protec 
tion  of  the  guns ;  for  we  had  not  a  single  entrenching  tool.  There  stood 
those  guns,  exposed  upon  the  open  ground,  to  bombard  a  strong  fort  whose 
lightest  gun  was  much  superior,  and  whose  heaviest  was  enough  to  knock 
ours  to  pieces.  Some  people  may  call  this  "military  science  ;  "  to  us,  com 
mon  soldiers,  it  seemed  a  farce. 

Some  time  after  daylight,  our  battery  opened  upon  the  fort ;  we  soon  saw 
we  were  too  distant — especially  the  mcrtar,  which  might  as  well  have  been 
in  Halifax,  for  every  shell  fell  far  short.  Some  of  the  twenty- fours'  shells 
got  into  the  fcrt,  but  I  think  they  did  not  annoy  the  enemy  much.  In  their 
reply  they  did  not  deign  to  notice  the  mortar,  directing  all  their  attention  to 
the  others*  In  about  an  hour  a  Mexican  ball  took  off  a  leg  from  one  of  oui 


OF  AMERICANS.  449 

men  above  the  knee  ;  lie  died  in  a  few  minutes.   Another  struck  and  settled 
one  of  our  ammunition  boxes,  and  this  was  the  sum  of  damage  to  us. 

It  was  well  known  that  when  General  Worth  attacked  the  north  part  of 
the  city,  Taylor  was  to  make  a  demonstration  in  his  favor;  that  is,  he  was 
to  make  a  false  attack  on  the  east  end,  so  as  to  draw  the  attention  of  the 
enemy  from  Worth.  By  some  "hocus-pocus"  a  real  attack  actually  was 
made  a  the  east  end,  and,  as  I  think,  many  valuable  lives  thereby  need 
lossly  thrown  away. 

Well,  about  ten  o'clock,  Twiggs'  division  came  down,  took  up  a  position, 
and  got  into  trouble — it  not  being  known  there  were  any  batteries  on  the 
east  side  of  the  town.  Garland  advanced  with  his  brigade  near  to  the  ene 
my,  when,  suddenly,  they  poured  in  upon  his  men,  from  masked  batteries, 
such  a  perfect  sheet  of  iron  that  they  quailed  before  it.  By  this  time, 
Taylor  and  Twiggs  were  on  the  ground,  and  the  former  ordered  down  the 
whole  force,  thinking  that  "the  charge"  would  do  everything.  The  result 
was  that  our  troops  got  into  dreadful  confusion  ;  some  were  here,  some 
there,  volunteers  and  regulars  all  mixed  up  together — some  lying  about  this 
fence,  some  in  this  ditch,  and  others  behind  that  wall ;  and  for  two  or  three 
hours  we  were  essentially  whipped.  Had  the  heavy  body  of  lancers,  that 
were  hovering  about,  done  their  duty  and  came  down  upon  us,  we  should 
have  been  all  cleaned  out  to  a  certainty.  A  new  vigor  at  length  seemed  to 
inspire  our  troops,  and  they  rallied  and  carried  a  fort  and  an  old  still-house 
which  h^l  been  fortified.  Many  valuable  lives  were  thus  foolishly  lost ;  the 
colonel  of  the  Baltimore  battalion  was  killed,  and  after  that,  they  seemed 
completely  panic-stricken.  For  a  time  that  day,  "confusion  worse  con 
founded"  reigned  supreme;  officers  and  all  seemed  to  be  laboring  under 
some  hallucination.-  Nobody  knew  what  the  orders  were  ;  no  officer  gave 
orders  to  retreat  or  to  advance,  and  things  were  in  a  most  deplorable  con 
dition.  General  Taylor  himself  labored  under  intense  excitement ;  he  came 
on  the  ground  in  the  thickest  of  the  storm,  and  gave  orders  to  charge  and 
carry  the  works.  The  men  did  charge,  but  it  was  murder. 

Finally,  toward  night,  things  began  to  assume  a  better  face.  Garland's 
brigade,  to  which  our  regiment  belonged,  was  ordered  to  hold  the  captured 
works,  and  the  rest  of  the  troops  were  sent  back  to  camp.  In  these  works 
Was  an  old  sugar-house  in  which  we  found  a  quantity  of  sugar.  At  sun 
down  it  came  on  to  rain,  and  it  rained  profusely.  That  was  one  of  the  most 
miserable  nights  I  ever  passed.  We  had  had  nothing  to  eat  since  the  even 
ing  before.  We  had  been  out  all  night,  and  had  been  fighting  all  day,  nor 
was  it  until  the  next  afternoon — making,  in  all,  about  forty-eight  hours 
under  arms — that  we  had  even  a  morsel  except  some  sugar  that  had  been 
trampled  under  foot. 

The  next  day  a  kind  of  skirmishing  was  kept  up  ;  Taylor  being  content 
to  act  upon  the  defensive.  We  also  buried  many  of  our  officers  and  men. 
I  bid  escaped  thus  far  without  a  scratch,  although  I  had  several  very  nar 
row  escapes ;  many  poor  fellows  I  saw  laid  low  all  about  me.  On  the  even 
ing  of  this  day,  Ampudia  surrendered  the  town.  Worth  with  his  division 
had  taken  first  the  height  above  the  Bishop's  Palace,  and  then  in  turn  the 
palace  itself,  when  the  guns  of  both  were  turned  upon  the  town  below,  of 


450  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

which  this  was  the  key,  and  there  was  no  alternative  left  but  for  the  enemy 
to' surrender. 

A  few  hours  before  the  surrender,  our  regiment  which  held  the  captured 
.works  was  relieved  by  a  regiment  of  volunteers,  and  we  were  ordered  into 
camp  at  Walnut  Springs.  As  we  were  moving  on  to  the  Springs,  we  came 
under  a  flank  fire  of  .sixteen- pounders  and  mortars  throwing  shells  from 
Tort  Independence.  One  of  this  latter  class  of  customers  came  near  drop 
ping  on  my  head.  I  heard  it  in  the  air,  and  glanced  my  eye  up  to  view  it, 
when,  as  I  calculated,  the  gentleman  was  determined  to  scrape  my  acquaint 
ance.  I  walked  a  few  paces  toward  it,  and  when  near,  I  dropped.  With  a 
"zoap!"  it  came  down,  and  exploding  as  it  struck,  bespattered  me  with 
mud,  as  if  in  spite  at  having  missed  me.  I  arose  and  ran  after  the  regiment, 
which  had  got  some  distance  ahead.  We  soon  entered  a  cornfield,  and  so 
accurate  were  the  gunners  of  the  distance  we  traveled  in  a  given  time,  that 
they  sent  their  "pills"  right  among  us  at  every  discharge  until  we  were  out 
of  range.  One  of  the  balls  caught  a  man  of  F  company,  and  striking  him 
about  the  haunches,  cut  him  entirely  in  two,  so  that  his  body  fell  between 
his  legs.  Poor  fellow  !  he  lived  some  few  minutes  ;  it  was  a  horrible  sight 
that  mangled  body  lying  in  the  dirt  in  the  agonies  of  death. 

Arrived  at  the  camp  our  first  desire  was  for  something  to  eat.  The  com 
missary,  being  out  of  hard  bread,  issued  to  us  flour.  What  could  a  soldier 
do  with  flour  ? — and  that,  too,  without  lard,  butter,  or  shortening  of  any 
kind.  Necessity  teaches.  We  mixed  it  with  water  in  our  mess-pans,  and 
took  our  spades  that  we  had  used  for  all  purposes,  and  baked  the  "  dab"  on 
them.  It  was  a  curious  scene,  that  party  of  half-starved  soldiers  baking 
flour  "dodgers"  on  their  company  spades.  I  finally  had  mine  so  that  I 
could  eat  it,  and — 0  !  ye  god»! — I  thought  it  the  sweetest  morsel  I  had  ever 
eaten  in  my  life. 

We  remained  some  time  at  Monterey,  and  had  much  enjoyment  there. 
The  Mexican  people  are  very  fond  of  music  and  dancing,  and  our  men  took 
great  delight  in  attending  their  fandangoes;  the  Mexican  girls  in  this  part 
of  the  country  are  generally  handsome,  and  formed  the  principal  attraction 
of  these  gatherings. 

Among  the  incidents  while  there,  was  the  murder  of  Lieutenant  Ritchie, 
of  Cincinnati,  which  cast  a  gloom  over  all  who  knew  him.  He  was  at  one 
time  attached  to  our  company,  and  was  a  promising  officer,  unassuming  and 
modest.  He  had  been  sent  on  under  an  escort  0f  dragoons,  with  dispatches 
to  General  Taylor,  who  had  moved  forward  to  Saltillo  with  part  of  the 
troops.  At  a  ranche,  called  Villa  Garra,  half-way  between  the  places,  they 
stopped  a  few  moments  to  water,  while.  Ritchie,  leaving  word  to  his  men, 
rode  slowly  forward.  On  turning  a  corner  just  out  of  sight  of  his  party,  a 
Mexican  threw  a  "lariat"  over  his  neck,  dragged  him  from  his  horse,  mur 
dered  him,  took  his  dispatches,  and  started  off  to  Santa  Anna.  When  his 
dragoons  came  up,  there  lay  poor  Ritchie,  weltering  in  his  blood,  and  his 
horse  was  nibbling  the  grass  on  the  roadside.  They  in  vain  made  an  effort 
to  overtake  the  assassin.  It  was  evident  Ritchie  had  been  watched  for  some 
time  by  the  Mexican,  for  the  opportunity  he  finally  found.  The  capture  of 
those  dispatches  undoubtedly  led  to  the  battle  of  Buena  Vista. 

In  December,  the  tidings  were  received  that  a  part  of  the  forces  were  to 


OF  AMERICANS.  451 

be  sent  to  attack  Vcra  Cruz,  under  General  Scott,  and  from  thence  to  pro 
ceed  against  the  capital  of  the  country.  Our  men  were  anxious  to  go  ;  it 
was  thought  there  would  be  warm  work  there  ;  this,  however,  was  not  the 
reason — they  wanted  to  see  the  country,  and  get  under  Scott.  It  was  soon 
whispered  that  our  regiment  was  to  remain ;  it  was  unfavorably  received. 
Personally,  I  felt  so  down-hearted  that  I  made  up  my  mind,  in  that  event, 
to  change  into  the  Third,  so  that  I  could  go.  About  the  1st  of  January, 
we  received  the  good  news  that  our  regiment  was  to  be  sent,  and,  better 
yet,  that  we  were  to  be  attached  to  the  division  under  General  Worth.  Both 
Scott  and  Worth  were  the  choice  of  the  whole  army.  The  common  soldier 
is  keenly  alive  to  the  qualities  of  his  officers.  It  is  remarkable  how  soon  a 
soldier  discovers  the  capacities  of  his  general.  Worth  had  the  respect  and 
love  of  his  men  ;  they  knew  he  would  not  needlessly  sacrifice  them,  that 
if  he  gave  an  order  to  storm  a  battery,  or  perform  any  other  perilous  duty, 
it  was  just  right,  and  they  sprang  to  obey  with  alacrity.  There  was  one 
superior  officer  we  would  liked  to  have  got  rid  of,  for  he  did  so  hate  to  ex 
pose  his  precious  person  to  the  enemy's  pills  that  we  regarded  him  with 
profound  contempt.  Yet  too  many  good  things  at  once  were  not  to  be 
looked  for. 

On  our  march  down,  we  found  the  appearance  of  the  country  changed  by 
the  passage  of  so  many  troops.  The  stench  from  multitudes  of  dead  mules 
on  the  roadside  was  intolerable ;  every  once  in  a  while,  as  the  breeze  wafted 
the  odors  of  a  decaying  carcass  to  us,  some  one  would  sing  out,  "  There 's 
another  milestone  ! "  Ere  we  reached  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  Grande,  Lieu 
tenant  John  H.  Gore  took  command  of  our  company ;  he  proved  an  excel 
lent  officer,  and  did  justly  by  his  men.  Just  before  we  took  ship  to  sail  for 
Lobos  Island,  the  place  of  rendezvous  of  Scott's  army,  one  of  our  men  got. 
brutally  intoxicated,  and  annoyed  us  by  his  continual  yelling.  Gore  ordered 
his  legs  to  be  tied  together  with  a  rope,  and  had  him  shoved  into  the  break 
ers  ;  the  other  end  was  held  by  two  men,  who  drew  him  to  and  fro  until  F 
certainly  thought  the  poor  scamp  would  drown.  Having  ducked  him  suf 
ficiently,  he  was  released  ;  by  which  time  he  was  sobered  and  effectually 
cured,  for  I  never  afterward  knew  him  to  become  drunk. 

When  we. anchored  at  Lobos  Island,  on  the  22d  of  February,  184-7,  we 
found  General  Scott  on  the  steamer  Massachusetts,  awaiting  the  arrival  of 
his  forces.  A  large  number  of  volunteers  were  encamped  on  the  island. 
When  all  was  ready  the  whole  fleet  headed  their  prows  for  the  famous 
castle  of  San  Juan  d'Ulloa.  It  was  a  beautiful  sight  that  immense  number 
of  tall-masted  vessels,  with  their  snowy  canvas  spread  to  the  breeze.  How 
many  a  young  man,  the  hope  and  support  of  a  fond  mother,  was  there, 
doomed  miserably  to  perish  and  fill  an  unknown  grave  in  a  foreign  land ! 
Our  ships  were  filled  with  vermin,  and  ere  the  voyage  was  half  over  we  were 
completely  covered  ;  no  accommodations  existed  for  washing  either  clothes 
or  persons. 

On  the  6th  of  March,  we  anchored  off  Vera  Cruz  ;  the  next  day  we  got 
the  tidings,  from  an  English  vessel,  of  the  battle  of  Buena  Vista.  Tho 
report  was  through  the  Mexicans,  and  to  the  effect  that  Santa  Anna  had  had 
a  battle  with  our  volunteers  under  Taylor,  and  had  defeated  him  ;  neverthe 
less  that  the  Mexicans  had  fallen  back  for  some  purpose  not  stated.  The 


452  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

concluding  clause  proved  to  us  that  "  our  boys "  were  the  victors,  and  wo 
gave  three  hearty  cheers  for  "  Old  Zach." 

Our  landing  was  effected  on  the  8th.  Our  division  was  the  first  to  em 
bark  in  the  boats  for  the  main  land  ;  when  we  were  ready,  Worth  shout/*! 
in  a  loud  voice,  "By  boats  !  right  wheel !"  then,  "Forward  !"  and  agaLi: 
"  For  the  shore  ! "  The  sailors  pulled  heartily,  and  we  sat  with  our  arnia 
!n  our  hands  ready  for  action  ;  as  soon  as  we  struck  the  beach,  each  regi 
ment  rallied  around  its  flag  in  line  of  battle.  This  proved  needless,  as  the 
expected  opposition  did  not  ensue.  I  never  saw  such  a  magnificent  spec 
tacle  as  that  vast  collection  of  boats  with  over  five  thousand  men,  moving 
in  a  regular  semicircle  toward  the  shore  ;  it  was  a  sight  worth  a  journey  of 
a  thousand  miles.  When  the  sun  rose  next  morning,  it  shone  on  twelve 
thousand  men  on  that  beach. 

Vera  Cruz  stands  on  the  sea  shore,  and  is  inclosed  by  a  wall ;  from  it  a 
plain  extends  about  a  thousand  yards,  and  then  rise  sandhills  from  ten  to 
thirty  feet  in  height,  formed  by  the  northers,  which  prevail  in  the  spring 
and  autumn.  The  tops  of  these  hills  are  covered  with  scrubby  thorn 
bushes ;  the  ravines  with  lime  and  other  tropical  trees.  Our  forces  com 
pletely  invested  the  city  ;  Worth's  right  rested  on  the  shore,  and  although 
it  was  three  miles  distant,  yet,  on  the  day  after  our  landing,  a  bomb-shell 
reached  our  camp.  The  landing  of  our  guns,  provisions,  and  munitions  of 
war  occupied  several  days  ;  the  beach  presented  a  scene  of  life  and  anima 
tion,  only  when  the  northers  prevailed,  and  then  all  had  to  seek  shelter. 
While  the  sailors  were  attending  to  these  duties,  we  soldiers  were  digging 
trenches  and  planting  batteries. 

When  we  landed,  and  I  stood  upon  one  of  those  sandhills  and  saw  the 
strength  of  the  place,  the  immenso  distance  at  which  the  enemy  threw  their 
projectiles,  and  the  wonderful  weight  of  their  metal,  I  despaired  of  our  ever 
taking  the  place  ;  but  science  overcame  all  these  difficulties.  We  had  hero 
the  best  military  talent  of  our  country  ;  we  had  General  Scott  and  a  splen 
did  corps  of  engineers,  and.  ere  I  was  aware,  they  had  worked  their  way 
down  through  the  ravines  and  sandhills,  and  were  laying  out  entrenchments 
within  eight  hundred  yards  of  the  city.  The  army  was  detailed  by  regi 
ments  to  work  and  relieve  each  other  in  the  trenches.  There  was  no  run 
ning  the  gauntlet  here  in  daylight ;  each  detail  remained  and  worked  in  the 
trenches  twenty-four  hours.  The  reliefs  always  marched  down  after  dark, 
when  there  was  but  little  risk  of  being  fired  on  in  crossing  the  level  plain 
between  the  camp  and  the  trenches,  and  \vkich  \t*as  open  to  a  raking  fire 
alike  from  the  castle  and  city  batteries.  All  this  heavy  work  in  the 
trenches  had  to  be  done  at  night.  The  first  night  our  regiment  was  in  the 
trenches,  we  had  a  sharp  time.  The  engineers  had  got  there  first,  and  had 
stretched  a  rope  along  as  our  guide  to  work  by.  This  was  on  the  city  sido 
of  the  cemetery,  where  the  ground  was  covered  with  the  vegetation  peculiar 
to  this  region.  Here  was  an  immense  cactus,  there  a  thicket  of  thorn 
bushes ;  to  the  left  a  massy,  broad-leafed,  spongy  plant  with  long  sharp 
needles  on  the  edges  of  the  leaves ;  beside  it  a  large  sapling,  which  certainly 
would  cause  us  to  *alarm  the  enemy  by  our  chopping ;  everything  bristled 
with  thorns  and  needles,  like  a  forost  of  spikes.  We  stuck  our  muskets 
by  the  bayonets  into  the  ground  beside  us,  hung  our  jackets  and  belts  on 


OF  AMERICANS.  453 

the  butts,  and  went  at  it,  carefully  at  first,  but  soon  were  fully  engaged  chop 
ping,  knocking,  and  hauling  away  the  brush.  The  use  of  a  light  was  too 
perilous,  the  night  was  dark,  and  when  one  put  forth  his  hand  to  take  hold 
of  a  bush,  it  was  sure  to  come  in  contact  with  a  thorn  or  a  needle,  so  that 
n  a  little  while  our  hands  were  streaming  with  blood  ;  there  was  no  help 
for  it,  a  soldier's  blood  is  at  the  call  of  his  country.  Either  by  the  noise  oi 
c-ur  chopping  or  through  their  pickets,  the  Mexicans  got  wind  of  our  pro 
ceedings,  and  in  a  little  while  they  began  to  compliment  us  with  specimens 
of  their  skill  in  gunnery. 

Suddenly  the  eastern  sky  was  lit  up  by  a  luminous  flash  :  "Look  cut, 
boys  ! — shot !  here  she  comes  !  "  was  shouted. 

The  report  and  the  shell  came  together ;  boom !  whiz !  Hloop  !  and  she 
struck  in  the  cemetery  beside  us,  throwing  up  a  cloud  of  sand  and  dust. 

"  Look  out  sharp,  boys  !  another  from  the  castle — a  Paixhan  fellow  this 
time  ! " 

I  heard  it  and  had  just  thrown  myself  behind  a  breastwork  raised  the 
night  previous,  when,  smash,  it  struck  into  that  very  breastwork,  exploding 
as  it  struck,  and  -with  a  force  that  I  thought  would  shake  the  whole  place 
level. 

"Another,  boys!  from  the  city — thirteen-inch  shell!"  which  kindly  ex 
ploded  in  the  air  above,  and  the  pieces  went  whiz!  whiz!  whiz!  striking 
all  about  us. 

"Another,  fellows  ! — round  shot  from  the  city  !  " 

Along  she  came,  waist-high,  and  passing  between  two  of  our  muskets, 
nipped  off  a  piece  from  one  of  our  jackets. 

"  Well,  by  zounds  !  this  is  getting  quite  comfortable  !  " 

"Another,  boys,  from  the  castle  ! — Paixhan  this  time  ! "  but  it  fell  short, 
and  ir.  a  little  while  the  firing  upon  us  ceased  for  the  night. 

Having  cleared  off  the  brush,  we  took  to  the  spades.  The  engineer  camo 
along  and  gave  us  our  tasks  ;  each  man  was  to  dig  a  hole  four  feet  long,  fivo 
deep,  and  six  wide  :  that  is  to  say,  twenty  men  were  to  make  a  trench 
eighty  feet  long  of  the  above  width  and  depth.  When  ready,  the  engineer 
told  us  that  just  as  each  worked,  just  so  much  of  a  protection  would  each 
have,  at  least  against  the  round  shot,  when  daylight  disclosed  us  to  the 
enemy.  We  went  at  it  with  a  will ;  the  sand  was  as  easy  to  excavate  as  an 
ash-heap.  By  three  o'clock  in  the  morning,  where  the  enemy  saw  nothing 
before  but  a  dense  chaparral,  was  now  a  splendid  trench,  running,  like  a  fine 
canal  across  the  plain.  It  was  beautiful  to  look  upon,  and  the  engineers 
were  mightily  pleased  ;  they  said  we  had  done  more  work  that  night  than 
they  expected  to  have  accomplished  in  two  —  that  we  were  "good,  brave 
boys,  and  deserved  well  of  our  country."  When  the  morning  light  exposed 
the  long  line  of  new  earth  to  the  view  of  the  Mexican  artillery-men,  the}r 
pelted  us  awfully  with  round  shot  and  shell;  we  lay  snug  and  unharmed 
all  day  in  our  holes,  and  when  night  came  were  relieved. 

Such  was  the  way  those  trenches  were  made  and  batteries  planted. 
Magazines  were  also  constructed  of  heavy  planks  and  earth,  with  their 
doors  from  the  direction  of  the  city.  Mule  teams  hauled  down  shells  and 
shot  during  the  night-time.  The  work  of  getting  the  heavy  guns  through 
the  heavy  sandhills  to  their  respective  positions,  was  very  great ;  large  de- 


454  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

tails  of  soldiers  and  sailors  took  hold  of  the  ropes ;  the  sailors  shouting  in 
their  sea-phrases,  the  soldiers  swearing  and  laughing,  the  heavy  guns  swing 
ing  and  getting  fast  in  the  sand,  the  enemy  now  and  then  sending  a  thirty- 
two  pound  pill,  whose  screaming  and  gyrations  through  the  sand  and  chap 
arral,  all  united  to  make  a  scene  to  be  remembered. 

One  night,  after  having  been  greatly  fatigued  by  hard  work,  I  rolled  my 
self  up  in  my  blanket,  and  fell  into  A  refreshing  sleep;  in  a  few  hours  a 
norther  came  on  and  roused  me  by  the  flapping  and  shaking  of  my  tent ;  I 
turned  over  and  went  off  again  until  reveille.  When  I  awoke,  I  felt  a 
heavy  weight  upon  me ;  on  throwing  off  my  blanket  from  my  head,  a  peck 
of  sand  poured  into  my  face,  filling  my  eyes,  nose,  ears,  neck,  etc.  The 
drifting  sand  had  come  into  my  tent  and  covered  me  over  like  a  mass  of 
snow.  On  going  out,  the  scene  was  dreadful ;  the  air  was  darkened  by  the 
fine  sand,  and  everything  was  covered  with  it.  Many  of  the  tents  had  been 
blown  down,  the  sea  was  lashed  into  fury,  and  the  men  looked  miserably. 
The  cook  had  the  greatest  difficulty  in  making  us  any  coffee  ;  as  for  the 
pork,  it  was  full  of  sand.  Not  a  bite  of  anything  could  we  take,  but  our 
teeth  would  grate  on  sand — everything  partook  of  a  gritty  nature  ;  sand 
was  here,  there,  and  everywhere  :  everybody  had  sore  eyes,  our  clothes 
were  full  of  sand,  a  man's  shirt  felt  like  drawing  a  bag  of  gravel  over 
his  back,  and  his  boots  seemed  as  if  they  contained  a  "  perch  of  stone."  A 
few  hours'  exposure  of  a  sleeping  man  to  one  of  those  northers,  would  bury 
him  so  deeply  as  to  be  beyond  all  hope  of  a  living  resurrection.  The  fact 
was,  sand  and  thorns  were  trumps  with  us  all  the  time  at  Vera  Cruz. 

We  could  not  wash  on  board  the  ships,  nor  for  days  after  our  landing  had 
we  the  time  ;  our  persons  and  clothes  got  into  a  most  healthy  and  lively 
condition  :  our  bodies  formed  the  worlds  for  multitudes  of  those  little  beings 
who  carried  out  the  injunction  to  "increase  and  multiply,"  with  such  unction 
that  they  became  great-grandfathers  and  great-grandmothers  in  less  than, 
twenty-four  hours.  Why  they  wore  created  I  know  not,  except  it  be  to 
punish  people  for  filthiness.  It  was  not  until  near  the  close  of  the  siege 
that  we  had  an  opportunity  of  dispossessing  these  non-paying  tenants. 

One  evening  our  company  was  sent  out  as  a  guard  of  observation,  and 
took  position  behind  a  low  cactus-covered  sandhill.  At  ten  o'clock  next 
day  one  of  our  men  in  morving  about,  exposed  our  position  to  the  enemy ; 
we  were  in  point-blank  range  of  all  their  batteries,  from  which  they  poured 
in  upon  us  a  tremendous  storm  of  heavy  shot.  I  never  passed  such  a  day. 
We  had  to  lie  close  to  the  ground,  and  the  shot  then  nearly  grazed  oui 
heads.  The  cactus  was  knocked  all  to  pieces,  and  the  top  of  the  hill  was 
as  effectually  cut  up  as  if  a  plow  had  passed  over  it.  Night  came  on  and 
relieved  us  without  the  loss  of  a  single  man.  Dreadful  was  that  storm  ;  it 
was  surprising  we  were  not  all  knocked  to  pieces.  There  was  some  lovely 
embracing  of  mother  earth  that  day,  and  if  I  had  possessed  the  nature  of  a 
ground-hog,  I  should  certainly  have  employed  myself  differently  from  what 
I  did. 

Thus  we  proceeded,  making  trenches,  planting  batteries,  and  getting  reacy 
to  answer  the  enemy  at  their  own  game.  General  Scott  had  his  marquee 
pitched  to  ths  right  and  rear  of  our  encampment.  It  was  evident  we  had  a 


OF  AMERICANS.  455 

master-mind  in  the  field,  and  that  an  application  of  science  was  being  made, 
instead  of  an  entire  reliance  upon  the  bayonet. 

By  the  25th  of  March,  all  the  batteries  were  in  full  play  upon  Yera  Cruz. 
The  roar  of  our  artillery,  and  the  fall  of  shells  and  shot  was  heard  all 
through  its  streets.  I  was  afterward  told  by  an  Englishman  that  the  scene 
was  dreadful ;  he  showed  me  a  house  in  which  a  family  was  eating  supper, 
when  a  shell  fell  through  the  roof,  and,  bursting  in  the  room,  killed  tho 
whole  of  them  ;  and  an  old  negro  said  to  me,  "Ah  !  mister !  dat  was  awful 
time  dar,  de  shells  bustin*  and  blowin'  eberyting  to  pieces."  I  need  not  re 
count  any  farther  these  scenes,  for  abler  pens  than  mine  have  poitrayed 
them. 

The  surrender  was  an  imposing  sight ;  the  soldiers  and  sailors  stood  in 
one  line  and  the  volunteers  in  another.  We  were  ordered  to  appear  in^tha 
best  possible  manner,  cleanly  shaved,  with  our  arms,  belts,  and  accoutermenta 
polished  and  whitened  up ;  we  wore  the  extra  suit  which  a  soldier  always 
has  by  him,  and  when  we  marched  out  to  parade,  each  man  looked  as  if  just 
out  of  a  bandbox.  Worth  was  well  pleased,  for  he  loved  a  proud  soldier. 
The  sailors  were  dressed  in  their  white  pants,  blue  coats,  and  shirts  with 
the  blue  collar,  and  took  our  right.  The  volunteers  appeared  dingy  and 
dirty,  some  with  long  beards,  others  with  one  pant-leg  in  their  boots  ;  the 
contrast  was  great.  They  wondered  how  we  could  make  such  a  neat  ap 
pearance  ;  it  was  our  business  to  be  soldiers,  and  we  lived  under  a  strict 
discipline  which  provided  for  such  emergencies.  The  Mexicans,  as  they 
marched  out,  looked  heart-broken  —  some  were  fine-looking  men  ;  they 
stacked  their  arms  and  then  hurried  away  to  the  interior,  and  were  soon  out 
of  sight.  When  General  Scott  took  possession  he  obtained  an  immense 
amount  of  the  material  of  war ;  he  issued  orders  to  prevent  the  commission 
of  crimes  against  the  people,  and  no  army  ever  conducted  with  such 
humanity  toward  a.  conquered  people  as  ours  in  Mexico.  The  only  crimo 
of  moment  committed  at  Vera  Cruz  was  by  a  free  negro  from  South  Caro-, 
lina,  who,  having  violated  a  countrywoman  as  she  was  coming  into  the  city 
with  some  marketing,  was  tried  by  a  military  commission  and  hung.  He 
met  his  fate  with  the  coolest  unconcern. 

Our  army  was  now  preparing  for  an  advance  into  the  heart  of  Mexico. 
Quantities  of  ammunition,  provisions,  cannon,  and  arms  are  to  be  carried, 
yet  the  wagons,  horses,  and  mules,  which  are  to  do  this  service,  have  not 
arrived.  They  are  now  perhaps  descending  the  Mississippi,  and  will  soon 
be  here  ;  at  length,  one  by  one,  dozen  by  dozen,  they  arrive.  On  the  8th 
of  April,  Twiggs  with  his  division  takes  the  road  to  Jalapa;  on  the  13th, 
our  division  follows.  By  orders  we  took  on  with  us  only  what  was  abso 
lutely  necessary  ;  all  our  spare  clothing  we  packed  and  left  behind,  snugly 
stowed  away.  In  our  absence  the  volunteers  got  at  our  goods,  and  stole 
everything  that  the  regular  army  had  left — tents,  uniforms,  private  clothing 
and  all 

General  Twiggs  had  advanced  to  a  place  called  Plan  del  Rio,  and,  at 
Cerro  Gordo,  a  mountain  gorge  beyond,  found  Santa  Anna  with  seventeen 
thousand  men,  in  a  strongly-fortified  position,  awaiting  the  attack  of  the 
Americans.  Twiggs,  having  made  a  reconnoissance,  resolved  to  attack; 
thinking  perhaps  to  make  a  name,  he  was  about  to  practice  General  Tay 


456  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

lor's  method  of  fighting,  and  thereby  very  likely  would  have  been  defeated 
with  great  slaughter.  General  Patterson  coming  up  at  this  juncture,  he  did 
not  attack.  When  Scott  arrived  he  adopted  an  entirely  different  plan  ;  ho 
was  not  an  officer  to  plunge  in  headlong,  get  his  men  into  trouble,  and  thon, 
riot  knowing  how  to  extricate  them,  do  nothing  but  stand  arid  swagger  about, 
and  let  fly  a  volley  of  oatlis. 

Our  division  reached  the  National  Bridge  on  the  15th,  and  remained  theie 
until  the  next  evening,  when  we  were  ordered  up  to  Plan  del  Rio,  sixteen 
miles  beyond;  somehow  we  men  understood  we  were  to  go  only  three  or 
four  miles  that  night,  so  we  neglected  filling  our  canteens  with  water.  We 
marched  on  several  miles,  expecting  every  moment  to  be  ordered  to  en 
camp ;  dense  chaparral  lined  the  roadside,  and  on  we  jogged  ;  all  that  could 
be  heard  was  an  occasional  growl  from  some  sore-footed  and  tired  soldier, 
the  continual  dink,  dink  of  our  tin  cups,  and  the  heavy  tramp  of  many  feet. 
I  became  so  fatigued  that  I  thought  it  impossible  to  go  farther,  but  I  kept 
on  with  my  eyes  partly  shut,  asleep.  When  we  had  gone  a  dozen  miles — it 
seemed  to  me  thirty — it  was  reported  that  the  lancers  were  hovering  around, 
and  the  officers  warned  the  men  not  to  fall  out  of  the  ranks  or  they  would 
be  murdered.  Finally  we  halted  for  a  few  moments  when  Smith,  of  our 
company,  and  myself  threw  ourselves  behind  some  bushes  on  the  roadside 
to  rest  until  the  troops  should  start  on.  No  sooner  were  we  down  than, 
contrary  to  our  intention,  we  fell  asleep ;  nature  was  exhausted.  How  long 
we  slept  I  know  not.  Suddenly  I  started  up,  wide  awake,  and  listened ; 
all  was  still  save  the  loud  breathing  of  my  companion.  The  lancers !  the 
lancers  !  struck  my  mind. 

"  Smith  !  Smith  ! "  said  I,  "  up  !  » 

He  was  awake  in  a  moment. 

"  Smith,  we  're  left  behind,  as  sure  as  fate  !  " 

"  Good  heavens  ! "  exclaimed  he,  in  a  suppressed  voice,  which  showed  his 
vivid  sense  of  our  peril ;  "  let  us  arouse  and  go  after  the  troops." 

"  Certainly,"  I  rejoined. 

We  caught  up  our  knapsacks  and  muskets,  and  sprang  into  the  road,  at 
first  puzzled  to  know  which  way  to  go.  We  recollected  we  had  lain  down 
on  the  left  side  of  the  road,  and  so  started  on  ;  in  half  a  mile  we  came  to 
our  men  asleep,  and  a  little  beyond  was  the  river  at  the  base  of  Cerro 
Gordo.  When  day  broke,  it  presented  to  us  one  of  the  wildest  of  scenes, 
rough  and  mountainous.  Here  we  found  Patterson's  and  part  of  Twiggs' 
division.  That  afternoon,  Twiggs  had  a  smart  skirmish  with  the  enemy, 
and  carried  a  lower  hill  south  of  Cerro  Gordo,  the  main  hill,  where  our 
soldiers  planted  some  guns  in  the  night. 

Upon  the  particulars  of  the  battle  which  ensued  the  next  day,  I  need  not 
dwell.  It  is  well  known  that  the  enemy  were  most  thoroughly  defeated, 
and  exactly  in  accordance  with  the  previous  dispositions  of  our  general.  As 
we  were  ascending  the  hill  called  by  the  Mexicans  Telegrafo,  we  camo 
across  General  Scott ;  how  he  got  there  we  could  not  tell.  As  the  men 
passed  him  they  all  cheered  ;  he  looked  as  mild  and  pleasant  as  if  on  a 
pleasure  excursion.  On  the  top  of  the  hill  the  scene  presented  all  the  hor 
rors  of  the  battle-field — dead  and  dying  men  all  about.  Worth  ordered  the 
captured  guns  to  be  turned  on  the  enemy,  who  hoisted  a  white  fla#. 


OF  AMERICANS.  457 

"Xever  mind  the  flag,"  said  he,  "fire  a  few  shots  an}*1  way  !  "  which  was 
done,  and  then  he  ordered  them  to  cease.  Among  the  dead  I  saw  here  was 
General  Vasquez,  a  fine-looking  man,  who  fell  with  his  face  to  the  foe  ;  a 
little  stream  of  blood  was  oozing  from  a  shot-hole  in  his  head.  One  soldier 
lay  near  him  with  the  top  part  of  his  head  blown  off;  the  skull  had  been 
struck  on  the  back  part  and  cut  straight  across  above  the  ears,  and  in  that 
shape  thrown  over  where  it  still  hung  by  the  skin  of  the  forehead  like  a 
hingo.  One  Mexican  was  in  a  singular  position  ;  it  was  evident  that  at  the 
last  moment  he  had  seen  something  which  pleased  him.  and  had  turned 
around  with  his  back  to  his  own  breastwork,  when  a  ball  passed  through 
his  head  from  behind  ;  he  thereupon  had  sunk  into  a  sitting-posture  with 
the  smile  yet  on  his  face  and  his  musket  resting  on  his  arm  ;  he  appeared  as 
if  yet  alive  and  laughing. 

On  the  19th,  we  took  up  our  line  of  march  for  Jalapa.  All  along  tho 
road  were  evidences  of  the  pursuit"  of  the  flying  Mexicans  by  Harney's  dra 
goons  ;  it  was  strewn  with  the  dead  and  dying.  Heaps  of  the  dead  lay 
upon  the  ground  with  their  skulls  literally  split  open  by  the  sabers  of  our 
horsemen.  We  were  evidently  entering  a  Better  country,  fine  fields  of  grain 
were  springing  up  all  around,  coffee  was  seen  growing,  and  the  foliage  was 
of  a  dark,  heavy  green.  That  night  we  bivouacked  near  Jalapa,  and  on 
elevated  ground.  Sunrise  opened  to  us  one  of  the  finest  of  views  ;  toward 
Vera  Cruz,  in  the  lowlands,  it  was  cloudy  and  doubtless  raining.  The 
clouds  were  beneath  our  feet,  and  as  the  deep  thunder  rolled  and  reverbe 
rated  through  the  valleys,  we  could  see  the  lightning  dart  up  out  of  heavy 
banks  of  mist  whose  tops  were  white  in  the  sun's  rays.  To  the  left  was  old 
Orizaba,  topped  with  perpetual  snow.  Our  officers  and  men  stood  enchanted 
with  the  view.  This  was  not  all  :  there,  to  the  west,  right  back  of  Jalapa, 
arose  stupendous  mountains  piled  on  mountains  until  the  tops  seemed  to 
pierce  the  skies  ;  over  these  lay  our  road  to  JMexico. 

Worth's  division  did  not  stop  in  Jalapa,  but  was  ordered  on  to  Perote. 
In  a  few  miles  we  struck  the  mountains  and  entered  the  wild  and  gloomy 
pass  of  La  Hoya,  called  by  our  men  the  Black  Pass.  On  the  22d,  v/o 
reached  the  famous  Castle  of  Perote,  and  were  shown  the  room  in  which 
the  Mier  prisoners  were  confined.  Captain  Samuel  II.  Walker,  of  the  Texan 
Rangers,  was  one  of  those  prisoners.  It  is  said,  that  having  assisted  with 
others  in  some  repairs  around  the  flag-staff,  he  dropped  in  a  crevice  a  five 
cent  piece,  saying  as  he  did  it,  that  the  day  would  arrive  when  he  should 
have  the  authority  to  take  it  out.  As,  during  the  time  we  were  in  Mexico, 
he  was  appointed  commander  of  the  castle,  I  presume  he  recovered  his 
sixpence. 

At  Perote  our  brigade  sepa,rated  from  the  other  part  of  Worth's  division, 
and  advanced  eighteen  miles  to  Tepeyahaulco  ;  we  there  quartered  in  a 
mule  yard,  and  I  took  up  my  berth  in  one  of  the  troughs.  Oil  the  10th  of 
May,  we  marched  for  Puebla,  and  on  the  first  day  saw  the  singular  effects 
of  the  mirage ;  it  made  the  distant  landscape  look  like  a  lake  of  water.  Our 
persons  were  reflected  in  the  distance  to  a  gigantic  size,  and  our  horses  to 
the  proportions  of  elephants.  WTe  crossed  wide  tracts  of  barren  sand  and 
met  with  large  quantities  of  pumice-stone ;  the  mountains  were  bare  and 
destitute  of  vegetation.  At  a  mountain  pass,  "  El  Final,"  the  enemy  had 


458  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

fixed  large  rocks  to  roll  upon  us,  but  when  we  came  along,  they  were  not 
there  to  roll  them.  On  the  fourth  day  from  Perote  we  reached  A.mazoque, 
seven  miles  from  the  famous  City  of  Puebla ;  we  could  discern  the  cupolas 
of  the  cathedrals  with  their  shining  and  variegated  tiles. 

Just  before  reaching  Amazoque  the  road  rises  up  on  a  high  plateau  ascend 
ing  which  a  most  gorgeous  panorama  burst  upon  our  view ;  away  toward 
the  west  arose  those  famous  snow-capped  mountains,  Popocatapetl  and  Iz- 
tac-cithuatl,  rearing  their  white  heads  far  into  the  atmosphere.  Between  us 
and  those  mountains  stretched  away  the  Valley  of  Puebla,  dotted  here  and 
there  with  the  white  houses  of  villages  and  haciendas  ;  and  there  in  the  cen 
ter  stood  the  large,  beautiful  City  of  Puebla  de  los  Angeios — City  of  the 
Angels.  The  country  around  was  fertile  and  prolific  in  everything  for  the 
comfort  of  man. 

On  entering  Amazoque  the  villagers  greeted  us  kindly  ;  the  ladies,  good- 
hearted  souls,  ran  and  brought  huge  pitchers  of  water,  and  standing  in  the 
doors  of  their  humble  dwellings,  offered  us  the  sparkling  liquid  with  pleas 
ant  words  and  smiling  countenances.  Feeling  certain  from  the  manner  of 
the  people,  that  our  entrance  into  Puebla  would  be  unopposed,  Worth 
ordered  us  to  clean  up  and  put  things  in  order,  so  that  we  might  make  a 
good  appearance  on  the  occasion.  Our  regiment  went  into  a  large  fenced 
yard  to  clean  up  after  our  long  and  dusty  march.  Some  went  to  work  tak 
ing  apart  their  muskets  and  cleaning  them ;  others  got  out  their  whitening 
and  were  rubbing  up  their  belts ;  still  others  were  overhauling  their  knap 
sacks,  and  taking  out  and  mending  their  extra  suit ;  again,  others  were 
shaving  themselves — so  that  the  appearance  of  the  troops  was  as  if  they 
were  in  quarters  in  some  part  of  the  United  States :  no  one  dreamed  of  an 
enemy  being  near.  It  seems,  however,  that  something  must  have  revealed 
our  situation  to  the  Mexicans  :  suddenly  the  exclamations  burst  forth  : 

"  Hark  !  what  is  that  ?    It 's  the  long  roll.    By  heavens  !  we  are  attacked  !" 

The  scene  that  transpired  cannot  be  described  ;  our  confusion  was  most 
complete — men  grasping  their  muskets,  that  lay  all  apart,  and  nervously  at 
tempting  to  put  them  together,  others  hurrying  on  their  accouterments,  etc. 
Notwithstanding  our  defenseless  and  dangerous  condition,  it  was  an  ex 
tremely  ludicrous  spectacle  to  us  when  we  began  to  fall  into  line — somo 
were  half-shaven — some  had  on  their  jackets  wrong-side  out — others  with 
the  cartridge-box  on  the  wrong  side.  While  the  confusion  was  at  its  height, 
a  man  at  the  gate  shouted  out,  "The  lancers  are  just  upon  us!"  I  looked 
toward  the  city  and  saw  an  immense  cloud  of  dust  arising.  While  all  thia 
was  transpiring,  our  light  artillery  ran  out,  and,  by  a  few  well-directed  shots, 
sent  the  cowardly  rascals  galloping  back.  The  result  of  this  affair  was  that 
we  looked  worse  next  morning  than  usual. 

The  next  day  we  entered  Puebla ;  as  we  passed  along  the  streets,  we  found 
them  crowded  with  thousands  of  people  anxious  to  get  a  sight  of  those 
men  that  had  always  proved  victorious  over  their  choicest  troops.  Tha 
balconies  of  fine  tall  houses  were  densely  thronged  with  beautiful  women  who 
waved  their  handkerchiefs  at  us  as  we  advanced.  Our  men  were  astonished 
at  the  splendor  and  apparent  opulence  of  the  city.  We  presented  a  most 
miserable  appearance  to  the  people  ;  we  were  worn  down  by  our  long  march, 
"overed  with  dust  and  dirt,  and  from  fatigue  and  sickness,  our  faces  wore  a 


OF  AMEKICANS.  459 

haggard  look.     The  Pueblese  had  expected  to  see  something  splendid  in 
the  aspect  of  that  army  that  had  proved  itself  so  invincible  ;  great  was  their 
astonishment  at  beholding  a  collection  of  ill-dressed,  poor,  dirty,  and  sickly 
looking  men. 

Near  Puebla,  are  the  ancient  ruins  of  Cholula,  a  city  of  the  Tlascalans, 
which  in  the  time  of  Cortes  contained  two  hundred  thousand  -souls  and  four 
Ltindred  temples  to  idols.  The  famous  pyramid  of  Cholula  still  marks  the 
spot ;  it  is  the  most  remarkable  of  all  the  ruins  of  the  Aztecs.  Its  base 
corers  the  space  of  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  and  it  rises  to  the  height  of  one 
hundred  and  seventy-seven  feet. 

Puebla  is  a  beautiful  city  of  eighty  thousand  inhabitants ;  its  streets  are 
broad  and  lined  with  many  elegant  buildings.  We  were  much  pleased  with 
the  people,  and,  for  my  part,  I  had  the  good  luck  to  ingratiate  myself  in 
the  affections  of  the  family  of  an  old  Spaniard,  consisting  of  himself,  wife, 
and  two  agreeable  young  daughters,  with  whom  I  passed  many  pleasant 
hours. 

Near  our  quarters  in  Puebla  was  an  ancient  church  bearing  the  date  1628  ; 
in  its  thick  walls  were  niches  in  which,  according  to  the  custom  of  tho 
country,  bodies  of  children  had  been  deposited  after  death.  While  in  this 
city  very  many  of  the  troops  died  of  the  dysentery,  brought  on  by  the  poor 
food  and  change  of  climate.  The  stoutest  men  were  the  first  to  sink,  and 
the  volunteers  suffered  far  more  than  the  regulars,  particularly  those  from 
the  Southern  States.  The  New  York  and  South  Carolina  regiments  were 
quartered  opposite  each  other ;  the  latter  lost  a  dozen  men  to  the  other's 
one,  and  so  it  was  all  through  the  army. 

On  our  arrival  at  Puebla,  our  army  had  been  reduced,  by  the  expirations 
of  enlistments  and  other  causes,  to  less  than  five  thousand  men,  and  thus 
General  Scott  was  obliged  to  await  there  several  months  for  reinforcements. 
Had  government  promptly  supplied  him  with  troops  we  could  have  marched 
on  immediately  after  the  battle  of  Cerro  Gordo,  and  in  a  very  little  while 
have  reached  the  City  of  Mexico.  The  enemy,  dispirited  by  defeat,  would 
have  made  but  feeble  resistance  to  our  arms  ;  but  the  delay  gave  ample  time 
for  Santa  Anna  to  recover  from  the  shock,  to  recruit  his  army,  and  to  fortify 
the  approaches  to  the  city.  Thousands  of  valuable  lives  were  lost  by  tho 
dilatory  movements  and  the  want  of  energy  on  the  part  of  our  government. 

Early  in  August,  the  army  under  Scott,  haying  received  the  expected  re 
inforcements,  marched  out  of  Puebla  in  four  divisions,  numbering  in  all  ten 
thousand  seven  hundred  and  thirty-eight  men.  About  three  thousand  men, 
under  Colonel  Childs,  were  left  at  Puebla ;  most  of  these  were  in  the  hos 
pitals,  over  seven  hundred  of  whom  died  in  that  city. 

Our  division  left  Puebla  on  the  8th  of  August ;  many  of  the  citizens  who  had 
become  acquainted  with  us  assembled  to  see  us  start.  Our  course  was  through 
a  beautiful  rolling  country,  dotted  wikh  orchards  and  fruit-gardens  ;  the  road 
was  ascending  and  crossed,  before  entering  the  City  of  Mexico,  the  Anahuac 
range  of  the  Cordilleras,  the  most  magnificent  portion  of  that  chain  of  moun 
tains  which  extends  from  Cape  Horn  to  the  Arctics.  The  lofty  mountains, 
white  with  eternal  snows,  chilled  the  air  at  the  distance  of  thirty  miles. 
On  the  third  day  we  reached  Rio  Frio,  or  Cold  River,  the  highest  point  on 
the  road — ten  thousand  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet  above  the  Gulf  o 


4(30  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

Mexico — forty-eight  miles  from  Puebla  and  forty-five  from  the  City  of 
Mexico.  The  scenery  was  glorious  ;  at  every  turn  in  the  road  seme  new 
object  of  grandeur  burst  upon  us  calling  forth  exclamations  of  delight.  Sol 
diers  generally  seem  to  be  almost  entirely  insensible  to  such  things  and  to 
all  the  finer  emotions  of  the  human  heart,  but  such  is  not  the  case ;  it  is 
owing  to  the  nature  of  military  discipline  that  the  soldier  acquires  a  .^citurn 
habit;  thinking,  however,  even  in  all  despotisms,  is  free. 

The  succeeding  night  the  cold  was  intense  ;  soon  after  bivouacking,  a  cold 
rain  came  on,  which  put  out  our  fires  and  wet  us  through,  and  before  morn 
ing  my  clothes  had  frozen  stiff  with  icicles  depending  therefrom.  The  fol 
lowing  forenoon  we  came  in  view  of  the  beautiful  Valley  of  Mexico.  The 
air  in  those  elevated  regions  is  so  very  clear  as  to  reduce  the  apparent  dis 
tance  of  objects  fully  one-half;  the  City  of  Mexico,  thirty-rive  miles  beyond 
us,  was  visible — a  little  speck  in  the  valley.  I  heard  no  extravagant  excla 
mations  at  the  beauty  of  the  scenery  :  but  one,  made  on  a  different  subject, 
I  well  recollect.  Our  regiment  happened  to  be  in  the  advance,  and  General 
Worth  and  his  staff  were  near  us ;  as  we  were  descending,  in  the  afternoon, 
into  the  valley,  marching  in  platoons,  the  ra}*s  of  the  declining  sun  striking 
the  mass  of  bright  arms  presented  a  beautiful  appearance.  Worth  observed 
it,  and  turning  to  his  staff,  exclaimed  : 

"  Gentlemen,  look  at  that !  just  look  at  that !  Is  not  that  enough  to  cheer 
the  heart  of  any  man  ?", 

Worth  was  proud  of  his  men  and  ambitious.  This  day's  march  was  a 
long  one  ;  we  overtook  Twiggs'  division  at  the  edge  of  the  valley,  at  the 
village  of  Ayotla.  At  this  point,  which  was  on  the  main  road  to  the  city, 
we  turned  oft'  to  the  left  and  took  post  at  Chalco,  on  the  lake  of  the  same 
name.  The  City  of  Mexico  is  approached  only  by  causeways.  Santa  Anna, 
supposing  that  our  army  would  take  the  main  road,  had  more  strongly  for 
tified  the  approaches  to  the  city  by  it ;  the  strongest  was  the  fortress  El 
Penon,  which  completely  commanded  the  road.  It  mounted  fifty-one  guns 
of  the  heaviest  caliber,  and  was  surrounded  by  a  broad  and  deep  ditch.  On 
reconnoitering  this  position,  General  Scott  saw  that  it  was  impossible  to  take 
it,  except  at  an  immense  loss  of  life  ;  he,  therefore,  cut  a  new  road  to  the 
left,  around  the  western  margins  of  the  lakes,  Chalco  and  Xochimilco,  which 
struck  the  Acapulco  road  at  the  village  of  San  Augustine.  On  the  Acapulco 
road  the  prominent  fortifications  to  be  overcome  were,  1.  The  Hill  of  CON- 
TRKRAS,  thoroughly  armed  with  batteries  and  breastworks.  2.  The  Bridge 
of  CHUKUBUSCO,  a  tete  du  pont  at  the  crossing  of  a  canal,  armed  also  with 
cannon.  3.  Nearer  the  city,  the  Hill  of  CKAPULTEPEC,  on  which  was  the 
military  college.  The  ranche  of  San  Antonio,  and  other  points  on  the  road 
were  likewise  fortified  with  batteries.  Aside  from  these,  the  city  itself  was 
surrounded  by  a  wall  and  ditches,  with  small  forts  at  each  of  the  gates 
bristling  with  cannon.  Having  overcome  the  various  obstacles  on  our  new 
route,  our  division  reached  San  Augustine,  on  the  Acapulco  road,  much  to 
the  surprise  of  its  inhabitants  who  had  not  expected  us  in  this  direction. 
We  knew  that  hard  fighting  was  now  close  at  hand  ;  the  people  were  shy  of 
us,  and  their  manner  indicated  that  they  considered  us  already  about  as  good 
as  whipped.  • 

The  next  day,  the  18th,  our  division  marched  out  on  the  road  toward 


OF  AMERICANS.  401 

the  city.  In  a  little  more  than  a  mile  we  struck  the  pedregal  (volcanic 
rock),  and  neared  the  strongly-fortified  ranche  of  San  Antonia  ;  we  expected 
every  moment  to  go  into  battle.  Captain  Thornton  with  his  company  had 
dashed  ahead  to  recohnoitcr,  when,  boom  !  boom!  struck  our  ears.  Now  we 
have  it,  boys  !  and  as  the  sound  echoed  through  the  valleys,  I  saw  a  deathly 
paleness  come  over  the  faces  of  the  men.  I  looked  on  purpose  to  see  the 
effect  it  was  having  on  others,  for  I  felt  bad  myself  and  wished  to  know 
if  they  appeared  as  I  knew  1  felt.  It  was  the  same  with  the  officers,  for 
war  is  no  respecter  of  persons,  and  death  is  terrible.  But  what  is  this  com 
ing  ?  It  is  Captain  Thornton's  horse  !  The  saddle  was  all  over  blood.  One 
of  the  two  shots  we  just  heard,  had  struck  the  poor  captain  and  cut  him 
m  two. 

We  moved  on,  and  that  night  our  brigade  took  up  quarters  in  a  huge 
Btone  barn.  The  enemy  had  a  twenty-four  pounder  in  their  works  at  San 
Antonio  and  battered  our  hotel  with  great  industry,  but  little  effect.  Here 
we  lay  inactive,  awaiting,  as  it  was  understood,  for  some  of  the  other  divi 
sions  to  make  a  demonstration  to  the  left  of  the  pedregal  on  the  heights  of 
Contreras,  where  General  Valencia,  with  six  thousand  troops,  "  the  flower  of 
the  Mexican  army,"  was  strongly  intrenched.  During  the  19th,  it  was  fair 
weather  all  day.  As  our  division  of  the  army  was  not  in  those  operations 
before  Contreras,  I  will  only  give  the  facts  that  fell  under  my  own  observa 
tion  at  the  time. 

About  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  that  day  (the  19th),  we  heard  a 
sharp  firing  in  the  direction  of  Contreras,  three  "miles  in  a  right  line  from  us 
across  the  pedregal,  and  five  by  the  road.  Clouds  of  smoke  were  discerned, 
and  as  no  one  came  to  us,  we  began  to  be  suspicious  that  matters  were  not 
going  on  well.  We  knew  the  position  of  the  Mexicans  from  the  more  dense 
masses  of  smoke  and  from  the  louder  reports  of  their  artillery — their  guns 
being  the  heaviest ;  we  also  noticed  the  fact  that  when  night  came  on,  our 
people  were  no  nearer  the  position  of  the  enemy  than  when  they  began. 

About  dusk,  word  came  to  our  officers,  but  nothing  to  us  :  this  was  omi 
nous.  Again,  the  officers  stood  by  themselves,  talked  low,  and  suddenly 
had  very  long  countenances.  If  any  of  us  moved  within  hearing  distance 
they  instantly  ceased  talking.  After  awhile  1  got  a  chance  to  see  Lieuten 
ant  Gore,  commander  of  our  company.  He  was  standing  by  himself  and  I 
went  up,  saluted,  and  said  : 

"Lieutenant,  I  wish,  if  you  would  please  inform  me,  to  know  how  it  goes 
with  our  side  over  there  this  evening  :  I  fear  it  is  not  all  right  ?" 

"Keep  quiet,  sergeant!"  rejoined  he,  "and  if  you  won't  say  anything  to 
the  men  about  it,  I'll  tell  you.  The  Mexicans  are  very  strongly  intrenched 
over  there  in  the  valley,  and  General  Scott  ordered  that  point  to  be  attacked 
this  afternoon,  not  supposing  the  enemy  were  so  strong  as  they  really  are. 
Our  men  had  bad  luck — they  attacked  and  had  to  abandon  their  position. 
The  fact  is,  sergeant,"  continued  Gore,  speaking  very  low,  "our  fellows  are 
whipped,  and  we  all  feel  very  bad  about  it ;  but  it  is  the  intention  to  dc 
something  to-night,  and  perhaps  we  will  be  called  upon." 

"Not  whipped  !"  said  I. 

"No,  not  exactly  whipped,"  rejoined  Gore;  "but  you  know,  sergeant^ 
when  we  attack  a  place  and  don't  take  it,  we  might  as  well  be  whipped." 


462  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

He  then,  ag.iin,  requested  me  not  to  tell  the  men,  as  it  would  make  a  bad 
impression.  When  I  returned,  my  companions  flocked  around  to  ascertain 
what  Gore  had  told  me.  I,  however,  "knew  nothing"  and  said  "be 
quiet,"  all  of  which  they  fully  understood. 

In  the  course  of  an  hour,  when  the  men  had  mostly  fallen  asleep,  and  the 
non-commissioned  officers  were  together,  I  revealed  the  whole  to  them. 
We  sat  there  for  hours  discussing  the  matter,  and  finally  concluded  that, 
although  hard  work  was  in  store  for  us,  Scott  was  certain  to  take  the  city. 
One  by  one,  we  fell  asleep.  I  dropped  into  a  dreamy  doze,  my  mind 
actively  engaged  with  the  scenes  around  us — yet  my  thoughts  would  often 
be  far  away  with  home  and  loved  ones  in  Ohio.  Suddenly  I  would  arouse, 
and  the  startling  fact  come  upon  me,  in  all  its  dreadful  reality,  that  I  was 
far,  far  away  in  an  enemy's  country.  Thus  the  thoughts,  continually  active, 
kept  flitting  about,  like  some  nervous  unsteady  spirit  that  could  never  find 
a  resting-place.  So  the  hours  passed  on,  and  in  the  meanwhile  it  began  to 
rain.  The  dripping  of  the  eaves  fell  at  the  great  doors,  and  the  drops  pat 
tered  on  the  roof  and  leaves  with  a  melancholy  sound.  "To-morrow," 
thought  I,  "may  be  my  last  day  on  earth  !"  .A  sense  of  fear,  of  extreme 
reluctance  to  go  in  where  Death  was  claiming  his  victims  oppressed  me, 
and  then  I  would  shake  it  off  and  resolve  to  go  where  duty  called.  I  felt  I 
was  not  the  only  one  that  might  be  sacrificed,  and  if  I  was  doomed  to  die, 
I  should  be  remembered  by  a  grateful  country. 

Two  hours  past  midnight,  I  heard  the  gallop  of  a  horse  approaching. 
The  rider  passed  around  the  barn  and  by  the  door,  and  kept  on  to  our  colo 
nel's  marquee.  It  was  an  aid-de-camp  with  orders.  He  dismounted  and 
went  in,  and  I  then  overheard  voices  there.  A  few  minutes  elapsed  when 
in  came  our  adjutant  and  called  out : 

"  Men  !  men  !  wake  up  !  wake  up  !  arouse  up,  all  hands  !  First  sergeants, 
parade  your  men  and  call  the  roll  immediately  ! " 

This  was  the  morning  of  the  20th  of  August,  1847,  and  ere  the  sun  went 
down  five  distinct  actions  were  fought  with  the  Mexicans,  and  five  victories 
won  by  American  valor.  These  were  :  1.  The  storm  of  Contreras.  2.  The 
capture  of  San  Antonio.  3.  The  storm  of  the  tete-du-pont.  4.  The  battle 
and  assault  of  the  ckurch  and  outworks  of  Churubusco.  5.  The  action  in 
the  rear  of  Churubusco  with  the  right  wing  of  Santa  Anna's  corps.  These 
last  three  were  parts  of  one  drama,  but  distinct  in  the  skill,  the  action,  and 
the  relative  effects.  Ten  batteries,  mounting  sixty-one  guns,  had  been  car 
ried  and  the  causeway  laid  open  to  the  very  gates  of  the  city.  The  Mexi 
cans  numbered  thirty  thousand  men,  and  their  strength  was  doubled  by 
their  being  in  fortified  positions.  The  Americans  had  nine  thousand  meu 
only  engaged.  Seldom  have  such  great  results  with  such  inferior  means 
been  attained  iu  war.  But  to  return. 

In  thirty  minutes  the  whole  brigade  was  on  the  march — whither  we  knew 
not ;  we  only  knew  we  were  moving  in  the  direction  of  San  Augustine.  The 
night  was  dark,  the  rain  was  pouring,  the  road  was  slippery  with  mud,  and 
we  were  marching,  half-asleep  and  burdened  with  our  knapsacks.  We  had 
started  off  too  without  our  coffee,  and  felt  weak  and  miserable,  for  nothing 
is  more  trying  to  soldiers  than  to  be  called  on  duty  from  out  of  a  sound 
deep  without  their  morning  coffee.  For  days  we  had  had  nothing  to  eat  bul 


OF  AMERICANS.  463 

hard  bread  and  our  coffee,  as  we  could  catch  time  to  make  it.  For  my 

part,  I  feli  in  anything  but  a  pleasant  mood.  Old  Major took  occasion 

to  get  drunk  that  morning.  He  must  have  begun  to  pour  down  the  liquor 
as  soon  as  he  heard  the  order  to  march,  for  we  had  not  gone  more  than  two 
or  three  miles  before  he  was  "good  ;"  and  then  he  thought  the  whole  bri 
gade  was  drunk,  and  "  wondered  where  they  got  their  liquor  ! "  It  wa.s  easy 
to  tell  where'  he  got  his,  for  he  always  had  a  demijohn  in  the  baggage- 
wagon  :  a  soldier's  knapsack  would  at  any  time  be  "  chucked  "  into  the  road 
to  make  room  for  his  jugs. 

We  had  marched  some  four  miles  from  the  barn  when  daybreak  came 
on.  The  clouds  rolled  away,  and  we  discerned  all  around  us  evidences  of 
the  previous  day's  work.  Soon  after,  the  rattling  fire  of  musketry  was 
heard  in  advance  of  us,  and  then  the  heavy  booming  of  the  artillery.  The 
officers  endeavored  to  urge  us  on  at  double  quick  time.  It  was  impossible 
to  move  fast  in  the  slippery  state  of  the  road,  burdened  as  we  were  by  our 
heavy  knapsacks,  and  having  had  nothing  to  eat  that  morning  but  dry  bread. 
The  fighting  ahead  was  the  battle  of  Contreras,  which  lasted  only  twenty 
minutes.  The  enemy  had  been  surprised,  were  driven  from  their  guns,  and 
in  their  flight  were  pursued  with  great  slaughter.  It  was  a  happy  termina 
tion  to  the  unfortunate  prelude  of  the  day  before,  and  inspired  us  ail  with 
enthusiasm,  although  we  were  too  late  to  join  in  the  action. 

Worth,  who  had  gone  ahead,  at  this  juncture  returned  to  lead  us  on  to 
the  attack  of  San  Antonio.  He  came  galloping  up  at  full  speed,  his  horse 
in  a,  foam,  and  his  countenance  full  of  animation.  He  was  very  angry  at 
seeing  us  with  our  knapsacks  contrary  to  his  orders,  and  severely  repri 
manded  the  colonel,  whose  fault  it  was. 

"My  men,"  said  he,  "instead  of  being  fresh  for  a  hard  day's  fight,  are 
broken  down  already.  Countermarch,  sir,  as  soon  as  possible  to  our  old  po 
sition,  and  await  fresh  orders  to  advance  on  the  enemy  !  Leave  the  knap 
sacks  there,  and  let  the  men  rest  a  few  minutes,  sir  !" 

The  officer  turned  pale  at  the  reprimand,  and  as  all  this  was  said  in  the 
presence  of  the  men,  they  gave  Worth  one  spontaneous,  ringing  cheer. 

When  we  were  ordered  to  advance,  our  regiment  struck  into  a  cornfield 
intersected  with  ditches.  We  had  marched  some  nine  miles  that  mornin<*. 

O> 

and  under  such  circumstances  that,  when  we  entered  that  cornfield,  I  was 
in  a  state  of  desperation.  My  senses  were  in  a  measure  blunted.  I  was 
savage  and  would  have  fought,  and  finally  did  fight,  like  a  fury  incarnate, 
completely  reckless  of  consequences.  It  seemed  to  me  then  that  the  only 
friend  I  had  in  the  world  was  my  musket.  All  the  men  more  or  less  felt 
as  I  did.  We  floundered  through  the  mud,  which  was  deep  and  sticky  in 
the  cornfield,  as  well  as  we  could.  The  ditches,  which  were  four  feet  wide 
and  three  deep,  delayed  us  in  our  advance.  Several  men  tumbled  into 
them  in  their  attempts  tc  cross.  Our  drunken  major  had  to  be  helped  over, 
for  he  was  top-heavy  from  liquor  and  bottom-heavy  from  fat.  We  longed 
to  see  him  tumble  into  one  of  the  deepest,  for  he  was  despised  by  the  men. 
We  came  in  a  few  minutes  to  a  place  where  I  could,  by  stooping  down,  see 
the  Mexican  breastworks  between  the  rows  of  corn.  We  crept  on  in  a 
stooping  posture,  wondering  we  were  not  discovered  and  fired  on.  "  Oh  ! " 
thought  I,  "  you  are  reserving  your  fire  until  we  get  close  to  you.  Very 


464  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

well,  you  will  have  only  one  chance  at  us,  for  while  you  are  reloading,  those 
of  us  that  are  left  will  rush  on  and  drive  you  out." 

On  we  go- — we  get  close  to  the  wall — our  hearts  beat  quickly  in  momen 
tary  expectation  of  the  awful  sheet  of  flame  that  will  flash  in  our  faces. 
Here  we  are,  right  at  the  breastwork  ;  we  shout  and  rush  in  with  our  mus 
kets  firmly  grasped,  and  at  a  charge  and  cocked  :  a  hundred  fingers  press 
nervously  on  as  many  triggers,  ready  to  send  death  broadcast  among  our 
enemy.  At  this  exciting  moment  we  find  nothing  but  deserted  forti 
fications. 

Where  are  the  enemy  ?  they  had  retreated  and  were  on  the  full  run 
toward  the  city.  We  rushed  on  in  hot  pursuit,  and  struck  the  road  and 
entered  the  village  of  San  Antonio,  where  we  met  the  rest  of  our  brigade. 
Clarke's  brigade  had  made  a  circuit  across  the  pedregal,  and  intercepted 
the  retreat  of  the  Mexicans,  cutting  them  up  dreadfully.  Their  route  was 
strewn  with  all  sorts  of  arms  and  with  the  wounded  and  the  dying.  Many 
were  calling  for  "agua" — water.  Amid  the  confusion,  several  Mexican 
women  were  running  about  crying  and  carrying  large  bundles  of  their  house 
hold  goods  :  some  with  children  in  their  arms,  and  others  with  them  strap 
ped  to  their  backs  in  squaw  fashion. 

It  was  here  reported  to  Worth  that  some  of  our  camp-followers  were 
plundering  the  church.  He  ordered  them  to  be  seized,  tied  up,  and  given 
thirty-nine  lashes  apiece.  Those  fellows  were  gamblers  from  the  States, 
who  had  followed  the  army  from  mercenary  motives.  Ten  of  these  gentle 
men  were  flogged  at  this  time,  and  with  an  unction  :  our  soldiers  bore  them 
no  good  will,  for  they  had  robbed  and  plundered  them  at  every  chance. 

When  the  enemy  were  driven  out  of  San  Antonio  they  took  up  a  new 
position  at  Churubusco,  where  they  were  immediately  attacked  by  the  divi 
sions  of  Twiggs  and  Pillow.  Our  division  advanced  to  their  assistance, 
shouting  as  we  ran.  As  soon  as  we  got  under  fire  our  men  stopped  their 
cheering,  and  all  hands  became  as  docile  as  lambs.  It  is  wonderful  to  notice 
the  leveling  effect  the  getting  into  battle  has  alike  on  officers  and  men.  It 
«»  a  time  when  no  one  man  feels  more  aristocratic  than  another  :  those  iron 
balls  are  no  respecters  of  persons. 

To  our  division  was  assigned  the  task  of  attacking  the  tete-du-pont,  or 
bridge-head.  We  deployed  and  approached  through  the  cornfields,  sinking 
ankle-deep  in  the  mud,  and  leaping  the  ditches  as  well  as  we  could.  Some 
being  weak  in  their  underpins  waded  through.  Not  a  few  scenes  occurred 
so  ludicrous  that  a  man  would  certainly  laugh  if  he  knew  he  was  to  be  shot 
the  next  moment  solely  on  that  account ;  for  some,  in  their  attempts  to  leap 
the  ditches,  jumped  short,  struck  the  opposite  bank,  and  then  fell  backward 
full  length  into  the  dirty  water. 

We  were  in  full  view  of  the  enemy  from  their  elevated  positions  :  al 
though  they  were  pouring  in  upon  us  a  murderous  fire,  which  was  taking  off 
our  men  in  all  directions,  yet  wo  could  not  refrain  from  laughter  when  wo 
saw  a  poor  fellow  in  his  awkwardness  tumble  into  a  ditch  and  then  crawl 
out,  like  a  half- drowned  puppy,  with  the  dirty  water  dripping  frcm  him  and 
his  ammunition  and  musket  rendered  useless  from  the  wet. 

It  was  severe  work  crossing  those  ditches  and  floundering  about  in  tho 
mud,  wat-er,  and  corn,  all  under  a  tremendous  fire  of  grape  and  musketry 


OF  AMERICANS.  465 

In  that  bloody  field  many  were  the  men  I  saw  instantly  deprived  of  life. 
One  circumstance  occurred  to  me  that  I  shall  relate.  I  had  leaped  a  ditch 
just  as  a  heavy  load  of  grape-shot  from  one  of  the  guns  in  the  tete-du-pont 
struck  all  about  me.  I  remained  untouched,  but  an  artillery-man  immedi 
ately  in  front  cf  me  sank  heavily  to  the  earth,  struck  by  a  grape-shot  doubt- 
loss  in  a  vital  part,  for  I  did  not  hear  him  utter  a  groan.  At  the  same 
iiwtar.t  I  heard  a  cry  in  the  rear  calling  piteously  for  help.  I  had  heard 
that  cry  often  before,  and  supposing  some  one  was  wounded,  would  have 
paid  no  attention  to  it  but  for  the  fact  that  I  had  stopped  to  load  my  mus 
ket.  The  cry  for  help  was  repeated  so  piteously  that  I  looked  back,  and 
thers  was  a  poor  fellow,  another  of  the  artillery,  who  had  fallen  wounded 
into  the  water,  where  he  was  struggling  to  extricate  himself.  I  leaned  my 
musket  against  a  broken  cornstalk  to  keep  it  out  of  the  mud,  and  sprang  to 
help  him.  He  had  been  wounded  in  the  knee  and  side.  I  seized  his  left 
hand  with  my  left,  put  my  right  hand  behind  his  left  shoulder,  and  had 
raised  him  just  on  the  edge  of  the  ditch  when  another  load  of  grape-shot 
came  sweeping  and  clattering  all  about  with  dreadful  velocity.  My  relative 
position  to  the  gun  was  such  that  the  shot  came  in  a  quartering  direction  to 
my  right  side  and  back. .  One  of  the  grape-shots  passed  over  my  right  arm 
and  struck  my  poor  comrade  just  behind  the  left  ear,  knocking  out  the  back 
part  of  his  head,  killing  him  instantly.  He  gave  a  heavy  lurch  backward, 
falling  into  the  ditch,  and  so  suddenly  was  it  done  that  I  came  near  going 
in  with  him.  My  regiment  had  in  the  meantime  got  far  ahead.  Such  are 
some  of  the  bloody  scenes  of  war. 

With  more  jumping  of  ditches,  we  come  near  enough  to  the  enemy  to 
discern  the  buttons  on  their  coats.  With  a  little  more  firing  they  break  and 
run,  and  we  have  possession  of  the  tete-du-pont.  They  crowd  out  the  other 
side,  but  our  bayonets  travel  faster  than  they,  and  many  fall  as  they  run. 
Now  and  then  one,  braver  than  his  companions,  turns  and  sends  a  bullet  at 
our  faces— zi/>  /  it  comes.  Bless  me  !  if  that  had  struck  one  in  the  mouth, 
it  would  be  all  the  supper  he  would  want  this  day  !  Away  they  scamper, 
like  some  huge  cloud,  their  muskets  and  great-coats,  as-  they  throw  them 
down,  strewing  the  road.  Then  we  cheer  with  exultant  victory.  We  feel 
full  to  overflowing  with  military  enthusiasm.  Big  tears  fill  our  eyes  and  run 
down  our  cheeks,  for  we  have  stormed  the  fort  and  it  is  ours. 

Thus  ended  this  great  day — a  day  of  five  distinct  battles  and  of  five  vic 
tories.  The  whole  army  remained  near  the  field  of  battle.  We  now  went 
to  work  gathering  wood  for  the  cooks  to  prepare  our  coffee.  We  had  been 
too  busy  through  the  day  to  think  of  eating.  Hunger  most  dreadful  seized 
upon  us,  and,  now  that  the  battle  was  over,  I  thought  of  nothing  and  cared 
for  nothing,  but  something  to  eat.  As  soon  as  I  had  drank  my  coffee  and 
cleaned  out  my  haversack  of  the  remains  of  the  hard  bread,  I  wanted  to 
sleep.  I  was  covered  with  mud  from  head  to  foot,  my  clothes  were  stiff 
with  mud  and  my  body  stiff  with  fatigue.  I  had  lived  and  worked  an  age 
that  day  ;  while  hungry,  I  did  not  feel  any  fatigue.  This  satisfied,  a  most 
indescribable  sensation  of  exhaustion  and  soreness  came  ever  me,  so  that  I 
could  scarcely  move.  It  had  begun  to  rain,  so  I  crawled  under  one  of  the 
company's  wagons,  took  a  stone  for  a  pillow,  put  my  handkerchief  on  that, 
and  laid  dcwn  in  my  muddy  state.  I  was  very  soon  asleep.  Thousands 


466  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

were  worse  off.  How  was  it  with  the  poor  wounded  men  who,  added  te 
this  dreadful  fatigue,  were  suffering  from  agonizing  wounds  that  would  not 
permit  even  the  luxury  of  sleeping  under  a  wagon.  The  dead  were  better 
off  than  any  of  us.  Ah  !  what  untold  miseries  have  been  suffered  on  the 
battle  field  ! 

On  awaking  the  next  morning,  I  felt  all  over  as  if  I  had  been  beaten  half 
to  death  with  clubs.  We  soon  after  passed  over  the  field  of  our  recent  con 
flict.  The  Mexican  dead  were  lying  around  in  heaps — some  in  the  muddy 
ditches  and  others  half  in.  Some  of  them  were  so  much  mangled  and 
trampled  in  the  mud  that  it  seemed  almost  impossible  to  recognize  the  hor 
rible  mass  as  ever  having  been  a  human  being.  Countenances  expressing 
various  emotions  were  shown — some  looking  pleasant  in  death,  others  exhi 
bited  extreme  agony  ;  others  still  there  were  with  knit  brow  and  compressed 
lip,  showing  determination  and  revenge.  Dead  horses  and  mules  were 
lying  about,  and  thousands  of  small  arms,  muskets,  escopets,  swords,  bayo 
nets,  lances,  cartridge-boxes,  belts,  blankets,  great-coats  of  all  colors,  uni 
form  caps  of  all  shapes,  etc.  Immense  damage  appears  to  have  been  done 
to  their  music  bands,  as  prodigious  quantities  of  musical  instruments  were 
scattered  all  over  the  field — drums,  fifes,  bugles,  clarionets,  trombones,  oph- 
clides,  etc.  Their  defeat  had  been  complete. 

Our  division  took  post  at  Tacubaya,  three  miles  distant.  On  the  same 
day,  General  Scott  was  met  by  commissioners  from  Santa  Anna,  proposing  an 
armistice,  ostensibly  with  a  view  to  peace.  It  was,  however,  a  mere  strata 
gem  on  the  part  of  the  wily  Mexican,  to  gain  time  to  recover  from  his  de 
feats  and  put  the  city  in  a  better  state  of  defense.  He  had  no  authority  to 
conclude  a  treaty,  and  beside,  the  Mexican  people  were  indisposed  to  peace. 
Our  noble  general,  ever  anxious  to  put  an  end  to  the  strife  of  arms,  acceded 
to  the  proposals  in  good  faith,  "  for,"  said  he  in  his  beautiful  letter,  written 
at  the  time,  "  enough  blood  has  been  shed  in  this  unnatural  war." 

The  negotiations  failed  as  our  enemies  designed,  and  on  the  7th  of  Sep 
tember,  Scott  took  measures  to  resume  hostilities.  To  give  a  comprehen 
sive  idea  of  the  situation  and  defenses  of  the  enemy,  which  we  attacked 
the  next  day,  I  make  an  extract  from  Mansfield's  "  Mexican  War." 

"  On  the  7th  of  September,  Scott,  having  determined  to  carry  the  City  of 
Mexico  by  assault,  accompanied  by  General  Worth,  made  a  recormoissance 
of  the  formidable  defenses  of  the  enemy  immediately  in  front  of  Tacubaya, 
and  commanding  the  principal  causeway  arid  the  aqueduct  supplying  the 
city  with  water.  This  observation  determined  the  general-in-chief  to  attack 
what  may  be  called  the  defenses  of  Chapultepec.  These  were  several,  col 
laterally  supporting  one  another,  and  constituting  on  the  whole  a  very  strong 
point  d'appui  and  support  for  the  Mexican  army ;  the  larger  part  (if  not  the 
whole)  was  now  assembled  at  this  point.  Wa  must  now  take  a  view  oi 
these  defenses  to  understand  the  actions  which  ensued.  Early  on  the  same 
morning,  Captain  Mason  of  the  engineers  made  a  close  and  daring  reconnois- 
sance  of  the  enemy's  line,  round  and  on  Chapultepec.  The  results  of  this 
investigation  may  be  thus  stated  : 

The  little  village  of  Tacubaya,  at  which  were  General  Scott's  headquarters, 
is  about  two  miles  and  a  half  from  the  City  of  Mexico.  About  twelve  hun 
dred  yards  north  of  it,  just  point-.blank  range  for  twelve-pounders,  is  the  nil] 


OF  AMERICANS.  467 

and  fortified  buildings  of  Chapultepec.  At  this  point,  the  causeway 
branches  off  to  the  east,  being  about  two  miles  iu  length  to  the  city.  The 
Tacubaya  road  passed  on  till,  in  two  miles  more,  it  entered  the  San  Cosme 
causeway.  These  causeways  are  the  avenues  to  the  city  ;  and  bombs  and 
cannon  of  heavy  caliber,  placed  on  the  hill  of  Chapultepec,  could  command 
them,  and  tJte  city  itself.  The  knowledge  of  this  fact  informs  us,  at  once, 
why  General  Scott  deemed  it  necessary  to  possess  this  castle,  in  order  to 
take  the  city.  Once  possessed,  the  city  must  fall  of  course.  Without  it, 
the  avenues  to  the  city,  and  the  city  itself,  would  be  exposed  to  the  bom 
bardment  of  the  enemy's  batteries. 

Let  us  now  examine  in  detail,  the  particular  points  of  the  defense. 

CHAPULTEPEC  is  a  porphyritic  rock,  called  in  the  Aztec  language,  "  Grass 
hopper's  Hill."  It  rose  from  the  former  margin  of  the  lake — was  the  resort 
of  the  Aztec  princes,  and  is  the  real  site  of  the  much-sought  Halls  of  the 
Montezumas.  Here  are  the  remains  of  gardens,  groves,  and  grottoes — the 
lingering  remnants  of  that  magnificence  which  adorned  the  ancient  City  of 
Mexico.  Here  also,  the  Spanish  viceroys  selected  their  residence,  as  the 
most  beautiful  spot  in  the  Valley  of  Mexico.  And  here  was  now  placed 
the  military  college.  The  cadets  of  the  institution  were  now  among  its  de 
fenders.  The  buildings  on  the  top  were  well  fortified,  and  the  base  of  the 
hill  was  nearly  surrounded  by  a  thick  stone  wall.  On  the  north,  east,  and 
south,  this  hill  was  abrupt  and  stony.  On  the  west  only  (from  the  city}  it 
seemed  to  permit  any  approach.  On  this  side,  down  the  slope,  was  a  heavy 
forest.  On  this  side,  the  American  commander  determined  to  assault  it ; 
but  here  also  were  formidable  defenses. 

EL  MOLING  DEL  HEY  is  just  at  the  foot  of  this  hillslope — adjoins  the  grove 
of  trees,  and  is  a  stone  building  of  thick  and  high  walls,  with  towers  at  the 
end.  This  was  strongly  garrisoned,  and  made  a  sort  of  depot,  and  was  sup 
posed  to  have  been  used  as  a  foundry  recently,  though  really  built  for  mills, 
and  called  *  the  King's  Mill.' 

CASA  DE  MATA  is  another  massive,  thick -walled  stone  building,  standing 
about  four  hundred  yards  to  the  west  of  Molino  del  Rey,  and  in  a  straight 
line  with  that  and  the  castle  of  Chapultepec.  It  is  also  at  the  foot  of  a 
gentle  declivity  or  ridge,  descending  from  the  village  of  Tacubaya. 

It  follows  then,  from  this  topographical  survey,  that  Chapultepec  is  a 
position  commanding  all  the  roads  around,  and  that  this  position  can  be 
approached  only  on  one  side,  on  which  is  a  grove  of  trees ;  and  that  at  the 
foot  of  this  slope,  lie  Molino  del  Rey  and  Casa  de  Mata,  well  defended,  so 
that  the  first  attack  must  necessarily  be  made  on  Molino  del  Rey,  or  Chapul 
tepec  could  not  be  taken  ;  and  if  not  taken,  there  was  no  safe  passage  to  the 
city.  The  first  thing  to  be  done  then,  was  the  storming  of  Molino  del  Rey. 

Accordingly,  after  the  reconnoissance  of  the  7tn,  General  Scott  ordered 
General  Worth  with  the  first  division,  reinforced  by  Cadwallader's  brigade 
and  a  detachment  of  dragoons  and  artillery,  to  attack  and  carry  the  lines 
and  defenses  of  tho  enemy  at  the  foot  of  the  hill,  capture  Molino  de.  Rey, 
destroy  the  'supposed  materiel  there,  and  then  withdraw  again  to  the  village 
of  Tacubaya. 

The  position  of  tho  enemy  was  well  selected  to  defend  the  naturally 
strong  grounds  they  had  assumed.  His  left  rested  upon  and  occupied 'the 
30 


468  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

stone  building,  Molino  del  Key ;  his  right,  in  the  same  manner,  rested  upon 
the  stone  building  called  Casa  de  Mata.  Midway  between  these  was  his 
field-battery,  and  on  each  side  of  it  were  his  lines  of  infantry. 

It  must  be  recollected,  however,  that  when  this  arrangement  was  made, 
no  one  in  the  American  army  knew  the  real  strength  of  the  fortified  posts 
occupied  by  the  Mexican  army.  Worth  made  the  most  judicious  arrange 
ments  for  the  attack.  The  object  in  view  was  to  break  up,  1.  The  enemy's 
lines  of  intrenchments,  and,  2.  To  destroy  the  munitions  in  Molino  del  Key, 
after  which  the  troops  were  to  retire.  Those  defenses  being  completely 
under  the  guns  of  the  Castle  of  Chapultepec,  it  may  be  assumed  that  the 
commanding-general  deemed  it  unnecessary  to  retain  the  troops  in  that  ex 
posed  situation,  when  the  object  for  which  they  had  gone  there  had  been 
accomplished. 

Worth  divided  his  corps  into  three  columns,  with  a  reserve,  to  act  respec 
tively  against  the  wings  and  center  of  the  enemy.  I.  The  right  column 
(opposite  the  enemy's  left,  Molino  del  Hey)  was  composed  of  Garland's  bri 
gade,  to  look  at  and  in  time  attack  El  Molino.  This  column  was  accom 
panied  by  Captain  Drum  and  two  pieces  of  artillery.  To  attack  with  this 
column,  and  thus  keep  in  check  Chapultepec  and  its  defenses,  Captain  Hu- 
ger's  battery  of  twenty-four  pounders  was  placed  on  the  ridge  descending 
from  Tacubaya,  and  at  about  six  hundred  yards  from  El  Molino.  2.  A 
storming  party  of  five  hundred  picked  men  was  placed  to  the  left  of  this 
battery,  under  the  command  of  Major  Wright,  of  the  Eighth  Infantry,  to 
assail  the  enemy's  center  and  capture  his  field-battery.  3.  The  second  bri 
gade  (now  under  the  command  of  Colonel  M'Intosh)  was  placed  higher  up 
the  ridge,  accompanied  by  Duncan's  battery,  to  watch  the  enemy's  left,  sup 
port  Major  Wright,  or  assail,  as  circumstances  might  require.  Cadwallader's 
brigade  was  held  in  reserve,  in  a  position  between  the  last  column  (M'ln- 
tosh's)  and  the  battering  guns,  that  they  might  support  either  column,  as 
they  might  need.  Sumner's  dragoons  were  on  the  extreme  left,  guarding 
that  flank.  Such  were  the  dispositions  made  by  Worth  on  the  night  of  the 
7th  of  September.  At  three  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  8th,  the  columns 
were  put  in  motion,  and  at  daylight  they  were  all  in  their  respective 
positions." 

We  had  in  the  field,  on  the  morning  of  this  bloody  day,  under  General 
Worth,  a  trifle  over  three  thousand  men  against  nearly  four  times  our  num 
ber,  in  their  own  chosen  positions,  in  their  own  country,  right  at  the  gates  of 
their  own  capital,  under  the  eyes  of  their  wives  and  sweethearts  to  encour 
age  them  on  to  deeds  of  valor.  Having  got  into  our  respective  positions, 
we  awaited  until  the  morning  light  should  enable  us  to  move  against  our 
foe.  As  we  silently  lay  in  our  positions,  like  crouched  tigers  ready  for  the 
fatal  spring,  not  a  sound  disturbed  the  awful  stillness  of  the  morning. 
Soon  the  sun  began  to  shoot  up  some  of  its  first  rays,  when  the  whole  eastern 
horizon  assumed  an  enchanting  aspect,  with  the  dark  outlines  of  distant 
mountains  projected,  sharp,  cold,  and  clear,  against  it.  All  around  us  tho 
landscape  was  enveloped  in  a  midnight-like  darkness  :  not  an  pbject  could 
be  discerned,  yet  near  was  the  City  of  Mexico,  and,  right  in  front,  our  foes 
strongly  intrenched  behind  their  death-dealing  batteries. 

While   each  was  silently  contemplating  this  scene  and  busy  with  the 


OF  AMERICANS.  469 

thoughts  of  the  coming  battle,  the  clear  ringing  blasts  of  a  solitary  buglo 
came  from  the  heights  of  Chapultepec ;  then  succeeded  the  roll  of  drums 
with  their  continuous  rattling  music.  It  was  the  Mexican  reveille.  It 
filled  the  whole  valley  for  miles  around,  until  striking  the  distant  mountain 
gorges,  it  came  back  in  prolonged  echoes. 

In  a  few  minutes  more — boom!  loom  I  went  our  two  twenty-four  pounders. 
Ye  gods !  how  they  roared  ! — and  as  those  two  reports  rolled  away  over  the 
valley  and  struck  the  distant  mountains,  it  seemed  like  the  crashing  of 
mighty  thunder.  Every  living  soul  within  thirty  miles,  it  seemed  to  me, 
must  have  been  startled  by  the  concussion.  Instantly  the  Mexican  reveille 
ceased  and  all  again  was  silent  save  the  far-distant  muttering  echoes  of  those 
guns.  Again  those  two  iron  monsters  opened  their  capacious  throats,  and 
roared  their  tbunder  in  terrific  peals  over  the  doomed  capital,  while  tho 
balls  went  crashing  right  through  the  buildings  on  the  left  wing  of  the 
enemy.  A  few  more  discharges  and  our  little  storming  party  rushed  for 
ward.  The  Mexicans  laid  down  and  coolly  awaited  their  approach.  What 
followed  I  give  as  told  to  me  by  Montgomery,  one  of  our  men  detailed  for 
the  purpose. 

"  We  advanced  at  a  quick  pace  until  within  a  few  yards,  when  we  halted 
a  moment  until  Captain  Mason,  of  the  engineers,  ran  up  for  a  close  inspec 
tion.  Not  a  single  soul  could  he  see  :  swinging  his  hat,  Mason  sang  out — 
'  Forward,  men  !  there  is  no  one  here  ! '  I  knew  better,  for,  although  I  did 
not  see  any  Mexicans,  I  discerned  some  field  guns  glistening  in  the  light  of 
the  gray  eastern  dawn.  We  rushed  forward,  when,  as  if  by  magic,  the 
whole  ground  became  alive  with  Mexicans,  who,  as  they  rose  to  their  feet, 
poured  into  our  men  a  perfect  storm  of  shot.  Our  fellows  dashed  in  and 
actually  captured  their  guns,  when  the  enemy  seeing  what  a  mere  handful 
we  were,  rallied  and  by  their  overwhelming  numbers  bore  us  down,  retook 
their  guns,  and  compelled  the  remnant  of  us  to  retreat  to  the  main  body." 

In  this  desperate  charge,  our  storming  party  lost  four  out  of  every  five 
men  engaged  :  of  the  fourteen  officers  with  them,  eleven  were  either  killed 
or  wounded. 

Now  came  our  turn  ;  up  we  sprang  and  charged  down  upon  the  enemy's 
position.  They  were  in  and  on  the  tops  of  houses,  and  behind  sandbags. 
Our  regiment  and  some  of  the  artillery  for  a  few  moments  sheltered  them 
selves  behind  the  bend  of  a  high  wall.  While  in  this  position,  Captain 
Drum's  battery  was  dragged  forward  by  hand.  Owing  to  their  position,  these 
guns  could  only  be  worked  right  in  the  road,  which  was  so  dreadfully  raked 
by  musketry  and  grape-shot  that  it  was  almost  certain  death  to  remain 
there.  One  of  them  was  run  forward  to  near  our  point  of  shelter.  It  stood 
for  some  moments,  no  one  attempting  to  load  or  fire  it.  What  had  become 
of  the  artillery  company  I  know  not :  the  man  with  the  rammer  was  there. 
Some  of  us  stepped  out  and  loaded  and  fired  it  several  times  with  grape. 
While  at  this  place  1  looked  to  see  what  was  going  on  at  our  left,  and  de 
scried  our  forces  moving  regularly  down  in  order  of  battle,  charging  on  the 
enemy. 

My  eye  at  this  moment  caught  a  little  incident.  Just  out  in  the  open 
space  beyond  the  gun,  was  a  large  maguay  plant ;  behind  this,  down  on  one 
knee,  was  an  infantry  sergeant  deliberately  loading  and  firing.  The  plant 


470  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

being  spongy  was  of  no  more  protection  than  so  much  paper.  lie  was 
under  a  complete  shower  of  balls,  they  struck  all  around  him,  hit  the  plant 
apparently  right  in  front  of  him,  and  I  expected  every  moment  to  see  him 
fall ;  yet  he  kept  coolly  on  at  his  work,  and  may  have  escaped  unharmed. 

In  the  course  of  five  minutes,  we  were  ordered  to  charge  out  on  the  road 
and  then  down  to  a  large  gate,  the  main  entrance  to  the  interior  of  the 
houses  and  the  works  on  that  side  of  the  mill.  We  burst  open  the  gate, 
which  let  us  into  the  yard  and  rear  of  the  whole  concern.  There  we  found 
a  large  body  of  the  enemy,  in  the  yards,  in  the  houses,  and  on  the  roofs. 
For  about  three-quarters  of  an  hour  we  had  the  hardest  fighting  in  all  my 
experience.  At  first  we  had  to  take  it  in  the  open  yards,  then  we  got  into 
the  •  houses,  and  there  we  had  hot  work  too.  Often  we  were  in  a  house 
while  the  enemy  covered  the  roof.  In  passing  from  one  house  to  another, 
those  on  the  roofs  fired  down  upon  us.  Many  of  our  men  were  laid  out  in 
this  manner.  I  came  near  being  caught  myself.  While  in  one  of  tho 
houses,  in  starting  to  run  through  a  small  hall  open  to  the  roof,  I  happened 
to  cast  my  eye  up,  and  there  saw  a  big  Mexican  in  the  act  of  taking  aim  at 
me.  I  darted  back  just  in  time  to  escape  the  ball  which  came  down,  crack, 
on  the  very  spot  I  had  occupied.  "Bless  you,  my  chap!"  thought  I, 
"mind  if  I  don't  punish  you  for  that !"  and  as  I  stood  back  with  my  mus 
ket  cocked  and  my  finger  on  the  trigger  to  catch  a  sight  of  him,  several  of 
our  men  entered  the  room,  among  whom  was  a  corporal  of  artillery.  He 
came  rushing  along,  and  before  I  could  arrest  his  progress,  he  got  into  the 
little  hall  and  unaccountably  stopped  there.  I  yelled  to  him,  and  at  that 
instant  a  ball  from  above  passed  his  face  and  sank  into  his  breast.  He  fell 
into  my  arms,  when  I  laid  him  down  and  he  died  instantly.  Seeing  this, 
we  determined  to  stop  the  game.  We  fixed  ourselves  on  each  side  of  the 
door,  and  by  a  little  maneuvering,  made  it  rather  a  hot  climate  for  those 
gentlemen  up  there.  We  were  not  satisfied  until  five  of  them  had  turned 
a  somerset  into  that  little  hall  and  their  companions  had  emigrated  to  more 
comfortable  quarters.  This  is  the  way  matters  went  for  some  time.  The 
slaughter  was  prodigious.  Notwithstanding  'heir  losses,  the  enemy  stood 
up  to  their  work  and  fought  desperately.  The  fact  was,  that  in  this  battle 
the  Mexicans  were  mostly  drunk,  and  Dutch  courage,  as  the  kind  this  pro 
duces  is  called,  sometimes  works  wonders. 

We  took  many  prisoners  in  this  place.  When  we  motioned  to  them  to 
throw  down  their  arms  and  surrender,  some  thought  we  meant  that  they 
should  fall  on  their  knees.  On  getting  hold  of  their  arms,  we  usually  broke 
them  over  the  edges  of  stones.  In  one  place  in  the  yard,  were  some  seventy 
prisoners  all  together,  guarded  by  a  few  of  our  men  detailed  for  the  pur 
pose.  The  guard  neglected  to  break  all  of  their  arms,  so  there  were,  includ 
ing  those  of  our  soldiers  who  had  been  killed,  many  serviceable  muskets 
scattered  there  over  the  ground.  Some  of  the  guard,  instead  of  watching 
their  prisoners,  turned  around  and  were  busy  shooting  at  the  enemy.  A  big, 
burly  Mexican  sergeant,  observing  how  carelessly  they  were  guarded, 
thought  he  could  escape.  He  shouted  out  something  to  his  companions  in 
Spanish,  and  springing  to  one  side,  picked  up  a  loaded  musket.  Another  of 
the  prisoners  did  the  same.  The  sergeant  then  shot  the  sentinel  nearest  to 
him  through  the  stomach.  This  was  my  dirty  Dutchman  of  Pittsburgh, 


OF  AMERICANS.  471 

who  was  flogged  at  Camp  Salubrity.  The  Dutchman  returned  tho  fire,  but 
missed  and  shot  another  prisoner  who  was  not  trying  to  escape,  and  then 
died.  The  guard  calling  for  help — that  the  prisoners  were  escaping — my 
self  and  others  ran  to  their  aid.  I  gave  chase  to  the  Mexican  sergeant,  and 
as  my  gun  was  discharged  when  I  came  up,  he  got  the  long,  slender  piece 
of  bright  steel  at  the  end  of  my  musket  which  caused  one  Mexican  less. 

Shortly  after  this  little  emeute,  the  Mexicans  were  driven  entirely  from 
these  works,  and  they  were  destroyed.  We  had  gained  the  victory,  but  at 
an  awful  expense.  Our  loss  in  killed  and  wounded  was  over  seven  hundred 
men,  one-fourth  of  all  our  entire  force  in  the  action.  We  had,  however, 
driven  fourteen  thousand  Mexicans  from  their  fortifications,  and  taken  over 
eight  hundred  prisoners,  among  whom  were  some  of  their  most  skillful 
generals. 

My  personal  adventures  this  day  were  considerable.  I  had  very  many 
narrow  escapes.  My  clothing  was  pierced  four  times :  1.  A  musket  ball 
struck  the  band  of  my  cap,  just  above  my  right  ear.  2.  A  grape-shot  cut 
through  the  bottom  of  my  pantaloons  on  the  inside  of  my  left  ankle.  3.  A 
inu.sket  ball  passed  through  the  inner  side  of  my  pantaloons  at  my  right 
thigh.  4.  Another  musket  ball  clipped  the  top  of  my  left  shoulder. 

The  battle  of  Molino  del  Key  was  -the  severest  action  of  the  war.  For 
the  time  it  lasted,  it  was  almost  unprecedented  :  as  many  men  were  here 
killed  and  wounded  in  two  hours,  as  at  Buena  Vista  in  two  days.  Such 
hard  fighting  none  of  us  ever  before  experienced  :  the  very  air  appeared  to 
be  full  of  fire  and  iron  hail ;  it  was  astonishing  to  me  that  we  were  not  all 
killed. 

Some  incidents  that  occurred  I  here  detail.  When  the  heat  of  the  action 
was  over  and  only  a  few  scattering  shots  were  being  exchanged,  some  of  the 
men  went  looking  around  over  the  premises  to  make  discoveries.  One  of 
them,  a  curious  genius  of  Gr  company,  heard  a  voice  calling  to  him,  "  Stev 
ens,  for  heaven's  sake,  give  me  a  little  water  ! "  He  sprang  to  supply  the 
poor  fellow's  wants ;  on  coming  up  to  him,  who  should  it  prove  to  be  but 
Lester,  who  had  some  time  previously  deserted  from  his  company,  joined 
the  Mexicans,  and  was  badly  wounded  in  this  battle  !  He  had  recognized 
Stevens,  and  supposing  he  would  help  him,  had  called  to  him,  as  we  havo 
seen.  "Yes  !"  replied  Stevens,  "I'll  give  you  water — plenty  of  it!"  and 
so  saying,  he  picked  h.im  up  and  threw  him  into  the  mill  race.  Lester,  poor 
Bcarnp,  floated  down  over  the  water-wheel,  and  then  disappeared  under  a 
culvert  where  the  water  ran  for  more  than  a  mile  before  it  came  to  light 
again. 

"  Stevens,  that  was  too  bad  ! "  exclaimed  one  of  us  to  him. 

"  Good  enough  for  a  deserter ! "  answered  he,  with  an  oath. 

Another  incident  or  two  and  I  am  done.  When  driven  out  from  the  mill, 
the  Mexicans  fired  upon  us  from  Chapultepec.  Their  shot  was  taking  effect 
on  a  back-porch  of  a  house  in  the  yard,  so  that  we  kept  shy  of  the  place. 
A  soldier  of  the  Fourteenth  Infantry  came  along,  apparently  looking  for 
plunder.  We  warned  him  to  keep  away  from  that  porch.  "  Oh  ! "  said  he, 
"  I  know  what  1  'm  about,"  and  carelessly  loitered  there  in  full  view  of  the 
enemy  from  tho  castle.  He  came  near  being  hit  several  times  :  finally  a 
heavy  shot  struck  him  in  the  haunch,  knocking  the  whole  left  thigh  right 


472  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

from  under  him.  "  Oh  !  you  d — d  rascals  !  "  he  exclaimed,  "you  have  got 
me  at  last ! "  and  immediately  died. 

That  evening  those  of  us  who  survived  had  return'ed  to  our  old  quarters 
at  Tacubaya;  very  many  that  had  rested  the  last  night  in  the  building 
were  cold  in  death  —  others  were  in  the  hospital  groaning  with  agonizing 
wounds. 

The  first  duty  after  a  battle  is  for  the  commanding  officers  to  make 
out  a  report  of  the  transactions  of  their  respective  commands  during  the 
fight,  and  send  them  in  to  the  general.  Lieutenant  Gore  in  his  company 
report,  had  recommended  Sergeant  Howard,  Private  Montgomery,  and  my 
self  for  meritorious  conduct  at  Molino  del  Bey.'  By  act  of  Congress  any 
non-commissioned  officers  so  recommended  were  to  receive  commissions  in 
the  army,  and  any  private  an  additional  monthly  pay  of 'two  dollars.  Old 

,  the  officer  whose  duty  it  was  to  send  these  reports  to  Worth,  got 

beastly  drunk,  and  never  sent  in  our  names  at  all.  We  thus  lost  our  com 
missions.  This  affair  grieved  us  much.  Howard  declared  he  would  not 
stay  in  an  army  where  such  injustice  was  suffered  ;  as  for  myself,  the  injury 
rankled  in  my  breast  for  years. 

Oar  military  operations  were  at  this  time  retarded  by  the  weather,  for  it 
was>  the  rainy  season.  This  kind  of  weather  has  a  regularity  in  Mexico  un 
known  to  us.  It  operates  in  this  way.  You  arise  in  the  morning  to  find  a 
clear  sky  and  a  glorious  sun.  The  trees  have  a  peculiar  freshness  and  a 
cool,  rich  green,  grateful  to  the  eye.  The  bright  blue  sky  continues  until 
noon  or  a  little  past,  with  a  soft,  bland  air  that  makes  every  breath  a  luxury. 
Delicious  perfumes  of  tropical  plants  and  fruits  fill  the  atmosphere  and  en 
hance  the  charms  of  these  morning  hours.  Past  noon  small  flecks  of 
clouds  appear ;  directly  the  whole  heavens  are  overcast  with  dark  masses, 
and  the  rain  begins  to  pour,  accompanied  more  or  less  by  thunder  and  light 
ning.  After  midnight,  the  clouds  vanish  and  the  stars  appear.  When  day 
again  dawns  the  weather  of  yesterday  is  repeated,  with  its  bright  sun,  blue 
sky,  fresh  foliage,  luxurious  atmosphere,  delicious  odors,  and  then  angry 
clouds,  rain,  thunder,  and  lightning. 

General  Scott  next  made  arrangements  to  attack  the  fortifications  of  Cha- 
pultepec.  Our  division  was  held  in  reserve,  and  it  fell  to  the  lot  of  others 
to  advance  and  carry  out  these  operations.  When  the  castle  was  taken,  the 
enemy  came  down  in  great  numbers.  We  sprang  up  from  our  position  and 
pursued  them  some  distance  in  their  retreat  toward  the  city.  Wishing  to 
see  the  castle,  I  then  ran  around  to  the  point  from  whence  they  had  re 
treated,  ascended  a  long  flight  of  steps,  and  got  in  just  before  General  Scott 
rode  up.  Our  men  were  near.ly  crazy  with  joy,  hurraing  and  swinging 
their  caps.  Nothing  could  surpass  the  scene.  The  soldiers  crowded  around 
Scott  in  the  wildest  enthusiasm,  cheering,  catching  him  by  the  feet,  and 
manifesting  every  token  of  joy.  The  old  soldier  for  a  moment  was  entirely 
overcome  with  emotion  ;  great  tears  rolled  down  his  cheeks,  nor  did  he  at 
tempt  to  wipe  them  away.  Those  tears  arose  frorn  an  overflowing  heart— 
from  gratitude  to  his  brave  men  who  loved  him  as  children  love  a  father. 
Finally  the  beloved  old  general  addressed  them,  the  tears  streaming  all  the 
time.  I  recollect  only  these  few  words  :  "  Fellow  soldiers  !  You  have  this 
day  been  baptized  in  blood  and  fire,  and  you  have  come  c-ut  steel ! "  I  am 


OF  AMERICANS.  473 

not  ashamed  to  confess  I  too  was  among  the  excited  ones,  for  I  cried  like  a 
child. 

A  little  after  this,  Corporal  M'Crelish,  of  my  company,  and  myself,  walked 
out  some  distance  on  the  San  Cosme  causeway  toward  the  city.  This 
causeway  runs  north  from  Chapultepec  about  half  a  mile  to  the  intersection 
of  another  road,  and  then  makes  an  angle  and  leads  directly  into  the  city. 
At  the  angle  was  a  battery,  and  between  it  and  the  city  another  still,  and  a 
third  battery  was  at  the  city  gate,  which  was  a  strongly-fortified  arched  stone 
work.  We  went  as  far  as  the  angle,  and  at  that  time  not  a  single  Mexi 
can  soldier  was  to  be  seen  between  Chapultepec  and  the  city  gate.  Had  our 
troops  then  advanced,  the  whole  causeway  could  have  been  occupied  with 
simply  the  trouble  of  marching  on  to  it.  We  immediately  returned  and 
reported  what  we  had  seen,  but  without  having  any  attention  paid  to  us. 
This  neglect  cost  many  lives. 

Near  noon,  Worth  ordered  his  division  to  advance  on  this  route.  Our 
regiment  was  in  front.  In  a  few  minutes  we  got  warmly  engaged  with  the 
enemy,  who  had  thrown  troops  into  those  batteries.  We  took  shelter 
behind  the  arches  of  the  aqueduct,  and  ran  from  one  to  the  other  until 
about  one  o'clock,  when  we  carried  the  first  work  and  the  enemy  fell  back 
to  the  next  nearer  the  gate. 

While  we  were  holding  the  first  battery,  General  Scott  came  up  and 
ordered  Worth  to  advance  on  the  gate,  called  by  the  Mexicans  "  Garita." 
Just  about  this  time,  the  fragment  of  our  company  that  was  on  the  ground, 
advanced  alone  and  unsupported  nearly  up  to  the  second  battery.  The 
enemy  had  got  some  cannon  and  a  large  force  of  infantry  in  this  work.  Along 
with  our  company  was  Sergeant  Bloss,  who  that  day  was  color- bearer,  ile 
had  rashly  advanced  without  his  guard  excepting  two  or  three  men.  We 
crept  along  with  but  little  opposition  until  we  arrived  at  a  point  where  the 
street  widened.  There  Bloss  attempted,  in  company  with  half  a  dozen 
others,  to  cross  to  the  other  side,  to  a  vacant  space  beside  a  house  which 
stood  between  it  and  the  enemy.  While  running  across,  a  perfect  storm  of 
grape  and  musketry  was  poured  into  them.  The  rest  of  us  remained  under 
the  arches  of  the  aqueduct,  and  the  only  officer  near  was  Lieutenant  Gore. 
When  this  discharge  came,  Bloss  was  swept  into  eternity,  and  the  colors 
fell  in  the  dust  almost  within  reach  of  the  enemy.  As  the  Mexicans  saw 
them  fall,  they  rushed  out  for  them,  yelling  like  demons.  One  of  our  men 
thereupon  sprang  from  behind  the  arches,  seized  them  and  thus  saved 
the  honor  of  the  regiment.  I  was  on  the  start  for  that  purpose  myself, 
but  this  man  was  too  quick  for  me.  The  enemy  still  came  bounding  on, 
shouting  as  they  ran,  and  we  retreated  as  fast  as  we  could,  for  they 
were  too  many  for  us.  They  chased  us  until  we  got  back  nearly  to 
the  corner  battery,  when  they  were  brought  up  by  a  load  of  grape- 
shot  from  one  of  our  guns.  Our  colors  escaped  by  a  very  mvrrow  chance 
falling  into  their  hands.  Had  they  got  them,  it  would  have  been  an  ever 
lasting  stigma  upon  us.  For  a  regiment  to  lose  its  colors,  in  any  other  way 
than  by  a  surrender  or  the  actual  capture  of  the  whole  corps,  is  considered 
as  a  sign  of  cowardice,  for  of  all  things  the  colors  are  to  be  defended.  They 
are  the  rallying  point,  the  embodiment  of  the  honor  of  the  regiment,  and 
must  be  protected  as  long  as  a  single  soldier  is  left  alive  to  fight  for  them* 


ADVENTURES  AND   ACHIEVEMENTS 

When  the  other  officers  and  men  learned  of  this  event  they  were  much 
alarmed,  and  it  was  kept  as  quiet  as  possible.  Had  the  Mexicans  captured 
them,  they  would  have  crowed  greatly  over  their  prize.  They  would  have 
got  a  splendid  trophy,  for  they  were  wounded  at  Monterey  with  twenty-six 
balls,  and  in  every  battle  more  or  less  riddled.  Sergeant  Bloss  was  after  a 
commission  when  he  acted  so  rashly.  When  we  subsequently  came  *jp  to 
where  he  had  fallen,  we  found  him  stripped  entirely  naked.  The  dirty 
dogs  had  a  habit  of  stripping  our  dead  when  they  got  a  chance,  especially 
the  officers  whose  clothes  were  valuable.  It  was  not  the  case  with  Bloss, 
however,  for  he  had  put  on  that  day  a  miserable  old  worn  out  suit  to  save 
his  good  ones  ;  and  the  only  object  the  Mexicans  had  in  stripping  him, 
doubtless  was  to  vent  their  spite  in  failing  to  get  our  glorious  old  colors  that 
had  waved  in  triumph  over  many  a  hard  fought  field. 

Some  time  after  the  first  battery  was  carried,  our  whole  division  moved 
forward  toward  the  Garita  gate,  which  was  then  battered  severely  by  our 
twenty- four  pounders.  Outside  of  the  gate  was  a  collection  of  houses  which 
afforded  us  some  protection.  After  skirmishing,  digging  through  the  walls, 
passing  through  back-yards,  and  firing  from  the  windows  and  the  roofs  of 
houses,  we  finally,  just  before  sunset,  charged  on  the  gate  itself,  and  carried 
it,  and  thus  we  were  in  the  City  of  Mexico. 

Worth  now  came  up,  and  seeing  some  of  us  standing  around,  inquired : 

"What  regiment  is  this  ?" 

We  answered  ;  upon  which  he  replied  : 

"  God  bless  the  Fourth  Infantry  !     God  bless  them  !  " 

He  ordered  up  the  twenty- four  pounders,  and  then  said  : 

"  Give  'em  a  few  more  shots,  and  I  don't  care  a where  they  go  ! " 

It  was  done,  and  one  of  the  shells  fell  and  exploded  in  a  nunnery,  and 
did  considerable  damage.  Thai  night  we  occupied  the  mansion  of  a  Catho 
lic  bishop,  close  by  the  gate.  It  was  a  handsomely  furnished  establishment, 
with  fine  beds,  Brussels  carpets,  and  paintings  on  the  walls.  We  availed 
ourselves  of  our  privileges  as  conquerors,  and  searched  very  thoroughly,  but 
unsuccessfully,  for  money.  For  my  own  part,  I  did  nothing  more  wicked 
than  to  break  into  the  buttery  and  regale  myself  with  some  nice  preserves. 
The  next  day  the  city  surrendered.  I  here  insert  an  extract  from  the 
report  of  General  Scott,  giving  the  particulars  of  the  surrender  and  a  sum 
mary  of  our  operations  in  the  Valley  of  Mexico. 

"About  four  o'clock  next  morning  (September  14,  1847),  a  deputation  of 
the  ayuntamiento  (city  council)  waited  upon  me  to  report  that  the  federal 
government  and  the  army  of  Mexico  had  fled  from  the  capital  some  three 
hours  before  ;  and  to  demand  terms  of  capitulation  in  favor  of  the  church, 
the  citizens,  and  the  municipal  authorities.  I  promptly  replied,  that  I  would 
sign  no  capitulation  ;  that  the  city  had  been  virtually  in  our  possession  from 
the  time  of  the  lodgments  effected  by  Worth  and  Quitman  the  day  before; 
that  I  regretted  the  silent  escape  of  the  Mexican  army  ;  that  I  should 
levy  upon  the  city  a  moderate  contribution  for  special  purposes  ;  and  that 
the  American  army  should  come  under  no  terms  not  self-imposed  :  such 
only  as  its  own  honor,  the  dignity  of  the  United  States,  and  the  spirit  of  the 
age,  should,  in  my  opinion,  imperiously  demand  and  impose. 

Soon  after  we  had  entered,  and  were  in  the  act  of  occupying  the  city,  a 


OF  AMERICANS.  475 

fire  was  opened  upon  us  from  the  flat  roofs  of  the  houses,  from  windows  and 
corners  of  streets,  by  some  two  thousand  convicts,  liberated  the  night  before 
by  the  flying  government,  joined  by,  perhaps,  as  many  Mexican  soldiers, 
who  had  disbanded  themselves,  and  thrown  off  their  uniforms.  This  un 
lawful  war  lasted  more  than  twenty-four  hours,  in  spite  of  the  exertions  of 
the  municipal  authorities,  and  was  not  put  down  till  we  had  lost  many 
men,  including  several  officers,  killed  or  wounded,  and  had  punished  tho 
miscreants.  Their  objects  were  to  gratify  national  hatred,  and  in  the  gene 
ral  alarm  and  confusion,  to  plunder  the  wealthy  inhabitants,  particularly  the 
deserted  houses.  But  families  are  now  generally  returning;  business  of 
every  kind  has  been  resumed,  and  the  city  is  already  tranquil  and  cheerful 
under  the  admirable  conduct  (with  exceptions  very  few  and  trifling)  of  our 
gallant  troops. 

This  army  has  been  more  disgusted  than  surprised,  that  by  some  sinister 
process  on  the  part  of  certain  individuals  at  home,  its  numbers  have  been, 
generally,  almost  trebled  in  our  public  papers,  beginning  at  Washington. 

Leaving,  as  we  all  feared,  inadequate  garrisons  at  Vera  Cruz,  Perote,  and 
Puebla,  with  much  larger  hospitals  ;  and  being  obliged,  most  reluctantly, 
from  the  same  cause  (general  paucity  of  numbers)  to  abandon  Jalapa,  we 
marched  (August  7-10)  from  Puebla  with  only  ten  thousand  seven  hundred 
and  thirty-eight  rank  and  file.  This  number  includes  the  garrison  of  Jalapa, 
and  the  two  thousand  four  hundred  and  twenty-nine  men  brought  up  by 
Brigadier-General. Pierce,  August  6. 

At  Contreras,  Churubusco,  etc.,  (August  20)  we  had  but  eight  thousand 
four  hundred  and  ninety-seven  men  engaged — after  deducting  the  garrison 
cf  San  Augustine  (our  general  depot),  the  intermediate  sick  and  the  dead  ; 
at  Molino  del  Rey  (September  8),  but  three  brigades,  with  some  cavalry  and 
artillery — making  in  all  three  thousand  two  hundred  and  fifty-one  men — 
were  in  the  battle  ;  in  the  two  days — September  12th  and  13th — our  whole 
operating  force,  after  deducting  again  the  recent  killed,  wounded,  and  sick, 
together  with  the  garrison  of  Miscoac  (the  then  general  depot)  and  that  of 
Tacubaya,  was  but  seven  thousand  one  hundred  and  eighty  ;  and  finally, 
after  deducting  the  new  garrison  of  Chapultepec,  with  the  killed  and 
wounded  of  the  two  days,  we  took  possession  (September  14th)  of  this  great 
capital  with  less  than  six  thousand  men.  And  I  reassert,  upon  accumulated 
and  unquestionable  evidence,  that  in  not  one  of  those  conflicts  was  this  army 
opposed  by  fewer  than  three-and-a-half  times  its  numbers — in  several  of 
them  by  a  yet  greater  excess. 

I  recapitulate  our  losses  since  we  arrived  in  the  basin  of  Mexico. 

August  19,  20. — Killed,  one  hundred  and  thirty- seven,  including  fourteen 
officers.  Wounded,  eight  hundred  and  seventy-seven,  including  sixty-two 
officers.  Missing  (probably  killed),  thirty-eight  rank  and  file.  Total,  one 
thousand  and  fifty-two. 

September  8. — Killed,  one  hundred  and  sixteen,  including  nine  officers. 
Wounded  six  hundred  and  sixty-five,  including  forty-nine  officers.  Miss 
ing,  eighteen  rank  and  file.  Total,  seven  hundred  and  eighty-nine. 

September  12,  13,  14. — Killed,  one  hundred  and  thirty,  including  ten  offi 
cers.  Wounded,  seven  hundred  and  three,  including  sixty-eight  officers 
Missing,  twenty-nine  rank  and  file.  Total,  eight  hundred  and  sixty-two. 


476  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

Grand  total  of  losses,  two  thousand  seven  hundred  and  three,  including 
three  hundred  and  eighty-three  officers. 

On  the  other  hand,  this  small  force  has  beaten  on  the  same  occasions,  in 
view  of  their  capital,  the  whole  Mexican  army,  of  (at  the  beginning)  thirty- 
odd  thousand  men — posted  always  in  chosen  positions,  behind  intrench- 
ments  or  more  formidable  defenses  of  nature  and  art ;  killed  or  wounded  of 
that  number  more  than  seven  thousand  officers  and  men  ;  taken  three  thou 
sand  seven  hundred  and  thirty  prisoners,  one-seventh  officers,  including 
thirteen  generals,  of  whom  three  had  been  Presidents  of  this  republic ;  cap 
tured  more  than  twenty  colors  and  standards,  seventy-five  pieces  of  ord 
nance,  beside  fifty-seven  wall  pieces,  twenty  thousand  small  arms,  an  im 
mense  quantity  of  shots,  shells,  powder,  etc. 

Of  that  enemy,  once  so  formidable  in  numbers,  appointments,  artillery, 
etc.,  twenty -odd  thousand  have  disbanded  themselves  in  despair,  leaving,  as 
is  known,  not  more  than  three  fragments — the  largest  about  two  thousand 
five  hundred — now  wandering  in  different  directions,  without  magazines  or 
a  military  chest,  and  living  at  free  quarters  upon  their  own  people." 

Well,  here  we  were  in  the  City  of  Mexico,  and  although  it  was  evident 
that  our  fighting  was,  for  the  present  at  least,  over,  yet  immediate  peace  did 
not  appear  probable.  The  people  were  disinclined  to  peace  :  they  felt  sore 
and  mortified  under  their  many  chastisements.  To  be  whipped  on  every 
single  battle-field  ;  to  be  without  one  single  victory  over  the  "North  Ameri 
cans"  was  a  very  hard  fact  for  their  digestion — for  not -even  one  did  the 
bloody  god  vouchsafe  to  this  hybrid  race,  who  are  so  eternally  worshiping 
in  his  hideous  temples. 

Our  duty  was  now  altogether  of  guard.  There  were  enough  common 
people  in  this  city  of  two  hundred  thousand  souls,  had  they  had  the  energy, 
to  have  crushed  us  with  all  ease.  Half  of  our  force  had  to  be  on  post  at 
once  to  guard  against  insurrection.  Our  duty  was  very  irksome,  for  the 
other  half,  not  on  guard,  were  obliged  to  have  on  their  belts,  and  their  arms 
close  at  hand,  ready  for  any  emergency. 

Large  quantities  of  tropical  fruits  were  brought  into  the  city  to  sell  to  the 
soldiers.  Many  of  the  men  became  sick  in  consequence  of  over-indulgence. 
The  result  was  that  our  regimental  commander  issued  orders  against  fruit- 
venders,  and  also  against  the  introduction  of  liquor  into  the  quarters.  A 
Mexican  was  detected  one  day  selling*  liquor  to  our  men  ;  by  order  of  Lieu 
tenant  H.,  he  was  stripped,  tied  to  a  stack  of  muskets,  and  given  forty 
lashes  with  a  raw-hide.  The  poor  fellow  begged  for  mercy,  and  promised 
not  to  do  so  again  :  it  was  of  no  avail,  he  received  the  full  number.  I  was 
indignant  at  this  cruelty,  my  blood  boiled,  and  I  could,  with  a  good  grace, 
have  sprung  upon  the  officer  and  punished  him  for  his  uncalled-for  severity. 
He  had  no  right  to  thus  treat  a  citizen  of  another  country. 

I  should  like,  had  I  space,  to  detail  many  things  of  interest  connected 
with  our  sojourn  in  the  city — the  curiosities  of  the  place,  the  customs  of  the 
people,  and  incidents  connected  with  ourselves  there.  These  I  must  pasa 
over.  On  the  16th  of  December,  our  division  moved  out  of  the  city  and 
took  up  their  quarters  again  at  Tacubaya. 

I  will  now  speak  somewhat  at  length  upon  the  subject  of  punishment  in 
the  army.  Years  ago,  flogging  for  every  offense,  excepting  desertion,  waa 


OF  AMERICANS.  477 

abolished  by  law.  It  is  necessary  to  discipline  that  punishments  should  ba 
enforced  ;  but  they  ought  to  be  of  a  reformatory  nature.  They  are,  how 
ever,  of  a  most  degrading  and  disgusting  character,  worse  in  their  tendency 
even  than  flogging.  It  is  common  to  speak  of  the  savage  as  being  refined 
in  cruelty ;  but  I  will  pit  some  officers  of  our  army  against  the  most  accom 
plished  savage  in  inventive  powers  for  inflicting  suffering.  The  hellish 
ingenuity  of  some  of  these  men  in  torture  would  have  made  them  an  acqui 
sition  to  the  Spanish  Inquisition  in  its  most  bloody  era.  Want  of  sympathy 
for  the  soldier,  and  tyranny  in  their  intercourse  with  him,  are  seldom  or 
never  seen  in  officers  appointed  from  civil  life.  Not  so  with  many  of  the 
graduates  of  West  Point.  They  enter  that  institution  mere  boys.  While 
there,  they  are  about  as  effectually  secluded  from  the  world,  as  girls  in  a 
nunnery.  On  graduating,  they  are  sent  perhaps  to  some  isolated  post  on  the 
frontier.  The  result  is  that  they  come  to  the  command  of  soldiers  without 
any  knowledge  of  men,  and  with  the  idea  taught  by  the  despotism  of  a  mili 
tary  education,  that  the  common  soldier  is  but  a  little  better  than  a  brute. 
"  Why  !  you  should  not  talk  to  that  man — he  is  but  a  common  soldier  ! " 
said  a  West  Point  cadet  to  a  little  brother  there  on  a  visit.  Such  is  an  inci 
dent  that  illustrates  the  ideas  of  many  of  those  officers,  of  the  rank  and  file 
of  the  army.  With  such  ideas  there  can  be  no  humanity  felt  for  the  sol 
dier.  We  need  not  wonder  then  at  the  invention  of  some  of  the  modes  of 
treating  the  offending  soldiers,  I  here  describe. 

1.  At  Camp  Salubrity  a  very  common  method  of  punishment  was  to 
compel  the  offender  to  walk  to  and  fro  with  the  sentinel,  for  hours  at  a 
time,  carrying  a  log  of  fifty  pounds  weight  on  his  shoulders ;  then  he  would 
be  allowed  to  rest  a  half  an  hour  or  an  hour.  This  is  a  very  severe  punish 
ment,  and  if  there  was  not  danger  of  killing  the  man,  he  would  not  be  al 
lowed  to  rest  at  all.  2.  Compelling  the  offender  to  stand  on  a  barrel-head, 
four  hours  on  and  one  off,  with  a  heavy  log  on  his  shoulders.  This  is  worse 
than  the  first.  I  ha,ve  seen  men  in  this  position  cry  in  agony,  and  when 
it  was  impossible  for  nature  to  hold  out  any  longer,  to  tumble  off.  3.  To 
stand  on  a  barrel-head  with  the  face  blackened  like  a  negro.  4.  The  culprit 
has  a  barrel  put  over  him,  with  a  hole  in  the  top  to  receive  his  head,  and 
holes  on  the  sides  for  his  arms ;  thus  accoutered,  and  with  face  black 
ened,  he  is  compelled  to  walk  post  with  the  sentry.  5.  A  ball  of  from  six 
to  thirty-two  pounds  weight  is  attached  by  a  chain  to  his  leg,  6.  An  iron 
collar  is  put  on  his  neck,  with  three  projecting  prongs,  so  that  it  is  very  dif 
ficult  for  the  wearer  to  lie  down  to  rest.  7.  Bucking  is  the  name  of  another 
severe  punishment.  The  man  is  made  to  sit  down  with  his  knees  drawn 
up  to  his  chest ;  his  wrists  are  tied  together ;  his  elbows  pulled  down  below 
and  back  of  his  knees,  and,  when  there,  a  strong  stick  is  run  through  above 
his  elbows  and  under  his  legs.  In  this  situation  the  man  is  entirely  help 
less  and  would  die  if  not  relieved.  The  more  fleshy  he  is,  the  more  severe 
is  the  punishment. 

I  have  repeatedly  bucked  Bailey,  a  man  of  my  company,  by  order  of  an 
officer,  and  placed  him  in  the  hot  sun  for  six  and  eight  hours  at  a  time. 
OK  one  occasion,  while  he  was  thus  bucked,  I  released  him  to  attend  to 
an  imperative  call.  The  officer  discovered  it  and  demanded  my  reasons 
for  it. 


478  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

"  By  the  Lord,  sir  ! "  said  he,  when  I  had  told  him,  "  I  have  a  notion  to 
serve  you  in  the  same  way." 

I  answered  that  I  thought  I  was  doing  right. 

"  By  the  Lord,  sir  ! "  he  again  rejoined,  "  you  have  no  right  to  think  I— 
there  are  others  to  think  for  you." 

The  next  day,  he  asked  me  if  I  had  attended  to  a  certain  matter.  I  re 
plied,  "  I  did  not  think  of  it." 

"  Not  think  ! "  exclaimed  he,  "  what  have  you  a  head  for,  if  it  is  not  to 
think?" 

I  told  him  then  that  yesterday  he  said  "I  had  no  right  to  think  !"  At 
this  he  flew  into  an  awful  passion,  and  swore  he  would  reduce  me  to  the 
ranks.  This  is  only  one  of  the  numberless  instances  of  the  abuse  and 
indignity  I  suffered  from  tyranny  while  in  the  army.  It  is  well  for  him  or 
any  other  officer,  that  I  was  not  degraded  by  any  of  these  disgusting  pun 
ishments.  If  I  know  my  own  heart,  I  believe  I  should  have  shot  the  author 
of  any  such  brutality  to  my  person,  if  I  had  had  to  wait  years  a  chance  for 
doing  it. 

Sometimes,  when  men  are  bucked  or  suffering  other  punishment,  they 
will  yell  or  say  something  looking  like  defiance.  In  every  instance  of  this 
nature,  I  have  known  officers  to  'order  the  man  to  be  gagged  with  a  stick  or 
the  barrel-end  of  a  bayonet,  and  sometimes  with  two  bayonets.  In  these 
instances  the  stick  or  bayonet  is  thrust  into  the  mouth  between  the  teeth 
away  to  the  root  of  the  tongue ;  strings  are  then  fastened  to  the  front  of  the 
stick  or  bayonet,  and  tied  taut  to  the  back  of  the  neck.  The  man  thus 
gagged  is  incapable  of  uttering  a  word.  I  have  seen  men  with  their  thumbs 
fastened  together  by  a  string — the  other  end  of  the  string  slipped  over  a 
nail  or  peg  driven  so  high  that  the  poor  fellows,  with  arms  stretched  over 
their  heads,  have  been  obliged  to  stand  on  tiptoe,  and,  even  in  that  position, 
to  bear  a  great  part  of  their  weight  on  their  thumbs.  When  in  this  cruel 
posture,  I  have  known  officers  so  hard-hearted  as  to  walk  away  regardless 
3f  the  most  piteous  cries  for  mercy. 

I  have  seen  good  old  soldiers,  that  had  been  in  the  service  of  their  coun 
try  for  upward  of  twenty  years,  punished  for  some  little  indiscretion  by 
some  young  officer,  just  graduated  from  West  Point,  who  wanted  to  show 
his  authority,  and  who  himself  was,  at  the  very  moment,  reeling  from  the 
previous  night's  debauch.  I  witnessed  at  Tacubaya,  in  the  main  plaza, 
some  men  of  the  Fifth  Infantry  tied  to  heavy  pieces  of  wood  in  the  form  of 
a  cross,  with  their  arms  stretched  out  and  then  laid  on  their  backs,  with 
their  faces  to  the  burning  sun  of  Mexico  :  there  they  remained  until  many 
of  thorn*  had  to  be  carrred  to  the  hospital  in  a  fainting  condition.  I  have 
known  many  men  in  good  health  to  be  punished  in  some  of  these  ways,  to 
be  taken  sick  immediately  after,  be  carried  to  the  hospital,  and  then  not  to 
come  from  thence  until  they  were  carried  out  feet  foremost.  Who  were 
their  murderers  ? 

How  much  was  there  I  never  saw  !  Bitterly  have  I  heard  men  complaia 
of  their  officers,  when  on  guard  with  me  out  of  officers'  hearing.  Many  a 
man  have  I  heard  say,  "Well,  I  will  never  rush  in  and  fight  and  hurra  so 
hard  again  to  brevet  a  scoundrel,  that  abuses  me  as  some  of  our  officers  do." 
These  tyrannical  officers  sometimes  get  what  they  deserve  from  their  own 


OF  AMERICANS.  479 

men  in  time  of  battle — a  bullet  in  their  bodies.  I  relate  an  instance  I  know 
of,  in  which,  I  believe,  an  officer  fell  a  victim  to  the  revenge  of  one  of  his 
men. 

On  the  18th  of  August,  1847,  the  army  arrived  at  San  Augustine.  That 
evening  some  of  the  men  imbibing  too  freely  of  muscat,  became  very  noisy. 
Among  these  was  one  Keith,  an  excellent  soldier,  but  of  such  a  tempera 
ment,  when  in  the-least  intoxicated,  that  he  was  as  bereft  of  reason  as  a 
maniac.  He  fell  under  the  notice  of  Captain  Ferguson,  for  so  shall  we  here 
call  this  officer,  it  being  injudicious,  in  a  matter  of  this  kind,  to  give  the 
true  name.  This  officer  was  naturally  hasty  in  disposition  and  harsh  in  en 
forcing  discipline.  He  ran  over  to  where  Keith  was,  and  ordered  him  to  bo 
quiet.  The  latter,  overstepping  all  military  discipline,  retaliated  with  impu 
dent  wx>rds.  Ferguson  should  have  waited  until  the  man  was  sober  before 
he  called  him  to  an  account ;  but  forgetting  he  had  an  intoxicated  man  to 
deal  with,  he  drew  his  sword  and  struck  the  soldier  across  the  back  with 
the  flat  of  it.  Keith  upon  this  sprang  to  grapple  with  the  captain,  but  was 
stopped  by  the  interference  of  the  bystanders,  and  then  carried  to  the 
guard-house.  While  on  his  way  there,  he  shouted  out  at  the  top  of  his 
voice,  "  I  '11  kill  that  Captain  Ferguson,  if  I  have  to  wait  ten  years  for  the 
chance."  Ferguson  heard  the  threat,  knew  the  revengeful  disposition  of 
Keith,  and  feared  the  result. 

The  division,  the  next  day,  was  ordered  to  advance  against  the  enemy, 
and  as  Keith  was  not  confined  by  order  of  court-martial,  Ferguson,  accord 
ing  to  the  rules  on  such  occasions,  was  obliged  to  order  his  release  from  con 
finement,  so  he  could  take  part  in  the  action  which  ensued  at  Churubusco. 
Ferguson,  knowing  his  peril  from  this  man,  selected  two  of  his  company 
whom  he  supposed  to  be  friendly,  and  secretly  instructed  them,  when  they 
got  into  battle,  to  closely  watch  Keith,  and  if  they  saw  him  raise  his  mus 
ket  and  aim  at  him,  to  shoot  him  down. 

A  second  thought  would  have  shown  Captain  Ferguson  the  futility  of 
this  measure,  from  the  fact  that  men  in  battle  have  to  attend  to  more,  press 
ing  business  than  watching  each  other,  especially  in  such  battles  as  ensued. 
For  when  fortifications  are  stormed,  troops  become  scattered  and  disorgan 
ized,  and  lose  sight  of  everything  in  the  confusion,  smoke,  and  wild  excite 
ment  of  the  fight.  And  such  would  be  the  very  moment  that  a  man,  if  so 
inclined,  would  select  to  murder  an  officer.  I  rather  think  that  in  the 
storming  process  those  two  men  found  they  had  enough  to  do  to  watch  the 
enemy,  and  did  not  give  much  if  any  thought  to  the  personal  safety  of 
either  Ferguson  or  Keith. 

As  it  happened,  both  officer  and  man  came  out  of  this  fight  unharmed, 
and  nothing  more  was  said  or  thought  of  this  matter  by  the  men  until  after 
the  hard- fought  battle  of  Molino  del  Rey.  In  the  meantime  Keith  was 
known  to  repeat  his  threat  that  he  would  some  day  kill  his  captain.  Fer 
guson  heard  of  it,  and  when  the  order  was  given  to  attack  the  Molino,  he 
again  instructed  his  two  men  to  watch  the  malignant  private.  Well,  the 
troops  went  in,  and  the  battle  was  fought ;  Captain  Ferguson  was  shot  by 
a  musket  ball  dead  upon  the  field,  but  Keith  was  missing.  The  general 
impression  in  the  company,  in  view  of  all  the  circumstances,  was,  that 
Keith  killed  Ferguson  and  then  fled  to  the  interior  of  the  country,  for  ha 


480  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

was  never  seen  nor  heard  of  afterward,  either  living  or  dead.  If  the  im 
pression  was  true,  then  the  poor  officer  received  an  awful  punishment  for 
his  hasty  temper,  when  he  fell  a  victim  to  the  revenge  of  the  soldier. 

While  we  were  at  Tacubaya,  several  expeditions  were  gotten  up  to  visit 
different  parts  of  the  country  adjacent  to  the  Valley  of  Mexico.  One  of 
these  parties  visited  the  English  silver  mines  ;  another  climbed  to  the  top 
of  Popocatapetl,  looked  down  into  its  crater,  planted,  and.  left  the  American 
flag  floating  on  its  summit.  I  never  had  the  good  luck  to  go  with  any  of 
these  parties.  I  longed  to  do  so,  and,  begging  for  permission,  was  denied. 
What  do  officers  care  for  a  soldier's  wants  or  feelings  in  such  matters— they 
don't  suppose  it  is  possible  for  a  soldier  to  have  a  laudable  curiosity  in  these 
wonders  of  nature,  or  any  philosophical  ideas  on  any  subject ;  he  can't  be 
anything  else  than  a  mere  brute — a  two-legged  machine  solely  of  use  in  the 
purposes  of  war. 

At  our  camp,  Worth  thoroughly  drilled  the  division  in  field  maneuvers, 
He  was  such  a  splendid  tactitian  that  it  was  a  pleasure  to  drill  under  him. 
This  thorough  drill  gave  the  army  an  efficiency  it  never  before  had  attained. 
We  were  often  reviewed  by  Scott,  when  our  fine  appearance  delighted  the 
old  general.  The  history  of  his  arrest  and  trial  is  before  the  country. 
When  this  infamous  farce  took  place,  the  whole  regular  army,  with  one 
united  voice,  cried  "shame!  shame!"  Even  the  most  common  soldier 
knew  that  it  all  arose  from  the  meanest  jealousy  of  the  laurels  of  the  gal 
lant  old  chieftain.  When  he  was  summoned  away  on  his  trial,  the  mingled 
indignation  and  sorrow  of  our  men  was  intense.  For  my  own  part,  I  am 
not  ashamed  to  confess  it,  I  sat  down  and  cried.  Why,  I  can  hardly  state ; 
but  I  loved  the  old  general  like  a  father,  and  when  he  was  thus  insulted 
nnd  wronged,  I  felt  that  through  him  the  whole  army,  down  to  the  most 
humble  soldier,  was  also  insulted  and  wronged. 

In  the  month  of  May  it  was  known  we  were  to  have  peace.  As  I  had 
but  one  year  more  to  remain  in  the  army,  I  was,  in  a  measure,  indifferent 
to  where  I  was  to  be  ordered.  On  the  llth  of  June,  1848,  peace  having 
been  declared,  our  division  took  up  its  march  for  Vera  Cruz.  As  we  left 
Tacuboya  we  were  followed  some  distance  by  women  and  girls  who  had 
formed  attachments  with  the  soldiers.  In  many  cases  where  the  Mexican 
girls  had  formed  connections  with  the  men,  the  latter  had  promised  to  re- 
maiu  behind  in  the  country,  and  marry  them.  Many  were  the  sad  hearts 
and  streaming  eyes  among  those  Mexican  maidens  as  we  took  up  our  line 
of  march.  Doubtless  the  sorrows  of  numbers  of  the  poor  creatures  had  a 
reality  about  them,  that  partook  largely  of  the  future.  Twiggs'  division 
was  followed  by  some  of  those  trusting  girls  even  to  Vera  Cruz,  in  hopes 
that  the  men  of  their  affections  would  desert  and  remain  behind.  A  few 
did,  but  the  majority  of  the  poor  things  were  doomed  to  disappointment. 

On  arriving  at  Puebla,  we  found  the  melancholy  effects  of  the  siego 
plainl\r  shown  in  the  shattered  dwellings  and  dilapidated  air  spread  over 
everything.  This  event  had  taken  place  just  after  the  surrender  of  Mexicc\ 
when  Santa  Anna,  in  his  flight,  stopped  before  the  city,  and  with  the  rem 
nants  of  his  army,  summoned  Colonel  Childs,  who  was  there  guarding  tho 
sick,  to  surrender.  The  Mexican  was  as  unfortunate  in  the  result  as  on  all 
previous  occasions  when  he  encountered  the  American  arms. 


OF  AMERICANS.  481 

At  Perote  we  remained  one  day.  There,  just  outside  of  the  castle,  was 
presented  to  our  view  a  sad  sight — the  newly-made  graves  of  nearly  a  thou 
sand  of  our  countrymen  :  the  hardships  of  the  campaigns  and  the  climate 
of  Mexico  were  more  fatal  to  our  arms  than  Mexican  valor.  More  than 
twenty  thousand  Americans  perished  in  our  war  with  Mexico,  and  of  these 
less  than  two  thousand  were  killed  in  battle,  according  to  the  statistics  given 
in  Mansfield's  history.  My  regiment,  the  Fourth  Infantry,  lost  one  hundred 
and  eight  men  by  disease,  and  only  thirty-five  in  battle.  The  statistics  of 
most  wars  give  similar  results.  Disease  is  a  worse  foe  to  the  soldier  than 
gunpowder. 

On  nearing  the  Black  Pass,  we  saw  the  ruins  of  cabins,  the  relics  of  a 
fight  Captain  Walker  had  there  with  some  Mexican  guerrillas.  He  hung 
the  prisoners  and  burnt  their  habitations.  Not  many  days  after,  in  ascend 
ing  a  little  rise  of  ground  we  came  in  sight  of  Vera  Cruz  from  which  we 
were  only  a  few  miles  distant.  The  soldiers  at  this  gave  a  spontaneous 
shout,  "  that  is  the  Gulf — look,  see  the  ships  ! "  they  exclaimed,  and  then 
hurried  on,  imagining  they  were  almost  home. 

On  the  16th  of  July,  1848,  our  regiment  embarked  on  board  a  steamship 
and  left  the  soil  of  Mexico  forever.  Only  a  little  more  than  sixteen  months 
had  elapsed  since  we.  had  landed  on  this  coast,  and  yet  how  changed  we 
were !  Many  of  our  comrades  that  had  entered  with  us,  full  of  life  and 
vigor,  had  yielded  to  inexorable  fate,  and  laid  down  their  bones  in  an  ene 
my's  country,  unknown  and  uncared-for — there  to  mingle  their  dust  with 
the  lava  of  ancient  volcanoes  in  the  land  of  the  ancient  Aztec  sun-worship 
ers.  They  filled  no  dishonorable  graves  :  at  the  call  of  their  country,  they 
had  fought,  suffered,  bled,  and  died.  As  millions  upon  millions  of  the 
human  race  had  done  before  them,  they  fell  victims  to  the  insatiable  Demon 
of  War. 

How  many  faces  could  there  be  counted  of  that  regiment,  that  on  the 
23d  of  July,  1845,  had  embarked  at  New  Orleans  on  board  the  old  ship 
Sophia  ?  Not  over  fift}r  out  of  the  four  hundred.  Death,  by  battle  and  by 
disease,  had  wasted  us  away.  How  changed  were  the  survivors  !  Instead 
of  the  bright  eye  of  youth,  and  the  full  cheeks  betokening  vigorous  health, 
what  did  we  behold  V  An  emaciated,  cadaverous-looking  band,  with  sunken, 
sickly  faces,  and  frames  reduced  to  little  more  than  skeletons.  I  had  per 
sonally  escaped  every  peril,  and  still  live  to  write  this  narrative ;  but  at  this 
lapse  of  time,  considering  how  our  constitutions  were  shattered  by  our  trials, 
it  is  doubtful  if  a  dozen  of  my  old  comrades  are  this  day  alive. 

On  the  23d  of  July,  just  three  years,,  to  a  day,  from  the  time  we  left  New 
Orleans,  we  landed  at  East  Pascagoula,  Mississippi.  Why  the  troops  were 
ever  sent  to  this  part  of  the  country,  I  never  could  understand  ;  for  a  more 
unhealthy  spot  does  not  exist.  The  land  was  low  and  sandy,  and  the  only 
way  we  could  procure  water  was  by  sinking  barrels  in  the  ground.  The 
water  was  brackish,  of  a  vile  taste,  which  it  got  from  the  roots,  of  trees  of 
the  adjoining  pine  forests.  The  dysentery  and  other  diseases  carried  off 
our  men  like  the  rot  with  sheep.  The  steward  of  the  hospital  told  me 
that,  out  of  the  part  of  the  army  stationed  there,  over  four  hundred  died. 
Many  of  our  men  here  deserted  :  they  were  driven  to  it  by  the  hardships 
they  endured — poor  fare,  hard  work,  disease,  and  the  dismal  prospect  of  th* 


482  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

future.  Among  these  was  Sergeant  Howard,  in  whose  bosom  still  festered 
the  great  wrong  by  which  he  was  deprived  of  his  commission.  The  soldier 
swears  to  faithfully  serve  his  country  for  the  period  of  his  enlistment ;  but 
if  his  country  is  false  to  her  duty  to  him,  he  is  morally  absolved  from  his 
obligation.  We  were  here  once  visited  by  General  Taylor,  tnen  a  candi 
date  for  the  Presidency. 

In  October,  we  left  for  New  Orleans.  Our  regiment  was  to  go  from  thence 
to  the  Northern  Lakes.  On  arriving  at  that  city,  we  found  that,  instead  of 
ascending  the  Mississippi,  we  were  to  go  around  by  sea  to  New  York.  Well 
a  steamer  took  us  down  to  the  ship.  What  was  our  astonishment  to  find 
that  it  was  the  very  same  old  hulk,  the  Sophia,  in  which  we  had  left  New 
Orleans  for  Texas,  three  years  before.  When  I  looked  up  and  saw  this  same 
old  lousy,  filthy,  miserable  vessel,  I  fairly  groaned.  Is  it  possible,  thought 
I,  that  there  are  officers  who  have  no  more  feeling  for  the  poor  soldier  than 
this  !  We  clambered  aboard  and  found  the  ship  in  a  disma1  condition  :  it 
had  not  been  washed  or  in  any  manner  cleaned.  It  was  the  general  remark 
of  the  men  that  they  believed  that,  now  the  war  was  ended,  the  government 
designed  to  drown  us.  It  will  be  asked  why  this  was  so  ? — why  better 
ships  were  not  provided  ?  The  answer  is,  that  this  old  hulk  could  be  hired 
for  a  mere  song,  and  so  enlarge  the  profits  of  some  rascally  contractor,  who 
wielding  political  influence  at  Washington,  was  too  important  a  personage 
not  to  be  allowed  to  cheat  in  all  possible  ways,  by  those  of  our  rulers  who 
do  so  love  the  dear  people. 

On  the  morning  of  the  7th,  when  we  had  been  out  two  days,  on  going 
on  deck  I  found  the  sky  overcast  with  masses  of  heavy  black  clouds,  and 
the  wind  increasing  every  moment.  It  now  occurred  to  me  that  we  had  not 
had  our3  equinoctial  storm,  and,  sure  as  could  be,  this  was  it.  The  stench 
was  so  horrible  between  decks,  that  I  determined  not  to  .pass  another  night 
there ;  so  I  clambered  on  top  of  a  pile  of  boxes  that  had  beer  lashed  against 
the  cabin,  took  an  old  sail  and  placed  it  into  a  vacant  space  there,  and  wrap 
ping  myself  up  in  my  blanket,  found  I  was  very  comfortably  fixed.  Just 
then  Twitmiller,  a  man  of  Gr  company,  came  on  deck  :  I  saw  he  was  dis 
gusted  with  things  below,  and  I  said  : 

"  Twitmiller,  how  are  the  folks  down  in ?  " 

"My  heavens  !"  said  he,  "it  is ,  sure  enough,  and  if  I  can  find  any 

place  here,  I  will  not  go  down  there  again." 

He  was  a  clever  fellow,  and,  taking  compassion  on  him,  I  invited  him  to 
come  up  and  share  my  berth  with  me.  We  then  vowed  that  not  another 
soul  should  come  near  us,  and  so  kept  the  place  to  ourselves  the  rest  of  the 
voyage.  About  the  fifth  day  out,  the  storm  had  increased  to  such  a  degree 
that  we  were  obliged  to  hold  on  to  something  for  fear  of  either  being  washed 
overboard  or  falling  headlong  from  our  position.  It  seemed  evident  that 
the  masts  must  be  cut  away,  and  two  men  stood  ready  with  axes  for  that 
purpose.  The  air  was  so  full  of  spray  that,  at  the  middle  of  the  day,  it 
was  of  a  twilight  darkness.  On  the  eighth  day,  the  rudder  got  out  of  order, 
and  the  vessel  became  nearly  unmanageable.  We  had  been  so  long  without 
an  observation  that  our  captain  had  lost  his  reckoning.  On  the  morning  of 
the  ninth,  everything  looked  exceedingly  gloomy.  We  had  nothing  to 
eat  for  six  days  but  hard  biscuit,  and  it  was  beginning  to  tell  upon  our  men. 


OF  AMERICANS.  483 

One  soldier  was  found  dead  this  morning,  and  by  nine  o'clock  another  died. 
The  captain  of  the  ship  expressed  himself  as  utterly  at  loss  to  know  what" 
to  do ;  he  said  we  must  be  near  the  coast  of  Cuba,  and  that  if  we  escaped 
foundering,  we  were  in  imminent  danger  of  being  thrown  upon  the  rocks. 
The  waves  exceeded  in  violence  everything  that  I  ever  saw  or  read  of. 
About  noon  the  man  on  lookout  shouted,  in  a  very  excited  and  loud  voice, 
"  Island  of  rocks,  and  breakers  on  tlie  lee  shore ! "  At  this  the  captain  ran 
forward,  and  throwing  up  his  glass  to  his  eye,  he  steadied  himself  against 
the  mainmast,  and  for  a  moment  looked  at  the  dangerous  object,  and  as 
soon  as  he  saw  it  he  turned  deathly  pale  and  yelled  to  the  crew  to  "  about 
ship."  Now  this  was  a  hard  business  to  do  with  a  broken  rudder,  but  finally 
they  managed  to  accomplish  it  and  thus  escaped  the  danger.  In  the 
afternoon  we  passed  the  hull  of  a  large  vessel,  bottom  up — and  another  sol 
dier  died.  During  these  days  of  suffering  the  officers  kept  themselves  shut 
up  in  the  cabin,  and  in  the  course  of  that  night,  one  of  them,  Lieutenant 
Perry,  also  died.  Ah !  but  that  was  a  long  and  dreadful  night.  I  could 
see  the  ship  make  every  plunge.  About  four  o'clock  in  the  morning,  I  was 
certain  that  our  time  had  come  :  such  fearful  lurches  as  the  ship  made,  I 
never  dreamed  of.  At  this,  juncture  we  shipped  a  tremendous  sea,  which 
went  all  over  the  vessel  and  nearly  washed  us  away. 

"We  are  gone!"  exclaimed  my  companion. 

"  I  guess  so  ! "  I  replied,  and  had  no  sooner  uttered  the  words  than  there 
came  another  sea,  if  possible,  still  more  terrible  than  the  former.  I  thought  it 
was  the  last — that  we  should  sink  the  next  moment.  I  thought  it  very 
hard,  that  now  we  had  got  through  the  perils  of  -the  war  and  expected  to 
take  things  easy,  it  was  only  to  find  speedy  graves  beneath  the  waters  of  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico.  After  this  the  waves  did  not  seem  to  be  so  high  as  that — 
it  was  the  parting  salute.  By  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  the  sky  was 
clear,  the  wind  began  to  die  away,  and  the  next  morning  we  were  becalmed. 
A  stearn-tug,  that  came  out  to  search  for  wrecks,  found  us  and  towed  us 
back  to  New  Orleans. 

I  was  at  this  time  very  much  reduced  in  health,  and  obtained  a  furlough 
of  a  month.  I  was  glad  to  get  off  the  ship.  The  first  thing  I  did,  was  to 
go  to  a  hotel,  take  a  bath,  and  clean  myself  thoroughly.  I  then  put  on  a 
clean  suit,  and  casting  those  I  had  worn  into  the  street,  saw  a  rag-picker 
seize  them,  and  that  was  the  last  view  I  had  of  the  "old  duds."  I  was 
weak,  very  weak,  but  felt  like  a  new  being.  I  then  engaged  a  passage  on  a 
steamer  for  Cincinnati,  and  there  met  with  an  accident  that  grieved  me  more 
than  anything  since  I  enlisted  :  my  trunk  was  broken  open,  my  clothing 
and  thirty-nine  dollars  stolen.  This,  however,  did  not  trouble  me.  It  was 
the  loss  of  my  journal  that  I  had  kept  all  the  time  I  was  in  the  army.  It 
was  a  faithful  narrative  of  all  my  marches,  battles,  and  other  incidents 
through  the  whole  Mexican  War.  In  it  was  noted  each  day's  transactions, 
and  to  me  it  was  invaluable.  I  had  carried  it  through  t^ck  and  thin,  and 
had  held  on  to  it  when  everything  else  was  thrown  away.  Had  the  thief 
only  returned  it,  I  would  not  have  said  a  word  about  the  money  and  the 
clothing. 

At  the  expiration  of  my  furlough,  I  rejoined  my  company  at  Fort  Niagara. 
I  remained  in  the  service  until  December  of  1849,  in  the  meanwhile-- nar- 
31 


484  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS. 

rowlj  escaping  death  from  the  cholera.  The  period  of  my  enlistment  then 
expired ;  my  colonel  made  out  my  discharge,  and,  as  he  handed  it  to  me, 
he  said  : 

"  Sergeant  Reeves,  here  is  your  discharge.  You  are  honorably  discharged 
from  the  service  of  the  United  States.  You  have  been  a  good  soldier ; 
you  have  conducted  yourself  honorably,  and  done  your  duty  to  your  coun 
try.  May  you  prosper  wherever  you  go,  and  the  lesson  that  you  have  ex 
perienced,  the  last  five  years,  be  such  that  you  will  never  regret  it." 

The  lieutenant  made  out  my  papers,  which  amounted  to  over  two  hun 
dred  dollars.  I  then  shook  hands  with  the  officers ;  going  to  the  quarters, 
I  did  the  same  with  the  men,  and  then  bade  farewell  to  the  army  forever. 
Thus  ended  my  experience  in  the  service  of  my  country.  I  had  gono 
through  the  perils  of  many  battles  without  a  wound,  only  a  few  years  later 
to  have  my  right  arm  blown  off  by  the  premature  discharge  of  a  can 
non  on  a  Fourth  of  July  celebration  ;  so  that  this  narrative  is  of  necessity 
a  left-handed  production. 


As  the  reader  has  finished  this  article,  it  is  to  be  inferred  that  a  few  lines 
additional,  in  explanation,  will  be  agreeable.  Some  few  months  since,  we 
accidentally  fell  in  with  a  young  man  who  had  been  in  our  army  five  years, 
embracing  in  that  period  that  of  our  war  with  Mexico,  and  whose  descrip 
tive  faculty  appeared  such  that  we  at  once  engaged  him  to  write  a  narrative 
of  his  adventures.  The  result  was  a  very  copious  record,  which  we  havo 
here  presented  in  a  much  abridged  form — the  original  comprising  nearly 
five  hundred  manuscript  pages.  We  think  it  will  be  judged  a  vivid  sketch. 
It  is  drawn  from  nature,  and  when  that  is  faithfully  copied,  it  will  be  found 
to  interest,  especially  in  a  department  of  human  experience  so  varied  and 
exciting  as  that  of  the  life  of  a  soldier  in  time  of  war. 


NARRATIVE 

OF  THE 

AM-CBICAN    ARCTIC    EXPEDITION, 

IN    SEARCH  OF  SIR  JOHN  FRANKLIN, 
UNDER  THE   COMMAND   OF 

DR.  ELISHA  KENT   KANE,  U.  S.  N. 


!tfo  American  ever  so  suddenly  or  more  deservedly  achieved  a  wide  repu 
tation,  than  did  the  late  Dr.  Kane.  His  character  combined  a  rare  union  of 
intellectual  and  moral  qualities,  which  being  signally  shown  in  a  great  mis 
sion  of  benevolence  and  peril,  drew  the  attention  of  all  men,  so  that  he  at 
once  attained  universal  regard.  He  was  a  scholar  and  at  the  same  time  an 
adventurer;  to  the  loftiest  intrepidity  he  united  the  most  shrinking  modesty. 
Possessing  a  delicate  frame,  rapidly  crumbling  under  disease,  an  indomitable 
will  enabled  him  to  conquer  hardships  and  sufferings  under  which  the  strong 
est  sank.  When  his  assigned  task  was  performed  and  his  great  mission 
ended,  then  he,  too,  perished,  young  in  years,  but  destined  to  be  old  in 
fame,  and  leaving  this  lesson  to  his  countrymen — By  greatness  of  deeds,  and 
not  by  time,  is  the  work  of  life  to  be  measured. 

To  the  very  many  who  possess  his  <{  modest  and  thrilling  narrative," 
what  we  give  here  will  be  superfluous.  An  outline  history,  from  pub 
lished  sources,  is  all  that  can  come  within  our  compass  to  present  of  that 
American  Expedition  to  the  cold  and  icy  north,  in  which  was  blended, 
on  the  part  of  its  commander,  so  much  of  heroism,  self-reliance,  genius, 
and  enterprise. 

Sir  John  Franklin,  whose  fate  has  been  the  object  of  such  solicitude,  was 
one  of  the  most  intrepid  of  Arctic  explorers.  He  sailed  from  the  shores  of 
England,  for  the  last  time,  in  May,  1845.  Two  ships,  the  Erebus  and  the 
Terror,  manned  by  one  hundred  and  thirty-eight  select,  resolute,  and  expe 
rienced  seamen,  composed  the  vessels  and  forces  under  his  command.  Tho 
ships  were  the  best  vessels,*and  the  best  provided,  that  had  ever  breasted 
the  ice  and  storms  of  the  far  north.  The  objects  of  the  expedition  were  the 
survey  of  the  northwest  coast  of  America,  and  the  accomplishment  of  a 
northwest  passage,  along  the  same  coast,  from  the  waters  of  the  Atlantic 
into  those  of  the  Pacific  Ocean.  They  had  abundant  provisions  for  three 
years.  On  the  26th  of  July,  a  little  more  than  two  months  after  their  de 
parture,  they  were  seen  by  a  whaler  moored  to  an  iceberg,  waiting  for  an 
opening  through  the  vast  body  of  ice  which  extends  along  the  middle  of 

(485) 


486  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

Baffin's  Bay,  to  prosecute  their  voyage.  Since  then  no  human  eye  has 
been  known  to  rest  upon  either  of  the  ships  of  this  unfortunate  expedition. 
Possibly  some  unhappy  survivors  may  yet  be  lingering  out  a  miserable  ex 
istence  on  the  shores  of  that  great  sea  which,  for  ages  unseen  and  unknown 
by  man,  has  been  tossing  in  fury  under  the  storms  of  the  farthest  north. 
It  is  more  probable  that  every  soul,  long  since,  has  perished,  and  that  tho 
fate  of  Sir  John  Franklin  and  his  hapless  crews  will  ever  remain,  in  the  an 
nals  of  human  adventure,  one  of  the  most  melancholy  of  all  mysteries. 

Toward  the  close  of  the  year  1847,  the  people  of  England  began  to  be 
alarmed  in  regard  to  the  fate  of  Franklin.  Three  expeditions  were 
promptly  dispatched  in  search  of  him.  Returning  unsuccessful,  others  and 
still  others  were  sent  out  on  this  great  errand  of  humanity,  covering  a  series 
of  many  years  and  an  expenditure  of  more  than  four  millions  of  dollars. 
All  was  of  no  avail.  The  first  winter  quarters  of  Franklin  were,  however, 
discovered  on  Beechy  Island  by  a  few  relics,  among  which  were  the  grave  * 
of  three  of  his  men.  The  opinion  was  also  then  formed  that  Sir  John  had 
passed  with  his  vessels  through  Wellington  Channel  into  the  great  Polar 
Sea  beyond,  away  north  of  the  point  of  intense  cold,  where  the  milder  tem 
perature  and  the  existence  of  many  forms  of  animal  life  to  serve  for  food 
gave  the  hope  that  he  might  yet  have  been  living.  Later,  in  March,  1854, 
Dr.  Rae,  at  the  head  of  an  overland  expedition  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Com 
pany,  met  some  Esquimaux  at  Pelly  Bay,  from  whom  he  obtained  several 
articles  which  were  identified  as  belonging  to  various  members  of  Sir  John 
Franklin's  party. 

The  possession  of  these  articles  by  the  Esquimaux  was  accounted  for  by 
a  story  which  is  related  in  the  following  extract  from  Dr.  Rae's  journal, 
published  soon  after  his  arrival  in  England  :  "  On  the  morning  of  the  20th 
we  were  met  by  a  very  intelligent  Esquimaux,  driving  a  dog-sledge  laden 
with  musk-ox  beef.  This  man  at  once  consented  to  accompany  us  two 
days'  journey,  and  in  a  few  minutes  had  deposited  his  load  on  the  snow, 
and  was  ready  to  join  us.  Having  explained  to  him  my  object,  he  said  that 
the  road  by  which  he  had  come  was  the  best  for  us  ;  and,  having  lightened 
the  men's  sledges,  we  traveled  with  more  facility.  We  were  now  joined  by 
another  of  the  natives,  who  had  been  absent  seal-hunting  yesterday,  but, 
being  anxious  to  see  us,  had  visited  our  snow-house  early  this  morning,  and 
then  followed  up  our  track.  This  man  was  very  communicative,  and,  on 
putting  to  him  the  usual  questions  as  to  his  having  seen  'white  man'  be 
fore,  or  any  ships  or  boats,  he  replied  in  the  negative ;  but  said  that  a  party 
of  '  Kabloomans '  had  died  of  starvation  a  long  distance  to  the  west  of 
where  we  then  were,  and  beyond  a  large  river.  He  stated  that  he  did  not 
know  the  exact  place,  that  he  never  had  been  there,  and  that  he  could  not 
accompany  us  so  far.  The  substance  of  the  information  then  and  subse 
quently  obtained  from  various  sources  was  to  the  .following  effect : 

In  the  spring,  four  winters  past  (1850),  while  some  Esquimaux  familiei 
were  killing  seals  near  the  north  shore  of  a  large  island,  named  in  Arrow- 
smith's  charts  King  William's  Land  about  forty  white  men  were  seen  travel 
ing  in  company  southward  over  the  ice,  and  dragging  a  boat  and  sledges 
with  them.  They  were  passing  along  the  west  shore  of  the  above-named 
island.  None  of  the  party  could  speak  the  Esquimaux  language  so  well  as 


OF  AMERICANS.  487 

to  be  understood,  but  by  signs  the  natives  were  led  to  believe  that  the  ship 
or  ships  had  been  crushed  by  ice,  and  that  they  were  now  going  to  where 
they  expected  to  find  deer  to  shoot.  From  the  appearance  of  the  men — all 
of  whom,  with  the  exception  of  an  officer,  were  hauling  on  the  drag-ropes 
of  the  sledge,  and  looked  thin — they  were  then  supposed  to  be  getting  short 
of  provisions ;  and  they  purchased  a  small  seal,  or  piece  of  seal,  from  tho 
natives.  The  officer  was  described  as  being  a  tall,  stout,  middle-aged  man. 
When  their  day's  journey  terminated,  they  pitched  tents  to  rest  in. 

At  a  later  date  the  same  season?  but  previous  to  the  disruption  of  the  ice, 
the  corpses  of  some  thirty  persons  and  some  graves  were  discovered  on  the 
continent,  and  five  dead  bodies  on  an  island  near  it,  about  a  long  day's  jour 
ney  to  the  northwest  of  the  mouth  of  a  large  stream,  which  can  be  no  other 
than  Back's  Great  Fish  River  (named  by  the  Esquimaux  Oot-koo-hi-ca-lik), 
as  its  description  and  that  of  the  low  shore  in  the  neighborhood  of  Point 
Ogle  and  Montreal  Island  agree  exactly  with  that  of  Sir  George  Back. 
Some  of  the  bodies  were  in  a  tent,  or  tents ;  others  were  under  the  boat, 
which  had  been  turned  over  to  form  a  shelter ;  and  some  lay  scattered  about 
in  different  directions.  Of  those  seen  on  the  island,  it  was  supposed  that 
one  was  that  of  an  officer  (chief),  as  he  had  a  telescope  strapped  over  his 
shoulders,  and  a  double-barreled  gun  lay  underneath  him. 

From  the  mutilated  state  of  many  of  the  bodies,  and  the  contents  of  the 
kettles,  it  is  evident  that  our  wretched  countrymen  had  been  driven  to  the 
dread  alternative  of  cannibalism  as  a  means  of  sustaining  life.  A  few  of  the 
unfortunate  men  must  have  survived  until  the  arrival  of  the  wild-fowl  (say 
until  the  end  of  May),  as  shots  were  heard,  and  fresh  bones  and  feathers  of 
geese  were  noticed  near  the  scene  of  the  sad  event. 

There  appears  to  have  been  an  abundant  store  of  ammunition,  as  the  gun 
powder  was  emptied  by  the  natives  in  a  heap  on  the  ground  out  of  the  kegs 
or  cases  containing  it,  and  a  quantity  of  shot  and  ball  was  found  below 
high-water  mark,  having  probably  been  left  on  the  ice  close  to  the  beach 
before  the  spring  commenced.  There  must  have  been  a  number  of  tele 
scopes,  guns  (several  of  them  double-barreled),  watches,  compasses,  etc., 
all  of  which  seem  to  have  been  broken  up,  as  I  saw  pieces  of  these  diffe 
rent  articles  with  the  natives,  and  I  purchased  as  many  as  possible,  together 
with  some  silver  spoons  and  forks,  an  Order  of  Merit  in  the  form  of  a  star, 
and  a  small  silver  plate  engraved  '  Sir  John  Franklin,  K.  C.  B.' 

Dr.  Rae  concludes  by  expressing  the  opinion  that  no  violence  had  been 
offered  to  the  sufferers  by  the  natives,  but  that  they  were  starved  to  death. 
The  following  is  a  list  of  the  articles  obtained  from  the  Esquimaux  :  One 
silver  table-fork  —  crest,  an  animal's  head  with  wings  extended  above  ; 
three  silver  table-forks — crest,  a  bird  with  wings  extended  ;  one  silver  table 
spoon — crest,  with  initials  '  F.  R.  M.  C.'  (Captain  Crozier,  Terror) ;  one  silver 
table-spoon  and  one  fork — crest,  bird  with  laurel-branch  in  mouth,  motto, 
'Spero  meliora ;'  one  silver  table-spoon,  one  tea-spoon,  and  one  dessert- 
fork — crest,  a  fish's  head  looking  upward,  with  laurel-branches  on  each  side ; 
one  silver  table- fork— initials,  *H.  D.fJ.  G.'  (Harry  D.  S.  Goodsir,  assistant- 
surgeon,  Erebus) ;  one  silver  table-fork — initials,  'A.  M'D.'  (Alexander 
M'Donald,  assistant  surgeon,  Terror)  ;  one  silver  table-fork — initials,  '  G.  A, 
M.'  (Gillies  A.  Macbean,  second  master,  Terror) ;  one  silver  table-fork— 


488  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

initials,  '  J.  T. ;'  one  silver  dessert-spoon — initials,  M.  S.  P.'  (John  S.  Fed 
die,  surgeon,  Erebus)  ;  a  round  silver  plate,  engraved,  *  Sir  John  Franklin 
K.  C.  B. ; '  a  star  or  order,  with  motto,  'Nee  aspera  terrent,  G.  R.  Ill 
MDCCCXV.' 

On  obtaining  the  above  information,  Dr.  Rae  instantly  hastened  to  Eng 
land,  for  the  purpose  of  preventing  any  further  expeditious  being  dispatched 
in  search  of  the  lost  navigators.  His  report,  as  might  have  been  expected, 
was  subjected  on  all  hands  to  criticism  and  comment.  Many  were  ot 
opinion  that  the  information  obtained  di(J  not  warrant  the  conclusion  that 
the  whole  party  was  lost.  Some  of  the  criticisms  made  on  his  report  in 
duced  Dr.  Rae  to  take  up  the  pen  in  self-defense  ;  and  in  a  letter  which  he 
addressed  to  the  editor  of  the  London  Times,  we  find  the  following  remarks, 
which  come  with  great  weight  from  one  who,  of  all  others,  is  most  compe 
tent  to  speak  authoritively.  They  were  written  in  reply  to  an  attack 
made  upon  him  by  a  gentleman  who  had  a  relative  with  the  lost  expedi 
tion,  and  serve  to  show  how  difficult  it  is  to  form  a  correct  judgment  on 
subjects  of  which  we  have  not  had  personal  experience. 

"  It  is  asked  by  your  correspondent,"  says  Dr.  Rae,  " '  where  Esquimaux 
can  live,  where  Dr.  Rae's  party  could  find  abundant  means,  what  should 
prevent  Sir  John  Franklin  and  his  party  from  subsisting  too  ?' 

No  man  but  one  perfectly  unacquainted  with  the  subject  could  ask  such 
a  question.  At  the  season  when  Sir  John  Franklin's  party  was  seen  travel 
ing  over  the  ice,  the  seal-holes  are  covered  by  snow,  and  can  only  be 
discovered  by  the  acute  sense  of  smell  of  the  native  dogs ;  and,  after  the 
seal-hole  is  discovered,  much  patience,  experience,  and  care  are  requisite  to 
kill  the  seal.  As  soon  as  the  snow  thaws  (say  in  June)  the  seals  show 
themselves  on  the  ice  ;  but  they  are  then  so  difficult  of  approach  that  not 
one  of  my  men  (Ouglibuck,  the  interpreter,  excepted),  although  they  often 
made  the  attempt,  could  approach  near  enough  to  shoot  any  of  these 
animals. 

I  wintered  at  a  part  of  the  Arctic  coast  remarkable  by  its  geographical  for 
mation  for  the  abundance  of  deer  during  the  autumn  migrations,  but  only 
then  ;  and  it  was  at  that  time  that  we  laid  up  our  winter  stock  of  food  ;  but 
it  was  hard  work  even  for  us  (all  practiced  sportsmen,  picked  men,  and  in  full 
strength  and  training)  to  collect  a  sufficiency. 

That  portion  of  country  near  to  and  on  which  a  portion  of  Sir  John 
Franklin's  party  was  seen  is,  in  the  spring,  notoriously  the  most  barren  of 
animal  life  of  any  of  the  Arctic  shores  ;  and  the  few  deer  that  may  be  seen 
are  generally  very  shy,  from  having  been  hunted  during  the  winter  by  In 
dians,  on  the  borders  of  the  woodlands.  To  prove  this  scarcity  of  game,  I 
may  add,  that  during  my  spring  journey  of  fifty-six  days'  duration,  one 
deer  only  and  a  few  partridges  were  shot  by  us. 

It  is  asked  by  your  correspondent,  'Why  the  unfortunate  men  should 
have  encumbered  themselves  with  silver  forks  and  spoons  and  silver 
plates  ? '  etc.  The  total  weight  of  the  silver  forks  and  spoons  could  not  be 
more  than  four  or  five  pounds  at  tha  utmost,  and  would  not  appear  much 
when  divided  among  forty  persons ;  and  any  officer  who  has  ever  had  the 
misfortune  to  abandon  his  ship  or  boat  anywhere,  but  more  particularly  in 
the  Arctic  sea,  knows  how  apt  men  are  to  encumber  themselves  with  articles 


OF  AMERICANS.  489 

far  more  useless  and  bulky  than  a  few  forks  and  spoons.  I  suppose,  by 
'  silver  plates,'  your  correspondent  alludes  to  the  silver  plate  with  Sir  John 
Franklin's  name  engraved  thereon,  and  which  may  possibly  weigh  half  an 
ounce — no  great  addition  to  a  man's  load. 

Again,  your  correspondent  says,  '  that  the  ships  have  been  abandoned,  and 
pillaged  by  the  Esquimaux.'  In  this  opinion  I  perfectly  agree  so  far  as  the 
abandonment  of  the  ships,  but  not  that  the  ships  were  pillaged  by  the  na 
tives.  Had  this  been  the  case,  wood  would  have  been  abundant  among 
these  poor  people.  It  was  not  so,  and  they  were  reduced  to  the  necessity 
of  making  their  sledges  of  musk-ox  skins  folded  up  and  frozen  together— 
an  alternative  to  which  the  want  of  wood  alone  could  have  reduced  them. 
Another  proof  that  the  natives  had  very  little  wood  among  them  may  be 
adduced.  Before  leaving  Repulse  Bay,  I  collected  together  some  of  the 
most  respectable  of  the  old  Esquimaux,  and  distributed  among  them  all  the 
wood  we  could  spare,  amounting  to  two  or  three  oars  and  some  broken 
poles.  When  these  things  were  delivered  to  them,  I  bade  the  Esquimaux 
interpreter,  who  speaks  both  his  own  and  the  English  language  fluently,  to 
ask  whether  they  or  their  .acquaintances  near  Pelly  Bay  had  now  most 
wood.  They  all  immediately  shouted  out,  holding  up  their  hands,  that 
they  themselves  had  most.  I  need  scarcely  add  that,  had  the  ships  been 
found  by  the  Esquimaux,  a  stock  of  wood  sufficient  for  many  years  for  all 
the  natives  within  an  extent  of  several  hundred  miles  would  have  been 
obtained." 

This  evidence  shows  the  fate  of  thirty-five  of  Franklin's  men  ;  but  there 
were  yet  one  hundred  and  three  to  be  accounted  for,  together  with  the  ships, 
and  these  remained  involved  in  as  much  mystery  as  ever. 

Sympathy  is  one  of  the  greatest  of  human  impulses,  and  when  united  to 
curiosity  and  a  spirit  of  adventure,  it  leads  to  the  truest  heroism.  These 
protracted  searches  aroused  the  sympathy  of  other  nations,  and  two  succes- 
bive  expeditions  were  dispatched  from  our  own  young  country  to  aid  in  the 
search  for  the  long-lost  mariners. 

The  first  American  Expedition  left  New  York  in  May,  1850.  It  was  sent 
out  by  Mr.  Henry  Grinnell,  an  opulent  merchant  of  that  city,  and  is  known 
as  the  "  First  Grinnell  Expedition."  It  consisted  of  two  small  brigs,  the 
Advance  and  the  Rescue,  under  the  command  of  Lieutenant  E.  De  Haven,  a 
young  naval  officer.  Dr.  E.  K.  Kane  was  surgeon  and  naturalist,  and  wrote 
a  history  of  the  expedition  which,  after  a  variety  of  adventure,  returned  in 
a  little  less  than  sixteen  months. 

The  "  Second  Grinnell  Expedition,"  popularly  known  as  "  Kane's  Expe 
dition,"  sailed  from  New  York,  May  30th,  loo.'J.  It  consisted  of  a  single 
vessel,  the  Advance,  a  small  brig  of  one  hundred  and  forty-four  tuns  burden, 
furnished  by  Mr.  Grinnell.  The  expenses  were  contributed  by  various  so 
cieties  and  individuals,  among  the  latter  of  whom  was  Mr.  Peabody,  the 
eminent  London  banker,  originally  from  Massachusetts.  Dr.  Kane,  the 
commander,  had  under  him  eighteen  chosen  men,  all  young,  and  mostly 
less  than  thirty  years  of  life. 

"  The  specific  features  of  Dr.  Kane's  plan  of  research  consisted  in  making 
the  land-masses  of  the  north  of  Greenland  the  basis  of  operations,  assuming, 
from  the  analogies  of  geographical  structure,  that  Greenland  was  to  ba 


490  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

regarded  as  a  peninsula  approaching  the  vicinity  of  the  pole,  rather  than  a 
congeries  of  islands  connected  by  interior  glaciers.  On  this  hypothesis,  the 
course  was  to  pass  up  Baffin's  Bay  to  the  most  northern  attainable  point,  and 
thence,  pressing  on  toward  the  Pole,  as  far  as  boats  or  sledges  could  reach. 
to  examine  the  coast-lines  for  vestiges  of  the  lost  party.  The  equipment 
for  the  expedition  was  simple.  A  quantity  of  rough  boards  to  serve  for 
housing  the  vessel  in  winter,  some  India-rubber  arid  canvas  tents,  and  seve 
ral  strong  sledges,  built  on  a  convenient  model,  completed  tfee  outfit.  For 
provisions,  they  took  a  liberal  supply  of  pemmican,  a  parcel  of  Borden'g 
meat  biscuit,  some  packages  of  prepared  potato,  a  store  of  dried  fruits 
and  vegetables,  beside  pickled  cabbage,  the  salt  beef  and  pork  of  the  navy 
ration,  hard  biscuit  and  flour.  A  moderate  supply  of  liquors  made  up  the 
bill  of  fare,  although  the  party  were  pledged  to  total  abstinence  from  this 
article,  unless  dispensed  by  special  order. 

In  a  month  after  leaving  New  York,  and  on  the  1st  of  July,  the  Advance 
arrived  at  the  harbor  of  Fiskernaes,  in  Greenland,  among  the  clamor  of  its 
entire  population  assembled  on  the  rocks  to  greet  them.  From  thence  they 
proceeded  gradually  along  the  coast,  until  the  27th  of  July,  when  they 
neared  the  entrance  of  Melville  Bay.  Here  they  encountered  their  first  se 
rious  obstruction  from  the  ice ;  Dr.  Kane  promptly  decided  to  attempt  a 
passage  through  the  bay  by  a  new  track  ;  and  after  a  rough  transit  of  eight 
days,  the-Avisdom  of  the  plan  was  confirmed  by  its  success.  In  less  than  a 
week  they  entered  Smith's  Sound,  and  landing  near  Littleton's  Island,  de 
posited  a  boat  with  a  supply  of  stores,  with  the  view  of  securing  a  retreat 
in  case  of  disaster.  He  says  : 

'*  We  found  to  our  surprise  that  we  were  not  the  first  human  beings  who 
had  sought  a  shelter  in  this  desolate  spot.     A  few  ruined  walls  here  and  . 
there  showed  that  it  had  once  been  the  seat  of  a  rude  settlement ;  and  in 
the  little  knoll  which  we  cleared  away  to  cover  in  our  storehouse  of  valu 
ables,  we  found  the  mortal  remains  of  their  former  inhabitants. 

Nothing  can  be  imagined  more  sad  and  homeless  than  these  memorials 
of  extinct  life.  Hardly  a  vestige  of  growth  was  traceable  on  the  bare  ice- 
rubbed  rocks ;  and  the  huts  resembled  so  much  the  broken  fragments  that 
surrounded  them,  that  at  first  sight  it  was  hard  to  distinguish  one  from  the 
other.  Walrus  bones  lay  about  in  all  directions,  showing  that  this  animal 
had  furnished  the  staple  of  subsistence.  There  were  some  remains  too  of 
the  fox  and  the  narwhal ;  but  I  found  no  signs  of  the  seal  or  reindeer. 

These  Esquimaux  have  no  mother  earth  to  receive  their  dead  ;  but  they 
seat,  them  as  in  the  attitude  of  repose,  the  knees  drawn  close  to  the  body, 
and  inclose  them  in  a  sack  of  skins.  The  implements  of  the  living  man 
are  then  grouped  around  him  ;  they  are  covered  with  a  rude  dome  of  stones, 
and  a  cairn  is  piled  above.  This  simple  cenotaph  will  remain  intact  for 
generation  after  generation.  The  Esquimaux  never  disturb  a  grave." 

On  the  western  cape  of  Littleton  Island,  they  erected  a  cairn,  which 
might  serve  as  a  beacon  to  any  following  party,  wedged  a  staff  into  the  cre 
vices  of  the  rocks,  and  spreading  the  American  flag,  hailed  its  folds  with 
three  cheers  as  they  expanded  in  the  cold  midnight  breeze.  They  imme 
diately  resumed  their  course,  beating  toward  the  north  against  wind  and 
tide,  and  soon  arriving  at  the  regions  of  thick-ribbed  ice,  where  they 


OF  AMERICANS.  491 

compelled  to  moor  their  vessel  to  the  rocks.  Among  the  petty  miseries 
which  they  now  began  to  suffer,  was  a  pack  of  some  fifty  dogs,  which 
formed  a  very  inconvenient  appendage  to  the  traveling  party.  These  ani 
mals  were  voracious  as  wolves.  It  was  no  easy  matter  to  supply  such  a 
hungry  family  with  food.  They  devoured  a  couple  of  bears  in  eight  days. 
Two  pounds  of  raw  flesh  every  other  day  was  a  scanty  allowance  ;  but  to 
obtain  this  was  almost  impossible.  The  pemmican  could  not  be  spared — 
corn-meal  or  beans  they  would  not  touch — and  salt  junk  would  have  killed 
them.  The  timely  discovery  of  a  dead  narwhal  or  unicorn  proved  an  ex 
cellent  relief,  affording  six  hundred  pounds  of  good  wholesome  flesh, 
though  of  a  rather  unsavory  odor. 

But  a  more  serious  trial  was  at  hand.  The  vessel  had  been  released  from 
her  moorings,  and  had  fought  her  way  through  the  ice  for  several  days, 
when  the  sky  gave  tokens  of  an  approaching  storm.  On  the  20th  of  Au 
gust,  the  tempest  came  on  with  unmistakable  Arctic  fury.  Its  effects  can 
be  described  in  no  other  words  than  those  of  the  journal  of  the  dauntless 
commander  : 

"  By  Saturday  morning  it  blew  a  perfect  hurricane.  We  had  seen  it 
coming,  and  were  ready  with  three  good  hawsers  out  ahead,  and  all  things 
snug  on  board.  Still  it  came  on  heavier  and  heavier,  and  the  ice  began  to 
drive  more  wildly  than  I  thought  I  had  ever  seen  it.  I  had  just  turned  in 
to  warm  and  dry  myself  during  a  momentary  lull,  and  was  stretching  my 
self  out  in  my  bunk,  when  I  heard  the  sharp  twanging  snap  of  a  cord. 
Our  six-inch  hawser  had  parted,  and  we  were  swinging  by  the  two  others ; 
the  gale  roaring  like  a  lion  to  the  southward. 

Half  a  minute  more,  and  *  twang,  twang  ! '  came  a  second  report.  I  knew 
it  was  the  whale-line  by  the  shrillness  of  the  ring.  Our  noble  ten-inch 
manilla  still  held  on.  I  was  hurrying  my  last  sock  into  its  seal-skin  boot, 
when  McGary  came  waddling  down  the  companion-ladders : — '  Captain 
Kane,  she  won't  hold  much  longer;  it's  blowing  the  devil  himself,  and  I 
am  afraid  to  surge.' 

The  manilla  cable  was  proving  its  excellence  when  I  reached  the  deck ; 
and  the  crew,  as  they  gathered  round  me,  were  loud  in  its  praises.  Wo 
could  hear  its  deep  Eolian  chant,  swelling  through  all  the  rattle  of  the  run 
ning  gear,  and  moaning  of  the  shrouds.  It  was  the  death-song !  The 
strands  gave  way,  with  the  noise  of  a  shotted  gun  ;  and  in  the  smoke  that 
followed  their  recoil,  we  were  dragged  out  by  the  wild  ice  at  its  mercy. 

We  steadied  and  did  some  pretty  warping,  and  got  the  brig  a  good  bed  in 
the  rushing  drift ;  but  it  all  came  to  nothing.  We  then  tried  to  beat  back 
through  the  narrow  ice-clogged  water-way,  that  was  driving  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  wide,  between  the  shore  and  the  pack.  It  cost  us  two  hours  of  hard 
labor,  I  thought,  skillfully  bestowed ;  but  at  the  end  of  that  time  we  wero 
at  least  four  miles  off,  opposite  the  great  valley  in  the  center  of  Bedeviled 
Reach.  Ahead  of  us,  farther  to  the  north,  we  could  see  the  strait  growing 
still  narrower,  and  the  heavy  ice-tables  grinding  up  and  clogging  it  between 
the  shore-cliffs  on  one  side  and  the  ledge  on  the  other.  There  was  but  one 
thing  left  for  us,  to  keep  in  some  sort  the  command  of  the  helm,  by  going 
freely  where  we  must  otherwise  be  driven.  We  allowed  her  to  scud  under 
a  reefad  foretopsail ;  all  hands  watching  the  enemy,  as  we  closed,  in  silence. 


492  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

At  seven  in  the  morning  we  were  close  upon  the  piling  masses.  We 
dropped  our  heaviest  anchor,  with  the  desperate  hope  of  winding  the  brig ; 
but  there  was  no  withstanding  the  ice-torrent  that  followed  us.  We  had 
only  time  to  fasten  a  spar  as  a  buoy  to  the  chain,  and  let  her  slip.  So  went 
our  best  bower ! 

Down  we  went  upon  the  gale  again,  helplessly  scraping  along  a  lee  of  ice 
seldom  less  than  thirty  feet  thick  ;  one  floe,  measured  by  a  line,  as  we  tried 
to  fasten  it,  more  than  forty.  I  had  seen  such  ice  only  once  before,  and 
never  in  such  rapid  motion.  One  upturned  mass  rose  above  our  gunwale, 
smashing  in  our  bulwarks,  and  depositing  half  a  tun  of  ice  in  a  lump  upon 
our  decks.  Our  stanch  little  brig  bore  herself  through  all  this  wild  adven 
ture  as  if  she  had  a  charmed  life. 

But  a  new  enemy  came  in  sight  ahead.  Directly  in  our  way,  just  beyond 
the  line  of  floe-ice  against  which  we  were  alternately  sliding  and  thumping, 
was  a  group  of  bergs.  We  had  no  power  to  avoid  them  ;  and  the  only 
question  was  whether  we  were  to  be  dashed  in  pieces  against  them,  or 
whether  they  might  not  offer  us  some  providential  nook  of  refuge  from  the 
storm.  But,  as  we  neared  them,  we  perceived  that  they  were  at  some  dis 
tance  from  the  floe-edge,  and  separated  from  it  by  an  interval  of  open  water. 
Our  hopes  rose,  as  the  gale  drove  us  toward  this  passage,  and  into  it ;  and 
we  were  ready  to  exult  when,  from  some  unexplained  cause — probably  an 
eddy  of  the  wind  against  the  lofty  ice-walls — we  lost  our  headway.  Almost 
at  the  same  moment  we  saw  that  the  bergs  were  not  at  rest ;  that,  with  a 
momentum  of  their  own,  they  were  bearing  down  upon  the  other  ice,  and 
that-it  must  be  our  fate  to  be  crushed  between  the  two. 

Just  then  a  broad  sconce-piece  or  low  water-washed  berg  came  driving  up 
from  the  southward.  The  thought  flashed  upon  me  of  one  of  our  escapes  in 
Melville  Bay  ;  and  as  the  sconce  moved  rapidly  close  alongside  us,  McGary 
managed  to  plant  an  anchor  on  its  slope,  and  hold  on  to  it  by  a  whale-line. 
It  was  an  anxious  moment.  Our  noble  tow-horse,  whiter  than  the  pale 
horse  that  seemed  to  be  pursuing  us,  hauled  us  bravely  on,  the  spray  dash 
ing  over  his  windward  flanks,  and  his  forehead  plowing  up  the  lesser  ice  as 
if  in  scorn.  The  bergs  encroached  upon  us  as  we  advanced.  Our  channel 
narrowed  to  a  width  of  perhaps  forty  feet ;  we  braced  the  yards  to  clear  the 
impending  ice- walls.  .  .  .  We  passed  clear;  but  it  was  a  close  shave — 
so  close  that  our  port  quarter-boat  would  have  been  crushed  if  we  had  not 
taken  it  in  from  the  davits — and  found  ourselves  under  the  lee  of  a  berg, 
in  a  comparatively  open  lead.  Never  did  heart-tried  men  acknowledge 
with  more  gratitude  their  merciful  deliverance  from  a  wretched  death. 

The  day  had  already  its  full  share  of  trials  ;  but  there  were  more  to 
come.  A  flaw  drove  us  from  our  shelter,  and  the  gale  soon  carried  us  beyond 
the  end  of  the  lead.  We  were  again  in  the  ice,  sometimes  escaping  its  on 
set  by  warping,  sometimes  forced  to  rely  on  the  strength  and  buoyancy  of 
the  brig  to  stand  its  pressure,  sometimes  scudding  wildly  through  the  half- 
open  drift.  Our  jibboom  was  snapped  off  in  the  cap  ;  we  carried  away  our 
barricade  stanchions,  and  were  forced  to  leave  our  little  Erie,  with  three 
brave  fellows  and  their  warps,  out  upon  the  floes  behind  us. 

A  little  pool  of  open  water  received  us  at  last.  It  was  just  beyond  a 
lofty  cape  that  rose  up  like  a  wall,  and  under  an  iceberg  that  anchored  itself 


OF  AMERICANS.  493 

between  us  and  the  gale.  And  here,  close  under  the  frowning  shore  of 
Greenland,  ten  miles  nearer  the  pole  than  our  holding-ground  of  the  morn 
ing,  the  men  have  turned  in  to  rest.  I  was  afraid  to  join  them,  for  the  gale 
was  unbroken,  and  the  floes  kept  pressing  heavily  upon  our  berg  —  at  one 
time  so  heavily  as  to  sway  it  on  its  vertical  axis  toward  the  shore,  and  make 
its  pinnacle  overhang  our  vessel.  My  poor  fellows  had  but  a  precarious 
Bleef  before  our  little  harbor  was  broken  up.  They  hardly  reached  the  deck 
when  we  were  driven  astern,  our  rudder  splintered,  and  the  pintles  torn  from 
their  boltings. 

Now  began  the  nippings.  The  first  shock  took  us  on  our  port  quarter ; 
the  brig  bearing  it  well,  and,  after  a  moment  of  the  old-fashioned  suspense, 
rising  by  jerks  handsomely.  The  next  was  from  a  veteran  floe,  tongued  and 
honeycombed,  but  floating  in  a  single  table  over  twenty  feet  in  thickness. 
Of  course,  no  wood  or  iron  could  stand  this  ;  but  the  shoreward  face  of  our 
iceberg  happened  to  present  an  inclined  plane,  descending  deep  into  the 
water,  and  up  this  the  brig  was  driven,  as  if  some  great  steam  screw-power 
was  forcing  her  into  a  dry-dock. 

At  one  time  I  expected  to  see  her  carried  bodily  up  its  face  and  tumbled 
over  on  her  side.  But  one  of  those  mysterious  relaxations,  which  I  have 
elsewhere  called  the  pulses  of  the  ice,  lowered  us  quite  gradually  down 
again  into  the  rubbish,  and  we  were  forced  out  of  the  line  of  pressure  toward 
the  shore.  Here  we  succeeded  in  carrying  out  a  warp  and  making  fast.  We 
grounded  as  the  tide  fell,  and  would  have  heeled  over  to  seaward  but  for 
a  mass  of  detached  land-ice  that  grounded  alongside  of  us,  and  although  it 
stove  our  bulwarks  as  we  rolled  over,  it  shored  us  up." 

We  mast  also  give  his  account  of  the  sequel  : 

"I  could  hardly  get  to  my  bunk,  as  I  went  down  into  our  littered  cabin 
on  the  Sunday  morning  after  our  hard-working  vigil  of  thirty-six  hours. 
Bags  of  clothing,  food,  tents,  India-rubber  blankets,  and  the  hundred  little 
personal  matters  which  every  man  likes  to  save  in  time  of  trouble,  were 
scattered  around  in  places  where  the  owners  thought  they  might  have  them/ 
at  hand.  The  pemmican  had  been  on  deck,  the  boats  equipped,  and  every 
thing  of  real  importance  ready  for  a  march,  many  hours  before. 

During  the  whole  of  the  scenes  I  have  been  trying  to  describe,  I  could 
not  help  being  struck  by  the  composed  and  manly  demeanor  of  my  com 
rades.  The  turmoil  of  ice,  under  a  heavy  sea,  often  conveys  the  impression 
of  danger  when  the  reality  is  absent ;  but  in  this  fearful  passage,  the  parting 
of  our  hawsers,  the  loss  of  our  anchors,  the  abrupt  crushing  of  our  stoven 
bulwarks,  and  the  actual  deposit  of  ice  upon  our  decks,  would  have  tried 
the  nerves  of  the  most  experienced  icemen.  All — officers  and  men — worked 
alike.  Upon  each  occasion  of  collision  with  the  ice  which  formed  our  lee 
coast,  efforts  were  made  to  carry  out  lines  ;  and  some  narrow  escapes  were 
incurred  by  the  zeal  of  the  parties  leading  them  into  positions  o£  danger. 
Mr.  Bonsall  avoided  being  crushed  by  leaping  to  a  floating  fragment ;  and 
no  less  than  four  of  our  men  at  one  time  were  carried  down  by  the  drift, 
and  could  only  be  recovered  by  a  relief  party  after  the  gale  had  subsided. 

As  our  brig,  borne  on  by  the  ice,  commenced  her  ascent  of  the  berg,  the 
suspense  was  oppressive.  The  immense  blocks  piled  against  her,  rango 
upon  range,  pressing  themselves  under  her  keel,  and  throwing  her  over  upon 


494  ADVENTURES  AND   ACHIEVEMENTS 

her  side,  till,  urged  by  the  successive  accumulations,  she  rose  slowly,  and  as 
if  with  convulsive  efforts,  along  the  sloping  wall.  Still  there  was  no  relax 
ation  of  the  impelling  force.  Shock  after  shock  jarring  her  to  her  very  cen 
ter,  she  continued  to  mount  steadily  on  her  precarious  cradle.  But  for  the 
groaning  of  her  timbers,  and  the  heavy  sough  of  the  floes,  we  might  have 
heard  a  pin  drop.  And  then,  as  she  settled  down  into  her  old  position, 
quietly  taking  her  place  among  the  broken  rubbish,  there  was  a  deep-breath- 
ing  silence,  as  though  all  were  waiting  for  some  signal  before  the  clamor  of 
congratulation  and  comment  could  burst  forth." 

By  the  22d  of  August,  they  had  reached  the  latitude  of  78°  41' — a  dis 
tance  greater  than  had  been  attained  by  any  previous  explorer,  except  Parry 
on  his  Spitzbergen  foot-tramp.  About  this  time,  some  of  the  party  began 
to  exhibit  symptoms  of  discontent.  The  rapid  advance  of  winter,  the  de 
privation  of  rest,  and  the  slow  progress  of  the  expedition,  tended  to  produce 
depression.  One  person  volunteered  an  opinion  in  favor  of  returning  to  the 
south,  and  giving  up  the  attempt  to  winter.  It  was  no  time  for  half-way 
measures.  Dr.  Kane  at  once  called  a  council  of  his  officers,  and  listened  to 
their  views  in  full.  With  but  a  single  exception,  they  declared  their  con 
viction  that  a  further  progress  to  the  north  was  impossible,  and  urged  the 
propriety  of  returning  southward  to  winter.  The  commander  maintained 
the  opposite  view.  Explaining  the  importance  of  securing  a  position  which 
might  expedite  future  sledge  journeys,  he  announced  his  intention  of  warp 
ing  toward  the  northern  headland  of  the  bay.  Once  there,  he  could  deter 
mine  the  best  point  for  the  operations  of  the  spring,  and  would  put  the  brig 
into  winter  harbor  at  the  nearest  possible  shelter.  His  comrades  received 
the  decision  with  cheerful  acquiescence,  and  zealously  entered  upon  the 
perilous  duties  which  it  involved.  During  the  process  the  gallant  little 
vessel  ran  aground,  and  in  the  night  had  a  narrow  escape  from  fire.  A 
sudden  lurch  tumbled  the  men  out  of  their  berths,  and  threw  down  the 
cabin  stove,  with  a  full  charge  of  glowing  anthracite.  The  deck  blazed  up 
'violently,  but  by  the  sacrifice  of  a  heavy  pilot-cloth  coat  the  fire  was 
smothered  until  water  could  be  passed  down  to  extinguish  it.  The  powder 
was  not  far  off.  A  few  moments  more  might  have  brought  the  expedition 
to  a  sudden  close. 

About  the  10th  of  September,  the  vessel  was  brought  into  a  sheltered 
harbor  between  the  islands  of  the  bay,  in  which  she  had  been  lying  for 
some  time,  and  all  hands  prepared  for  winter  quarters.  Of  their  mode  of 
life  during  the  long  darkness  of  an  Arctic  winter,  a  vivid  idea  is  given  by 
the  following  extract  from  Dr.  Kane's  journal  : 

"  How  do  we  spend  the  day  when  it  is  not  term-day,  or  rather  the 
twenty-four  hours  ?  for  it  is  either  all  day  here,  or  all  night,  or  a  twilight 
mixture  of  both.  How  do  we  spend  the  twenty-four  hours  ? 

At  six  in  the  morning,  McGary  is  called,  with  all  hands  who  have  slept 
in.  The  decks  are  cleaned,  the  ice-hole  opened,  the  refreshing  beef-nets 
examined,  the  ice-tables  measured,  and  things  aboard  put  to  rights.  At 
half-past  seven  all  hands  rise,  wash  on  deck,  open  the  doors  for  ventilation, 
and  come  below  for  breakfast.  We  are  short  of  fuel,  and  therefore  cook  in 
the  cabin.  Our  breakfast,  for  all  fare  alike,  is  hard  tack,  pork,  stewed 
apples,  frozen  like  molasses  candy,  tea  and  coffee,  with  a  delicate  portion 


OF  AMERICANS.  495 

of  raw  potato.  After  breakfast,  the  smokers  take  their  pipe  till  nine  ;  ther. 
all  hands  turn  to,  idlers  to  idle  and  workers  to  work ;  Ohlsen  to  his  bench, 
Brooks  to  his  preparations  in  canvas,  McGary  to  play  tailor,  Whipple  to 
make  shoes,  Bonsall  to  tinker,  Baker  to  skin  birds — and  the  rest  to  the 
*  office  ! '  Take  a  look  into  the  Arctic  Bureau.  One  table,  one  salt- pork 
lamp  with  rusty  chlorinated  flame,  three  stools,  and  as  many  waxen-faced 
men  with  their  legs  drawn  under  them,  the  deck  at  zero  being  too  cold  for 
thoir  feet.  Each  has  his  department  :  Kane  is  writing  and  sketching,  and 
projecting  maps  ;  Hays  copying  logs  and  meteorologicals ;  Sontag  reducing 
his  work  at  Fern  Rock.  A  fourth,  as  one  of  the  working  members  of  the 
hive,  has  long  been  defunct ;  you  will  find  him  in  bed,  or  studying  'Littell's 
Living  Age.'  At  twelve,  a  business  round  of  inspection,  and  orders  enough 
to  fill  up  the  day  with  work.  Next,  the  drill  of  the  Esquimaux  dogs — my 
own  peculiar  recreation — a  dogtrot,  specially  referring  to  legs  that  creak 
with  every  kick,  and  rheumatic  shoulders  that  chronicle  every  descent  of 
the  whip.  And  so  we  get  on  to  dinner-time  ;  the  occasion  of  another  gath 
ering,  which  misses  the  tea  and  coffee  of  breakfast,  but  rejoices  in  pickled 
cabbage  and  dried  peaches  instead. 

At  dinner,  as  at  breakfast,  the  raw  potato  comes  in  our  hygienic  luxury. 
Like  doctor-stuff  generally,  it  is  not  as  appetizing  as  desirable.  Grating  it 
down  nicely,  leaving  out  the  ugly  red  spots  liberally,  and  adding  the  utmost 
oil  as  a  lubricant,  it  is  as  much  as  I  can  do  to  persuade  the  mess  to  shut 
their  eyes  and  bolt  it,  like  Mrs.  Squeers'  molasses  and  brimstone  at  Dothe- 
boy's  Hall.  Two  absolutely  refuse  to  take  it.  I  tell  them  of  the  Silesians 
using  its  leaves  as  spinach  ;  of  the  whalers  in  the  South  Seas  getting  drunk 
on  the  molasses  which  had  preserved  the  large  potatoes  of  the  Azores ;  I 
point  to  this  gum,  so  fungoid  and  angry  the  day  before  yesterday,  and  so 
flat  and  amiable  to-day — all  by  a  potato  poultice.  My  eloquence  is  wasted  ; 
they  persevere  in  rejecting  the  admirable  compound. 

Sleep,  exercise,  amusement,  and  work  at  will  carry  on  the  day  till  our  six 
o'clock  supper — a  meal  something  like  breakfast  and  something  like  dinner, 
only  a  little  more  scant,  and  the  officers  come  in  with  the  reports  of  the 
day.  Dr.  Hayes  shows  me  the  log,  I  sign  it ;  Sontag,  the  weather,  I  sign 
the  weather ;  Mr.  Bonsall,  the  tides  and  thermometers.  Thereupon  comes 
in  mine  ancient  Brooks,  and  I  enter  in  his  journal  No.  3,  all  the  work 
done  under  his  charge,  and  discuss  his  labors  for  the  morrow. 

McGary  comes  next  with  the  cleaning-up  arrangement,  inside,  outside, 
and  on  decks,  and  Mr.  Wilson  follows  with  ice  measurements.  And  last 
of  all  comes  my  own  record  of  the  day  gone  by ;  every  line,  as  I  look 
back  upon  its  pages,  giving  evidences  of  a  weakened  body  and  a  harassed 
mind. 

We  have  cards  sometimes,  and  chess  sometimes,  and  a  few  magazines — 
Mr.  Littell's  thoughtful  present — to  cheer  away  the  evening. 

The  darkness  was  so  intense  that  it  necessarily  entailed  inaction  ;  and  it 
was  in  vain  that  they  sought  to  create  topics  of  thought,  and,  by  a  forced 
excitement,  to  ward  off  the  encroachments  of  disease.  The  thermometer 
fell  to  ninety-nine  degrees  below  the  freezing  point.  Human  beings  could 
only  breathe  in  such  a  temperature  guardedly  and  with  compressed  lips. 

The  influence  of  such  severe  cold  and  long  intense  darkness  was  most 


496  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

depressing.  Most  of  the  dogs  died  of  affections  of  the  brain,  which  began, 
as  in  the  instance  of  some  of  the  men  of  the  Investigator,  with  fits,  followed 
by  lunacy,  and  sometimes  by  lockjaw.  Their  disease,  Dr.  Kane  remarks, 
was  as  clearly  mental  as  in  the  case  of  any  human  being.  Fifty-seven  died 
with  these  symptoms.  The  loss  of  his  dogs  seriously  affected  Dr.  Kane's 
plans ;  new  arrangements  had  to  be  formed,  which,  owing  to  the  small- 
ness  of  the  party,  deprived  of  the  dogs,  were  necessarily  restricted.  The 
addition  of  four  dogs,  contributed  by  Esquimaux,  permitted  the  operations 
to  be  considerably  extended.  Out  of  nearly  three  thousand  miles  traversed, 
no  less  than  eleven  hundred  were  made  with  the  dog-sledge  ;  and  during 
the  following  year,  Dr.  Kane  himself  traveled  fourteen  hundred  miles  with 
a  single  team. 

The  month  of  March  brought  back  perpetual  day.  The  sunshine  had 
reached  the  ship  on  the  last  day  of  February  ;  they  needed  it  to  cheer 
them.  The  scurvy  spots,  that  mottled  the  faces  of  almost  all,  gave  sore 
proof  of  the  trials  they  had  undergone.  The  crew  were  now  (March,  1854) 
almost  unfitted  by  debility  for  arduous  work,  and  only  six  dogs  remained 
of  nine  splendid  Newfoundlanders  and  thirty-five  Esquimaux  dogs.  "An 
Arctic  night  and  an  Arctic  day,"  Dr.  Kane  emphatically  remarks,  "  age  a 
man  more  rapidly  and  harshly  than  a  year  anywhere  else  in  all  this  weary 
world."  Sometimes,  in  their  excursions  over  the  ice,  the  men  had  to  drag 
the  sledge,  and  flounder  through  snow-drifts  in  which  they  sank  at  every 
step  nearly  over  their  legs. 

In  order  to  ascertain  whether  it  was  practicable  to  force  a  way  over  tho 
crowded  bergs  and  mountainous  ice  of  the  frozen  area  toward  the  north, 
Dr.  Kane  now  organized  a  party  of  the  strongest  men,  who  volunteered 
their  services  for  the  labor,  placing  himself  at  their  head ;  and,  on  the  19th 
of  March,  cent  out  an  advanced  corps  to  place  a  relief  cargo  of  provisions 
at  a  suitable  distance  from  the  brig.  On  the  ninth  day  of  their  absence,  the 
latter  encountered  a  heavy  gale  from,  the  north-east ;  the  thermometer  fell 
to  fifty-seven  degrees  below  zero,  and  the  ice-ridges  became  so  obstructed 
by  snow  as  to  prevent  their  depositing  their  stores  beyond  fifty  miles  from 
the  brig. 

By  the  31st,  three  of  the  members  of  this  advance  party  returned  to  the 
brig,  swollen,  haggard,  and  hardty  able  to  speak.  They  had  left  four  of 
their  number  in  a  tent  on  the  ice,  frozen  and  disabled.  On  being  informed 
of  the  disaster,  Dr.  Kane  started  for  the  rescue  with  nine  men,  under  the 
direction  of  Mr.  Ohlsen,  one  of  the  returned  party,  whose  previous  expos 
ure,  however,  had  rendered  his  services  as  a  guide  almost  useless.  We  will 
here  quote  the  commander's  own  graphic  words  : 

"We  had  been  nearly  eighteen  hours  out  without  water  or  food,  when  a 
new  hope  cheered  us.  I  think  it  was  Hans,  our  Esquimaux  hunter,  who 
thought  he  saw  a  broad  sledge-track.  The  drift  had  nearly  effaced  it,  and 
we  were  some  of  us  doubtful  at  first  whether  it  was  not  one  of  those  acci 
dental  rifts  which  the  gales  make  in  the  surface- snow.  But,  as  we  traced  it 
on  to  the  deep  snow  among  the  hummocks,  we  were  led  to  footsteps ;  and, 
following  these  with  religious  care,  we  at  last  came  in  sight  of  a  small 
American  flag  fluttering  from  a  hummock,  and  lower  down,  a  little  Masonic 
banner  hanging  from  a  tent-pole  hardly  above  the  drift.  It  was  the  camp 


OP  AMERICANS.  497 

of  our  disabled  comrades  :  we  reached  it  after  an  unbrcken  inarch  of  twenty- 
one  hours. 

The  little  tent  was  nearly  covered.  I  was  not  among  the  first  to  como 
up ;  but,  wheji  I  reached  the  tent-curtain,  the  men  were  standing  in  silent 
file  on  each  side  of  it.  With  more  kindness  and  delicacy  of  feeling  than  is 
oftet  supposed  to  belong  to  sailors,  but  which  is  almost  characteristic,  they 
intimated  their  wish  that  I  should  go  m  alone.  As  I  crawled  in,  and,  com 
ing  upon  the  darkness,  heard  before  me  the  burst  of  welcome  gladness  that 
came  from  the  four  poor  fellows  stretched  on  their  backs,  and  then  for  the 
firs:  time  the  cheer  outside,  my  weakness  and  my  gratitude  together  almost 
overcame  me.  '  They  had  expected  me  ;  they  were  sure  I  would  come  ! '  " 

We  copy  entire  Dr;  Kane's  spirited  account  of  the  retreat  of  the  party, 
now  consisting  of  fifteen  souls  : 

"It  was  fortunate  indeed  that  we  were  not  inexperienced  in  sledging  over 
the  ice.  A  great  part  of  our  track  lay  among  a  succession  of  hummocks ; 
some  of  them  extended  in  long  lines  fifteen  and  twenty  feet  high,  and  so 
uniformly  steep  that  we  had  to  turn  them  by  a  considerable  deviation  from 
our  direct  course ;  others  that  we  forced  our  way  through,  far  above  our 
heads  in  height,  lying  in  parallel  ridges,  with  the  space  between  too  narrow 
for  the  sledge  to  be  lowered  into  it  safely,  and  yet  not  wide  enough  for  the 
runners  to  cross  without  the  aid  of  ropes  to  stay  them.  These  spaces  too 
were  generally  choked  with  light  snow,  hiding  the  openings  between  the 
ice-fragments.  They  were  fearful  traps  to  disengage  a  limb  from  ;  for  every 
man  knew  that  a  fracture,  or  a  sprain  even,  would  cost  him  his  life.  Beside 
all  this,  the  sledge  was  top-heavy  with  its  load  ;  the  maimed  men  could  not 
bear  to  be  lashed  down  tight  enough  to  secure  them  against  falling  off. 
Notwithstanding  our  caution  in  rejecting  every  superfluous  burden,  the 
weight,  including  bags  and  tent,  was  eleven  hundred  pounds. 

And  yet  our  march  for  the  first  six  hours  was  very  cheering.  We  made, 
by  vigorous  pulls  and  lifts,  nearly  a  mile  an  hour,  and  reached  the  new  floes 
before  we  were  absolutely  weary.  Our  sledge  sustained  the  trial  admirably. 
Ohlsen,  restored  by  hope,  walked  steadily  at  the  leading- belt  of  the  sledge- 
lines  ;  and  I  began  to  feel  certain  of  reaching  our  half-way  station  of  the 
day  before,  where  we  had  left  our  tent.  But  we  were  still  nine  miles  from 
it,  when,  almost  without  premonition,  we  all  became  aware  of  an  alarming 
failure  of  our  energies. 

I  was  of  course  familiar  with  the  benumbed  and  almost  lethargic  sensation 
of  extreme  cold  ;  and  once,  when  exposed  for  some  hours  in  the  midwinter 
of  Baffin's  Bay,  I  had  experienced  symptoms  which  I  compared  to  the  dif 
fused  paralysis  of  the  electro-galvanic  shock.  But  I  had  treated  the  sleepy 
comfort  of  freezing  as  something  like  the  embellishment  of  romance.  I  had 
evidence  now  to  the  contrary. 

Bonsall  and  Morton,  two  of  our  stoutest  men,  came  to  me,  begging  per 
mission  to  sleep;  'they  were  not  cold  :  the  wind  did  not  enter  them  now  : 
a  little  sleep  was  all  they  wanted!'  Presently  Hans  was  found  nearly  stiff 
under  a  drift ;  and  Thomas,  bolt  upright,  had  his  eyes  closed,  and  could 
hardly  articulate.  At  last,  John  Blake  threw  himself  on  the  snow,  and  re 
fused  to  r!se.  They  did  not  complain  of  feeling  cold ;  but  it  was  in  vain 


498  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

that  I  wrestled,  boxed,  ran,  argued,  jeered,  or  reprimanded :  an  immediate 
halt  could  not  be  avoided. 

We  pitched  our  tent  with  much  difficulty.  Our  hands  were  too  powerless 
to  strike  a  fire ;  we  were  obliged  to  do  without  water  or  food.  Even  the 
spirits  (whisky)  had  frozen  at  the  men's  feet,  under  all  the  coverings.  We 
put  Bonsall,  Ohlsen,  Thomas,  and  Hans,  with  the  other  sick  men,  well  in 
side  the  tent,  and  crowded  in  as  many  others  as  we  could.  Then,  leaving 
the  party  in  charge  of  Mr.  McGary,  with  orders  to  come  on  after  four  hours' 
rest,  I  pushed  ahead  with  William  Godfrey,  who  volunteered  to  be  my 
companion.  My  aim  was  to  reach  the  half-way  tent,  and  thaw  some  ice 
and  pemmican  before  the  others  arrived. 

The  floe  was  level  ice,  and  the  walking  excellent.  I  cannot  tell  how  long 
it  took  us  to  make  the  nine  miles ;  for  we  were  in  a  strange  sort  of  stupor, 
and  had  little  apprehension  of  time.  It  was  probably  about  four  hours. 
We  kept  ourselves  awake  by  imposing  on  each  other  a  continued  articula 
tion  of  words  ;  they  must  have  been  incoherent  enough.  I  recall  these 
hours  as  among  the  most  wretched  I  have  ever  gone  through  :  we  were 
neither  of  us  in  our  right  senses,  and  retained  a  very  confused  recollection 
of  what  preceded  our  arrival  at  the  tent.  We  both  of  us,  however,  remem 
ber  a  bear,  who  walked  leisurely  before  us,  and  tore  up  as  he  went  a  jumper 
that  Mr.  McGary  had  improvidently  thrown  off  the  day  before.  He  tore"  it 
into  shreds  and  rolled  it  into  a  ball,  but  never  offered  to  interfere  with  our 
progress.  I  remember  this,  and  with  it  a  confused  sentiment  that  our  tent 
and  buffalo-robes  might  probably  share  the  same  fate.  Godfrey,  with  whom 
the  memory  of  this  day's  work  ma}r  atone  for  many  faults  of  a  later  time, 
had  a  better  eye  than  myself;  and,  looking  some  miles  ahead,  he  could  see 
that  our  tent  was  undergoing  the  same  unceremonious  treatment.  I  thought 
I  saw  it  too  ;  but  we  were  so  drunken  with  cold  that  we  strode  on  steadily, 
and  for  aught  I  know,  without  quickening  our  pace. 

Probably  our  approach  saved  the  contents  of  the  tent;  for  when  wo 
reached  it  the  tent  was  uninjured,  though  the  bear  had  overturned  it,  toss 
ing  the  buffalo-robes  and  pemmican  into  the  snow  ;  we  missed  only  a  couple 
of  blanket- bags.  What  we  recollect,  however,  and  perhaps  all  we  recollect, 
is,  that  we  had  great  difficulty  in  raising  it.  We  crawled  into  our  reindeer 
sleeping-bags,  without  speaking,  and  for  the  next  three  hours  slept  on  in  a 
dreamy  but  intense  slumber.  When  I  awoke,  my  long  beard  was  a  mass  of 
ice,  frozen  fast  to  the  buffalo-skin  :  Godfrey  had  to  cut  me  out  with  his 
jack-knife.  Four  days  after  our  escape,  I  found  my  woolen  comfortable 
with  a  goodly  share  of  my  beard  still  adhering  to  it. 

We  were  able  to  melt  water  and  get  some  soup  cooked  before  the  rest  of 
our  party  arrived;  it  took  them  but  five  hours  to  walk  the  nine  miles. 
They  were  doing  well,  and,  considering  the  circumstances,  in  wonderful 
spirits,  They  day  was  most  providentially  windless,  with  a  clear  sun.  All 
enjoyed  the  refreshment  we  had  got  ready  ;  the  crippled  were  repacked  in 
their  robes,  and  we  sped  briskly  toward  the  hummock-ridges  which  lay  be 
tween  us  and  the  Pinnacly  Berg. 

The  hummocks  we  had  now  to  meet  came  properly  under  the  designa 
tion  of  squeezed  ice.  A  great  chain  of  bergs  stretching  from  northwest  to 
southeast,  moving  with  the  tides,  had  compressed  the  surface-floes,  and. 


OF   AMERICANS.  499 

roaring  them  up  on  their  edges,  produced  an  area  more  like  the  volcanic 
pedragal  of  the  basin  of  Mexico  than  anything  else  I  can  compare  it  to. 
It  required  desperate  efforts  to  work  our  way  over  it — literally  desperate, 
for  our  strength  failed  us  anew,  and  we  began  to  lose  our  self-control.  Wo 
could  not  abstain  any  longer  from  eating  snow ;  our  mouths  swelled,  and 
Borne  of  us  became  speechless.  Happily,  the  day  was  warmed  by  a  clear 
sunshine,  and  the  thermometer  rose  to  — 4°  in  the  shade ;  otherwise  we 
must  have  frozen. 

Our  halts  multiplied,  and  we  fell  half-sleeping  on  the  snow.  I  could  not 
prevent  it.  Strange  to  say,  it  refreshed  us.  I  ventured  upon  the  experi 
ment  myself,  making  Riley  wake  me  at  the  end  of  three  minutes ;  and  I 
felt  so  much  benefited  by  it  that  I  timed  the  men  in  the  same  way.  They 
sat  on  the  runners  of  the  sledge,  fell  asleep  instantly,  and  were  forced  to 
wakefulness  when  their  three  minutes  were  out. 

By  eight  in  the  evening  we  emerged  from  the  floes.  The  sight  o£  the 
Pinnacly  Berg  revived  us..  Brandy,  an  invaluable  resource  in  emergency, 
had  already  been  served  out  in  tablespoonful  doses.  We  now  took  a  longer 
rest,  and  a  last  but  stouter  dram,  and  reached  the  brig  at  one  p.  M.,  we  be 
lieve,  without  a  halt. 

I  say  we  believe;  and  here,  perhaps,  is  the  most  decided  proof  of  our  suf 
ferings  ;  we  were  quite  delirious,  and  had  ceased  to  entertain  a  sane  appre 
hension  of  the  circumstances  about  us.  We  moved  on  like  men  in  a  dream. 
Our  foot-marks,  seen  afterward,  showed  that  we  had  steered  a  bee-line  for 
the  brig.  It  must  have  been  by  a  sort  of  instinct,  for  it  left  no  impress  on 
the  memory.  Bonsall  was  sent  staggering  ahead,  and  reached  the  brig,  God 
knows  how,  for  he  had  fallen  repeatedly  at  the  track-lines ;  but  he  deliv 
ered  with  punctilious  accuracy,  the  messages  I  had  sent  by  him  to  Dr. 
Hayes.  I  thought  myself  the  soundest  of  all ;  for  I  went  through  all  the 
formula  of  sanity,  and  can  recall  the  muttering  delirium  of.  my  comrades 
when  we  got  back  into  the  cabin  of  our  brig.  Yet  I  have  been  told  since  of 
some  speeches,  and  some  orders,  too,  of  mine,  which  I  should  have  remem 
bered  for  their  absurdity,  if  my  mind  had  retained  its  balance. 

Petersen  and  Whipple  came  out  to  meet  us  about  two  miles  from  the 
brig.  They  brought  my  dog-team,  with  the  restoratives  I  had  sent  for  by 
Bonsall.  I  do  not  remember-their  coming.  Dr.  Hayes  entered  with  judi 
cious  energy  upon  the  treatment  our  condition  called  for  ;  administering 
morphine  freely,  after  the  usual  frictions.  He  reported  none  of  our  brain- 
symptoms  as  serious,  referring  them  properly  to  the  class  of  those  indica 
tions  of  exhausted  power  which  yield  to  a  generous  diet  and  rest.  M;. 
Ohlsen  suffered  some  time  from  strabismus  and  blindness  ;  two  others  v  /)- 
derwent  amputation  of  parts  of  the  foot,  without  unpleasant  consequenc  js  ; 
and  two  died,  in  spite  of  all  our  efforts.  This  rescue-party  had  beei?  out 
for  seventy-two  hours.  We  had  halted  in  all  eight  hours,  half  of  our  •  .um 
ber  sleeping  at  a  time.  We  traveled  between  eighty  and  ninety  miles  most 
of  the  way  dragging  a  heavy  sledge.  The  mean  temperature  of  the  whole 
time,  including  the  warmest  hours  of  three  days,  was  at  minus  41°  J.  We 
had  no  water  except  at  our  two  halts,  and  were  at  no  time  able  to  intermit 
vigorous  exercise  without  freezing. 

April  4,  Tuesday. — Four  days  have  passed,  and  I  am  again  at  my  record 
32 


500  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

of  failures,  sound,  but  aching  still  in  every  joint.  The  rescued  men  are  not 
out  of  danger,  but  their  gratitude  is  very  touching.  Pray  God  that  they 
may  live  ! " 

The  first  appearnce  of  the  Esquimaux  is  thus  described  : 

"  We  were  watching,  in  the  morning,  at  Baker's  death-bed,  when  one  of 
Our  deck-watch,  who  had  been  cutting  ice  for  the  melter,  came  hurrying 
down  to  the  cabin  with  the  report,  '  People  hallooing  ashore !'  I  went  up, 
followed  by  as  many  as  could  mount  the  gangway  ;  and  there  they  wore, 
on  all  sides  of  our  rocky  harbor,  dotting  the  snow-shores,  and  emerging  from 
the  blackness  of  the  cliffs — wild  and  uncouth,  but  evidently  human  beings. 

As  we  gathered  on  the  deck,  they  rose  upon  the  more  elevated  fragments 
of  the  land-ice,  standing  singly  and  conspicuously,  like  the  figures  in  & 
tableau  of  the  opera,  and  distributing  themselves  around  almost  in  a  half- 
circle.  They  were  vociferating  as  if  to  attract  our  attention,  or,  perhaps, 
only  to  give  vent  to  their  surprise  ;  but  I  could  make  nothing  out  of  their 
cries,  except  'Hoah,  ha,  ha ! '  and  '  Ka,  kaah  !  ka-,  kaah  ! '  repeated  over  and 
over  again. 

There  was  light  enough  for  me  to  see  that  they  brandished  no  weapons, 
and  were  only  tossing  their  heads  and  arms  about  in  violent  gesticula 
tions.  A  more  unexcited  inspection  showed  us,  too,  that  their  numbers 
were  not  as  great,  nor  their  size  as  Patagonian,  as  some  of  us  had  been  dis 
posed  to  fancy  at  first.  In  a  word,  I  was  satisfied  that  they  were  natives  of 
the  country  ;  and,  calling  Petersen  from  his  bunk  to  be  my  interpreter,  I 
proceeded,  unarmed  and  waving  my  open  hands,  toward  a  stout  figure,  who 
made  himself  conspicuous,  and  seemed  to  have  a  greater  number  near  him 
than  the  rest.  He  evidently  understood  the  movement,  for  he  at  once,  like 
a  brave  fellow,  leaped  down  upon  the  floe,  and  advanced  to  meet 
half-way. 

He  was  nearly  a  head  taller  than  myself,  extremely  powerful  and  Avell- 
built,  with  swarthy  complexion,  and  black  eyes.  His  dress  was  a  hooded 
capote,  or  jumper,  of  mixed  white  and  blue  fox-pelts,  arranged  with  some 
thing  of  fancy,  and  booted  trowsers  of  white  bearskin,  which,  at  the  end  of 
the  foot,  were  made  to  terminate  with  the  claws  of  the  animal. 

I  soon  came  to  an  understanding  with  this  gallant  diplomatist.  Almost 
as  soon  as  we  commenced  our  parley,  his  companions,  probably  receiving 
signals  from  him,  flocked  in  and  surrounded  us  ;  but  we  had  no  difficulty  in 
making  them  know,  positively,  that  they  must  remain  where  they  were, 
while  Metek  went  with  me  on  board  the  ship.  This  gave  me  the  advan 
tage  of  negotiating  with  an  important  hostage. 

Although  this  was  the  first  time  he  had  ever  seen  a  white  man,  he  went 
with  me  fearlessly,  his  companions  staying  behind  on  the  ice.  Hickey  took 
them  out  what  he  esteemed  our  greatest  delicacies — slices  of  good  wheat 
bread,  and  corned  pork,  with  exorbitant  lumps  of  white  sugar;  but  they  re 
fused  to  touch  them.  They  had  evidently  no  apprehension  of  open  violence 
from  us.  I  found,  afterward,  that  several  among  them  were  singly  a  match 
for  the  whi<&*  bear  and  the  walrus,  and  that  they  thought  us  a  very  pa.e- 
faced  crew. 

Being  satisfied  with  my  interview  in  the  cabin,  I  sent  out  word  that  tho 
rest  might  be  admitted  to  the  ship;  and,  although  they,  of  course,  could 


OF  AMERICANS.  501 

not  know  how  their  chief  had  been  dealt  with,  some  nino  or  ten  of  them 
followed,  with  boisterous  readiness,  upon  the  bidding.  Others,  in  the  mean 
time,  as  if  disposed  to  give  us  their  company  for  the  full  time  of  a  visit, 
brought  up  from  behind  the  land-ice  as  many  as  fifty-six  fine  dogs,  with 
their  sledges,  and  secured  them  within  two  hundred  feet  of  the  brig,  driving 
their  lances  into  the  ice,  and  picketing  the  dogs  to  them  by  the  sealskin 
traces.  The  animals  understood  the  operation  perfectly,  and  lay  down  as 
soon  as  it  commenced.  The  sledges  were  made  up  of  small  fragments  of 
porous  bone,  admirably  knit  together  by  thongs  of  hide  ;  the  runners,  which 
glistened  like  burnished  steel,  were  of  highly-polished  ivory,  obtained  from 
the  tusks  of  the  walrus. 

The  only  arms  they  carried  were  knives,  concealed  in  their  boots ;  but 
their  lances,  which  were  lashed  to  the  sledges,  were  quite  a  formidable 
weapon.  The  staff  was  of  the  horn  of  the  narwhal,  or  else  of  the  thigh 
bones  of  the  bear,  two  lashed  together,  or  sometimes  the  mirabilis  of  the 
walrus,  three  or  four  of  them  united.  This  last  was  a  favorite  material, 
also  for  the  crossbars  of  their  sledges.  They  had  no  wood.  A  single  rusty 
hoop  from  a  current-drifted  cask  might  have  furnished  all  the  knives  of  the 
party  ;  but  the  fleam-shaped  tips  of  their  lances  were  of  unmistakable  steel, 
and  were  riveted  to  the  tapering  bony  point,  with  no  mean  skill.  I  learned 
afterward  that  the  metal  was  obtained  in  traffic  from  the  more  southern 
tribes. 

They  were  clad  much  as  I  have  described  Metek,  in  jumpers,  boots,  and 
white  bearskin  breeches,  with  their  feet  decorated,  like  his,  en  gri/e.  A  strip 
of  knotted  leather  worn  round  the  neck,  very  greasy  and  dirty -looking, 
which  no  one  could  be  persuaded  to  part  with  for  an  instant,  was  mistaken, 
at  first,  for  an  ornament  by  the  crew  ;  it  was  not  until  mutual  hardships  had 
made  us  better  acquainted  that  we  learned  its  mysterious  uses. 

When  they  were  first  allowed  to  come  on  board,  they  were  very  rude  and 
difficult  to  manage.  They  spoke  three  or  four  at  a  time,  to  each  other  and 
to  us,  laughing  heartily  at  our  ignorance  in  not  understanding  them,  and 
then  talking  away,  as  before.  They  were  incessantly  in  motion — going 
everywhere,  trying  doors,  and  squeezing  themselves  through  dark  passages, 
round  casks  and  boxes,  and  out  into  the  light  again,  anxious  to  touch  and 
handle  everything  they  saw,  and  asking  for,  or  else  endeavoring  to  steal, 
everything  they  touched.  It  was  the  more  difficult  to  restrain  them,  as  I 
did  not  wish  them  to  suppose  that  we  were  at  all  intimidated.  But  thero 
Avere  some  signs  of  our  disabled  condition,  which  it  was  important  they 
should  not  see ;  it  was  especially  necessary  to  keep  them  out  of  the  fore 
castle,  where  the  dead  body  of  poor  Baker  was  lying ;  and  as  it  was  in  vain 
to  reason  or  persuade,  we  had,  at  last,  to  employ  the  'gentle  laying-on  of 
hands,'  which,  I  believe,  the  laws  of  all  countries  tolerate,  to  keep  them 
in  order. 

Our  whole  force  was  mustered,  and  kept  constantly  on  the  alert ;  but, 
though  there  may  have  been  something  of  discourtesy  in  the  occasional 
shoulderings  and  bustlings  that  enforced  the  police  of  the  ship,  things  went 
on  good-humoredly.  Our  guests  continued  running  in  and  out  and  about 
the  vessel,  bringing  in  provisions,  and  carrying  them  out  again  to  their  dogs 
on  the  ice ;  in  fact,  stealing  all  the  time,  until  the  afternoon,  Avhen,  like 


502  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

tired  children,  they  threw  themselves  down  to  sleep.  I  ordered  them  to  be 
made  comfortable  in  the  hold  ;  and  Morton  spread  a  large  buffalo-robe  for 
them  not  far  from  a  coal-fire  in  the  galley-stove. 

They  were  lost  in  barbarous  amaze  at  the  new  fuel — too  hard  for  blubber, 
too  soft  for  fire-stone — but  they  were  content  to  believe  it  might  cook  as 
well  as  seal's  fat.  They  borrowed  from  us  an  iron  pot  and  some  melted 
water,  and  parboiled  a  couple  of  pieces  of  walrus  meat ;  but,  the  real  piec* 
de  resistance,  some  five  pounds  of  head,  they  preferred  to  eat  raw.  Yet 
there  was  something  of  the  gourmet  in  their  mode  of  assorting  their  mouth- 
fuls  of  beef  and  blubber.  Slices  of  each,  or  rather  strips,  passed  between 
the  lips,  either  together  or  in  strict  alternation,  and  with  a  regularity  of  se 
quence  that  kept  the  molars  well  to  their  work. 

They  did  not  eat  all  at  once,  but  each  man  when  and  as  often  as  the  im 
pulse  prompted.  Each  slept  after  eating,  his  raw  chunk  lying  beside  him 
on  the  buffalo-skin  ;  and,  as  he  woke,  the  first  act  was  to  eat,  and  the  next 
to  sleep  again.  They  did  not  lie  down,  but  slumbered  away  in  a  sitting 
posture,  with  the  head  declined  upon  the  breast,  some  of  them  snoring 
famously. 

In  the  morning  they  were  anxious  to  go  ;  but  I  had  given  orders  to  de 
tain  them  for  a  parting  interview  with  myself.  It  resulted  in  a  treaty,  brief 
in  its  terms,  that  it  might  be  certainly  remembered,  and  mutually  beneficial, 
thaft  it  might  possibly  be  kept.  I  tried  to  make  them  understand  what  a 
powerful  Prospero  they  had  had  for  a  host,  and  how  beneficent  he  would 
prove  himself  as  long  as  they  did  his  bidding.  And,  as  an  earnest  of  my 
favor,  I  bought  all  the  walrus  meat'  they  had  to  spare,  and  four  of  their 
dogs ;  enriching  them,  in  return,  with  needles  and  beads,  and  a  treasure  of 
old  cask-staves." 

The  flesh  of  the  seal  is  eaten  universally  by  the  Danes  of  Greenland,  and 
is,  at  certain  seasons,  almost  the  staple  diet  of  the  Esquimaux.  These  ani 
mals  are  shot  lying  by  their  atluk  or  breathing-holes.  Their  eyes  are  so 
congested  by  the  glare  of  the  sun  in  midsummer  as  to  render  them  more 
readily  approachable. 

"  On  one  occasion,"  says  Dr.  Kane,  "  while  working  my  way  toward  the 
Esquimaux  huts,  I  saw  a  large  Usuk  basking  asleep  upon  the  ice.  Taking  off 
my  shoes,  I  commenced  a  somewhat  refrigerating  process  of  stalking,  lying 
upon  my  belly,  and  crawling  along,  step  by  step,  behind  the  little  knobs  of 
floe.  At  last,  when  I  was  within  long  rifle-shot,  the  animal  gave  a  sluggish 
roll  so  one  side,  and  suddenly  lifted  his  head.  The  movement  was  evi 
dently  independent  of  me,  for  he  strained  his  neck  in  nearly  the  opposite 
direction.  Then,  for  the  first  time,  I  found  that  I  had  a  rival  seal-hunter  in 
a  large  bear,  who  was,  on  his  belly  like  myself,  waiting  with  commendable 
patience  and  cold  feet  for  a  chance  of  nearer  approach. 

What  should  I  do  ? — the  bear  was  doubtless  worth  more  to  me  than  the 
seal  ;  but  the  seal  was  now  within  shot,  and  the  bear  'a  bird  in  the  bush.' 
Beside,  my  bullet  once  invested  in  the  seal  would  leave  me  defenseless.  I 
might  be  giving  a  dinner  to  a  bear,  and  saving  myself  for  his  dessert. 
These  meditations  were  soon  brought  to  a  close ;  for  a  second  movement  of 
the  seal  so  aroused  my  hunter's  instincts  that  I  pulled  the  trigger.  My  cap 
alone  exploded.  Instantly,  with  a  floundering  splash,  the  seal  descended 


OF  AMERICANS.  503 

into  the  deep,  and  the  bear,  with  three  or  four  rapid  leaps,  stood  disconso 
lately  bv  the  place  of  his  descent.  For  a  single  moment  we  stared  each 
other  in  the  face,  and  then,  with  that  discretion  which  is  the  better  part  of 
valor,  the  bear  ran  off  in  one  direction,  and  I  followed  his  example  in  the 
other." 

Toward  the  end  of  the  month  of  April,  the  short  season  available  for 
Arctic  exploration  being  far  advanced,  Dr.  Kane  started  on  his  grand  sledgo 
expedition  to  the  north.  Leaving  the  brig  in  charge  of  a  trustworthy  de 
tachment,  four  able-bodied  and  six  disabled  men,  the  commander,  with 
seven  others,  set  out  upon  the  tour  over  the  ice.  His  plan  was  to  follow 
the  ice-belt  to  the  Great  Glacier  of  Humboldt,  and  from  that  point  to  stretch 
along  the  face  of  the  glacier  to  the  northwest,  and  make  an  attempt  to  cross 
the  ice  to  the  American  side.  The  stores  of  the  party  consisted  of  pemmi- 
can,  bread,  and  tea,  a  canvas  tent  five  feet  by  six,  and  two  sleeping-bags  of 
reindeer  skin.  The  sledge  was  light,  built  of  hickory,  and  but  nine  feet 
long.  A  soup-kettle,  for  melting  snow  and  making  tea,  was  arranged  to  boil 
either  with  lard  or  spirits.  A  subdivision  of  the  party  with  another  sledgo 
started  two  days  before  the  departure  of  Dr.  Kane,  which  took  place  on  the 
27th.  He  reached  the  Great  Glacier  in  safety.  The  coast  of  Greenland  in 
the  vicinity  is  of  a  highly  picturesque  character.  The  red  sandstones  pre 
sent  an  impressive  contrast  with  the  blank  whiteness,  associating  the  cold 
tints  of  the  dreary  Arctic  landscape  with  the  warm  coloring  of  more  southern 
lands.  The  different  layers  of  the  cliff  have  the  appearance  of  jointed  ma 
sonry,  and  the  narrow  line  of  greenstone  caps  them  with  natural  battle 
ments.  At  one  place  rose  the  dreamy  semblance  of  a  castle,  flanked  with 
triple  to\yers,  completely  isolated  and  defined.  To  these  Dr.  Kane  gave  the 
name  of  the  "  Three  Brother  Towers."  A  still  more  striking  object  was 
a  single  cliff  of  greenstone,  north  of  latitude  79°,  which  reared  itself  from 
a  crumbled  base  of  sandstones,  like  the  boldly-chiseled  rampart  of  an 
ancient  city.  On  one  extremity  stands  a  solitary  column  or  minaret  tower, 
as  sharply  finished  as  if  it  had  been  cast  for  the  Place  Vendome.  The 
length  of  the  shaft  alone  is  four  hundred  and  eighty  feet,  and  it  rises  on  a 
plinth  or  pedestal  itself  two  hundred  and  eighty  feet  high.  "  I  remember 
well,"  says  Dr.  Kane,  "the  emotions  of  my  party  as  it  first  broke  upon  our 
view.  Cold  and  sick  as  I  was,  I  brought  back  a  sketch  of  it,  which  may 
have  interest  for  the  reader,  though  it  scarcely  suggests  the  imposing  dig 
nity  of  this  magnificent  landmark.  Those  who  are  happily  familiar  with 
the  writings  of  Tennyson,  and  have  communed  with  his  spirit  in  the  soli 
tudes  of  a  wilderness,  will  apprehend  the  impulse  that  inscribed  the  scene 
with  his  name."  No  description  can  do  justice  to  the  Great  Glacier  itself. 
Rising  in  solid  glassy  wall,  three  hundred  feet  above  the  water-level,  with 
an  unknown  unfathomable  depth  below  it,  its  curved  face  sixty  miles  in 
length  from  Cape  Agassiz  to  Cape  Forbes  vanishes  into  unknown  space  at 
not  more  than  a  single  day's  railroad  travel  from  the  pole.  The  interior 
with  which  it  communicated,  and  from  which  it  issued,  was  an  unsurveyed 
sea  of  ice,  apparently  of  boundless  dimensions. 

The  journey,  however,  failed  of  success  in  forcing  a  passage  to  the  north. 
On  the  sixth  day  the  party  were  attacked  by  scurvy,  from  which  they  had 
suffered  terribly  during  the  winter.  Two  of  the  number  were  taken  with 


604:  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

snow-blindness,  and  one  was  condemned  as  altogether  unfit  for  travel.  To 
crown  their  discomfitures,  they  found  that  the  bears  had  got  hold  of  their 
pemmican  casks,  and  thus  destroyed  their  chances  of  recruiting  their  supply 
of  provisions  at  the  several  caches.  Dr.  Kane  himself  was  seized  with  violent 
illness ;  his  limbs  became  rigid,  and  certain  tetanoid  symptoms  made  their 
appearance.  In  this  condition  he  was  unable  to  make  more  than  nine  miles 
a  day.  He  was  strapped  upon  a  sledge,  and  the  march  continued  ;  but  he 
was  soon  so  much  reduced  as  to  find  the  moderate  temperature  of  5C  below 
zero  intolerable.  His  left  foot  was  frozen  up  to  the  ankle-joint,  and  the 
same  night  it  became  evident  that  the  difficulty  in  his  limbs  was  caused  by 
dropsical  effusion.  The  next  day  he  grew  delirious,  and  fainted  whenever 
he  was  taken  from  the  tent  to  the  sledge.  Every  man  in  the  party  was  so 
far  gone  as  to  make  the  continuance  of  the  journey  impossible.  Scarcely 
able  to  travel,  they  bore  the  commander  back  to  the  brig,  which  they 
reached  by  forced  marches  on  the  fourteenth.  Dr.  Kane  was  entirely  pros 
trated  for  about  a  week.  The  first  business  after  his  convalescence  was  to 
arrange  new  parties  for  exploration.  They  returned  in  safety,  with  ample 
experience  of  the  perils  of  Arctic  discovery. 

Passing  over  the  remainder  of  the  summer  (1854),  we  find  the  little  party 
prepared  to  encounter  the  terrors  of  a  second  winter  in  that  dreary  region. 
The  brig  was  fast  in  the  ice,  and  every  effort  for  her  liberation  had  proved 
unsuccessful.  At  this  crisis  Dr.  Kane  called  all  hands  together,  and  ex 
plained  to  them  the  reasons  which  had  decided  him  not  to  forsake  the  brig. 
He  left  it  to  the  choice  of  each  man,  however  to  attempt  an  escape  to  open 
water  or  to  stand  by  the  fortunes  of  the  expedition.  Eight  of  the  seven 
teen  survivors  of  the  party  resolved  to  remain  with  their  commander ;  tho 
others  were  fitted  out  with  every  appliance  that  could  be  furnished,  and 
departed  on  their  almost  desperate  enterprise.  They  carried  with  them 
every  assurance  of  a  brother's  welcome  should  they  be  driven  back  ;  but  it 
was  not  until  after  many  weary  months  of  trial  and  hardship  that  they 
were  seen  again. 

The  arrangement  of  the  winter-quarters  now  occupied  the  whole  atten 
tion  of  the  little  band.  Dr.  Kane  determined  to  adhere  to  the  routine  of 
observances  which  had  made  up  the  sum  of  their  daily  life.  No  accus 
tomed  form  was  to  be  surrendered.  The  importance  of  systematic  employ 
ment  was  fully  appreciated.  The  distribution  and  details  of  duty,  the  reli 
gious  exercises,  the  ceremonials  of  the  table,  the  fires,  the  lights,  the  watch, 
even  the  labors  of  the  observatory,  and  the  notation  of  the  tides  and  tho 
sky,  it  was  decided  should  go  on  as  they  had  before.  In  the  material  ar 
rangements,  many  useful  hints  were  borrowed  from  the  Esquimaux.  Tho 
brig  was  thoroughly  lined  and  padded  with  moss  and  turf.  A  pile  of  bar 
rels  on  the  ice  contained  their  supply  of  water-soaked  beef  and  pork. 
Flour,  beans,  and  dried  apples,  formed  a  quadrangular  blockhouse.  The 
boats  and  spare  cordage  were  placed  along  an  avenue  opening  abeam  of 
the  brig.  There  was  but  a  small  store  of  vegetables.  The  pickled  cabbage, 
dried  apples  and  peaches  had  lost  much  of  their  anti-scorbutic  virtue  by 
constant  use.  The  spices  were  all  gone.  Nothing  remained  but  a  few 
small  bottles  of  horseradish  to  season  the  standing  fare  of  bread,  beef,  and 
A  kind  of  root  beer  was  brewed  by  the  doctor  from  the  branches  of 


OF  AMERICANS.  505 

the  crawling  willow,  of  which  a  stock  had  been  laid  in  some  weeks  before. 
The  gun  procured  them  an  occasional  supply  of  fresh  meat.  Bear's  flesh 
was  a  favorite  dish,  but  the  liver  of  that  animal  proved  poisonous.  A  less 
noxious  article  of  diet  was  the  rat.  A  perfect  warren  of  this  tribe  was  on 
board  the  brig.  They  had  become  impudent  and  fierce  with  their  increase 
of  numbers.  Nothing  could  be  saved  from  their  voracity.  Furs,  woolens, 
shoes,  specimens  of  natural  history  were  gnawed  into  and  destroyed.  They 
harbored  among  the  men's  bedding  in  the  forcastle,  and  at  last  became  in 
tolerable  nuisances.  Dr.  Kane  took  his  revenge  by  decimating  them  for  his 
private  table.  His  companions  did  not  share  his  taste,  and  he  thus  had  the 
frequent  advantage  of  a  fresh-meat  soup.  To  this  inviting  fare  he  ascribes 
his  comparative  freedom  from  scurvy. 

The  want  of  fuel  before  the  close  of  winter  compelled  them  to  rely  upon 
their  lamps  for  heat.  Pork-fat,  boiled  to  lessen  its  salt,  was  the  substitute 
for  oil ;  and  by  the  use  of  metallic  reverberators,  a  single  wick  was  sufficient 
to  keep  liquid  ten  ounces  of  lard  with  a  surrounding  temperature  of  30° 
below  zero.  Raw  meat  was  now  voted  the  most  agreeable  diet.  A  slice  of 
blubber  or  a  chunk  of  frozen  walrus  beef  was  taken  with  infinite  relish. 
The  liver  of  a  walrus,  eaten  with  little  slices  of  fat,  was  a  dainty  morsel. 
The  flesh  and  blubber  of  that  animal  is  stated  to  be  "  the  very  best  fuel  a 
man  can  swallow."  But  of  these  savory  viands,  the  party  were  now  desti 
tute.  The  sick  began  to  suffer  for  want  of  meat.  They  were  reduced  to 
three  days'  allowance  of  frozen  flesh,  at  the  rate  of  four  ounces  a  day  for 
each  man.  In  this  emergency,  Dr.  Kane  determined  on  a  trip  over  the  ice 
to  a  settlement  of  Esquimaux  huts  at  the  distance  of  about  a  hundred 
miles.  He  was  accompanied  by  Hans  Christern,  a  native  Esquimaux,  and 
five  dogs.  During  the  journey,  a  frightful  storm  came  on.  Before  it  had 
fairly  commenced,  the  party  succeeded  in  reaching  an  old  hut,  which  had 
been  abandoned  by  the  Esquimaux.  Taking  in  the  dogs,  with  the  blubber- 
lamp,  food,  and  bedding,  which  formed  part  of  the  burden  of  the  sledge, 
they  closed  up  the  entrance  with  blocks  of  snow. 

They  were  scarcely  housed  before  the  storm  broke  out  in  all  its  fury. 
Completely  cut  off  from  the  outer  world,  they  here  passed  many  miserable 
hours.  They  could  keep  no  note  of  time.  The  only  indication  of  the 
state  of  the  weather  was  the  whirring  of  the  drift  against  the  roof  of  the 
kennel.  The  time  was  divided  between  sleeping  and  preparing  coffee, 
which  they  drank  with  a  relish.  "When  warned  by  their  instincts  of  the 
lapse  of  twelve  hours,  they  treated  themselves  to  a  meal,  dividing  impartial 
bits  out  of  the  hind  leg  of  a  fox  to  give  zest  to  their  biscuits  spread  with 
frozen  tallow.  It  was  two  days  before  they  were  released  from  their  nar 
row  prison,  reckoning  the  time  by  the  increased  altitude  of  the  moon. 
Upon  attempting  to  resume  their  journey,  they  found  it  impossible  to  work 
through  the  piles  of  drifted  snow.  Sledge,  dogs,  and  drivers  were  buried  in 
the  attempt.  The  two  travelers  harnassed  themselves  to  the  sledge,  and 
"lifted,  levered,  twisted,  and  pulled,"  but  all  in  vain.  They  were  com 
pelled  to  give  it  up,  and  returned  to  the  wretched  hut.  Taking  the  back 
track,  they  reached  the  brig  the  next  morning,  and  for  several  days  were 
incapable  of  the  slightest  exertion.  On  the  last  day  of  January  (1855;,  Dr, 
Kane  writes  in  his  journal : 


506  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

"Our  sick  are  worse,  for  our  traps  yield  nothing,  and  we  are  still  without 
fresh  food.  The  absence  of  raw  fox  meat  for  a  single  day  shows  itself  in 
our  scurvy.  Hemorrhages  are  becoming  common.  My  crew — I  have  n: 
crew  any  longer — the  tenants  of  my  bunks  cannot  bear  me  to  leave  them 
a  single  watch.  Yet  I  cannot  make  Peterson  try  the  new  path  which  I  dis 
covered  and  found  practicable.  Well,  the  wretched  month  is  over.  It  is 
something  to  be  living,  able  to  write.  No  one  has  yet  made  the  dark  voy 
age,  and  January  the  thirty-first  is  upon  us." 

One  week  afterward  we  find  the  following  entry.  What  a  world  of  mis- 
cry  does  it  reveal  ! 

"Still  no  supplies.  Three  of  us  have  been  out  all  day  without  getting  a 
shot.  Hans  thinks  he  .saw  a  couple  of  reindeer  at  a  distance,  and  his  eyes 
rarely  deceive  him.  He  will  try  for  them  to-morrow.  I  have  fitted  out  for 
him  a  tent  and  a  sleeping  bag  on  the  second  table-land,  and  the  thermome 
ter  is  now  so  little  below  zero  that  he  will  be  able  to  keep  the  field  for  a 
steady  hunt.  Our  sick  are  sinking  for  the  want  of  fresh  food.  It  is  the 
only  specific.  I  dislike  to  use  the  unphilosophical  term,  but  in  our  case  it 
is  the  true  one.  In  large  quantities  it  dissipates  the  disease  ;  in  ordinary 
rations  it  prevents  its  occurrence  ;  in  small  doses  it  checks  it  while  sustain 
ing  the  patient.  We  have  learned  its  value  too  well  to  waste  it ;  every  part 
of  every  animal  has  its  use.  The  skin  makes  the  basis  of  a  soup,  and  the 
claws  can  be  boiled  to  a  jelly.  Lungs,  larynx,  stomach,  and  entrails,  all  are 
available.  I  have  not  permitted  myself  to  taste  more  than  an  occasional 
entrail  of  our  last  half-dozen  rabbits.  Not  that  I  am  free  from  symptoms 
of  the  universal  pest.  I  am  conscious  of  a  stiffness  in  the  tendons,  and  a 
shortness  of  breath,  and  a  weariness  of  the  bones,  that  should  naturally  at 
tend  the  eruption  which  covers  my  body.  But  I  have  none  of  the  more 
fearful  signs.  I  can  walk  with  energy  after  I  get  warmed  up.  1  have  no 
bleeding  of  the  gums,  and,  better  than  all,  thank  God,  I  am  without  that 
horrible  despondency  which  the  disease  nourishes  and  feeds  on.  I  sleep 
sound  and  dream  pleasantly — generally  about  successes  in  the  hunt,  or  a 
double  ration  of  reindeer  or  ptarmigan." 

On  Sunday,  the  25th  of  February,  a  glimpse  was  obtained  of  the  return 
ing  sun. 

"  To-day,  bles.sed  be  the  great  Author  of  light !  I  have  once  more  looked 
upon  the  sun.  I  was  standing  on  deck,  thinking  over  our  prospects,  when  a 
familiar  berg,  which  had  long  been  hid  in  shadow,  flashed  out  in  sun-birth. 
I  knew  this  berg  right  well  ;  it  stood  between  Charlotte  Wood  Fiord  and 
Little  Willie's  Monument.  One  year  and  one  day  ago,  I  traveled  toward  it 
from  Fern  Rock  to  catch  the  sunshine.  Then  I  had  to  climb  the  hills  be 
yond  to  get  the  luxury  of  basking  in  its  brightness ;  but  now,  though  the 
sun  was  but  a  single  degree  above  the  true  horizon,  it  was  so  much  elevated 
by  refraction  that  the  sheen  stretched  across  the  trough  of  the  fiord  like  a 
flaming  tongue.  I  could  not  or  would  not  resist  the  influence.  It  was  a 
Sunday  act  of  worship.  I  started  off  at  an  even  run,  and  caught  him  as  he 
rolled  slowly  along  the  horizon,  and  before  he  sank.  I  was  again  the  first 
of  my  party  to  rejoice  and  meditate  in  sunshine.  It  is  the  third  sun  I  have 
seen  rise  for  a  moment  above  the  long  night  of  an  Arctic  winter." 

In  the  beginning  of  March  every  man  on  board  was  tainted  with  scurvy 


OF  AMERICANS.  507 

and  often  not  more  than  three  were  able  to  make  exertion  in  behalf  of  the 
rest.  On  the  4th  of  the  month  the  last  remnant  of  fresh  meat  was  doled 
out,  and  the  invalids  began  to  sink  rapidly.  Their  lives  were  only  saved 
by  the  success  of  a  forlorn-hope  excursion  of  Hans  to  the  remote  Esqui 
maux  hunting  station,  Etah,  seventy-five  miles  away,  whither  he  went  in 
search  of  walrus. 

On  one  occasion  the  adventurers  killed  a  bear  that  had  come  with  its  cub, 
pressed  by  extreme  hunger,  close  to  the  brig.  It  is  painful  to  read  the  de 
tails  of  the  struggle,  from  the  wonderful  attachment  shown  by  the  mother 
to  its  cub,  and  by  the  latter  to  its  parent,  to  whom  it  always  clung,  even  in 
death.  But  the  men's  lives  were  valuable,  and  it  was  thought  excusable  to 
kill  two  bears  when  the  gulls  were  seen  gobbling  up  young  eider-ducks,  in 
the  face  of  their  distracted  mothers,  by  mouthfuls. 

Having  no  fuel,  they  were  now  reduced  to  the  Esquimaux  system  of  re 
lying  en  lamps  for  heat;  beds  and  bedding  hence  became  black  with  soot, 
and  their  faces  were  begrimed  with  fatty  carbon.  The  journal  is  now  little 
more  than  a  chronicle  of  privations  and  sufferings,  interspersed  with  extraor 
dinary  efforts  to  keep  up  communications  with  the  Esquimaux.  It  is,  with 
out  comparison,  the  most  painfully  interesting  record  of  experience  in  winter 
ing  in  the  far  north  that  has  ever  yet  been  published.  In  the  midst  of  their 
troubles  two  of  the  men  tried  to  desert,  but  one  only — Godfrey — succeeded. 
He  returned,  strange  to  say,  on  the  2d  of  April,  with  food,  in  a  sledge,  but 
would  not  himself  quit  the  Esquimaux.  Under  a  misapprehension  that  he 
had  robbed  Hans,  one  of  the  hunters,  of  his  sledge  and  dogs,  his  life  was 
near  being  sacrificed  by  the  commander  from  whom  he  had  deserted. 

The  abandonment  of  the  brig  was  now  resolved  on.  Before  spring  could 
be  welcomed,  preparations  had  been  going  on  for  some  time  for  a  sledge  and 
boat  escape  from  their  long  imprisonment.  The  employment  thus  given  to 
the  men  exerted  a  wholesome  influence  on  their  moral  tone,  and  assisted 
their  convalescence.  They  had  three  boats,  and  they  all  required  to  be 
strengthened.  There  was  clothing,  bedding,  and  provision-bags  to  make. 
The  sledges  had  to  be  prepared.  The  17th  of  May  was  appointed  for  the 
start.  The  farewell  to  the  ship  was  most  impressive.  Prayers  were  read, 
and  then  a  chapter  of  the  Bible.  The  flags  were  then  hoisted  and  hauled 
down  again,  and  she  was  left  alone,  fozen  in  the  ice.  Godfrey  had,  by  this 
time,  it  is  to  be  observed,  rejoined  the  ship,  so  that  the  party  consisted  alto 
gether  of  seventeen,  of  whom  four  were  unable  to  move. 

The  collections  of  natural  history  the  party  were  reluctantly  compelled 
to  leave  behind,  and  part  of  the  apparatus  for  observations,  as  well  as  the 
library  of  the  commander,  and  the  books  furnished  by  the  government  and 
Mr.  Grinnell  for  the  use  of  the  vessel.  Nothing  was  retained  but  the  docu 
ments  of  the  expedition. 

At  Etah,  the  Esquimaux  settlements  were  found  "  out  on  the  bare  rocks," 
enjoying  the  plenty  which  spring  had  brought. 

Up  to  the  23d  the  progress  of  Dr.  Kane's  party  was  little  more  than  a 
mile  a  day.  The  housed  boats  luckily  afforded  tolerably  good  sleeping- 
berths  at  night.  On  the  5th  of  June,  Ohlsen  injured  himself  so,  in  an  at 
tempt  to  rescue  a  sledge  from  falling  into  a  tide-hole,  that  he  died  three 
days  afterward. 


50S  ADVENTURES  AXD  ACHIEVEMENTS 

"  Stu'.  passing  slowly  on,  day  after  day — I  am  reluctant,"  writes  Dr. 
Kane,  "to  borrow  from  ray  journal  the  details  of  anxiety  and  embarrass 
ment  with  which  it  abounds  throughout  this  period — we  came  at  last  to  the 
unmistakable  neighborhood  of  open  water."  This  was  off  Pekintlek,  the 
largest  of  the  Littleton  Island  group. 

On  Tuesday,  the  19th  of  June,  after  a  long  farewell  given  to  their  long- 
tried  friends,  the  Esquimaux  of  Etah,  who  had  brought  them  frequent  sup 
plies  of  birds,  and  aided  them  in  carrying  their  provisions  and  stores,  they 
put  to  sea,  and,  the  very  first  day's  navigation,  one  cf  the  boats  swamped. 
They  spent  the  first  night  in  an  inlet  in  the  ice,  and  on  the  22d  reached 
Northumberland  Island  in  a  snow-storm.  Here  the}'  got  fresh  provisions. 
They  crossed  Murchison  Channel  on  the  23d,  and  encamped  for  the  night 
on  the  land-floe  at  the  base  of  Cape  Parry — a  hard  day's  travel,  partly  by 
tracking  over  ice,  partly  through  tortuous  and  zig-zag  leads.  So  it  was  for 
many  successive  days.  One  day  favorable,  with  open  leads  of  water ;  an 
other  slow  and  wearisome,  through  alternate  ice  and  water.  Then  the  floe 
would  break  up  and  carry  them  resistlessly  against  the  rocks.  Three  long 
days  they  passed  in  a  cavern  of  rock  and  ice,  in  which,  however,  they  found 
plenty  of  birds'  eggs. 

On  the  llth  they  had  doubled  Cape  Dudley  Digges,  and  plants,  and 
birds,  and  birds'  eggs  became  more  common.  They  spent  a  week  to  regain 
strength  at  so  productive  a  spot,  which  they  designated  as  "  Providence 
-Halt."  At  the  Crimson  Cliffs  they  again  got  a  plentiful  supply  of  birds. 
On  the  21st  of  July,  they  reached  Cape  York,  and  made  immediate  prepa 
rations  for  crossing  Melville  Bay,  which  was  accomplished  with  great  labor 
and  suffering.  Once  more  they  were  nearly  starving,  when  a  great  seal  came 
providentially  to  their  succor. 

This  was  while  they  were  in  the  open  bay,  and  in  boats  so  frail  that  they 
could  only  be  kept  afloat  by  constant  bailing.  It  was  at  this  crisis  of  their 
fortunes  that  they  discovered  a  large  seal  floating  on  a  piece  of  ice,  and  ap 
parently  asleep.  Trembling  with  anxiety,  they  prepared  to  move  down 
upon  him,  Petersen  standing  ready  with  a  large  English  rifle.  As  they 
neared  the  animal  the  excitement  of  the  men  became  intense,  and  he  reared 
his  head  when  they  were  almost  within  rifle  shot;  "and  to  this  day,"  says 
Dr.  Kane,  "  I  can  remember  the  hard,  careworn,  almost  despairing  expres 
sion  of  their  faces,  as  they  savr  him  move  :  their  lives  depended  upon  his 
capture.  I  depressed  my  hand  nervously  as  a  signal  for  Petersen  to  fire. 
I  saw  that  the  poor  fellow  was  paralyzed  by  his  anxiety,  trying  vainly  to 
obtain  a  rest  for  his  gun  against  the  cutwater  of  the  boat.  The  seal  rose  on 
his  fore  flippers,  gazed  at  us  for  a  moment  with  frightened  curiosity,  and 
coiled  himself  for  a  plunge.  At  that  instant,  simultaneously  with  the  crack 
of  our  rifle,  he  relaxed  his  long  length  on  the  ice,  and,  at  the  very  brink  of 
the  water,  his  head  fell  helplessly  to  one  side.  I  would  have  ordered  an 
other  shot,  but  no  discipline  could  have  controlled  the  men.  With  a  wild 
yell,  they  urged  both  boats  upon  the  floes  ;  a  crowd  of  hands  seized  tha 
seal  and  bore  him  up  to  safer  ice.  The  men  seemed  half-crazy  ;  I  had  not 
realized  how  much  we  were  reduced  by  absolute  famine.  They  ran  over 
the  floe,  crying  and  laughing  and  brandishing  their  knives.  It  was  not 


OF  AMERICANS.  509 

five  minutes  before  every  man  was  sucking  his  bloody  fingers,  or  mouthing 
long  strips  of  raw  blubber." 

The  feet  of  the  party  were  at  this  time  so  swollen  that  they  were  obliged 
to  cut  open  their  canvas  boots.  The  most  unpleasant  symptom  was  -that 
they  could  not  sleep.  On  the  1st  of  August,  they  sighted  the  Devil'3 
Thumb.  Hence  they  fetched  the  Duck  Islands,  and  passing  to  the  south 
of  Cape  Shackleton,  landed  on  terra  Jirma.  Two  or  three  days  more  and 
they  were  under  the  shadow  of  Karkamoot. 

"Just  then  a  familiar  sound  came  to  us  over  the  water.  We  had  often 
listened  to  the  screeching  of  the  gulls,  or  the  bark  of  the  fox,  and  mistaken 
it  for  the  'Huk'  of  the  Esquimaux  ;  but  this  had  about  it  an  inflection  not 
to  be  mistaken,  for  it  died  away  in  the  familiar  cadence  of  a  '  halloo.' 

"  Listen,  Petersen  !  Oars — men?  What  is  it  ?  and  he  listened  quietly 
at  first,  and  then,  trembling,  said,  in  a  half- whisper,  '  Dannemarkers  ! '  " 

It  was  the  Upernavik  oil-boat,  and  the  next  day  they  were  at  Upernavik 
itself,  after  being  eighty-four  days  in  the  open  air,  and  having  passed  over 
thirteen  hundred  miles.  They  could  not  remain  within  the  four  walls  of  a 
house  without  a  distressing  sense  of  suffocation. 

At  Upernavik  they  took  passage  in  a  Danish  vessel  for  England.  By 
good  fortune  they  touched  at  Disco  where  they  were  met  by  the  expedition 
of  Captain  Hartstein,  that  had  been  sent  out  in  search  of  them.  Embarking 
on  board,  they  arrived  in  New  York,  early  in  October,  after  an  absence  of 
two  years  and  four  months. 

The  expedition  under  Dr.  Kane,  although  not  succeeding  in  the  great 
purpose  for  which  it  was  dispatched,  has  contributed  important  and  valuable 
additions  to  the  geography  of  the  Arctic  regions.  The  highest  point  reached 
was  nearly  eighty-one  and  a  half  degrees  of  latitude,  within  about  five  hun 
dred  miles  of  the  pole.  In  the  different  explorations  by  members  of  the 
party,  the  northern  coast  of  Greenland  was  surveyed  to  its  termination  in 
the  great  Humboldt  Glacier — this  glacial  mass  was  examined  and  described 
as  far  as  its  northward  extension  into  the  new  land  named  Washington — a 
large  tract  of  land  forming  the  extension  northward  of  the  American  conti 
nent  was  discovered — and  the  existence  ascertained  of  an  open  and  iceless 
sea  toward  the  pole,  making  an  area,  with  its  channel,  of  over  four  thousand 
miles.  The  discovery  of  this  Polar  Sea  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  re 
sults  of  Arctic  exploration.  It  had  long  been  suspected  that  such  a  tract  of 
water  was  to  be  found  in  the  vicinity  of  the  pole,  and  the  suspicion  was 
confirmed  to  some  extent  by  actual  or  supposed  discoveries.  But  hitherto 
no  satisfactory  proof  of  the  fact  had  been  obtained.  The  evidence  which 
Dr.  Kane  has  had  the  rare  good  fortune  to  collect,  is  founded  on  facts  of 
immediate  observation.  The  coast  of  this  mysterious  sea  was  traversed  for 
many  miles,  in  the  summer  of  1854,  by  a  sledge  party  under  Win.  Morton, 
who  was  absent  from  the  brig  on  this  expedition  for  thirty  days.  The  water 
was  viewed  from  an  elevation  of  five  hundred  and  eighty  feet,  presenting 
the  same  limitless  spectacle,  moved  by  a  heavy  swell,  free  from  ice,  and 
dashing  in  surf  against  a  rock-bound  shore.  In  connection  with  this  dis 
covery,  several  facts  were  brought  to  light  indicating  a  milder  climate  near 
th«  pole.  The  sky  to  the  northwest  was  of  dark  rain-cloud  ;  also  crowds 
ol  marine  birds,  the  advance  of  vegetable  life,  the  melted  snow  upon  the 


510  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

rocks,  and  the  rise  of  the  thermometer  in  the  water,  all  suggested  the  sup 
position  of  a  climatic  melioration  toward  the  pole. 

"There  is  much  in  Dr.  Kane's  wonderful  narrative  to  remind  the  reader 
of  the  story  of  old  William  Barentz,  who,  two  hundred  and  fifty-nine  years 
ago,  wintered  011  the  coast  of  Nova  Zembla.  His  men,  seventeen  in  num 
ber,  broke  down  during  the  trials  of  winter,  and  three  died,  just  as  oi  the 
eighteen  under  Dr.  Kane  three  had  gone.  Barentz  abandoned  his  vessel,  as 
the  Americans  abandoned  theirs,  took  to  his  boats,  and  escaped  along  the 
Lapland  coast  to  lands  of  Norwegian  civilization.  The  Americans  embarked 
with  sledges  and  boats  to  attempt  the  same  thing.  They  had  the  longer 
journey,  and  the  more  difficult  one,  before  them.  Barentz  lost,  as  they  did, 
a  cherished  comrade  by  the  wayside.  But  one  resemblance  luckily  does  not 
exist :  Barentz  himself  perished — Dr.  Kane  lived  to  write  an  account  of  all 
that  he  suffered  in  a  noble  cause.  No  mere  abstract  of  his  narrative  can 
give  an  idea  of  its  absorbing  interest. 

His  book  is  above  all  common  praise,  on  account  of  the  simple,  manly, 
unaffected  style  in  which  the  narrative  of  arduous  enterprise  and  firm  endur 
ance  is  told.  It  is  obviously  a  faithful  record  of  occurrences,  made  by  a 
man  who  was  quite  aware  that  what  he  had  to  tell  needed  no  extraneous 
embellishment.  There  is,  however,  so  much  of  artistic  order  in  the  mind 
of  the  narrator,  that  the  unvarnished  record  has  naturally  shaped  itself  into 
a  work  of  distinguished  excellence  upon  literary  grounds.  The  scenes  which 
it  describes  are  so  vividly  and  vigorously  brought  before  the  reader,  that 
there  are  few  who  sit  down  to  the  perusal  of  the  narrative  but  will  fancy, 
before  they  rise  from  the  engrossing  occupation,  their  own  flesh  paralyzed 
by  the  cold  one  hundred  degrees  greater  than  frost,  and  their  blood  scurvy- 
filled  by  the  four  months'  sunlessness. 

It  is  only  just  also  to  remark,  that  there  is  unmistakable  evidence  in  the 
pages  of  this  interesting  book,  that  the  doctor  was  no  less  eminently  gifted 
for  the  duties  of  his  command  than  he  has  been  happy  in  his  relation  of  its 
history.  Every  step  in  his  arduous  path  seems  to  have  been  taken  only  after 
the  exercise  of  deliberately  matured  forethought. 

When  the  preparations  for  the  final  escape  were  under  consideration,  the 
following  record  was  made  in  the  doctor's  journal  :  '  Whatever  of  executive 
ability  I  have  picked  up  during  this  brain-and-body- weary  ing  cruise  warns 
me  against  immature  preparation  or  vacillating  purposes.  I  must  have  an 
exact  discipline,  a  rigid  routine,  and  a  perfectly  thought-out  organization. 
For  the  past  six  weeks  I  have,  in  the  intervals  between  my  duties  to  the 
sick  and  the  ship,  arranged  the  schedule  of  our  future  course  ;  much  of  it  is 
already  under  way.  My  journal  shows  what  I  have  done,  but  what  there 
is  to  do  is  appalling.'  Appalling  as  it  was,  the  heroic  man  who  had  to  look 
the  necessity  in  the  face,  was  equal  to  the  position." 


- 


THE  ACHIEVEMENTS 

OF  THAT 

EMINENT  AMERICAN  MISSIONARY, 

ADONIRAM       JUDSON. 


No  PRINCIPLE  in  man  is  so  powerful  as  that  of  religion.  Stranger  as  he 
is  in  this  world,  knowing  but  little  around  him,  ignorant  even  of  himself, 
his  mind,  as  it  develops,  becomes  aroused  to  the  enigma  of  his  existence. 
"Who  am  I?"  "What  was  my  origin?"  "Whither  am  I  tending?" 
are  questions  of  solemn  import. 

Comparatively  helpless,  enveloped  in  mysteries,  man  feels  the  necessity 
of  looking  for  a  mightier  power  as  the  source  of  all  things,  and  as  a  guide 
through  the  unknown  future.  '  The  emotions  thus  originated,  are  united 
with  the  profoundest  veneration  for  the  great  Unseen  and  Incomprehensible. 
This  is  Natural  Religion,  that  which  exists  in  the  heart  of  every  human  being. 
The  affections  of  the  natural  man  open  to  the  religious  sentiment  as  the 
plants  open  to  the  light.  The  great  want  of  humanity  is  a  supreme  object 
of  worship  and  adoration.  If  destitute  of  this,  man  gropes  in  the  dark  and 
in  his  honest  endeavors  to  minister  to  his  religious  faculties,  falls  a  victim  to 
horrible  superstitions.  The  blackest  records  in  history  are  those  of  crimes 
committed  in  the  name  of  religion. 

But  Revelation  unfolds  to  a  man,  an  idea — the  grandest  that  can 
enter  the  soul  of  mortal — an  idea  so  vast  that  no  finite  being  can  compre 
hend  it — the  idea  contained  in  that  awful  word — GOD  !  God,  the  creator 
and  author  of  all  that"  has  been,  that  is,  and  that  is  to  be  ;  God,  the  omni 
potent,  the  omnipresent,  and  the  omniscient,  who  holds  the  world  in  the 
hollow  of  his  hand,  and  has  the  universe  for  his  footstool, — who  pervades 
all  space,  whose  eye  is  upon  all  things,  even  to  our  thoughts  :  God  Al 
mighty,  the  good  father  of  us  all  ! 

With  the  idea  of  God,  revelation  presents  that  other  great  idea — IMMOR 
TALITY  !  This  life  is  but  the  beginning  :  man  is  to  live  forever :  a  higher 
world  may  be  his,  where  there  is  no  sorrow  and  no  sin.  There,  all  his 
faculties,  moral,  social  and  intellectual,  the  just  exerciso  of  which,  even  on 
earth,  with  the  impediment  of  a  perishing  frame,  give  so  much  joy,  are  to 
have  full  scope  and  in  a  more  glorious,  a  perfect  body.  Eye  hath  not  seen, 
nor  ear  heard,  neither  hath  it  entered  into  the  heart  of  man,  to  conceive  of 
the  full  measure  of  bliss  that  awaits  him  at  the  hands  of  his  eternal  Father. 

(5H) 


512  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

When  to  these  two  great  ideas  is  united  the  third — SALVATION  BY  FAITU, 
and  these  triune  ideas,— GOD  !  IMMORTALITY  !  HEAVEN  !— take  full  possession 
of  a  man,  he  is  ready  for  anything.  Counting  this  life  as  nothing,  he  will 
ingly  dies,  if  need  be,  the  death  of  a  martyr,  and  under  most  excruciating 
tortures.  Mortal  agony  is  endured  by  the  hope  of  immortal  joy. 

We  propose  to  trace  on  these  leaves  the  history  of  one  such,  to  whom  no 
peril,  no  suffering,  was  to  be  avoided,  if  thereby  his  fellow-men  were  to 
derive  benefit.  We  allude  to  that  self-sacrificing,  eminent  American  mis 
sionary,  Adoniram  Judson. 

Five  years  after  the  close  of  the  American  Revolution,  August  9,  1788, 
Adoniram  Judson  was  born,  in  the  town  of  Maiden,  Massachusetts.  His 
father  was  the  pastor  of  a  Congregational  church,  and  therefore  his  son  was, 
in  common  phrase,  "well  born,"  for  in  the  New  England  States,  the  clergy 
are  of  preeminent  influence. 

As  a  boy  at  school,  Judson  was  noted  for  his  sprightliness  of  disposition, 
studious  habits,  and  ease  in  acquiring  knowledge.  At  the  proper  age,  he 
became  a  student  of  Brown  University,  and  graduated  there  in  1807,  with 
the  highest  honors  of  his  class.  He  subsequently  taught  school  at  Ply 
mouth,  where  his  fine  amiable  traits  and  pleasing  address  won  universal 
esteem.  Unfortunately  he  had,  while  at  college,  fallen  into  the  very  com 
mon  error  of  young  men  of  his  age,  of  disbelieving  the  truths  of  the  Chris 
tian  religion.  These  skeptical  ideas  were  dissipated  afterward  by  a  very 
sudden  and  surprising  incident. 

Closing  his  school,  he  determined  to  travel  in  the  Southern  States,  where 
it  was  thought  he  had  an  idea  of  settling,  apd  much  against  the  wishes  of 
his  parents.  He  got  ready,  and  bade  them  farewell  :  they  shed  tears  at  the 
parting,  and  their  continual  affection  and  love  were  seldom  from  his  mind, 
during  his  absence.  This,  to  young  Judson,  was  a  second  Damascus  jour 
ney.  It  was  destined  to  change  his  whole  career,  and  lead  him  eventually 
into  that  high  calling,  for  which  he  was  so  peculiarly  fitted.  He  had  not 
long  been  absent  when  an  event  occurred  that  changed  his  determination. 
He  put  up  at  an  inn,  on  his  journey,  where,  it  seems,  one  of  his  favorite 
fellow-graduates  was  also  stopping,  though  he  was  ignorant  of  the  fact. 
The  same  night  the  graduate  died,  and  when  Judson  approached  the  corpse, 
as  he  thought  of  a  traveling  stranger,  he  was  horrified  as  he  gazed  upon  tho 
inanimate  form  of  his  favorite  college  associate,  and  the  same  one,  princi 
pally,  through  whom  his  infidelity  had  been  imbibed.  He  fell  into  a  train 
of  solemn  reflection.  This  circumstance,  and  his  parent's  prayers,  began  to 
whisper  at  his  heart.  He  resolved  to  abandon  his  tour,  retrace  his  steps, 
and  devote  himself  to  the  study  of  the  Holy  Scriptures.  He  soon  returned 
home,  greatly  to  the  surprise  and  joy  of  his  parents  and  friends. 

True  to  his  purpose,  he  commenced  a  rigid  examination  of  the  scriptures, 
and  the  subject  of  revealed  religion,  and  soon  after,  entered  the  Andover 
Theological  Seminary,  though  it  was  ordinarily  a  privilege  enjoyed  ex 
clusively  by  religious  young  men,  having  tlje  ministry  in  view  :  this  regu 
lation,  however,  was  suspended  in  his  case.  He  devoted  himself  to  his 
studies  with  unwearied  application.  As  a  result  of  his  investigation,  his  in 
fidelity,  that  had  trembled  before  a  father's  prayer,  a  mother's  tear,  and  a 
friend's  death-bed,  was  completely  overturned. 


OF  AMERICANS.  513 

It  was  during  his  Last  year  at  Andover,  that  the  tract  of  an  eminent 
divine,  entitled  "The  Star  in  the  East,"  devoted  to  the  subject  of  foreign 
missions,  fell  into  his  hands.  Speaking,  in  after  life,  of  the  feelings  he  had 
upon  its  perusal,  Judson  remarks  :  "For  some  days  I  was  unable  to  attend  to 
the  studies  of  my  class,  and  spent  my  time  in  considering  my  past  ctupidity, 
depicting  the  most  romantic  scenes  in  missionary  life,  and  roaming  about 
the  college  ro'oms,  declaiming  upon  the  subject  of  missions.  My  views  were 
very  incorrect,  and  my  feelings  extravagant;  but  yet,  I  have  always  felt 
thankful  to  God  for  bringing  me  into  "that  state  of  excitement,  which  was 
perhaps  necessary,  in  the  first  place,  to  enable  me  to  break  the  strong  at 
tachment  I  felt  to  home  and  country,  and  to  endure  the  thought  of  abandon 
ing  all  my  wonted  pursuits  and  animating  prospects.  That  excitement  soon 
passed  away  ;  but  it  left  a  strong  desire  to  prosecute  my  inquiries,  and  ascer 
tain  the  path  of  duty." 

He  was  now  determined  to  become  a  missionary  of  the  cross,  and  the 
East  Indies  seemed  to  him  to  be  the  best  field  for  his  efforts.  The  follow 
ing  is  the  manner  in  which  he  says  he  came  to  this  resolution  :  "  It  was 
during  a  solitary  walk  in  the  woods,  behind  the  college,  while  meditating 
and  praying  upon  the  subject,  and  feeling  half  inclined  to  give  it  up,  that 
the  command  of  Christ,  'Go  into  all  the  world  and  preach  the  gospel  to 
everjr  creature,'  was  presented  to  my  mind,  with  such  clearness  and  power 
that  I  came  to  a  full  decision,  and  though  great  difficulties  appeared  in  the 
way,  I  resolved  to  obey  the  command  at  all  events." 

This  design  was  morally  heroic.  In  that  day,  were  obstacles  difficult  to 
be  overcome.  The  entire  absence  of  missionary  societies  to  advance  the  in 
terests  of  foreign  missions,  compelled  those  who  desired  to  devote  their  lives 
to  that  cause,  to  look  almost  entirely  to  themselves  for  'support.  Judson 
having  come  to  the  determination,  was  anxious  to  depart ;  nor  did  he  wish  to 
go  alone  :  his  heart  was  fired  with  a  holy  zeal,  and  he  wished  to  see  others 
unite  with  him,  and  work  for  the  redemption  of  the  world.  He  consulted 
with  several  young  men  of  promise,  who  had  missionary  objects  in  view, 
and  was  gratified  to  find  them  alike  enthusiastic.  They  applied  to  the 
church  representative  for  assistance,  but  were  mortified  to  find  that,  owing 
to  the  little  attention  formerly  given  to  the  subject  of  missions,  they  had  to 
submit  to  much  delay.  Judson,  in  the  meantime,  devoted  himself  to  the 
active  duties  of  a  clergyman.  His  reasoning  was  clear  and  fucid  ;  his  ap 
peals,  warm  and  earnest ;  his  delivery,  much  admired.  On  one  occasion,  a 
Universalist  minister  of  some  note  attended  his  church.  After  service,  he 
remarked  to  a  friend  :  "I  pitied  that  young  man  when  I  saw  him  enter  the 
pulpit,  this  morning,  but  before  he  came  down,  I  pitied  myself." 

At  that  time,  existed  in  London,  an  efficient  organized  missionary  board, 
having  for  its  object  the  circulation  of  the  Bible  and  the  "  preached  Word" 
among  the  heathen.  By  those  to  whom  application  was  made  by  Judson 
and  his  companions,  it  was  thought  advisable  to  send  one  of  the  number  to 
England,  to  confer  with  the  managers  of  that  society,  and  ascertain  whether 
any  concert  of  action  could  be  established  between  the  board  and  the  Ameri 
can  missionaries.  On  this  business,  they  resolved  to  send  Judson.  With  in 
structions,  therefore,  how  to  proceed  before  the  London  Society,  he  sailed  for 
England  in  January,  1811.  War  was  then  raging  between  France  and  Eng- 


ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

land,  and  having  taken  passage  on  an  English  vessel,  he  was  captured  with 
the  rest  of  the  crew,  by  a  French  privateer,  and  conveyed  as  a  prisoner  to 
Bayonne.  Through  the  intercession  of  an  American  gentleman,  he  was 
set  at  liberty,  provided  with  a  passport,  when  he  proceeded  to  England 
which  he  reached  four  months  after  his  departure  from  the  United  States. 

lie  found  the  plan  he  had  in  view  impracticable,  but  the  directors  of  the 
London  society  expressed  a  readiness  to  receive  him  and  his  brethren  under 
their  patronage,  in  case  the}r  could  not  obtain  support  in  America,  and  gave 
them  instructions  to  be  used  by  the'm  at  their  option. 

Returning  to  the  United  States.  Mr.  Judson  and  another  of  the  candidates 
for  missionary  service,  attended  the  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Commissioners 
at  Worcester  in  September.  The  funds  of  the  Board  were  scanty,  and 
there  was  some  indication  that  their  enterprise  might  be  yet  further  delayed 
Mr.  Judson  urged  immediate  movement,  on  the  ground  of  impending  wa\ 
with  England,  which  might  cause  a  long  postponement,  if  not  a  final  aban 
donment  of  missions  to  the  east.  After  anxious  deliberation,  the  Board 
adopted  Messrs.  Judson,  Hall,  Newell,  and  Nott,  as  its  missionaries,  with  a 
designation  to  the  Burman  empire,  recommending,  however,  that  they 
should  continue  their  studies  for  a  time. 

In  the  preceding  year,  Mr.  Judson  first  met  Miss  Ann  Hasseltine,  with 
whom  he  formed  an  acquaintance  that  led  to  an  offer  of  marriage.  How 
ever  such  a  proposal  might  have  been  viewed  by  her  under  ordinary  cir 
cumstances,  coming  as  it  did  from  one  about  to  be  self-exiled  for  missionary 
service,  in  a  distant  land,  and  among  a  semi-barbarous  people,  it  was  no 
\vonder  that  she  hesitated.  With  qualities  that  fitted  her  to  move  in  the 
choicest  society,  and  sensibilities  that  might  well  shrink  from  the  eminent 
self-denial  involved  in  acceptance  of  the  prosposal,  her  devoted  piety  gave 
her  power  to  sympathize  with  the  missionary's  spirit.  Her  decision  was 
deliberately  made,  to  share  his  sufferings  and  toils  and  unselfish  joys.  In 
her  Mr.  Judson  found  a  most  fortunate  companion,  and  the  cause  of  mis 
sions  an  unrivaled  ornament.  "  Together,  they  were  a  pair  peculiarly  qual 
ified  for  mutual  support  in  founding  a  mission  against  obstacles  few  would 
have  ventured  to  encounter,  and  fewer  still  would  have  had  strength  to 
overcome.  The  future  was  not  indeed  foreseen,  but  its  possibilities  were 
present  to  their  minds.  In  asking  her  father's  assent  to  their  union, 
extenuating  nothing.  Mr.  Judson  frankly  asked  whether  he  could  "  con 
sent  to  her  exposure  to  the  dangers  of  the  ocean  ;  to  the  fatal  influence 
of  the  southern  climate  of  India ;  to  every  kind  of  want  and  distress  ;  to 
degradation,  to  insult,  persecution,  and  perhaps  a  violent  death."  The 
sacrifice  was  made,  a  sense  of  duty  overcame  the  promptings  of  parental 
tenderness,  and  the  youthful  pair,  bound  together  by  ties  of  united  duty 
and  affection,  prepared  for  their  departure.  They  were  married  on  the  5th 
of  February,  1812,  and  on  the  day  following,  Mr.  Judson,  with  his  four  col 
leagues,  Messrs.  Hall,  Newell,  Nott,  and  Rice,  received  ordination  at  Salem. 
Me-srs.  Judson  and  Newell,  with  their  wives,  sailed  from  Salem  on  the  19th 
in  the  bark  Caravan,  for  Calcutta,  and  the  rest  of  the  company  from  Phil- 
adelphia  on  the  18th,  for  the  same  destination. 

The  Caravan  arrived  at  Calcutta  on  the  18th  of  June.  The  mission 
aries  were  cordially  welcomed  by  Dr.  Carey,  and  invited  to  await  at  Seram- 


OF  AMERICANS,  .   515 

pore  the  arrival  of  their  associates.  They  accepted  the  invitation,  and  were 
received  with  marked  kindness  by  the  mission  family.  Their  enjoyment 
was  rudely  interrupted.  In  about  ten  days  they  received  a  summons  to 
Calcutta.  There  a  government  order  was  served  upon  them  to  return  im 
mediately  to  America.  Their  position  was  embarrassing.  The  state  of  the 
Burman  empire,  their  original  destination,  seemed  to  forbid  the  present  es 
tablishment  of  a  mission  there.  To  leave  Calcutta  then,  was  apparently  to 
abandon  their  whole  enterprise.  They  finally  asked  and  obtained  leave  to 
sail  to  the  Isle  of  France,  whither  a  vessel  then  in  the  river  was  bound. 
The  vessel  could  take  but  two  passengers,  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Newell  em 
barked  in  her,  leaving  their  companions  to  follow  by  the  first  opportunity. 
Mr.  Judson  remained  two  months  in  Calcutta,  during  which  time  that 
change  took  place  in  his  views  which  sundered  his  present  relations  as  a 
missionary,  and  was  made  the  instrument  of  enlisting  a  new  agency  in  the 
work  of  human  evangelization. 

While  on  his  passage  from  America,  as  he  was  engaged  in  the  study  of 
the  original  Scriptures,  his  attention  was  drawn  to  the  subject  of  Baptism. 
The  reflection  that  he  was  soon  to  meet  Baptist  missionaries,  and  that  he 
might  be  called  to  defend  his  faith  on  the  points  of  difference  between 
them — an  apprehension  which  turned  out  to  be  groundless — led  him  to 
study  the  subject  more  closely.  Before  reaching  any  conclusion,  his  arrival 
at  Calcutta  and  subsequent  difficulties  arrested  the  inquiry.  He  resumed  it 
after  the  departure  of  Mr.  Newell,  and  ended  by  adopting  the  sentiments 
of  the  Baptists.  It  cost  him  a  severe  struggle  to  arrive  at  a  conclusion  that 
must  sever  him  from  the  patronage  of  the  Board  that  had  honored  him 
by  its  confidence,  and  leave  him  to  the  contingency  of  gaining  support  from 
a  communion  with  whose  members,  saving  two  or  three  individual  excep 
tions,  he  had  no  personal  acquaintance.  On  first  learning  the  state  of  his 
mind,  Mrs.  Judson  was  much  distressed,  but  after  a  similar  investigation, 
her  views  were  conformed  to  his.  They  were  baptized  on  the  6th  of  Sep 
tember. 

Mr.  Rice  united  with  Messrs.  Hall  and  Nott  in  a  regretful  communica 
tion  of  this  "  trying  event"  to  the  Board.  But  his  own  mind  was  excited 
to  a  review  of  his  opinions,  and  in  a  few  weeks  followed  the  example  of 
Mr.  Judson.  They  resigned  their  commission  from  the  Board,  and  wrote 
letters  appealing  to  American  Baptists  for  sympathy  and  aid.  Meanwhile, 
it  became  necessary  to  take  immediate  measures  to  find  a  refuge  from  the 
hostility  of  the  East  India  Company,  which  was  heightened  by  intelligence 
of  war  between  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States,  and  by  the  suspicion, 
from  their  protacted  stay,  that  the  missionaries  designed  to  remain  per 
manently  at  Calcutta.  They  were  peremptorily  ordered  to  take  passage 
for  England  ;  and  in  this  emergency,  they  engaged  a  passage  to  the  Isle 
of  France.  They  had  gone  down  the  river  for  two  days,  when  an  order 
came,  arresting  the  vessel,  on  the  ground  that  she  had  on  board  pas 
sengers  ordered  to  England.  All  escape  now  seemed  impossible;  but 
after  remaining  on  shore  three  days,  they  received  from  an  unknown  hand 
a  pass  authorizing  their  passage  in  the  ship  they  had  left.  By  two  days' 
hard  rowing,  a  distance  of  seventy  miles,  they  reached  Saugur,  and  found  the 
vessel  providentially  lying  at  anchor. 
33 


516  -ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

They  arrived  at  the  Isle  of  France  on  the  17th  of  January.  The  hos 
tility  of  the  East  Indian  government  followed  them  :  the  governor  received 
a  notice  to  look  carefully  after  them  as  suspicious  persons.  To  this  he  paid 
no  attention,  and  on  the  contrary  treated  them  with  much  kindness,  offer 
ing  them,  if  they  chose  to  remain  on  the  island,  his  countenance  in  their 
work.  But  it  was  not  a  desirable  field  for  missionary  labor.  They  thought 
of  Madagascar,  but  a  mission  there  appeared  impracticable,  and  it  was  &t 
last  decided  to  attempt  one  at  Pinang,  or  Prince  of  Wales'  Island,  for  whi  h 
purpose  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Judson  embarked  for  Madras.  In  the  meantime,  Mr. 
Rice  returned  to  America,  to  effect  in  person  with  the  Baptists  the  needful  ar 
rangements  for  their  support.  Tidings  of  the  unexpected  event,  that  threw 
upon  the  sympathies  of  the  denomination  two  missionaries  already  provi 
dentially  in  India,  had  preceded  him,  and  he  received  a  cordial  welcome. 
Auxiliary  societies  were  formed,  and  a  meeting  of  delegates  assembled  in 
Philadelphia,  by  whom  was  formed  the  Baptist  General  Convention,  more 
recently  organized  by  the  name  of  the  American  Baptist  Missionary  Union. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Judson  were  adopted  as  their  missionaries,  while  Mr.  Rice 
remained  to  give  his  services  to  the  domestic  agency  of  the  Convention. 

Where  the  appointed  missionaries  would  labor  was  not,  indeed,  known 
even  to  themselves.  On  reaching  Madras  they  heard  of  the  order  for  the 
transportation  of  the  American  missionaries  from  Bombay  to  England.  Dread 
ing  the  like  treatment,  they  made  all  haste  to  escape  from  British  domin 
ions.  There  was  no  outward  bound  vessel  in  the  harbor,  except  an  unsea- 
worthy  craft  about  to  sail  for  Rangoon,  the  principal  port  of  the  Burman 
empire.  In  this  they  took  passage,  and,  after  braving  numerous  perils, 
reached  their  destination  in  July,  1813,  resolved,  if  practicable,  to  remain 
there.  The  trials  they  had  met  with  providentially  overruled  the  appre 
hensions  that  caused  them  to  shrink  from  a  mission  in  Burmah,  and  brought 
them  to  the  place  of  their  original  destination.  The  day  of  their  arrival 
was  one  of  gloom.  Uncertain  as  to  the  issue  of  their  enterprise,  lonely 
from  the  want  of  Christian  society,  and  without  intelligence  from,  friends  at 
home,  they  went  on  shore,  scarcely  knowing  whither  they  should  go.  The 
health  of  Mrs.  Judson,  moreover,  had  suffered  from  excitement,  fatigue,  and 
danger,  so  that  she  was  scarcely  able  to  land.  They  found  shelter  and  the 
temporary  companionship  of  Mrs.  Felix  Carey,  in  the  mission-house  that 
had  been  occupied  about  five  years  by  English  missionaries,  but  was  now  to 
bo  abandoned  for  the  occupancy  of  others  to  whom  the  evangelization  of 
Burmah  was  manifestly  committed. 

The  Burman  empire,  then  including  Arracan  and  the  Tenasserim  prov 
inces,  of  which  it  has  been  stripped,  and  Cassay,  a  part  of  which  is  now 
independent,  is  an  absolute  despotism.  The  monarch  is  styled  the  "  Master 
of  Life  and  Death,"  and  his  edicts  are  the  unquestioned  law  of  the  land. 
The  country  is  divided  into  districts,  each  under  the  rule  of  a  viceroy,  or 
governor,  by  whom  the  imperial  decrees  are  executed  on  the  whole  people-. 

The  religion  of  Burmah,  if  such  it  may  be  called,  is  Boodhism,  a  super- 
gtition  which  enslaves  nearly  one-third  of  the  human  race.  It  acknowl 
edges  no  living  or  intelligent  first  cause,  but  affirms  the  eternity  of  matter. 
It  holds  that  four  Boodhs,  or  deities,  have  successively  appeared  at  inter 
vals  of  several  thousand  years,  and  have  been  absorbed  into  Nicban,  a  state 


OF  AMERICANS.  517 

of  entire  unconsciousness  or  annihilation,  which  is  regarded  as  the  highest 
reward  of  virtue.  The  last  Boodh,  Gaudama,  appeared  about  the  year 
B.  C.  600,  became  Boodh  at  the  age  of  thirty-five,  and  forty-five  years  after 
was  absorbed.  As  thousands  of  years  will  elapse  before  the  appearance  of 
another,  the  system  is  meanwhile  one  of  pure  atheism.  The  objects  of 
adoration  are  images  and  relics  of  Gaudama,  to  whom  numerous  templei 
are  erected,  served  by  a  large  body  of  priests,  who  are  bound  to  celibacy, 
and  subsist  by  alms.  The  only  religious  pursuit  of  the  people  is  the  ac 
quisition  of  merit  by  alms  deeds  and  austerities. 

Boodhism  is  superior  to  other  forms  of  paganism,  in  its  moral  feafriires. 
It  does  not  deify  lust,  revenge,  or  cupidity.  It  has  five  moral  precepts  : 
Thou  shalt  not  kill ;  thou  shalt  not  steal ;  thou  shalt  not  commit  adultery  ; 
thou  shalt  not  lie  ;  thou  shalt  use  no  intoxicating  liquor.  But  as  it  recog 
nizes  no  eternal  and  Supreme  Deity,  leaving  the  universe  to  the  force  of  a 
blind  destiny  :  it  imposes  no  adequate  restraint  on  the  depraved  passions 
of  its  devotees.  With  many  professions  of  ascetism,  they  show  all  the 
vices  with  which  the  history  of  heathen  nations  is  uniformly  darkened. 
The  people  are  naturally  active  and  energetic,  with  acute  minds,  lively 
imaginations,  and  a  freedom  of  social  intercourse  unknown  to  most  ori 
ental  nations,  but  the  debasing  influences  of  an  atheistic  philosophy  and 
tyrannical  government  have  made  them  indolent,  unfeeling,  suspicious  and 
cruel. 

More  than  a  year  elapsed  before  Mr.  Judson  heard  of  the  formation  of 
the  Baptist  General  Convention.  For  three  years  he  was  busied  in  learn 
ing  the  language,  which  is  one  of  peculiar  difficulty,  and  undertaken,  as  it 
was,  without  grammar,  dictionary,  or  a  teacher  speaking  English,  almost 
insurmountable.  But  he  had  great  aptitude  for  philological  investigation, 
and  foreign  as  its  idiom  is  to  the  mental  habits  of  western  nations,  he  made 
the  Burmese  so  much  his  own,  that  he  ultimately  used  it  with  all  the  free 
dom  of  a  native.  His  first  labors  were  directed  to  the  preparation  of  a 
tract,  entitled  a  Summary  of  the  Christian  Religion.  He  was  commencing 
a  translation  of  the  New  Testament,  when  he  found  himself  so  much  en 
feebled  by  continuous  study,  that  he  was  compelled  to  suspend  his  exer 
tions,  and  think  of  seeking  a  temporary  change  of  climate.  The  arrival  of 
Rev.  George  II.  Hough  at  Rangoon,  to  reinforce  the  mission,  caused  him 
to  relinquish  this  purpose.  Mr.  Hough  brought  a  printing-press,  the  gift  of 
the  Serampore  mission,  by  which  the  tract  just  mentioned  and  a  catechism 
were  soon  ready  for  circulation.  A  translation  of  the  Gospel  of  Matthew 
was  next  undertaken,  and  printed  in  the  course  of  the  following  year. 

The  tracts  were  not  without  effect  in  calling  the  attention  of  the  people'to 
the  "new  religion."  In  March,  1817,  an  intelligent  man,  with  great  serious 
ness  of  manner,  came  to  the  mission-house  as  an  inquirer,  from  whom  Mr. 
Judson  caught  with  grateful  wonder,  "the  first  acknowledgment  of  an 
eternal  God  he  had  ever  heard  from  the  lips  of  a  Burman."  It  was  now 
resolved  to  commence  public  preaching,  and  in  December,  Mr.  Judson 
sailed  for  Chittagong,  in  Arracan,  to  obtain  the  services  of  a  native  Christian 
as  an  assistant.  The  vessel  was  driven  out  of  its  course,  and  he  was  landed 
at  Madras,  where  he  was  detained  till  the  June  following.  Great  anxiety 
was  excited  at  Rangoon  by  information  from  Chittagong,  that  the  vessel 


518  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

had  not  been  heard  from.  To  add  to  the  perplexity  of  their  situation,  the 
missionaries  were  startled  by  a  summons,  couched  in  menacing  terms,  com 
manding  Mr.  Hough's  presence  at  the  court-house.  The  viceroy  had  hith 
erto  treated  them  with  respect  and  kindness  ;  the  change  was  equally  mvs- 
terious  and  alarming.  It  afterward  appeared  that  a  royal  order  for  the 
expulsion  of  three  Portuguese  priests,  from  the  laxity  of  its  terms,  had 
been  held  to  include  all  foreign  religious  teachers.  After  some  day's  alarm 
and  vexation,  Mr.  Hough  was  released  from  arrest,  but  these  events,  together 
with  rumors  of  war  with  the  British  Indian  government,  excited  such  fear, 
that  he  set  sail  for  Bengal,  taking  with  him  the  chief  part  of  the  printing 
apparatus.  Mrs.  Judson  at  first  proposed  to  share  his  flight,  an-d  actually 
went  on  board  the  vessel,  but  finally  determined,  though  alone,  and  uncer 
tain  whether  her  husband  was  living,  to  remain  at  Rangoon,  and  there 
await  his  coming,  or  the  tidings  that  should  confirm  her  darkest  forebod 
ings.  In  a  few  days  her  heroic  decision  was  rewarded  by  Mr.  Judson's 
return,  and  not  long  after,  Rev.  Messrs.  Coleman  and  Wheelock  arrived 
from  the  United  States  to  join  the  misston.  Their  presence  was  hailed 
with  the  liveliest  satisfaction,  but  it  soon  became  painfully  evident  that 
neither  had  the  physical  strength  to  endure  the  toils  of  missionary  life. 

Though  foiled  in  the  purpose  for  which  his  voyage  to  Chittagong  was  un 
dertaken,  Mr.  Judson  went  forward  with  his  design  to  attempt  public 
preaching.  The  comparatively  quiet  manner  in  which  the  mission  had 
hitherto  been  conducted  screened  them  from  official  jealousy,  but  with  a 
change  of  policy  this  security  would  be  at  an  end.  Trusting,  however,  in 
the  divine  protection,  the  decisive  step  was  taken.  A  zayat, — a  building 
which  in  Burmah  answers  the  two-fold  purpose  of  an  inn  or  caravansery 
and  an  edifice  for  public  meetings, — was  erected  on  an  eligible  site,  and 
opened  for  worship  in  April,  1819.  A  small  congregation  was  gathered, 
and  the  only  living  and  true  God  was  for  the  first  time  publicly  adored, 
and  his  message  of  mercy  proclaimed  in  the  Burmese  language. 

The  thirtieth  of  April  was  a  memorable  day  :  Moung  Nau,  the  first 
Burman  convert,  then  made  his  appearance  at  the  zayat.  He  continued 
his  visits  daily,  till,  on  the  5th  of  May,  Mr.  Judson  recorded  his  confident 
hope  that  a  soul  was  truly  won.  "  It  seems  almost  too  much,"  he  says, 
"to  believe  that  God  has  begun  to  manifest  his  grace  to  the  Burmans.;  but 
this  day  I  could  not  resist  the  delightful  conviction  that  this  is  really  the 
case.  PRAISE  AND  GLO!IY  BE  TO  HIS  NAME  FOB  EVERMORE.  Amen."  On 
the  5th  of  June,  Moung  Nau  presented  a  written  application  for  baptism, 
which  was  administered  on  the  27th  in  "a  large  pond  in  the  vicinity,  the 
bank  of  which  is  graced  with  an  enormous  image  of  Gaudama."  The  first 
success  was  gained,  the  first  living  stone  laid  for  the  spiritual  temple  that 
is  to  glorify  God  in  Burmah. 

Two  additional  converts  were  received  to  the  fellowship  of  the  church 
in  November.  Others  were  inquiring,  among  them  Moung  Shwa  Gnong, 
a  learned  man  and  subtle  reasoner,  who  engaged  Mr.  Judson  in  animated 
discussions  for  a  considerable  time.  At  last  he  confessed  his  belief  in  the 
truths  of  Christianity.  The  viceroy  was  informed  that  he  had  changed  his 
religion.  "Inquire  further,"  was  his  significant  order.  Moung  Shwa 
Gnong  was  terrified.  The  other  inquirers  shared  his  apprehensions,  and 


OF  AMERICANS.  519 

the  zayat  was  deserted  except  by  the  three  Christian  Burmans.  Under  these 
circumstances,  an  appeal  to  the  king  appeared  to  the  mission  the  only  re 
source.  Fear  restrained  the  people,  and  only  a  pledge  of  toleration  by  the 
government,  it  seemed,  would  enable  them  to  prosecute  their  work  with 
ihe  hope  of  success. 

Messrs.  Judson  and  Coleman  accordingly  set  out,  on  the  22d  of  Decem 
ber,  to  ascend  the  Irrawadi  to  Amarapoora,  then  the  capital  of  the  empire. 
Mr.  Wheelock  was  no  more,  having  died  in  August  They  reached  tho 
"golden  city"  on  the  25th  of  January.  On  the  27th,  the  king  having  sig 
nified  his  willingness  to  see  them,  they  repaired  to  the  palace,  taking  with 
them,  the  Bible,  in  six  volumes,  gilded  in  Burman  style,  as  a  present  to  the 
king,  a  revised  copy  of  the  "Summary  of  the  Christian  Religion"  for  his 
majesty's  information,  and  a  respectful  prayer  for  toleration.  Moung  Zah, 
one  of  the  chief  ministers,  conducted  them  to  a  magnificent  hall,,  where 
they  awaited  the  royal  presence.  The  "golden  foot"  approached.  "He 
came,"  says  Mr.  Judson,  "  unattended, — in  solitary  grandeur, — exhibiting 
the  proud  gait  and  majesty  of  an  eastern  monarch.  He  strided  on.  Every 
head  excepting  ours  was  now  in  the  dust.  We  remained  kneeling,  our 
hands  folded,  our  eyes  fixed  on  the  monarch.  When  he  drew  near  we  at 
tracted  his  attention.  He  stopped,  partly  turned  toward  us; — 'Who  are 
these  ?'  '  The  teachers,  great  king,'  I  replied.  *  What,  you  speak  Bur 
man  ? '  "  After  a  series  of  questions  respecting  themselves  and  their 
nation,  the  petition  was  read  aloud.  He  took  it  in  his  hand,  and  read  it 
deliberately  through.  Without  saying  a  word,  he  returned  it,  and  took  the 
tract.  He  held  it  long  enough  to  read  the  first  two  sentences,  which  af 
firmed  the  existence  one  eternal  God,  and  dashed  it  to  the  ground.  The 
present  was  unfolded,  but  no  notice  was  taken  of  it.  The  minister  inter 
preted  the  royal  silence  in  these  words  :  "In  regard  to  the  objects  of  your 
petition,  his  majesty  gives  no  order.  In  regard  to  your  sacred  books,  his 
majesty  has  no  use  for  them  ; — take  them  away." 

Some  further  efforts  were  made  to  accomplish  their  purpose,  but  in  vain. 
Exhausted  with  fatigue  and  excitement,  disappointment  of  their  object, 
and  looking  for  the  certain  abandonment  of  their  mission,  they  returned  to 
Rangoon.  On  their  way  they  met  Moung  Shwa  Gnong,  and  related  the 
failure  of  their  petition.  He  showed  less  alarm  than  they  expected,  and 
calmly  reaffirmed  his  faith  in  Christianity.  At  Rangoon  they  disclosed  their 
sad  tidings  to  the  three  disciples,  and  intimated  their  intention  to  remove  to 
the  border  of  Arracan,  among  a  Burman  population  under  British  protection. 
To  their  surprise,  the  disciples,  so  far  from  being  disheartened,  vied  with 
each  other  in  expressions  of  courageous  zeal.  If  the  missionaries  removed, 
they  would  accompany  them  ;  if  not,  they  Would  stand  by  them.  They 
earnestly  desired  that  Rangoon  might  not  be  abandoned, — and  it  was  not. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Judson  remained  where  they  were.  Mr.  Coleman  fixed  his 
abode  at  Chittagong,  to  provide  a  retreat  for  them  in  case  of  danger.  But 
his  time  was  short.  In  a  littlo  more  than  two  years  he  fell  a  martyr  to  tha 
intensity  of  his  zeal. 

The  missionary  pair  were  alone  at  Rangoon,  but  were  cheered  by  the 
constancy  of  the  disciples  and  the  visits  of  inquirers.  Three  persons  were 
added  to  their  little  church  in  the  spring  and  summer  of  1820.  The  health 


520  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

of  Mrs.  Jndson  required  a  voyage  to  Bengal,  in  which  it  was  necessary 
that  she  should  be  accompanied  by  her  husband.  Four  additional  converts, 
one  of  them  the  learned  Moung  Shwa  Gnong,  and  another  a  female  disci 
ple,  the  first  of  her  sex  in  Burmah,  applied  for  baptism,  arid  received  the 
rite  before  their  departure.  Thus,  against  all  discouragements,  the  work 
went  on.  They  had  acquired  the  language,  a  grammar  and  dictionary  wero 
compiled,  the  Gospel  of  Matthew  and  some  tracts  had  been  printed,  the 
Epistle  to  the  Ephesians  was  translated,  public  worship  established,  and 
in  the  face  of  the  royal  frown  ten  persons  had  made  an  open  profession 
of  Christianity.  After  about  six  months'  residence  in  Bengal,  the  mission 
aries  returned  to  Rangoon  in  January,  1821.  They  were  joyfully  welcomed 
by  the  disciples,  who,  though  without  the  regular  means  of  grace,  and  dis 
persed  through  fear  of  petty  officers,  had  continued  steadfast  in  the  faith, 
and  another  was  added  to  their  number  in  March. 

The  improvement  in  Mrs.  Judson's  health  was  transient,  and  in  the  sum 
mer  of  1821  she  visited  America,  where  she  spent  about  a  year.  The 
voyage  was  undertaken  alone,  as  Mr.  Judson  felt  that  in  the  present  state  of 
his  work  he  could  not  leave  Rangoon.  By  the  publication  of  a  history  of 
the  mission,  and  her  personal  appeals,  she  deepened  the  public  inter 
est  for  its  furtherance,  and  on  her  return  was  accompanied  by  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Wade,  appointed  to  reinforce  them.  During  her  absence  Mr.  Judson, 
besides  forwarding  the  translation  of  the  New  Testament,  had  gathered 
several  converts,  making  the  whole  number  eighteen.  The  arrival  of  Dr. 
Price,  who  joined  the  mission  soon  after  Mrs.  Judson's  departure,  led  to 
another  visit  to  the  capital,  the  king  having  heard  of  his  medical  skill,  and 
ordered  him  to  report  himself  immediately  at  court.  Mr.  Judson  accom 
panied  him,  with  the  hope  of  making  a  more  favorable  impression  respect 
ing  his  missionary  labors.  For  some  time  no  notice  was  taken  of  him, 
except  as  interpreter  of  Dr.  Price,  who  received  very  kind  attention.  After 
three  days'  attendance  at  the  palace,  his  majesty  condescended  to  ask  some 
questions  about  his  religion,  and  put  the  alarming  interrogatory  whether 
any  had  embraced  it.  The  evasive  answer,  "  Not  here,"  would  not  do. 
"Are  there  any  at  Rangoon  ?"  "There  are  a  few."  "Are  they  Burmans 
or  foreigners  ?"  The  truth  must  out.  "  There  are  some  Burmans  and 
some  foreigners."  The  king  showed  no  displeasure,  but  calmly  continued 
the  conversation. 

By  some  of  the  ministers  and  officers  in  the  court  Mr.  Judson  was 
treated  with  much  consideration,  and  the  claims  of  Christianity  were  freely 
and  candidly  discussed.  The  king  was  pleased  to  direct  that  the  mission 
aries  should  remain  at  Ava,  and  land  was  given  them  for  the  erection  of 
dwellings.  These  arrangements  having  been  made,  Mr.  Judson  returned 
to  Rangoon.  Here  he  completed  the  translation  of  the  New  Testament, 
and  composed  an  epitome  of  the  Old,  to  serve  the  converts  till  the  entire 
Scriptures  could  be  put  into  their  hands.  On  the  5th  of  December,  1823, 
he  welcomed  Mrs.  Judson  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wade,  and  immediately  re 
moved  with  his  wife  to  Ava,  "not  knowing  the  things  that  should  befall 
them  there,"  leaving  Mr.  Hough  with  the  new  missionaries  at  Rangoon. 
For  a  little  time  he  preached  in  the  imperial  city,  but  the  work  was  sud 
denly  arrested,  and  the  persons  of  the  missionaries  placed  in  great  peril,  by 


OF  AMERICANS.  521 

the  commencement  of  a  war  with  the  British  East  Indian  government. 
Mrs.  Judson  had  been  warned  of  the  probability  of  such  an  event  on  her 
arrival  at  Calcutta,  from  the  United  States,  but  disregarded  the  advice  of 
her  friends  to  forbear  returning  to  Burmah. 

The  storm  burst  soon-er  than  had  been  anticipated.  The  encroachments 
of  the  Burmans  on  the  territories  of  the  East  India  Company  had  beeu 
.ong  complained  of,  but  the  king,  with  ignorant  vanity,  attributed  the  re 
monstrances  of  the  English  to  fear.  He  collected  an  army  to  invade  Ben 
gal,  with  instructions  to  bring  the  governor-general  in  golden  fetters  to  Ava ! 
The  English  resolved  to  anticipate  his  movements,  and  in  May,  1824,  a 
force  of  six  thousand  men,  under  command  of  Sir  Archibald  Campbell,  at 
tacked  Rangoon.  The  viceroy  forthwith  ordered  the  arrest  of  every  person 
in  town,  "  who  wore  a  hat."  Messrs.  Hough  and  Wade  were  seized,  and 
condemned  to  instant  death,  but  were  reprieved,  and  after  much  suffering 
were  released  by  the  English.  They  then  removed  with  all  speed  to  Ben 
gal,  where  Mr.  Wade  pursued  the  study  of  the  language,  and  put  to  press 
Mr.  Judson's  Burman  dictionary,  a  work  of  modest  pretensions,  but  of  no 
little  utility. 

For  two  years  no  information  was  received  of  the  fate  of  the  missionaries 
at  Ava.  Whether  they  were  murdered  at  the  first  outbreak  of  hostilities, 
or  worn  out  by  slower  tortures,  or  still  lingered  in  captivity,  could  not  be 
conjectured.  The  suspense  was  almost  intolerable.  And  when  the  silence 
was  broken  by  tidings  of  their  safety,  the  general  joy  was  mingled  with  inex 
pressible  sympathy,  at  the  recital  of  sufferings  more  dreadful  than  the  pains 
of  death,  visited  upon  their  devoted  heads. 

The  news  of  the  capture  of  Rangoon  by  the  English  had  reached  Ava, 
Sunday,  May  23d,  1824.  Soon  after  a  rumor  was  circulated  that  papers  had 
been  received  from  Bengal,  which  made  known  the  purpose  of  the  British 
to  make  an  attack  at  that  point  In  consequence  of  this  report  certain 
Englishmen  at  Ava  were  examined.  It  was  found  that  they  had  seen  the 
papers,  and  they  were  put  in  confinement,  and  subsequently  transferred  to 
the  death-prison. 

It  being  known  that  the  American  missionaries  had  frequent  communica 
tions  with  Bengal,  the  suspicion  that  they  were  spies  soon  rested  on  them, 
but  after  examination  they  were  allowed  to  return  to  their  homes.  They 
had  but  a  short  respite.  On  the  8th  of  June,  as  Mr.  Judson  was  prepar 
ing  for  dinner,  the  veranda  of  his  dwelling  was  suddenly  thronged  with 
people,  and  an  officer,  holding  a  black  book,  rushed  in,  "accompanied  by 
one  who,  from  his  spotted  face,  was  known  to  be  an  executioner  and  a  son 
of  the  prison.  'Where  is  the  teacher?'  was  the  first  inquiry.  Mr.  Judson 
presented  himself.  '  You  are  called  by  the  king,'  said  the  officer — a  form 
of  speech  always  used  when  about  to  arrest  a  criminal."  He  was  instantly 
seized,  thrown  on  the  floor,  tightly  bound  with  cords,  and  struck  with  the 
knees  and  elbows  in  the  act  of  being  secured.  These  cords  were  so  firmly 
bound  round  his  arms  that  the  skin  was  cut. 

An  offer  of  money  on  the  part  of  Mrs.  Judson  drew  the  attention  of  tho 
officer  to  her,  and  a  command  was  given  to  the  spotted  face  to  take  her 
likewise  ;  and  but  for  the  earnest  entreaties  of  Mr.  Judson  that  they  would 
wait  for  further  instructions,  it  is  probable  she  would  have  been  subjected  to 


522  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

like  indignities.  It  was  in  vain  that  the  spotted  face  was  entreated  to  take 
the  silver  and  loosen  the  cords,  and  thus  bound  Mr.  Judson  was  removed 
from  his  house.  In  a  short  time  he  was  again  thrown  down,  the  cords 
drawn  more  tightly,  and  repeated  strokes  of  the  knee  made  on  his  back,  so 
as  almost  to  induce  fainting.  Money  was  then  demanded  for  loosening  tho 
cords.  "A  Christian  native,  who  had  followed  at  a  distance,  now  came 
forward  and  offered  to  go  back  for  the  money,  but  before  his  return  the 
anguish  endured  was  so  great  that  Mr.  Judson  was  obliged  to  appeal  to  the 
numerous  bystanders.  '  Is  there  no  one  who  knows  me  ?  Is  there  no  one 
who  will  be  my  security  for  the  money — no  one  who  pities  me?  I  am  a 
priest,  and  though  a  foreign  one,  deserve  not  such  indignity,  such  torture.' 
But  none  stepped  forward,  and  the  cruel  monster  persisted  in  tightening  tho 
cords  until  the  arrival  of  Moung  Ing,  with  ten  ticals  of  pure  silver,  when 
his  arms  were  somewhat  relieved,  so  as  to  allow  a  more  free  respiration,  and 
he  was  again  hurried  forward  a  distance  of  nearly  two  miles  to  the  prison- 
house.  Here  the  order  to  commit  the  missionaries  to  the  death-prison  was 
read.  According  to  Dr.  Price,  it  was  very  laconic.  "P.  and  J.  catch  and 
put  in  prison."  The  .dreaded  functionary  who  presided  over  this  fearful 
abode,  immediately  took  charge  of  Mr.  Judson,  who,  having  been  fettered 
with  three  pairs  of  irons,  was  "strung"  on  a  bamboo  pole,  on  which  were 
five  foreign  residents,  who  had  been  taken  a  few  hours  before.  "At  first," 
according  to  the  testimony  of  Mr.  Laird,  one  of  the  captives,  "the  whole  of 
the  prisoners  had  a  long  bamboo  passed  between  the  legs,  over  the  fetters, 
so  that  one  leg  rested  on  the  bamboo  and  the  other  on  the  platform  on 
which  we  lay." 

A  few  hours  after  Mr.  Judson's  capture,  Dr.  Price  was  seized  a»d  taken 
to  the  same  dreary  abode.  His  sensations  on  entering  the  prison  he  has 
thus  described:  "Horror  of  horrors!  what  a  sight !  Never  to  my  dying 
day  shall  I  forget  the  scene  ;  a  dim  lamp  in  the  midst,  just  making  dark 
ness  visible,  and  discovering  to  my  horrified  gaze  sixty  or  seventy  wretched 
objects,  some  in  long  rows,  made  fast  in  the  stocks,  some  strung  on  poles, 
some  simply  fettered  ;  but  all  sensible  of  a  new  accession  of  misery  in  the. 
approach'  of  a  new  prisoner.  Stupefied,  I  stopped  to  gaze,  till,  goaded  on, 
I  proceeded  toward  the  farther  end,  when  I  again  halted.  A  new  and  unex 
pected  sight  met -my  eyes.  Till  now  I  had  been  kept  in  ignorance  of  the 
fate  of  my  companions  ;  a  long  row  of  white  objects,  stretched  on  the  floor 
in  a  most  crowded  situation,  revealed  to  me,  however,  but  too  well  their 
sad  case."  In  this  company  he  found  Mr.  Judson.  Though  it  might  have 
been  thought  that  the  presence  of  his  associate  would  have  been  almost  a 
cause  of  gladness,  yet  our  subject,  altogether  forgetful  of  himself,  ex- 
cluirned  to  Dr.  Price,  "  We  all  hoped  you  had  escaped,  you  were  so  long 
coming." 

"  Here,"  writes  Dr.  Price,  "side  by  side  we  were  allowed  the  only  gratifi 
cation  left,  of  condoling  in  the  Burmah  language  with  each  other.  'Now 
you  are  arrived,  and  our  number  is  complete,  I  suppose  they  will  proceed 
to  murder  us,'  was  the  first  thing  suggested,  and  no  one  could  say  it  was 
improbable.  To  prepare  for  a  violent  death,  for  immediate  execution,  w.aa 
our  consequent  resolution.  And  now  we  began  to  feel  our  Strength,  our 
Strong-hold,  our  Deliverer  in  this  dark  abode  of  misery." 


OF  AMERICANS.  503 

Thus  did  the  Lord  manifest  his  presence  to  his  servants,  though  they 
had  no  bed  but  the  filthy,  greasy  floor  of  the  prison,  and  were  unable  to 
move  their  bodies  for  the  bamboo  which  passed  through  their  limbs.  At 
the  same  time  the  stench  was  almost  intolerable ;  and  the  night  being 
rainy,  the  water  found  a  ready  entrance  through  the  boards  of  their  prison. 

Mrs.  Judson  was  placed  under  surveillance  for  the  first  two  days  of  her 
husband's  incarceration,  but  on  the  third  day  she  was  relieved  from  the 
presence  of  her  guard,  and  having  visited  the  governor,  obtained  from  him 
an  order  for  admission  to  the  prison.  In  a  letter  to  Dr.  Elnathan  Judson, 
she  says  :  '  The  sensations  produced  by  meeting  your  brother  in  that 
wretched,  horrid  situation,  and  the  affecting  scene  which  ensued,  I  will  not 
attempt  to  describe.  Mr.  Judson  crawled  to  the  door  of  the  prison — for  I 
was  not  allowed  to  enter — gave  me  some  directions  relative  to  his  release; 
but  before  we  could  make  any.  arrangements  I  was  ordered  to  depart  by 
those  iron-hearted  jailors,  who  could  not  endure  to  see  us  enjoy  the  poor 
consolation  of  meeting  in  that  miserable  place.  In  vain  I  pleaded  the 
order  from  the  governor  for  my  admittance ;  they  again  harshly  repeated, 
'  Depart,  or  we  will  pull  you  out.'  " 

Having  made  a  payment  of  a  hundred  ticals  for  each  of  the  missionaries, 
"the  same  evening,"  Mrs.  Judson  writes,  "the  missionaries,  together  with 
the  other  foreigners,  who  paid  an  equal  sum,  where  taken  out  of  the  com 
mon  prison,  apd  confined  in  an  open  shed  in  the  prison  inclosure.  Here  I 
was  allowed  to  send  them  food,  and  mats  to  sleep  on  ;  but  was  not  permit 
ted  to  enter  again  for  several  days." 

One  of  the  first  scenes  which  the  missionaries  were  compelled  to  behold 
was  the  torture  of  a  criminal,  whose  shoulders  and  hip  joints  were  almost 
or  quite  dislocated  by  the  ingenious  appliances  of  Burman  cruelty.  "  We 
only  anticipated,"  Dr.  Price  says,  "  in  every  contortion  and  groan  of  the  un 
happy  man  the  state  we  might  soon  be  in.'*  Then  there  was  reason  for 
great  alarm  on  account  of  the  keeper  to  whose  charge  they  were  chiefly 
committed,  for,  like  most  Burman  constables,  he  was  a  reprieved  malefac 
tor.  As  described  by  Mr.  Crawford,  who  saw  him  in  1856,  he  was  "an  old 
man  of  sixty,  lean,  and  of  a  most  villainous  countenance.  He  was  by  birth 
of  the  tribe  of  the  Kynes,  had  murdered  his  master,  and  had  a  large  circle 
on  each  cheek,  with  the  Burman  words  '  Lu  that,'  or  man-killer,  in  very 
large  letters  on  his  breast."  This  man  seemed  to  delight  in  the  sufferings 
of  those  committed  to  his  charge.  In  addition  to  these  things,  Mr.  Judson 
thought  of  a  wife  just  returned  from  the  refined  society  of  England  and 
America,  liable  to  all  the  savage  cruelties  he  was  enduring.  Already  she 
had  been  threatened  with  violence,  and  in  every  effort  to  minister  to  him 
she  was  at  fearful  peril. 

The  presence  of  Mrs.  Judson,  though  a  cause  of  anxiety,  was  r  everthe- 
less  an  incalculable  blessing.  Her  heroic  and'  unfaltering  intercessions  with 
those  in  authority,  combined  with  her  personal  ministry  for  his  relief,  to  all 
human  appearance,  were  indispensable  to  the  preservation  of  his  life. 

When  first  incarcerated,  Mrs.  Judson  entertained  considerable  hope  that 
relief  might  be  found  for  her  afflicted  partner  if  she  could  secure  the  favor 
able  regard  of  the  queen.  No  person  being  admitted  into  the  palace  who 
was  in  disgrace  with  the  king,  she  determined  to  see  the  sister-in-law  of 


524:         *        ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

her  majesty,  hoping  to  interest  her  in  his  behalf.  This  interview  she  has 
described  :  "1  had  visited  her  in  better  days,  and  received  particular  marks 
of  her  favor.  But  now  times  were  altered  ;  Mr.  Judson  was  in  prison,  and 
I  in  distress,  which  was  a  sufficient  reason  for  giving  me  a  cold  reception. 
I  took  a  present  of  considerable  value.  She  was  lolling  on  her  carpet  as  I 
entered,  with  her  attendants  around  her.  I  waited  not  for. the  usual  ques 
tion  to  a  suppliant,  '  What  do  you  want  ?'  but  in  a  bold,  earnest,  yet  respect 
ful  manner,  stated  our  distresses  and  our  wrongs,  and  begged  her  assistance. 
She  partly  raised  her  head,  opened  the  present  I  had  brought,  and  coolly  re 
plied,  '  Your  case  is  not  singular ;  all  the  foreigners  are  treated  alike.7 
'But  it  is  singular,'  said  I ;  the  teachers  are  Americans  ;  they  are  ministers 
of  religion,  have  nothing  to  do  with  war  or  politics,  and  came  to  Ava  in 
obedience  to  the  king's  command.  They  have  never  done  anything  to 
deserve  such  treatment,  and  is  it  right  they  should  be  treated  thus  ?'  '  The 
king  does  as  he  pleases,'  said  she  ;  '  I  am  not  the  king ;  what  can  I  do  ?' 
'  Yau  can  state  tteir  case  to  the  queen,  and  obtain  their  release,'  replied  I. 
1  Place  yourself  in  my  situation  ;  were  you  in  America,  your  husband,  in 
nocent  of  crime,  thrown  into  prison,  in  irons,  and  you  a  solitary,  unpro 
tected  female,  what  would  you  do  ?  With  a  slight  degree  of  feeling,  she 
said,  'I  will  present  your  petition  ;  come  again  to-morrow.'  " 

Mrs.  Judson  "  returned  to  the  house  with  considerable  hope  that  the 
speedy  release  of  the  missionaries  was  at  hand."  But  her  "  hopes  were 
dashed  "  by  the  announcement — "  I  stated  your  case  to  the  queen,  but  hor 
majesty  replied,  ljtfte  teacliers  will  not  die  ;  let  them  remain  as  they  are.1" 

After  hearing  this  sentence,  Mrs.  Judson,  on  her  way  home,  attempted  to 
enter  the  prison-gate,  but  was  refused  admittance,  and  for  the  ten  days  fol 
lowing,  notwithstanding  her  daily  effort,  was  not  allowed  to  enter.  "  We 
attempted,"  she  says,  "to  communicate  by  writing,  and  after  being  success 
ful  for  a  few  days,  it  was  discovered  ;  the  poor  fellow  who  carried  the  com 
munications  was  beaten  and  put  in  stocks,  and  the  circumstances  cost  me 
about  ten  dollars,  besides  two  or  three  days  of  agony  for  fear  of  the  conse 
quences." 

Afterward  they  discovered  other  and  safer  method  of  correspondence. 
Mrs.  Judson  says  :  "  The  means  which  we  invented  for  communication  were 
such  as  necessity  alone  could  have  suggested.  At  first  I  wrote  to  him  on  a 
flat  cake  baked  for  the  purpose,  and  buried  it  in  a  bowl  of  rice  ;  and  in  return 
he  communicated  his  situation  on  a  piece  of  tile,  on  which,  when  wet  with 
water,  the  writing  became  invisible,  but  when  dried,  perfectly  legible.  But 
after  some  months'  experience,  we  found  the  most  conv-dbient  as  well  as 
safest  mode  of  writing  was  to  roll  up  a  chit  and  put  it  in  the  long  nose  of  a 
coffee-pot  in  which  I  sent  his  tea.  These  circumstances  may  appear  trivial, 
but  they  serve  to  show  to  what  straits  and  shifts  we  were  driven  ;  it  was  a 
crime  of  the  highest  nature  to  be  found  making  communications  to  a  pris 
oner,  however  nearly  related." 

After  being  repulsed  by  the  queen's  sister-in-law,  Mrs.  Judson  says:  "I 
felt  ready  to  sink  down  in  despair,  as  there  was  then  no  hope  of  Mr.  Jud- 
son's  release  from  another  quarter ;  but  a  recollection  of  the  judge  in  the 
parable,  who,  though  he  feared  not  God,  nor  regarded  man,  was  moved  by 
the  importunities  of  a  widow,  induced  me  to  resolve  to  continua  my  visits 


OF  AMERICANS.  525 

until  tLe  object  was  attained.  But  here  also  I  was  disappointed  ;  for  after 
entreating  her  many  times  to  use  her  influence  in  obtaining  the  release  of 
the  missionaries,  she  became  so  irritated  at  my  perseverance  that  she  re 
fused  to  answer  my  questions,  and  told  me  by  her  looks  and  motions  that 
it  would  be  dangerous  to  make  any  further  effort." 

Though  so  often  disappointed,  Mrs.  Judson's  efforts  for  the  release  of  the 
prises  ers  were  not  intermitted.  "For  the  seven  following  months,"  she 
writes,  "  hardly  a  day  passed  that  I  did  not  visit  some  one  of  the  members 
of  the  government  or  branches  of  the  royal  family,  in  order  to  gain  their 
influence  in  our  behalf;  but  the  only  benefit  resulting  was,  their  encouraging 
promises  preserved  us  from  despair,  and  induced  a  hope  of  the  speedy  ter 
mination  of  our  difficulties,  which  enabled  us  to  bear  our  distresses  better 
than  we  otherwise  should  have  done.  I  ought,  however,  to  mention  that, 
by  my  repeated  visits  to  the  different  members  of  government,  I  gained  sev 
eral  friends,  who  were  ready  to  assist  me  with  articles  of  food,  though  in  a 
private  manner,  and  who  used  their  influence  in  the  palace  to  destroy  tho 
impression  of  our  being  in  any  way  engaged  in  the  present  war.  But  no 
one  dared  to  speak  a  word  to  tho  king  or  queen  in  favor  of  a  foreigner 
while  there  were  such  continual  reports  of  the  success  of  the  English 
arms." 

Such  were  some  of  the  events  without  the  prison,  but  it  is  difficult  for 
any  to  realize  what  passed  within.  Month  after  month  of  confinement  and 
anxiety  passed  in  three  pairs  of  fetters.  The  "continual  extortions  and 
oppressions"  of  the  first  seven  months,  one  of  Mrs.  Judson's  letters  de 
clares  "indescribable.  Sometimes  sums  of  money  were  demanded,  some 
times  pieces  of  cloth,  and  handkerchiefs ;  at  other  times  an  order  would  be 
issued  that  the  white  foreigners  should  not  speak  to  each  other,  or  have 
any  communication  with  their  friends  without.  Then,  again,  the  servants 
were  forbidden  to  carry  in  their  food  without  an  extra  fee." 

In  January,  1825,  Mrs.  Judson  became  the  mother  of  a  little  girl. 
When  this  child  was  twenty  days  old,  she  caused  her  to  be  carried  to  the 
prison  as  she  went  to  visit  her  husband.  It  is  difficult  for  a  man  to  con 
ceive  a  more  touching  scene  than  the  subsequent  interview.  Mr.  Judson 
at  this  time  composed  some  verses  which,  not  unlike  the  celebrated  adieu 
of  John  Rogers,  the  martyr,  to  his  ten  bereaved  children,  have  a  value 
wholly  irrespective  of  their  poetic  merits. 

UNE8     ADDRESSED    TO      AN      INFANT     DAUGHTER,    TWENTY    DAYS    OLD,    IN     THK    CON 
DEM  NED    PRISON    AT    AVA. 

Sleep,  darling  infant,  sleep, 

Hushed  on  thy  mother's  breast ; 
Let  no  rude  sound  of  clanking  chains 

Disturb  thy  balmy  rest. 

Sleep,  darling  infant,  sleep, 

Blest  that  thou  canst  not  know 
The  pangs  that  rend  thy  parents'  hearts, 

The  keenness  of  their  woe. 


626  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

Sleep,  darling  infant,  sleep  ; 

May  Heaven  its  blessings  shed, 
In  rich  profusion,  soi't  and  sweet, 

On  thine  unconscious  head  ! 

Why  ope  thy  little  eyes  <j 
What  would  my  darling  see  ? 

Her  sorrowing  mother's  bending  form  1 
Her  father's  misery  "i 

Wouldst  view  this  drear  abode, 

Where  fettered  felons  lie, 
And  wonder  that  thy  father  here 

Such  place  should  occupy  1 

Wouldst  mark  the  dreadful  sights 
That  stoutest  hearts  appal — 

The  stocks,  the  cord,  the  fatal  sword, 
The  torturing  iron  mall  1 

No,  darling  infant,  no : 
Thou  seest  them  not  at  all ; 

Thou  only  mark'st  the  rays  of  light 
That  flit  along  the  wall. 

Thine  untaught  infant  eye 

Can  nothing  clearly  see ; 
Sweet  scenes  of  home  and  prison  scene* 

Are  all  the  same  to  thee. 

Stretch,  then,  thy  little  arms, 

And  roll  thy  vacant  eye ; 
Reposing  on  thy  mother's  breast 

In  soft  security. 

Go,  darling  infant,  go  ; 

Thine  hour  is  past  away ; 
The  jailor's  voice,  in  accents  harsh, 

Forbids  thy  longer  stay. 

God  grant  that  we  may  meet 

In  happier  times  than  this, 
And  with  thy  angel -mother  dear, 

Enjoy  domestic  bliss. 

But  should  the  gathering  clouds 
That  Bunnah's  sky  o'erspread 

Conduct  the  fatal  vengeance  down 
Upon  thy  father's  head, 

Where  couldst  thou  shelter  find "} 
And  whither  wouldst  thou  stray  1 

What  hand  support  thy  totteriug  stej* 
And  guide  thy  darkling  way  1 

There  is  a  God  on  high, 

The  glorious  King  of  kings 
Tis  He  to  whom  thy  mother  prays, 
Whose  love  she  sits  and  sings. 


OF  AMEKICANS,  527 

That  glorious  God,  so  kind, 

Has  sent  his  son  to  save 
Our  ruiiied  race  from  siu  and  death, 

And  raise  them,  from  the  grave. 

And  to  that  covenant  God 

My  darling  I  commend  ; 
Be  thou  the  helpless  orphan's  stay, 

Her  Father  and  her  Friend. 

Inspire  her  infant  heart 

The  Saviour's  love  to  know, 
And  guide  her  through  this  dreary  world— 

This  wilderness  of  woe. 

Thou  sleep'st  again,  my  lamb, 

And  heed'st  not  song  nor  prayer; 
Go,  sleeping  in  thy  mother's  arms, 

Safe  in  a  mother  s  care. 

And  when  in  future  life 

Thou  know'st  thy  father's  tongue, 
These  lines  will  show  thee  how  he  felt — 

How  o'er  his  babe  he  sung. 

During  Mr.  Judson's  incarceration  the  war  had  been  proceeding  with  dis 
astrous  results  to  the  Burmese.  Nevertheless,  they  showed  no  disposition 
to  treat  for  peace.  In  the  beginning  of  1825,  Sir  Archibald  Campbell,  the 
commander  of  the  British  forces,  seeing  that  the  war  would  be  indefinitely 
protracted,  unless  he  carried  his  conquests  into  the  heart  of  the  country, 
resolved  to  march  on  Prome.  This  proceeding  on  his  part,  while  it  intim 
idated  the  powers  at  Ava,  caused  them  to  meditate  further,  if  not  fatal, 
vengeance  on  the  foreigners  whom  they  held  in  captivity.  The  effect  of 
their  designs  Mr.  Judson  was  soon  made  to  know.  For  some  time,  while 
the  other  white  prisoners  had  lived  in  an  open  shed,  he  had  been  permitted 
to  occupy  a  small  bamboo  room  his  wife  had  made  for  him,  in  which  he  was 
much  by  himself,  and  where  he  had  sometimes  the  privilege  of  her  company 
for  two  or  three  hours  at  a  time.  '  One  morning  in  March  this  little  room  was 
torn  down,  and  his  mat,  pillow,  etc.,  taken  by  his  jailors,  and  himself  and 
the  other  white  prisoners  thrust  into  the  inner  prison,  and  five  pairs  of  fet 
ters  placed  on  each.  This  treatment,  though  very  severe,  was,  it  was  af 
terward  found,  by  no  means  equal  to  the  directions  which  had  been  given 
by  persons  high  in  authority. 

Mrs.  Judson  determined  to  see  the  governor,  on  whom  her  appeals  had 
been  often  successful,  to  know  the  cause  of  this  new  oppression.  In  the 
morning,  on  going  to  his  house,  she  saw  his  wife,  who  was  ordered  to  tell 
her  "not  to  ask  to  have  the  additional  fetters  taken  off,  or  the  prisoners  re 
leased,  for  it  could  not  be  done."  Nevertheless,  she  resolved  to  see  the 
governor,  and  in  the  evening  again  repaired  to  his  house.  The  interview 
she  has  thus  described  :  "  He  was  in  his  audience  room,  and,  as  I  entered, 
looked  up  without  speaking,  but  exhibited  a  mixture  of  shame  and  affected 
anger  in  his  countenance.  I  began  by  saying,  '  Your  lordship  has  hitherto 


528  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

treated  us  With  the  kindness  of  a  father.  Our  obligations  to  you  are  very 
great.  We  have  looked  to  you  for  protection  from  oppression  and  cruelty 
You  have  in  many  instances  mitigated  tlfe  sufferings  of  those  unfortunate 
though  innocent  beings  committed  to  your  charge.  You  have  promised  mo 
particularly  that  you  would  stand  by  me  to  the  last,  and  though  you  should 
receive  an  order  from  the  king,  you  would  not  put  Mr.  Judson  to  death. 
What  crime  has  he  committed  to  deserve  such  additional  punishment  71 
The  old  man's  hard  heart  was  melted,  for  he  wept  like  a  child.  '  I  pity 
you,  Tsa-yar-ga-dati  (a  name  by  which  he  always  called  me)  ;  I  knew  you 
would  make  me  feel ;  I  therefore  forbade  your  application.  But  you  must 
believe  me  when  I  say  I  do  not  wish  to  increase  the  sufferings  of  the  pris 
oners.  When  I  am  ordered  to  execute  them,  the  least  that  I  can  do  is  to 
put  them  out  of  sight.  I  will  now  tell  you,'  continued  he,  '  what  I  have 
never  before  told  you,  that  three  times  I  have  received  intimations  from 
the  queen's  brother  to  assassinate  all  the  white  prisoners  privately  :  but  I 
would  not  do  it.  And  1  now  repeat  it,  though  I  execute  all  the  others,  I 
will  never  execute  your  husband.  But  I  cannot  release  him  from  his  pres 
ent  confinement,  and  you  must  not  ask  it.'  I  had  never  seen  him  manifest 
so  much  feeling,  or  so  resolute  in  denying  me  a  favor,  which  circumstance 
was  an  additional  reason  for  thinking  dreadful  scenes  were  before  us." 

The  situation  of  the  prisoners  Mrs.  Judson  describes  as  "distressing  be 
yond  description.  It  was  at  the  commencement  of  the  hot  season.  There 
were  above  a  hundred  prisoners  shut  up  in  one  room,  without  a  breath  of  air, 
excepting  from  the  cracks  in  the  boards.  I  sometimes  obtained  permission  to 
go  to  the  door  for  five  minutes,  when  my  heart  sickened  at  the  wretched 
ness  exhibited.  The  white  prisoners,  from  incessant  perspiration  and  loss 
of  appetite,  looked  more  like  the  dead  than  the  living.  I  made  daily  ap 
plications  to  the  governor,  offering  him  money,  which  he  refused  ;  but  all 
that  I  gained  was  permission  for  the  foreigners  to  eat  their  food  outside,  and 
this  continued  but  a  short  time." 

To  the  tender  frame  of  Mr.  Judson,  already  worn  down  by  his  sufferings, 
these  added  severities  were  productive  of  serious  consequences.  After  a 
month's  incarceration  he  was  taken  with  a  fever.  "  I  felt  assured,"  Mrs. 
Judson  writes,  "he  would  not  live  long,  unless  removed  from  that  noisome 
place.  The  governor,  being  worn  out  by  my  entreaties,  at  length  gave  me 
the  order,  in  an  official  form,  to  take  Mr.  J.  out  of  the  large  prison,  and 
place  him  in  a  more  comfortable  situation,  and  also  gave  orders  to  the  head 
jailor  to  allow  me  to  go  in  and  out,  all  times  of  the  day,  to  administer  rned 
icine,  etc.  I  now  felt  happy  indeed,  and  had  Mr.  J.  instantly  removed 
into  a  little  bamboo  hovel,  so  low  that  neither  of  us  could  stand  upright— 
but  a  palace  in  comparison  to  the  place  he  had  left," 

Two  or  three  days  had  been  passed  in  this  seeming  "palace,"  when  fur 
ther  miseries  passed  upon  them.  The  most  distinguished  Burrnan  general, 
Bandoola,  having  been  killed  in  battle,  "  the  pakan  woon,  who,  a  few 
month's  before,  had  been  so  far  disgraced  by  the  king  as  to  be  thrown  into 
prison  and  irons,  now  offered  himself  to  head  a  new  army,  that  should  ba 
raised  on  a  different  plan  from  those  which  had  hitherto  been  raised,  and 
assured  the  king,  in  the  most  confident  manner,  that  he  would  conquer  the 
English,  and  restore  those  places  that  had  been  taken,  in  a  very  short  time." 


OF  AMERICANS.  529 

In  consequence  of  his  exaltation  to  power,  an  order  was  issued  for  the 
removal  of  the  white  prisoners  to  Oung -pen-la,  some  ten  or  twelve  miles 
from  Ava.  This  removal  was  sudden  and  unexpected.  Mrs.  Judson,  in 
order  to  visit  her  husband,  was  accustomed  to  carry  his  food  to  the  prison 
herself.  She  had  brought  his  breakfast  to  him  one  morning,  which  in  con 
sequence  of  fever  he  was  unable  to  take,  and  had  remained  longer  than 
ujjal,  when  she  was  summoned  to  visit  the  governor.  Immediately  after 
fche  had  gone  out,  "one  of  the  jailors  rushed  into  Mr.  Judson's  little  room, 
roughly  seized  him  by  the  arm,  pulled  him  out,  stripped  him  of  all  his 
clothes  except  shirt  and  pantaloons,  took  his  shoes,  hat,  and  all  his  bed 
ding,  tore  off  his  chains,  tied  a  rope  around  his  waist,  and  dragged  him  to 
the  court-house."  Here  he  was  bound  to  another  of  his  companions  in  mis 
ery,  and  "delivered  into  the  hands  of  the  lamine-woon,  who  went  on  be 
fore  them  on  horseback,  while  his  slaves  drove  the  prisoners,  one  of  the 
slaves  holding  the  rope  which  connected  two  of  them  together."  In  this 
manner  they  proceeded  on  their  march.  Mrs.  Judson  describes  it  : 

"It  was  in  May,  one  of  the  hottest  months  in  the  year,  and  eleven 
o'clock  in  the  day,  so  that  the  sun  was  intolerable  indeed.  They  had  pro 
ceeded  only  half  a  mile,  when  your  brother's  feet  became  blistered  ;  and 
so  great  was  his  agony,  even  at  this  early  period,  that  as  they  were  crossing 
the  little  river,  he  ardently  longed  to  throw  himself  into  the  water  to  be 
free  from  misery.  But  the  sin  attached  to  such  an  act  alone  prevented. 
They  had  then  eight  miles  to  walk.  The  sand  and  gravel  were  like  burning 
coals  to  the  feet  of  the  prisoners,  which  soon  became  perfectly  destitute  of 
skin,  and  in  this  wretched  state  they  were  goaded  on  by  their  unfeeling 
drivers,  leaving  behind,  as  they  passed  along,  the  bloody  tracks  of  their  raw 
and  lacerated  feet."  Some  idea  of  the  truthfulness  of  this  description  may 
be  gained  from  the  fact  that  Mr.  Judson's  feet  were  torn  in  such  a  manner 
that  for  six  weeks  he  was  not  able  to  stand. 

It  is  no  wonder,  exhausted  with  the  travel  to  which  he  was  exposed,  that 
he  thought  even  the  heart  of  a  barbarian  might  show  some  sympathy. 
"  When  about  half  way  on  their  journey,  as  they  stopped  for  water,  he 
begged  the  lamine-woon  to  allow  him  to  ride  his  horse  a  mile  or  two,  as 
He  could  proceed  no  farther  in  that  dreadful  state." 

To  this  petition  "a  scornful,  malignant  look  was  all  the  reply  that  was 
made ;"  but  nevertheless  He  who  suffereth  not  a  sparrow  to  fall  unnoticed 
to  the  ground,  had  provided  him  a  yoke-fellow  who  was  a  strong,  healthy 
man,  and  to  him,  as  a  companion  in  misfortune,  he  applied  for  helpf 
begging  to  be  allowed  to  "  take  hold  of  his  shoulder,  for  he  was  fast  sink 
ing.  This  the  kind-hearted  man  granted  for  a  mile  or  two,  but  then  found 
the  additional  burden  insupportable.  Just  at  that  period,  Mr.  Gouger's 
Bengalee  servant  came  up  to  them,  and,  seeing  the  distresses  of  your 
brother,  took  off  his  head-dress,  which  was  made  of  cloth,  tore  it  in  two,  gave 
half  to  his  master,  and  half  to  Mr.  Judson,  which  he  instantly  wrapped 
round  his  wounded  feet,  as  they  were  not  allowed  to  rest  even  for  a  mo 
ment.  The  servant  then  offered  his  shoulder  to  Mr.  Judson,  who  was  al 
most  carried  the  remainder  of  the  way."  Through  this  man's  assistance 
he  reached  the  court-house  at  Amarapoora. 

To  one  of  the  prisoners,  an  old   man,  named  Constantine.  a  Greek,  the 


530  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

journey  proved  fatal.  Pie  was  taken  out  of  the  prison  at  Ava  in  perfect 
health,  but  was  so  overcome  by  the  sun  that  he  fell  down  on  the  way. 
"  His  inhuman  drivers  beat  and  dragged  him  until  they  themselves  were 
wearied,  when  they  procured  a  cart,  in  which  he  was  carried  the  remaining 
two  miles.  But  the  poor  creature  expired  in  an  hour  or  two  after  their  ar 
rival  at  the  court-house."  Mr.  Judson  considered  that  had  it  not  been  for 
the  Bengalee  servant  he  should  have  shared  his  fate. 

When  the  company  arrived  at  Amarapoora,  the  "  lamine-woon,  seeing 
the  distressing  state  of  the  prisoners,  and  that  one  of  their  number  was 
dead,  concluded  they  should  go  no  farther  that  night ;  otherwise  they 
would  have  been  driven  on  until  they  reached  Oung-pen-la  the  same  day. 
An  old  shed  was  appointed  for  their  abode  during  the  night,  but  without 
am'thing  to  cover  them.  The  curiosity  of  the  lamine-woon's  wife  induced 
her  to  make  a  visit  to  the  prisoners,  whose  wretchedness  considerably  ex 
cited  her  compassion,  and  she  ordered  some  fruit,  sugar,  and  tamarinds  for 
their  refreshment;  and  the  next  morning,  rice  was  prepared  for  them,  and 
poor  as  it  was,  it  was  refreshing  to  the  prisoners,  who  had  been  almost  des 
titute  of  food  the  day  before." 

None  of  the  prisoners  being  able  to  walk,  carts  were  provided,  and  they 
were  thus  conveyed  to  the  prison  at  Oung-pen-la,  an  old,  shattered  and 
roofless  building. 

In  the  journey  thus  taken  they  were  "  entirely  ignorant  of  what  was  to 
become  of  them,  and  when  they  arrived  at  Oung-pen-la,  and  saw  the  dilap 
idated  state  of  the  prison,  they  immediately,  all  as  one,  concluded  that 
they  were  to  be  burned,  agreeably  to  the  report  which  had  been  previously 
in  circulation  at  Ava.  They  all  endeavored  to  prepare  themselves  for  the 
awful  scene  anticipated,  and  it  was  not  until  they  saw  preparations  making 
for  repairing  the  prison,  that  they  had  the  doubt  that  a  cruel,  lingering 
death  awaited  them." 

Mr.  Judson  had  been  at  his  new  abode  but  two  hours,  and  was  sitting 
under  a  low  projection  outside  of  the  prison,  probably  meditating  on  the 
sorrows  and  trials  of  his  noble  wife,  when  on  lifting  his  eyes  he  saw  her 
approaching  with  her  babe.  By  great  perseverance,  and  after  a  night  of 
indescribable  agony  she  had  discovered  his  destination,  and  hastened  to 
share  the  sorrows  of  his  new  place  of  captivity.  It  is  not  wonderful  that, 
with  his-aftection  for  her,  he  exclaimed,  "Why  have  you  come  ?  I  hoped 
you  would  not  follow,  for  you  cannot  live  here." 

At  Oung-pen-la  "the  prisoners  were  at  first  chained  t\vo  and  two  ;  but 
as  soon  as  the  jailors  could  obtain  chains  sufficient  they  were  separated,  and 
each  prisoner  had  but  one  pair.  While  they  were  coupled,  Mr.  Judson 
had  Dr.  Price  for  his  associate.  Though  the  journey  proved  so  fearful  an 
ordeal,  yet  in  this  new  place  of  captivity  he  was  much  more  comfortably 
situated  than  in  the  city  prison.  One  pair  of  fetters  was  used  instead  of 
three  or  five,  and  "  when  recovered  from  his  fever  and  wounds  he  was  al- 
4owed  to  walk  in  the  prison  inclosure.  In  addition  to  this,  "a  large  airy 
shed"  was  "erected  in  front  of  the  prison,  whero  the  prisoners  were 
allowed  to  remain  during  the  day,  though  locked  up  in  a  little  close  prison 
at  night." 

This  comparative  relief  did  not  extend  beyond  the  body.     Mrs.  Judsoo 


OF  AMERICANS. 

has  spoken  of  Oung-pen-la  as  "that  never-to-be-forgotten  place."  To  her  it 
proved  the  scene  of  greatest  trial ;  for  her  privations  far  exceeded  any  she 
had  been  called  to  endure  at  Ava.  It  was,  therefore,  a  place  in  \vhich  her 
husband  experienced  great  mental  anguish.  Her  sole  abode  was  a  little 
filthy  room  in  the  jailor's  house.  This  was  half  filled  with  grain,  and  she 
was  destitute  of  even  a  chair  or  other  household  convenience.  The  morn 
ing  after  her  arrival  a  native  child  whom  she  had  taken  with  her  from  Ava 
was  seized  with  the  small-pox,  and  shortly  after  her  infant  took  the  same 
disease,  and  over  three  months  passed  before  its  recovery.  She  was  herself 
taken  sick  with  a  disease  peculiar  to  the  country  ;  and  after  making  a 
journey  to  Ava  with  great  difficulty  for  medicines,  returned  to  crawl  on  to 
a  mat  in  the  jailor's  house,  and  laid  sick  for  more  than  two  months. 

As  Mrs.  Judson's  sickness  deprived  her  child  of  its  usual  sustenance,  the 
jailor,  having  been  bribed  by  presents,  allowed  Mr.  Judson  to  come  out  of 
his  prison  to  seek  aid  in  the  village.  Scarcely  is  it  possible  to  conceive  of 
a  more  affecting  sight  than  that  which  was  presented  when  a  man  whose 
memory  all  Christendom  honors,  walked  barefooted,  in  shirt  and  pantaloons, 
through  Oung-pen-la,  carrying  the  little  "  emaciated  creature  around  the 
village,  to  beg  a  little  nourishment  from  those  mothers  who  had  young  chil 
dren." 

During  all  these  afflictions,  the  caprice  of  the  keeper  of  the  prison  often 
proved  a  cause  of  bitter  sorrow.  "Sometimes  our  jailor,"  Mrs.  Judson 
says,  "seemed  a  little  softened  at  our  distress,  and  for  several  days  together 
allowed  Mr.  Judson  to  come  to  the  house,  which  was  to  me  an  unspeaka 
ble  consolation.  Then,  again,  they  would  be  .as  iron-hearted  in  their  de 
mands  as  though  we  were  free  from  sufferings."  Perhaps  the  reader  may 
form  some  judgment  of  this  iron-heartedness  from  the  statement  of  Mr. 
Laird,  that,  to  extort  money  from  him,  he  was  four  or  five  times  put  into 
he  stocks,  and  had  to  pay  four  times  for  the  fetters  he  had  on. 

In  this  incarceration  Mr.  Judson  and  his  fellow-prisoners  escaped  the  lot 
which  was  intended  for  them.  The  village  of  Oung-pen-la  was  the  native 
place  of  the  pakan-woon,  and  it  was  his  intention  in  sending  them  thither 
to  massacre  them  at  the  head  of  the  army,  which  was  to  march  through 
Oung-pen-la  for  the  purpose.  But  about  a  month  after  he  was  raised  to 
power  he  was  suspected  of  treason,  and  put  to  death  by  being  trod  upon 
by  elephants. 

"  While  Mr.  Judson  was  detained  here,  hostilities  had  been  continued, 
and  with  such  success  on  the  part  of  the  British,  that  the  Burmans  began 
to  find  it  necessary  to  negotiate,  and  a  capable  interpreter  being  indispensa 
ble,  an  order  was  issued  for  him  to  repair  to  Ava.  Here  he  was  again 
placed  in  prison,  but  the  next  day  he  was  sent  to  the  Burraan  camp  at  Ma- 
loun.  In  going  there  he  was  "crowded  into  a  little  boat,  where  he  had 
not  room  sufficient  to  lie  down,  and  where  his  exposure  to  the  cold,  damp 
nights  threw  him  into  a  violent  fever,  which  had  nearly  ended  all  his  suf 
ferings.  He  arrived  at  Maloun  on  the  third  day,  when,  ill  as  he  was,  he 
was  obliged  to  enter  immediately  on  the  work  of  translating.  He  remained 
at  Maloun  six  weeks,  suffering  as  much  as  he  had  at  any  time  in  prison, 
excepting  he  ivas  not  in  irons,  nor  exposed  to  the  insults  of  those  cruel 
jailors." 

34 


532  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

At  the  end  of  this  time,  and  within  five  minutes'  notice,  he  was  returned 
to  Ava.  "  On  his  way  up  the  river,  he  accidentally  saw  the  communica 
tion  made  to  government  respecting  him,  which  was  simply  this  :  '  We 
have  no  furtner  use  for  Yoodthan  ;  we  therefore  return  him  to  the  golden 
city.' "  Mrs.  Judson  having  heard  of  his  arrival,  sent  a  message  to  the 
governor  of  the  north  gate,  who  had  formerly  shown  a  disposition  to  oblige 
them,  begging  him  to  intercede  to  prevent  his  return  to  prison.  He  imme 
diately  presented  a  petition  to  the  high  court  of  the  empire,  offered  him 
self  as  Mr.  Judson's  security,  and  obtained  his  release. 

Our  missionary  no  sooner  felt  himself  at  liberty,  than  he  directed  his  way 
to  his  own  former  residence.  Here  he  found  his  heroic  companion  slowly 
recovering  from  the  spotted  fever,  which,  from  its  usual  fatal  character  and 
the  want  of  medical  assistance,  she  had  expected  would  prove  fatal  ;  and, 
indeed,  so  nearly  had  her  expectations  been  realized,  that  she  had  been 
pronounced  dead  by  her  attendants.  For  the  satisfaction  of  his  surety, 
Mr.  Judson  made  his  residence  with  him,  and  as  soon  as  returning  health 
would  allow,  Mrs.  Judson  was  removed  there. 

While  the  events  narrated  above  were  taking  place,  General  Campbell, 
wearied  with  the  dissimulation  of  the  Burmans,  recommenced  operations, 
and  with  his  victorious  forces  was  making  his  way  toward  the  capital.  The 
king  and  his  advisers  had  several  times  rejected  the  terms  offered  by  the 
English  commander ;  but  they  were  now  greatly  humiliated,  and,  anxious  to 
save  the  "golden  city,"  sought  to  reopen  negotiations.  Mr.  Judson  was  en 
treated  to  go  as  their  representative  to  the  English  camp  ;  but  he  declined, 
and  advised  their  sending  Dr.  Price,  who  had  no  objection  to  the  embas- 
sage.  In  accordance  with  this  proposition,  the  latter  \yas  sent  in  company 
with  Dr.  Sandford,  an  English  officer  who  had  been  taken  prisoner.  They 
were  not  able  to  induce  General  Campbell  to  abate  the  terms  which  he 
had  offered,  any  further  than  procuring  permission  that  the  hundred  lacs  of 
rupees  he  had  demanded  should  be  paid  in  four  installments.  In  addition 
to  this,  he  gave  intimation  in  strong  terms  that  all  the  foreign  prisoners 
must  be  surrendered. 

Fresh  disasters  induced  the  Burman  government  to  yield  to  the  terms  of 
the  British  general  so  far  as  to  send  Dr.  Price  with  some  of  the  prisoners, 
and  with  an  offer  of  a  part  of  the  money.  In  his  second  embassage  he 
was,  of  course,  unsuccessful.  Meantime  the  British  forces  were  continuing 
their  way,  and  each  day  saw  them  nearer  the  capital.  This  decisive  move 
ment  filled  the  Burmans  with  alarm,  and  they  determined  to  make  Mr. 
Judson  their  ambassador,  He  was  accordingly  taken  by  force  and  associated 
with  Dr.  Price.  Six  lacs  of  rupees  and  most  of  the  English  prisoners  were 
sent  down  with  them.  Mr.  Judson  found,  as  previously  reported,  that  the 
terms  must  be  scrupulously  complied  with.  "  The  general  and  commissioner 
would  not  receive  the  six  lacs,  neither  would  they  stop  their  march  ;  but 
promised  if  the  sum  complete  reached  them  before  they  arrived  at  Ava,  they 
would  make  peace.  The  general  also  commissioned  Mr.  Judson  to  collect 
the  remaining  foreigners,  of  whatever  country,  and  ask  the  question,  before 
the  Burmese  government,  whether  they  wished  to  go  or  stay.  Those  who 
expressed  a  wish  to  go  should  be  delivered  up  immediately,  or  peace  would 
not  be  made." 


OF  AMERICANS.  533 

Satisfied  that  further  dissimulation  and  delay  must  prove  hazardous,  the 
Burmans  determined  to  yield  all  demands. 

Now  came  the  time  of  deliverance.  Mrs.  Judson  says:  "In  two  days 
frcm  the  time  of  Mr.  Judson's  return,  we  took  an  affectionate  leave  of  the 
good-natured  officer  who  had  so  long  entertained  us  at  his  house,  and  who 
now  accompanied  us  to  the  water-side,  and  we  then  left  forever  the  banks 
of  Aviu 

It  was  a  cool  moonlight  evening  in  the  month  of  February,  that,  with 
hearts  filled  with  gratitude  to  God,  and  overflowing  with  joy  at  our  pros 
pects,  we  passed  down  the  Irrawaddy,  surrounded  by  six  or  eight  golden 
boats,  and  accompanied-  by  'all  we  had  on  earth.  The  thought  that  we  had 
still  to  pass  the  Burman  camp  would  sometimes  occur  to  damp  our  joy  ; 
for  we  feared  that  some  obstacle  might  there  arise  to  retard  our  progress. 
Nor  were  we  mistaken  in  our  conjectures.  We  reached  the  camp  about 
midnight,  where  we  were  detained  two  hours,  the  woon-gayee  and  high 
officers  insisting  that  we  should  wait  at  the  camp,  while  Dr.  Price,  who  did 
not  return  to  Ava  with  your  brother,  but  remained  at  the  camp,  should  go 
on  with  the  money,  and  first  ascertain  whether  peace  would  be  made.  The 
Burmese  government  still  entertained  the  idea  that,  as  soon  as  the  English 
had  received  the  money  and  prisoners,  they  would  continue  their  march, 
and  yet  destroy  the  capital.  We  knew  not  but  that  some  circumstance 
might  occur  to  break  off  the  negotiations.  Mr.  Judson  therefore  stren 
uously  insisted  that  he  would  not  remain,  but  go  on  immediately.  The 
officers  were  finally  prevailed  on  to  consent,  hoping  much  from  Mr. 
Judson's  assistance  in  making  peace. 

We  now  for  the  first  time  for  more  than  a  year  and  a  half  felt  that  we 
were  free,  and  no  longer  subject  to  the  oppressive  yoke  of  the  Burmese. 
And  with  what  sensations  of  delight  on  the  next  morning  did  I  behold  tho 
masts  of  the  steamboat,  the  sure  presage  of  being  within  the  bounds  of  civ- 
?lized  life  !  As  soon  as  our  boat  reached  the  shore,  Brigadier  A.  and  an 
other  officer  came  on  board,  congratulated  us  on  our  arrival,  and  invited  us 
on  board  the  steamboat,  where  I  passed  the  remainder  of  the  day,  while 
your  brother  went  on  to  meet  the  general,  who,  with  a  detachment  of  the 
army,  had  encamped  at  Randabo,  a  few  miles  farther  down  the  river.  Mr. 
Judson  returned  in  the  evening,  with  an  invitation  from  Sir  Archibald  to 
come  immediately  to  his  quarters,  where  I  was  the  next  morning  intro 
duced,  and  received  with  the  greatest  kindness  by  the  general,  who  had  a 
tent  pitched  for  us  near  his  own,  took  us  to  his  own  table,  and  treated  us 
with  the  kindness  of  a  father,  rather  than  as  strangers  of  another  country." 

Two  days  after  their  arrival  at  Yandabo,  the  treaty  of  peace  was  signed, 
and  the  following  day  Mr.  Judson  wrote  once  more  to  America.  It  may 
gratify  the  reader  to  peruse  his  account,  so  Paul-like  in  its  terse  enumera 
tion  of  afflictions  : 

BRITISH  CAMP,  YANDABO,  February  25,  1826. 

REVEREND  AND  DEAR  SIR  : — We  survive  a  scene  of  suffering  which,  on 
retrospect  at  the  present  moment,  seems  not  a  reality,  but  a  horrid  dream. 
We  are  occupying  a  tent  in  the  midst  of  Sir  Archibald  Campbell's  staff, 
and  receiving  from  him  and  other  British  ofhcers  all  manner  of  kind  atten 
tions,  proportionate  to  the  barbarities  we  have  endured  for  nearly  two  years. 


534:  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

I  was  seized  on  the  8th  of  June,  1824,  in  consequence  of  the  Avar  with 
Bengal,  and,  in  company  with  Dr.  Price,  three  Englishmen,  one  Armenian, 
and  one  Greek,  was  thrown  into  the  "death  prison"  at  Ava,  where  we 
lay  eleven  months — nine  months  in  three  pairs,  and  two  months  in. five 
pairs  of  fetters.  The  scenes  we  witnessed  and  the  sufferings  we  underwent 
during  that  period  I  would  fain  consign  to  oblivion.  From  the  death  prison 
at  Ava  we  were  removed  to  a  country  prison,  at  Oung-pen-la,  ten  miles  dis 
tant,  under  circumstances  of  such  severe  treatment  that  one  of  our  number,  the 
Greek,  expired  on  the  road,  and  some  of  the  rest,  among  whom  was  myself, 
were  scarcely  able  to  move  for  several  days.  It  was  the  intention  of  gov 
ernment,  in  removing  us  from  Ava,  to  have  us  sacrificed,  in  order  to  insure 
victory  over  the  foreigners  ;  but  the  sudden  disgrace  and  death  of  the  ad 
visor  of  that  measure  prevented  its  execution.  I  remained  in  the  Oung- 
pen-la  prison  six  months  in  one  pair  of  fetters,  at  the  expiration  of  which 
period  I  was  taken  out  of  irons,  and  sent  under  a  strict  guard  to  the  Bur 
mese  head-quarters  at  Maloun,  to  act  as  interpreter  and  translator.  Two 
months  more  elapsed,  when,  on  my  return  to  Ava,  I  was  released  at  the  in 
stance  of  Moving  Shaw-loo,  the  north  governor  of  the  palace,  and  put 
under  his  charge.  During  the  six  weeks  I  resided  with  him,  the  affairs  of 
government  became  desperate,  the  British  troops  making  steady  advances 
on  the  capital ;  and  after  Dr.  Price  had  been  twice  dispatched  to  negotiate 
for  peace  (a  business  which  I  declined  as  long  as  possible),  I  was  taken  by 
force  and  associated  with  him.  We  found  the  British  above  Pugan,  and  on 
returning  to  Ava  with  their  final  terms,  I  had  the  happiness  of  procuring 
the  release  of  the  very  last  of  my  fellow-prisoners ;  and  on  the  21st  inst. 
obtained  the  reluctant  consent  of  government  to  my  final  departure  from 
Ava  with  Mrs.  Judson. 

On  my  first  imprisonment,  the  small  house  which  I  had  just  erected  was 
plundered,  and  everything  valuable  confiscated.  Mrs.  Judsou,  however, 
was  allowed  to  occupy  the  place,  which  she  did  until  my  removal  to  Oung- 
pen-la,  whither  she  followed.  Subsequently  to  that  period  she  was  twice 
brought  to  the  gates  of  the  grave  ;  the  last  time  with  the  spotted  fever,  while 
I  was  absent  at  Maloun.  She  had  been  senseless  and  motionless  several  days, 
when  the  providential  release  of  Dr.  Price  at  the  very  last  extremity  gave  an 
opportunity  for  such  applications  as  were  blessed  to  her  relief.  On  my  return 
I  was  astonished  to  find  her  in  the  most  emaciated,  helpless  state,  not  hav 
ing  heard  a  word  of  her  illness.  She,  however,  rapidly  recovered,  and  is 
now  in  perfect  health.  Even  little  Maria,  who  came  into  the  world  a  few 
months  after  my  imprisonment,  to  aggravate  her  parents'  woes,  and  who 
has  been,  from  very  instinct  it  would  seem,  a  poor,  sad,  crying  thing,  begins 
to  brighten  up  her  little  face,  and  be  somewhat  sensible  of  our  happy  de 
liverance. 

The  treaty  of  peace  was  signed  yesterday  by  the  respective  plenipoten 
tiaries,  according  to  the  terms  of  which,  the  province  of  Arracan,  and  tb  . 
small  provinces  of  Ya  Tavoy  and  Mergui  in  the  south  are  ceded  to  tl.« 
British.  It  was  this  consideration  chiefly  that  induced  me  to  embrace  j<* 
first  opportunity  of  leaving  Ava,  where  the  only  object  I  had  in  settJng 
was  to  obtain  some  toleration  for  the  Christian  religion — a  favor  which  I 
hope  now  to  enjoy  without  leave  from  his  golden-footed  majesty. 


OF  AMERICANS.  535 

Sir  Archibald  has  assigned  us  a  large  gun-boat  for  our  accommodation 
down  ythe  river,  and  we  expect  to  leave  this  in  a  very  few  days. 

Respectfully  yours,        A.  JUDSON." 
Rev.  Dr.  Baldwn. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Judson  remained  in  the  British  camp  a  fortnight.  At  the 
end  of  that  time,  with  a  most  grateful  sense  of  the  kindness  of  Sir  Archi 
bald  Campbell  and  his  officers,  they  resumed  their  voyage  down  the  river  in 
the  boat  provided  for  them.  On  the  22d  of  March,  Mrs.  Judson  was  able 
to  write  :  "  We  have  safely  arrived  in  Rangoon,  and  once  more  find  our 
selves  iii  the  old  mission-house  !  What  shall  we  render  to. the  Lord  for  all 
his  mercies  ?" 

Thus,  after  an  absence  of  two  years  and  three  months,  our  missionary 
returned  to  the  same  place  of  abode  he  had  occupied  previous  to  the  war. 

The  little  flock  of  disciples  at  Rangoon  was  scattered,  and  several  of 
them,  were  dead.  The  survivors  removed  with  their  teachers,  in  the  sum 
mer  of  1826,  to  Amherst,  a  new  town,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Salweu,  in 
British  Burmah.  Here  Mr.  Judson  hoped  to  devote  himself  unreservedly 
to  missionary  work.  But  at  the  solicitation  of  Mr.  Crawford,  commissioner 
of  the  British  East  Indian  government,  he  accompanied  an  embassy  to  Ava 
for  negotiating  a  commercial  treaty,  to  procure,  if  possible,  the  insertion  of 
a  guaranty  for  religious  freedom  in  the  king's  dominions.  This,  which 
alone  reconciled  him  to  so  long  an  absence  from  his  chosen  work,  and  from 
a  home  that  claimed  his  presence  more  imperatively  than  he  conceived,  en 
tirely  failed,  and  after  several  months'  detention  he  returned  to  Amherst, — 
to  find  his  house  desolate.  Mrs.  Judson,  very  soon  after  his  departure,  had 
been  seized  with  a  fever  that  her  enfeebled  constitution  was  ill-fitted  to  re 
sist,  and  sunk  into  the  grave  after  an  illness  of  eighteen  days.  The  dread 
ful  tidings  were  conveyed  to  him  at  Ava, — the  more  insupportable  because 
he  was  wholly  unprepared  for  them,  his  last  intelligence  having  assured 
him  of  her  perfect  health.  From  the  native  Christians  who  surrounded 
her  death-bed,  and  the  physician,  who  did  all  that  skill  could  do  for  her  re 
covery,  he  heard  of  the  celestial  peace  that  sustained  her  departing  spirit. 
His  only  child  soon  followed  her  mother,  and  he  was  left  a  solitary  mourner. 
His  cup  of  sorrow  seemed  full.  The  heart  which  had  sustained  all  that 
barbarian  cruelty  could  inflict,  was  well-nigh  crushed  by  this  total  bereave 
ment. 

Though  the  life  of  Mrs.  Judson  was,  as  it  seemed,  prematurely  closed,, 
it  was  long  enough  to  exhibit  a  character  which,  in  some  of  its  elements, 
has  no  parallel  in  female  biography.  Capacities  for  exertion  and  endurance, 
such  as  few  men  have  brought  to  great  enterprises,  were  united  to  the  most 
engaging  feminine  qualities,  fitting  her  at  once  to  cheer  the  domestic  retire 
ment  of  her  husband,  and  to  share  his  most  overwhelming  trials  and  dan 
gers.  The  record  of  her  deeds  and  sufferings  has  moved  the  hearts  of 
myriads,  in  this  and  other  lands,  and  her  memory  is  immortal  as  the  sym 
pathies  of  our  common  humanity. 

But  the  bereaved  missionary  sank  not  in  inconsolable  grief.  Looking  to 
the  eternal  hills  for  help,  he  nerved  himself  anew  to  the  fulfillment  of  hia 
appointed  ministry.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wade  had  reached  Amherst  shortly  be 


536  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

fore  tho  return  of  Mr.  Judson  from  Ava,  and  with  them  Rev.  George  D 
Boaidman  and  wife,  who  had  arrived  in  Bengal  during  the  war.  Besides 
the  original  population  of  British  Burmah,  the  provinces  were  the  resort  of 
constant  emigration,  and  Amhcrst  grew  rapidly  into  a  considerable  town. 
But  the  government  was  soon  transferred  to  Maulmain,  on  the  east  bank  cf 
the  Salwen,  about  twenty-five  miles  from  its  mouth.  The  mission  followed 
in  the  course  of  the  year  1827,  and  has  since  been  permanently  established 
in  that  city. 

There  the  work  went  rapidly  forward.  Schools  were  set  up,  two  or  three 
houses  of  worship  were  opened,  and  during  the  years  1827  and  1828,  between 
thirty  and  forty  converts  were  added  to  the  church.  The  Tavoy  station  was 
commenced  by  Mr.  Boardman,  under  whose  auspices  Christianity  began  to  be 
communicated  to  the  Karens,  among  whom  it  has  since  made  such  progress 
as  to  astonish  the  Christian  world.  Mr.  Judson  continued  at  Maulmain  till 
the  summer  of  1830.  Besides  the  ordinary  duties  of  preaching  and  teach 
ing,  he  thoroughly  revised  the  New  Testament,  and  prepared  twelve  smaller 
works  in  the  Burmese.  In  the  spring  of  1830,  Mr.  Wade  visited  Rangoon, 
the  success  of  a  native  preacher  having  made  the  presence  of  a  missionary 
desirable.  His  health  did  not  admit  of  a  residence  in  that  climate,  and  Mr. 
JuJson,  who  had  not  ceased  to  cherish  a  deep  interest  in  the  progress  of 
Christianity  in  Burmah  Proper,  repaired  thither  in  May.  He  found  a  pre 
valent  spirit  of  inquiry,  and  resolved  to  penetrate  into  the  interior.  Ho 
accordingly  went  up  the  Irrawadi  to  Prome.  His  boat  at  every  landing 
was  visited  by  persons  eager  for  books.  Converts  whom  he  had  lost  sight 
of  for  years  greeted  him  at  one  or  two  places  as  he  passed,  and  he  heard 
of  the  conversion  of  others  whom  he  had  never  seen,  but  who  had  derived 
their  knowledge  of  the  truth  indirectly  from  his  instructions.  For  a  month 
or  two  he  had  numerous  auditors,  a  few  of  whom  seemed  to  have  cordially 
received  the  wrord.  Then  came  a  sudden  and  mysterious  reaction.  The 
zayat  was  nearly  deserted.  People  seemed  afraid  to  converse  with  him. 
This  state  of  things  continuing  till  autumn,  he  reg&tded  his  work  in 
Prome  as  finished  for  the  present,  and  returned  to  Rangoon,  confident  that 
the  now  rejected  truth  wrould  bear  fruit  in  due  seau>n.  It  appeared  that 
the  king  had  given  orders  for  his  expulsion,  but  that  the  governor,  under 
the  influence  of  some  unaccountable  awe,  had  not  ventured  to  execute 
them. 

At  Rangoon  he  gave  himself  to  the  translation  of  the  entire  Scriptures. 
He  shut  himself  into  an  upper  chamber,  leaving  a  native  evangelist  to  re 
ceive  inquirers,  admitting  only  the  most  promising  to  his  own  apartment. 
In  spite  of  the  known  displeasure  of  the  king,  nearly  half  his  time  was  ab 
sorbed  in  these  interviews.  The  spirit  of  inquiry  deepened  and  widened 
through  all  the  surrounding  country.  During  the  great  festival  in  honor  of 
Gaudama,  held  near  tho  close  of  the  following  winter,  there  were  as  many 
as  six  thousand  applications  at  his  house  for  tracts.  Some  came  from  the 
borders  of  Siam  or  the  far  north,  saying,  "  Sir,  we  have  seen  a  writing  that 
tells  about  an  eternal  God.  Are  you  the  man  that  gives  away  such  writ 
ings  ?  Pray,  give  us  one,  for  we  want  to  know  the  truth  before  we  die  ? 
Or  some  from  the  interior,  who  had  barely  heard  the  name  of  the  Saviour 
**ould  say,  "  Are  you  Jesus  Christ's  man  ?  Give  us  a  writing  that  telld 


OF  AMERICANS.  537 

about  Jesus  Christ."  The  press  at  Maulmain  worked  day  and  night,  but 
could  not  meet  the  demands  from  all  quarters. 

In  the  summer  of  1831,  in  consequence  of  the  infirm  state  of  Mr. 
Wade's  health,  he  remove'd  to  Maulmain,  and  Mr.  Wade,  after  a  few  months' 
respite,  took  his  place  at  Eangoon.  At  Maulmain  Mr.  Jtidson  prosecuted 
the  work  of  translation,  but  still  preached  in  the  city  and  the  jungles.  On 
the  last  day  of  January,  1834,  he  completed  the  task  with  which  he  might 
have  rejoiced  to  seal  up  his  earthly  mission, — the  Bible  in  the  Burmese 
language.  No  words  can  more  *fitly  describe  the  emotions  of  that  hour 
than  his  own  :  "Thanks  to  God,  I  can  now  say,  I  have  attained.  I  have 
knelt  down  before  Him,  with  the  last  leaf  in  my  hand,  and  imploring  his 
forgiveness  for  all  the  sins  which  have  polluted  my  labors  in  this  depart 
ment,  and  his  aid  in  removing  the  errors  and  imperfections  which  necessa 
rily  cleave  to  the  work,  I  have  commended  it  to  his  mercy  and  grace.  I 
have  dedicated  it  to  his  glory.  May  he  make  his  own  inspired  word,  now 
complete  in  the  Burman  tongue,  the  grand  instrument  in  filling  all  Burmah 
with  songs  of  praise  to  our  great  God  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ.  Amen." 
Few,  comparatively,  of  the  myraids  in  whose  behalf  the  great  work  was 
undertaken,  had  a  thought  of  the  sublime  transaction  of  that  hour,  and 
none  but  he  to  whose  supreme  glory  it  was  dedicated,  could  fully  appre 
hend  the  ultimate  issues  of  the  event.  The  kneeling  missionary  alone, 
with  the  last  leaf  of  the  translated  Bible,  humbly  and  gratefully  offering 
it  before  the  Divine  Majesty,  has  been  suggested  as  a  subject  for  the  pencil. 
But  he  must  be  an  artist  elevated  to  more  than  a  common  measure  of 
celestial  sympathy,  who  shall  worthily  represent  to  our  senses  a  triumph 
so  purely  spiritual. 

In  April  of  this  year  Mr.  Judson  was  united  in  marriage  with  Mrs. 
Boardman  ;  who,  after  the  lamented  death  of  her  husband,  had  given  her 
self  with  unyielding  devotion  to  the  blessed  work  in  which  he  so  triumph 
antly  passed  away,  and  through  all  her  missionary  career  showed  a  spirit 
nearly  kindred  to  that  of  the  "ministering  angel"  to  the  prisoners  of  Ava. 

For  some  years  he  was  engaged  in  the  revision  of  the  Scriptures,  divid 
ing  his  time  between  this  and  the  superintendence  of  the  native  church  at 
Maulmain.  The  steady  increase  of  the  churches  in  numbers  and  in  knowl 
edge  was  an  ample  reward  for  all  his  toils,  while  the  reinforcement  of  the 
missions,  and  their  extension  into  Siam  and  Assam,  filled  him  with  glad 
ness  in  the  prospect  of  the  future.  The  arrival  of  fourteen  missionaries  in 
1836,  accompanied  by  Rev.  Dr.  Malcom,  who  was  commissioned  by  the 
Board  to  their  stations  in  Asia,  was  an  occasion  of  special  joy.  The  con 
ferences  held,  plans  devised,  the  recollections  and  hopes  awakened  at  this 
season,  must  have  made  it  memorable  to  them  all.  Since  the  lonely  pio 
neer  landed  in  doubt  and  apprehension  at  Rangoon,  more  than  twenty  years 
of  labor  and  suffering  had  passed  over  his  head.  Not  one  witness  of  his 
earlier  struggles,  not  one  sharer  of  his  many  fears  and  sorrows  and  of  their 
precious  compensations,  stood  by  his  side.  But  a  host,  comparatively,  had 
succeeded,  to  carry  forward  by  their  united  strength  the  work  begun  in 
weakness,  and  not  less  than  a  thousand  souls  redeemed  from  the  bondage 
of  idolatry  attested  the  divine  presence  and  benediction. 

In  1838  his  enfeebled  health  compelled  a  change  of  air,  and  he  visited 


538  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

Bengal.  But  the  ardor  of  his  spirit  drove  him  back  to  his  station  without 
any  visible  change  for  the  better.  The  Board  invited  him  to  visit  the 
United  States,  which  he  gratefully  but  firmly  declined.  The  revision  of 
the  Scriptures  was  finished  in  1840,  and  a  second  edition  was  put  to  press. 
A  recent  writer  in  the  Calcutta  Review,  understood  to  be  well  qualified  to 
pass  judgment  in  this  matter,  hazards  "the  prediction,  that  as  Luther's 
Bible  is  now  in  the  hands  of  Protestant  Germany,  so,  three  centuries  hence, 
Judson's  Bible  will  be  the  Bible  of  the  Christian  churches  of  Burmah."  In 
the  summer  of  1841  he  found  it  needful,  for  the  sake  of  his  family  anj 
himself,  to  make  another  voyage.  They  went  to  Bengal,  where  he  was 
compelled  to  bury  his  youngest  child,  proceeded  to  the  Isle  of  France,  and 
thence  returned  to  Maulmaiu,  where  they  arrived,  much  invigorated,  in 
December. 

The  next  year  saw  him  engaged  in  another  important  undertaking, — the 
compilation  of  a  complete  dictionary  of  the  Burmese  language.  He  was 
reluctant  to  be  diverted  from  his  ministerial  labors  by  any  further  literary 
tasks,  but  yielded  to  the  solicitation  of  the  Board,  and  to  a  conviction  of 
the  importance  of  the  work.  His  plan  contemplated  two  complete  vocab 
ularies — Burmese  and  English,  and  English  and  Burmese.  It  was  inter 
rupted  by  the  illness  of  Mrs.  Judson.  A  voyage  along  the  Tenasserim 
coast  proved  ineffectual  for  her  recovery,  and  in  the  spring  of  1845  her 
helpless  state  appeared  to  demand  a  visit  to  the  United  States.  In  an 
nouncing  this  purpose  Mr.  Judson  warned  the  Board  that  he  must  not  bo 
expected  to  address  public  assemblies  as  the  weakness  of  his  lungs  forbade 
such  exertion,  and  for  a  reason  which  shall  be  stated  in  his  own  words  : 
"  In  order  to  become  an  acceptable  and  eloquent  preacher  in  a  foreign 
language,  I  deliberately  abjured  my  own.  When  I  crossed  the  river,  I 
burnt  my  ships.  From  long  desuetude,  I  can  scarcely  put  three  sentences 
together  in  the  English  language."  Taking  with  him  his  family,  and  two 
native  assistants  to  carry  forward  his  dictionary  during  his  visit,  he  em 
barked  for  Boston  on  the  26th  of  April.  On  arriving  at  Mauritius,  Mrs. 
Judson  was  so  far  revived  that  it  was  thought  she  might  safely  proceed 
without  her  husband.  The  assistants  were  sent  back,  and  he  was  about  to 
follow  them,  but  the  day  before  her  reembarkation  she  suffered  a  relapse, 
which  determined  him  to  go  on  with  her.  She  grew  weaker  from  day  to 
day,  and  it  seemed  that  she  must  find  a  grave  in  the  deep,  but  her  life  was 
spared  till  they  reached  St.  Helena.  With  an  uncloudy  prospect  for  the 
heavenly  felicity,  her  soul  parted  serenely  from  earth  and  all  earthly  ties. 
Her  mortal  remains  were  committed  to  the  dust  on  the  first  of  September, 
and  the  twice- widowed  missionary  tore  himself  away,  to  guide  his  mother 
less-  children  to  the  land  of  their  fathers. 

He  arrived  at  Boston  on  the  15th  of  October.  A  thrill  of  solemn  and 
grateful  emotion  was  felt  in  every  part  of  the  land,  and  found  expression 
in  countless  forms.  On  the  evening  of  the  third  day  after  he  landed,  B 
large  assembly  was  gathered,  and  the  venerable  President  of  the  Board, 
Rev.  Dr.  Sharp,  addressed  him  in  appropriate  words  of  welcome.  More 
touching  was  the  hearty  embrace  of  Rev.  Samuel  Nott,  jr.,  from  whom  he 
had  parted  more  than  thirty  years  before  ;  who  had  privately  and  publicly 
attested  his  unabated  Christian  affection  since  the  change  that  caused  theil 


OF  AMERICANS.  53D 

paths  to  diverge  ;  who  heard,  in  his  enforced  retirement  from  missionary 
service,  of  the  arrival  of  his  youthful  associate  and  honored  colleague,  and 
had  hastened  to  greet  him.  Pressing  through  the  congregation,  he  made 
himself  known.  Who  can  guess  what  thoughts  of  the  past  crowded  their 
minds  and  subdued  their  hearts,  at  this  unlooked-for  meeting  ! 

Mr.  Judson  attended  a  special  meeting  of  the  Baptist  General  Conven 
tion,  called  together  in  consequence  of  the  separation  of  the  Southern 
churches — his  first  interview  with  a  body  called  into  existence  by  his  in 
strumentality, — and  there  received  a  more  formal  and  memorable  welcome. 
Though  forbidden  to  speak  in  public,  a  proposition  to  abandon  the  Arracan 
mission  drew  from  his  lips  a  fervent  protest,  which,  seconded  by  other 
missionaries  present,  determined  the  Convention  to  retain  all  their  stations 
in  the  oast.  By  other  public  assemblies  in  the  principal  cities,  ho  was 
received  in  a  manner  that  told  how  deeply  the  story  of  his  labors  and  suf 
ferings  had  imprinted  itself  on  the  hearts  of  the  people.  Thus  attracting 
to  himself  the  affectionate  sympathy  of  thousands,  and  kindling  higher,  by 
his  presence,  the  flame  of  missionary  zeal,  refreshing  his  spirit  by  the 
amenities  of  friendship,  and  recalling  the  memories  of  youth  by  visiting  its 
most  cherished  scenes,  he  continued  in  the  land  of  his  nativity  till  the  llth 
of  July,  1846,  when  he  once  more  set  his  face  toward  the  field  of  his  strug 
gles  and  triumphs.  He  went  not  alone.  A  third  gentle  spirit  gave  her  af 
fections  to  soothe  and  her  energies  to  sustain  his  soul,  in  the  years  of  labor 
and  suffering  that  awaited  him.  This  was  Miss  Emily  Chubbuck,  of  Utica, 
New  York,  a  lady,  widely  known  to  literary  circles  as  "Fanny  Forester," 
to  whom  he  was  married  in  June,  1846.  Several  new  missionaries  accom 
panied  them,  and  they  arrived  safely  at  Maulmain  in  December. 

A  revolution  having  taken  place  in  Burmah,  Mr.  Judson  removed  to 
Rangoon,  the  only  city  in  the  king's  dominions  where  foreigners  were  per 
mitted  to  reside.  He  found  it  impossible  to  do  anything  efficiently  unless 
he  could  obtain  some  countenance  at  Ava,  but  having  no  means  at  his  dis 
posal  to  undertake  the  journey  at  that  time,  he  was  obliged  to  resign  all 
hope  in  that  quarter,  and  go  back  to  Maulmain,  and  to  his  dictionary.  Be 
side  his  literary  tasks,  he  assumed  the  pastoral  care  of  the  Burman  Church, 
and  preached  once  on  a  Sabbath.  In  these  pursuits  he  continued  with  his 
wonted  diligence,  till  disease  laid  its  hand  upon  him  in  the  autumn  of 
1849. 

A  severe  cold  in  the  month  of  September  was  followed  by  a  fever  that 
prostrated  his  strength.  A  voyage  on  the  coast  and  sea-bathing  at  Amherst 
failed  to  restore  his  wasted  energies,  and  he  returned  to  Maulmain  in  a  de 
clining  state.  His  sufferings  were  extreme,  but  his  mind  was  peaceful,  and 
his  habitual  conversation  was  filled  with  the  spirit  of  heaven.  "  The  love 
of  Christ"  was  his  absorbing  theme,  and  love  to  his  brethren  in  Christ  dwelt 
on  his  lips  and  breathed  in  his  constant  prayers.  Though  ready  to  depart, 
if  so  it  should  please  God,  he  yet  longed  to  do  more  for  Burmah, — tc 
finish  the  wearisome  toil  of  literary  investigation,  and  spare  a  few  years  for 
the  delightful  work  of  preaching  to  the  heathen.  For  this  his-  exhausted 
nature  struggled  to  the  last,  and  when  all  hope  of  recovery  at  Maulmain 
was  lost,  on  the  third  of  April,  1850,  he  bade  farewell  to  his  anxious  com 
panion,  whose  feeble  health  forbade  her  to  accompany  him,  and  with  a 


54:0  .     ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

single  attendant  set  out  on  a  voyage  for  the  Isle  of  Bourbon.  The  passage 
down  the  river  was  slow,  and  he  nearly  sunk  under  the  combined  force  of 
disease  and  the  suffocating  atmosphere.  Once  upon  the  sea  he  revived, 
and  the  pilot-boat  bore  back  a  message  full  of  hope.  The  relief  was  mo 
mentary.  For  three  days  he  endured  indescribable  sufferings  that  extorted 
from  his  lips  the  exclamation,  "  0  that  I  could  die  at  once,  and  go  directly  to 
Paradise,  where  there  is  no  pain!"  To  the  question  whether  he  felt  the 
presence  of  the  Saviour,  he  quickly  replied,  "0,  yes;  it  is  all  rigid,  there! 
I  believe  He  gives  me  just  so  much  pain  and  suffering  as  is  necessary  to  fit 
me  to  die, — to  make  me  submissive  to  his  will."  For  the  last  day  and  a 
half  his  agonies  were  dreadful  to  behold.  In  this  state  lie  continued  till  a 
few  minutes  before  the  going  out  of  life.  Then  he  was  calm,  and  appa 
rently  free  from  pain.  His  last  words  were  in  remembrance  of  her  from 
whom  he  had  parted  in  so  much  uncertainty  a  few  days  before,  and  a  hur 
ried  direction  for  his  burial.  Then,  gradually  sink-ing,  he  "fell  asleep"  on 
the  afternoon  of  April  12th,  and  his  mortal  remains  were  committed  to  the 
deep,  thence  to  be  raised  incorruptible,  when  the  sea  shall  give  up  its  dead. 
Smith's  "  History  of  the  Heroes  and  Martyrs  of  the  Modern  Missionary 
Enterprise,"  from  which  much  of  this  sketch  is  derived,  says,  that  Mr. 
Jtidson  combined  in  his  experience  the  toils  and  sufferings  of  a  missionary 
pioneer,  with  the  ablest  rewards  of  missionary  success.  Often  have  men,  m 
a  spirit  of  heroic  courage  and  constancy,  struggled  with  the  first,  and  de 
parted  without  enjoying  the  last.  But  ho  who  under  cover  of  twilight 
baptized  the  first  Burman  convert,  lived  to  see  twenty-six  churches  gath 
ered  with  nearly  five  thousand  communicants,  the  entire  Bible  in  one  ver 
nacular,  and  the  New  Testament  in  others ;  and  the  missions,  by  the  aid 
of  a  regular  native  ministry,  extending  on  every  side.  He  was  not  required 
to  look  for  the  confirmation  of  his  faith  to  promise  and  prophecy  alone,  but 
was  permitted  to  enjoy  in  his  lifetime  a  fullness  of  success  exceeding  his 
fondest  hopes. 


THE   CONDUCT 

OF 

OUR  COUNTRY  AND  COUNTRYMEN 

IN    THEIE   DIFFICULTIES   WITH 

AUSTRIA  AND  THE  AUSTRIAN®. 

CONTAINING     AN     ACCOUNT    OF    THE    ARREST    AND     IMPRISONMENT    OF    AN 

AMERICAN  IN  HUNGARY THE    CORRESPONDENCE  OF  DANIEL  WEBSTER, 

THE  AMERICAN  SECRETARY  OF  STATE,  WITH  CHEVALIER  HULSEMAN,  THE 

AUSTRIAN    MINISTER AMERICAN    INTERVENTION    IN    BEHALF    OF,   AND 

HOSPITALITY  TO,  THE  HUNGARIAN  EXILES,  AND  THE 

HEROISM  OF  CAPTAIN  INGRAHAM  IN  THE  KOSTA  AFFAIR. 


AUSTRIA  is  an  odious  name  to  an  American,  for  it  is  associated  with  a 
government  perhaps  the  most  crafty  in  policy  ;  the  most  treacherous  in  ad 
ministration,  of  all  the  despotisms  that  claim  authority  "  by  the  Grace  of 
God  and  the  Divine  Right  of  Kings  "  to  rule  over  men.  Scarce  one  bright 
spot  in  all  her  course,  scarce  one  magnanimous  act  in  any  of  her  rulers  can 
be  found  to  relieve  the  disgraceful  page  of  her  annals. 

When  the  Hungarians  attempted  to  throw  off  her  yoke,  the  great  heart 
of  this  nation  beat  in  sympathy  with  that  heroic  people,  and  joy  ran  through 
all  the  land  as  tidings  of  victory  after  victory  over  the  infamous  House  of 
Hapsburg  reached  it  from  across  the  blue  ocean.  It  was  succeeded  by  sor 
row  most  poignant,  when  at  last  it  became  known  that  the  gallant  nation 
had  gone  down,  under  the  combined  armies  of  allied  despots  from  without 
and  by  treachery  from  within — the  sad  history  finally  ending  in  the  cold 
blooded  murder  of  her  bravest  generals  after  their  surrender,  victims  to  the 
vengeance  of  a  tyranny  that  spared  not  old  age  in  its  whitening  hairs,  nor 
even  the  maiden  in  her  youthful  beauty. 

It  was  the  intense  interest  of  our  people  in  the  Hungarian  cause, 
which  led  to  the  occurrences  we  are  about  to  relate.  They  form  a  part  of 
our  history — aside  events,  it  is  true,  but  "touches"  that  by  their  form  and 
coloring  indicate  character  with  as  much  precision  as  those  affairs  which, 
looming  up  in  great  proportions,  strike  at  the  first  hurrying  glance. 

We  need  never  despair  of  our  own  country  when  her  millions  can  thus  be 
aroused  to  sympathize  in  the  efforts  of  a  gallant  nation  for  freedom  ;  for  it 
shows  that  the  spirit  of  Liberty  is  the  first  love  in  American  bosoms,  and 
while  this  is  so,  whatever  disasters  may  befall  can  be  but  temporary  in  tho 
long  years  which  God  gives  to  the  life  of  nations. 

C541) 


542  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

ARREST   AND    IMPRISONMENT    OF    A   YOUNG    AMERICAN    IS   HUNGARY,    BY    TUB 
OFFICIALS  OF  AUSTRIA. 

Just  after  the  great  struggle  of  the  Hungarian  nation  for  independence 
had  closed  so  disastrous!}',  and  a  wail  of  sorrow  was  ascending  from  all  the 
land,  an  American  traveler  entered  their  country  to  learn  by  personal  inter 
course,  more  of  this  unfortunate  people.  Charles  Loring  Brace  was  a  young 
man  of  education,  then  in  Europe  to  engraft  upon  the  solid  structure  of 
scholastic  culture,  the  graces  of  the  varied  knowledge  that  travel  brings.  He 
found  in  Hungary  all  which,  as  a  republican,  he  had  longed  to  see  on  the  con 
tinent — "a  nation  educated  practically  for  freedom,  passionately  loving 
it,  ready  to  peril  all  to  gain  it — a  nation,  too,  of  singularly  generous  and 
manly  character."  No  American  gentlemen  before  had  ever  been  known  to 
have  mingled  in  their  social  life,  and  all  that  had  come  to  us  respecting  that 
distant  people  was  as  uncertain  and  unreliable  as  the  coloring  of  romance. 
His  book,  "Hungary  in  1851"  is  a  beautifully  written  tribute  to  the  virtues 
of  a  people  of  such  pride  of  nationality  that  no  stronger  indignation  at  an 
unworthy  proposal  can  be  expressed  than  in  the  simple  utterance — "  I  AM 
A  HUNGARIAN  ! " 

Mr.  Brace  entered  Hungary  in  the  spring,  and  at  once  penetrated  to  the 
heart  of  the  country.  It  was  just  after  the  first  band  of  exiles  under  Gov 
ernor  Ujhazy,  had  reached  America,  and  he  found  the  few  acts  of  kindness 
from  his  countrymen  to  those  unfortunate  men  keenly  appreciated.  Wher 
ever  it  was  known  that  he  was  an  American,  he  was  welcomed  with  a  pas 
sionate  fervor  that  showed  the  intense  feeling  of  those  people.  "  We  con 
sider  your  countrymen,"  said  they,  "  as  our  friends  ;  you  have  given  us  yout 
sympathy  and  aid,  and  the  time  will  never  come  when  our  homes  will  net 
be  open  to  you."  He  relates  a  touching  instance  of  this  appreciation  which 
occurred  at  a  large  and  refined  dinner  company:  "We  had  been  chatting 
pleasantly  at  the  meal,"  says  he,  "  when  suddenly  the  host  arose — a  cour 
teous  and  dignified'  old  man,  with  head  whitened,  and  forehead  furrowed 
by  the  sufferings  of  himself  and  his  family,  in  the  Hungarian  cause,  and 
proposed  the  health  of  '  their  American  guest,'  and  accompanied  it  with 
a  speech  ;  I  cannot  remember  it  exactly,  but  he  spoke  in  deep,  feeling 
tones  of  the  degradation  of  their  country — of  how  much  they  had  hoped 
for  her,  and  how  much  was  lost — of  the  gloomy  future  for  them  and  their 
children,  for  years  to  come.  Then  he  alluded  to  the  exiles — 'Sir,' said  he, 
'when  our  countrymen  were  beggared  and  homeless,  you  Americans  shel 
tered  them — you  have  opened  your  houses  to  them — you  have  given  them 
money  and  land — and  most  of  all,  you  have  remembered  that  they  were 
sufferers  in  the  same  cause  with  you — you  have  given  them  your  sympathy. 
May  God  bless  you  and  your  country  for  this  !  I  am  but  an  humble  Hun 
garian,  but  tell  your  countrymen  from  me,  that  if  there  is  any  man  in  this 
land  who  will  not  open  his  hearth  and  home,  and  all  he  has  to  the  Amer 
ican  stranger,  he  is  not  worthy  to  be  called  a  Hungarian ! ' 

It  was  the  very  company  which  you  would  expect  not  to  show  any  sigr>g 
of  feeling ;  pclite,  accomplished,  nearly  all  '  people  of  the  world.'  Yet,  wheth 
er  it  was  the  appearance  and  tones  of  the  old  man,  which  seemed  to  speak 
of  the  nameless  sufferings  that  had  beaten  over  him  ;  or  whether  it  was  the 


OF  AMERICANS.  543 

thought  of  the  unhappy  fortunes  of  their  country  and  of  the  homeless  exiles, 
I  could  not  avoid  noticing,  in  the  solemn  stillness  after  the  speech,  that  tears 
were  coursing  down  many  a  cheek.  When  would  ever  an  Anglo-Saxon 
dinner-party,  gentle  or  simple,  allow  itself  to  be  caught  away  into  such  an 
indulgence  of  feeling?" 

On  another  occasion,  while  examining  the  buildings  of  the  university  at 
Debreczin  in  Inner  Hungary,  he  was  invited  into  one  of  the  halls  where  tho 
students  were  about  to  sing  some  national  songs.  The  enthusiasm  with 
which  he  was  received  must  have  been  exceedingly  gratifying  to  him,  es 
pecially  as  he  had  but  recently  graduated  at  one  of  our  universities — Yale. 
But  hera  is  his  story: 

"I  followed  them,  and  quite  unexpectedly  found  myself  in  a  large  con- 
eert-hall,  before  a  crowd  of  people,  who  welcomed  me  with  an  Eljen  I 
[hurrah!]  which  made  the  walls  ring  again.  At  the  other  end  of  the  room 
was  a  full  choir  of  students.  It  appeared  my  friends  wished  to  give  me  a 
little  pleasant  surprise,  and  had  prepared  this  concert  of  the  Hungarian 
music  for  the  purpose.  The  choir,  composed  of  men  and  boys,  was  remark 
ably  well  trained  ;  and  they  evidently  sang  with  an  excitement  and  inter 
est  unusual. 

The  songs  were  mostly  of  Hungary — her  beauty  and  glory,  their  love  and 
devotion  to  her,  and,  with  the  plaintive  tone,  peculiar  to  Hungarian  music, 
seemed  darkly  forboding  future  calamity  to  her.  Without,  doubt,  the  pres 
ence  of  one  from  that  nation  who  had  welcomed  the  Hungarian  exiles,  and 
had  alone  sympathized  with  her  cause,  gave  a  reality  to  their  expressions  of 
feeling,  which  nothing  otherwise  could.  -  And,  as  the  deep  voices  swelled 
and  thrilled  over  the  words  which  spoke  of  their 'beautiful  Fatherland,' 
their  love  unquenchable  for  her,  their 'hopes  with  her  to  die,'  1  could 
scarcely  restrain  my  tears.  I  seemed  to  be  listening  to  the  Jews  singing  '  the 
acngs  of  Zion  in  a  strange  land.'  And  at  length  as  the  chorus  cf  their  fa 
vorite  song, 

'  Zu  deinem  Vaterland  blcib  '  To  thy  country  remain 

Unerschutterlich  treu!  '  Unshakingly  true  ! ' 

» 

arose,  and  swelled,  and  was  echoed  again  and  again,  with  passionate  tone 
and  tearful  eye,  from  every  man  and  child  in  the  room,  it  seemed  to  mo 
that  they,  in  this  time  of  their  country's  gloom  and  misfortune,  were  send 
ing  forth  by  the  stranger,  to  other  lands,  their  vows  of  unshaken  fidelity 
and  love. 

Nearly  all  the  Hungarian  airs  open  in  a  low,  plaintive  measure,  and  grad 
ually  increase  in  force  and  wildness  as  they  go  on.  This  plaintive  tone 
through  nearly  all  the  Hungarian  music,  and  even  in  the  sound  of  the  lan 
guage,  as  it  first  strikes  upon  the  ear  of  the  stranger,  is  very  remarkable.  I 
have  often  sat  listening  in  the  drawing-rooms,  to  the  songs  or  the  conversa 
tion,  and  wondered  whether  there  was  not  something  ominous — prophetic— 
of  tho  future  of  the  nation,  in  this  tone  of  sadness  so  peculiar  to  the  Hun 
garian.  It  is  very  strange  and  interesting  to  the  traveler,  everywhere  in 
Hungary,  to  observe  how  these  national  songs  are  remembered  and  sung 
In  many  places  they  are  forbidden,  but  the  people  will  sing  them.  I  re 
member  that  in  one  family  I  heard  a  young  lady  sing  one  of  these  songg 


544  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS. 

with  such  an  extreme  enthusiasm,  that  I  had  apprehensions  for  a  little  while 
she  was  becoming  insane. 

Among  the  airs  which  I  heard  at  this  concert,  some  of  the  best  wera 
connected  with  the  most  unmeaning  words.  There  is  one  celebrated  air, 
with  a  singularly  beautiful  though  somewhat  monotonous  refrain,  beginning 

'  Hortobagy  puzta  ' 
where  the  only  idea  which  I  could  find  conveyed  was 

'  Over  the  prairie 
Over  the  prairie 

Blows  the  wind  I ' 

The  life  on  the  puztas,  or  prairies,  and  the  adventures  and  loves  of  the 
Csikosses,  or  half-wild  cattle-drivers  upon  them,  seemed  to  form  one  of  the 
most  favorite  themes  in  these  airs. 

After  the  concert  was  over,  I  expressed  my  thanks,  and  turned  to  go  out, 
when  I  found  a  long  lane  opened  in  the  crowd,  through  which  I  passed,  un 
der  vociferous  JEIjens,  looking  as  meekly  as  a  modest  man  could  at  such  an 
unexpected  reception." 

In  another  place  he  says, 

"I  had  received  a  beautiful  note  in  English  from  a  lady  this  morning,  re 
questing  me  to  call  upon  her,  as  she  'wished  to  know  one  of  that  noble 
nation  who  sheltered  the  exiles  from  Hungary.'  I  called  and  she  addressed 
me  at  once  in  English.  In  the  course  of  the  conversation,  with  character 
istic  Hungarian  eloquence  of  tone  she  burst  forth,  '  Did  you  know  it,  sir  ? 
We  meant  to  have  a  republic  like  yours.  Gorgey  was  our  Arnold.  If  it 
had  not  been  for  him,  we  should  havo  been  free.  0,  if  you  could  have 
seen  our  armies  as  they  marched  through  here  !  How  proud  they  were, 
how  hopeful  and  strong !  And  now  they  are  gone  !  But  they  -\vere  ready, 
and  no  one  feared  to  die  for  his  country.  And  to  think  it  was  all  for 
nothing ! ' " 

The  intense  manner  in  which  this  lady  expressed  herself  indicated  but 
the  depth  of  the  national  depression  at  their  great  misfortune..  It  was 
shown  in  various  ways. 

"I  have  been  in,"  says  Mr.  Brace,  "a  most  sensible  and  cultivated  family, 
where  all  the  ladies  were  dressed  in  black  for  their  country,  and  where  they 
wore  small  iron  bracelets — almost  as  heavy  as  handcuffs — on  their  wrists,  in 
memory  of  the  solitary  prisoners  of  Arad  and  Temeswer.  I  have  seen,  too, 
often  in  Hungary,  bits  of  the  BROOMS  with  which  Haynau  was  beaten, 
brought  over  by  some  one,  put  up  in  handsome  gold  settings,  and  worn  as 
pins  by  the  ladies  !  And  there  is  scarcely  a  family  in  the  country  without 
the  little  bracelets  worked  by  the  Hungarian  prisoners,  and  marked  with  the 
first  letters  of  the  names  of  the  Generals  who  were  executed  by  the  Aus- 
trians,  in  this  way—'  P.  V.  D.  T.  N.  A.  K.  L.  S.'— which  can  'also  be  read, 
'  Panonnia  Vergisst  Deinen  Tod  Nie;  Ah  Klager  Lelen  Sie!'  (Hungary  for 
gets  thy  death  never !  As  accusers  they  shall  live  !)  It  is  a  penal  offense, 
by  the  way,  wearing  these  now.  It  would  be  difficult  for  any  one  of  the 
cool  Anglo-Saxon  blood  to  credit  the  instances  I  met  with  constantly  hero 
of  this  intensity  of  feeling,  on  political  matters.  It  is  well  known  that  a* 


OF  AMERICANS.  545 

the  treacherous  surrender  at  Vilagos,  many  of  the  private  soldiers  shot  them 
selves  through  the  brain  in  the  bitterness  of  their  despair.  The  number 
of  casas  of  insanity  after  the  Austrian  victory,  beginning  with  that  of  ono 
of  their  most  lamented  and  distinguished  leaders,  .would  be  incredible. 
The  almost  dramatic  coolness  and  bravery  with  which  the  Hungarians  died 
oc  the  scaffold  and  the  gallows,  after  this  late  Revolution,  would  hardly  bo 
credible.  There  were  saveral  instances  of  insanity  previous  to  the  execu 
tion,  but  not  a  solitary  one  of  fear  during  them.  Many  went  forth  before 
the  file  of  soldiers,  with  a  cigar  in  their  mouth.  One  of  the  bravest  of 
the  thirteen  generals  shot  at  Arad,  was  reserved  to  the  last,  while,  the 
others  were  executed.  '  /  was  always  first  in  the  attack?  said  he,  '  why  am 
Hast  here?'"  . 

Without  further  preliminaries  we  pass  over  to  the  circumstances  of  the 
arrest  and  imprisonment  of  Mr.  Brace.  This  occurred  at  the  city  of  Gros 
Wardein,  one  of  the  great  military  stations  for  the  Austrians  in  Hungary. 
On  the  day  of  his  arrival  he  was  taking  dinner  with  a  friend  in  the  dining 
room  of  a  hotel,  when  the  latter,  perhaps  to  show  that  he  had  an  American 
as  an  acquaintance,  asked  Mr.  Brace  about  Ujhazy's  Hungarian  colony  in 
Iowa.  The  latter  answered  in  a  general  way,  and  rather  avoided  conver 
sation  from  a  kind  of  mistrust  of  two  men  who  sat  at  the  table.  The  next 
day,  in  the  midst  of  a  pleasant  conversation  at  a  dinner  party,  he  was  inter 
rupted  by  the  entrance  of  a  little  gentleman  in  black  followed  by  a  gem 
d'arme.  The  small  gentleman  announced  himself  as  the  "  Chief  of  Police," 
with  a  warrant  for  his  arrest,  and  the  examination  of  his  papers,  on  the 
charge  of  his  having  "Proclamations!" 

The  gens  d'arme  first  took  him  to  the  house  of  the  friend  with  whom  ho 
was  stopping,  where  he  found  a  sentinel  already  stationed,  and  all  his 
writing  and  books  collected  for  the  examination  of  the  police.  From  the 
gens  d'arme  he  learned  that  a  warrant  had  been  issued  for  him  within  six 
hours  of  his  arrival,  and  that  he  had  been  searching  for  him  from  that  time. 
The  soldier  finally  drove  him  to  an  old  castle  outside  of  the  city,  used  as  a 
j.iison. 

"As  we  rode  through  the  heavy  old  arched  gateway,"  says  Mr.  Brace, 
"into  the  court  within,  I  looked  around  curiously  at  the  grim  walls,  and 
could  not  but  feel  a  momentary  heart-sinking,  when  I  remembered  how  far 
I  was  from  friend  or  aid,  and  how  many  a  hopeful  man  had  entered  such 
a  prison  in  the  Austrian  states,  never  to  come  forth  again." 

On  his  entrance  the  officer  asked,  why  he  was  there.  "I  have  not  the 
slightest  idea,"  he  replied.  "  I  suppose  because  I  am  an  American."  The 
officer  then  thoroughly  searched  him,  taking  from  him  all  his  money,  every 
scrap  of  paper,  and  leaving  him  only  his  watch  and  toothpick,  and  then  ho 
was  conducted  to  a  miserably  lighted,  dirty  cell,  in  which  was  a  common 
Honved,  convicted  of  carrying  a  false  pass,  and  a  tailor  imprisoned  for  pos 
sessing  a  concealed  weapon.  To  his  remonstrance  against  such  quarters, 
the  officer  replied  that  it  was  according  to  orders,  and  that  it  would  be  "  a 
par;  of  his  experience  as  a  traveler,"  and  then  bade  him  Gate  Nacht! 

In  a  few  moments  a  friendly  voice  called  through  the  key-hole  of  the  ad 
joining  room,  begging  him,  "not  to  be  Hue,  for  it  was  always  hard  at  first." 
Mr.  Brace  slept  Little  that  night.  At  one  time  he  thought  it  all  a  mis- 


546  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

take,  and  that  he  should  be  released  the  next  day ;  then  again,  it  seemed  to 
him  as  if  there  was  a  deliberate  intention  to  treat  him  as  a  common  crim 
inal  and  he  felt  how  completely  he  was  in  their  power.  His  great  con 
solation  WAS  that  not  the  slightest  word  or  writing  of  a  treasonable  character 
could  be  brought  against  him.  The  next  day  he  was  conducted  by  two 
soldiers  with  fixed  bayonets  to  a  court  in  the  room  below,  comprising  rour 
military  officers  and  a  clerk,  with  eight  soldiers  as  a  guard.  He  was  greeted 
politely,  and  a  sharp,  keen-eyed  man  "commenced  the  examination  in  the 
bland  way  peculiar  to  Austrian  officers ; "  and  we  add,  so  peculiar  to  crafty 
men  the  world  over.  He  was  first  asked  his  name,  that  of  his  father,  hia 
profession,  birth-place,  etc.  Connecticut,  the  name  of  his  native  state,  oc 
casioned  some  delay  to  the  clerk  in  writing.  To  the  inquiry,  "  what  are  youi 
objects  in  Hungary  ?  "  he  frankly  replied,  "  as  a  traveler  to  study  the  char 
acter  and  manners  of  the  people,  and  to  investigate  the  old  political  institu 
tions  of  the  country."  But  he  found  that  he  had  erred  in  his  candor,  that 
he  was  in  the  presence  of  a  heartless  inquisitor  who  was  determined  to  con 
vict  him  of  crime.  "We  do  not  believe  you,"  said  he,  "we  know  the  sym 
pathy  of  the  Americans  with  the  revolutionists  here.  You  are  the  first  that 
has  ever  been  in  the  land.  We  can  prove  that  you  are  in  a  wide  conspir 
acy.  We  understand  this  route  of  travel  and  these  many  acquaintances. 
There  is  a  wide  complot  here.  I  have  been  accustomed  to  trace  plots  for 
many  years.  I  see  your  object.  Speak  out  plainly  and  confess  ! "  Mr. 
Brace  was  startled  at  such  a  perversion  of  justice;  but,  putting  on  an  indif 
ferent  face,  he  replied  he  did  not  believe  he  had  any  such  proofs,  and  that 
he  did  not  recollect  a  single  acquaintance  who  had  a  relation  in  America. 

Questions  of  the  most  searching  kind  were  put  to  him  as  to  his  acquaint 
ance  with  the  Hungarian  emigrants.  Luckily  the  name  of  Gen,  Csetz  was 
the  only  one  of  importance  he  recollected.  He  had  met  him  at  Hamburg, 
where  he  gave  him  a  note  of  introduction  to  a  friend  in  Hungary,  a  govern 
ment  officer,  which,  although  it  simply  said,  "  the  Herr  Von  Csetz  intro 
duces  Mr.  Brace  to  his  friend  Mr.  S.  of  Pesth,"  was  pounced  upon  b}T  the  ex 
amining  Major  or  Auditor  with  the  greatest  avidity,  who  asserted  that  some 
plot  was  hidden  under  this  introduction,  and  tftat  his  only  hope  was  in  con 
fession.  Mr.  Brace  smiled  at  this  perversion  ;  but^  he  was  far  from  easy. 
He  felt  as  if  he  was  getting  entangled  in  meshes  frcm  which  he  could  not 
escape,  that  the  auditor  might  have  suborned  witnesses  against  him,  and  he 
remembered  how  utterly  helpless  he  was.  The  memory  of  all  the  terrible 
stories  he  had  read  of  Spanish  Inquisitions  came  over  him,  but  it  was  only 
for  a  moment,  and  he  prepared  to  meet  the  examination  carefully  and  man 
fully. 

It  appeared  that  he  had  seen  Ujhazy  in  the  streets  of  New  York,  and  al 
though  he  had  never  spoken  to  him,  the  auditor  returned  to  the  subject 
again  and  again,  urging  him  to  speak  out,  openly  and  frankly.  "  What  is 
your  agreement  with  Ujhazy,  and  where  are  your  letters  from  him  ?"  The 
auditor  would  take  no  denial,  until  Mr.  Brace  closed  the  subject  by  a  con 
tinued  reiteration,  asked  him  for  his  proofs,  and  ended  by  declaring,  "  if  he 
knew  him,  and  every  Hungarian  emigrant  in  America,  it  was  no  evidence  of 
conspiracy." 

In  Mr.  Brace's  luggage  was  found  a  pamphlet  printed  in  1848,  called 


OF  AMERICANS.  547 

"  Hungary's  Good  Right,"  at  the  end  of  which  was  a  line  in  Latin—"  0,  ye 
who  have  too  sorely  suffered,  God  shall  at  length  bring  an  end  to  this,  too  ! " 

"  Over  this  the  auditor  declaimed  with  great  vehemence.  This  pamphlet 
showed  my  cursed  revolutionary  sentiments.  '  These  are  the  things  which 
you  scatter  among  the  people.  Look  at  this  line,  sir !  God  will  end  the 
sufferings  of  the  Hungarians  !  What  does  that  mean  ?  God  will  bring  aid 
perhaps  from  others  ! ' 

I  smiled  at  such  a  storm  over  a  quotation,  and  told  him  I  had  never  ob 
served  the  line  before.  He  would  notice  it  was  not  in  my  handwriting. 
Still  I  could  not  see  anything  very  treasonable  in  it. 

'  It  proves  nothing.  I  have  been  collecting  documents  from  all  sides,  and 
this  is  one.  I  can  prove  from  Vienna,  that  when  there,  I  read  works  on  the 
other  side.  Besides,  even  if  it  showed  my  political  sentiments,  it  does  not 
at  all  prove  I  am  in  a  revolutionary  complot.  And  furthermore,  old  revolu 
tionary  pamphlets,  which  no  one  reads  now  except  the  historical  investiga 
tor,  are  the  very  last  things  an  emissary  would  carry  about  with  him.  If  it 
was  a  modern,  exciting  brochure,  or  a  proclamation,  it  would  be  different ; 
but  this! ' 

1  The  reading  works  on  the  other  side  was  only  natural  in  an  educated, 
man,'  said  he. 

I  then  ventured  to  ask,  *  What  would  not  be  suspicious  in  an  American  in 
the  view  of  the  Austrian  authorities  ?    It  was  '  suspicious  '  to  visit  men  of 
the  Hungarian  party,  and  only  a  'sham'  to  visit  those  of  the  other.     It  was 
'revolutionary'  if  one  read  books  on  one  side,  and  proved  nothing  good  if 
one  read  them  on  the  other.' 

I 1  am  not  here  to  argue,'  was  the  reply." 

Even  the  slightest  thing  which  the  auditor  could  find  to  make  out  a  case 
against  him  was  eagerly  grasped  at,  and  the  bland  manner  of  the  man 
changed  at  the  self-possession  and  spirit  manifested  by  the  replies  of  our 
young  countryman.  At  one  moment  foe  bullied,  at  another  perverted  his 
language,  then  drew  him  out  in  hopes  that  he  might  in  some  way  fasten  a 
conspiracy  upon  him. 

The  examination  lasted  six  hours,  at  the  close  of  which  the  auditor  read 
the  accusation  against  him,  nearly  in  these  words  : 

"  You  are  a  member  of  the  Democratic  Verein  (Union),  and  employed  by 
the  Committee,  and  an  agent  of  Ujhazy  and  Csetz,  here  in  Hungary,  for 
the  purpose  of  spreading  Revolutionary  movements  !  " 

"  As  it  appeared  later,  the  only  possible  evidence  which  they  had  for  this 
charge,  besides  what  is  mentioned  above,  were  the  words  I  had  uttered  in 
the  hotel.  The  two  men  opposite  us  at  table  were  members  of  the  secret 
police,  and  had  reported  immediately  that  there  was  an  American  in  the 
city  who  'spoke  as  if  acquainted  with  Ujhazy.' 

After  the  charge  was  read,  I  was  conducted  back  to  my  prison-room,  by 
the  provost  and  two  soldiers,  and  as  he  passed  through  the  first  cell  I  heard 
the  prisoners  ask  him,  '  Will  he  be  imprisoned  f  '  'Ganz  bestiment ! '  ('Without 
a  doubt')  was  the  reply.  With  this  consolation  was  I  locked  in  for  the 
second  night. 

In  an  Austrian  prison — and  almost  sentenced  !  I  threw  myself  on  the 
dirty  bed,  and  could  scarcely  believe  it  all  real.  It  half  seemed  as  if  it 
35 


54:8  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

must  be  a  dream.  It  all  looked  hopeless  enough.  I  knew  they  would  bo 
very  glad  to  sentence  an 'American.'  And  who  could  ever  know  or  hear 
of  my  being  there  ?  It  came  over  me  as  if  all  I  had  ever  heard  or  read  of 
these  Austrian  dungeons  and  secret  inquisitions  was  true — and  true  for  me. 
Perhaps  my  LIFE — all  that  I  had  wished  and  hoped  for — all  that  I  had 
been  preparing  for — was  to  end  here,  to  close  in  this  mean,  miserable  way. 
I  might  die  openly  without  much  fear — but  to  be  stifled  in  a  dark  hole  in 
this  manner !  I  thought,  too,  of  a  long  imprisonment — that  I  should  ba 
rotting  here  the  best  years  of  my  life.  And  there  came  over  me  a  picture 
of  myself  returning  home,  rheumatic,  broken  in  health — those  I  loved, 
dead,  and  all  I  knew,  forgetting  me,  and  all  my  plans  for  life,  utterly  ruined. 
Then  it  seemed  to  me  my  reason  would  not  bear  this,  and  I  remembered 
the  young  Hungarian,  who  had  come  out  from  this  very  prison  after  threo 
years,  a  lunatic,  and  I  felt  sure  one  year  would  do  the  same  for  me. 

In  the  midst  of  my  reflections  a  voice  called  me  to  the  key-hole  of  tho 
next  room — the  same  friendly  voice  which  I  had  heard  on  my  first  night. 

'  Friend  !     Are  you  gloomy  ? ' 

'No,'  said  I,  'not  at  all.' 

'  How  does  it  stand  with  your  case  ? ' 

'  Bad — though  it  is  all  suspicion — no  proofs  ! ' 

'Friend,  do  you  not  know  the  House  of  Austria  needs  no  proof?'  Sus 
picion  is  enough  ! ' 

After  some  further  ta;k,  I  laid  myself  down  again  to  try  to  sleep.  A 
deep,  burning  sense  of  indignation  at  such  injustice  settled  upon  me.  The 
noble  sympathies  of  my  countrymen  were  to  be  revenged  so  meanly  on  me  ! 
This  was  Austrian  reprisal !  I  felt  glad  within  me  that,  if  I  must  suffer, 
I  could  suffer  for  such  reasons.  And  I  was  strong  in  the  consciousness  of 
the  sympathy  of  a  great  nation  if  any  act  of  injustice  or  violence  should  be 
performed  against  me.  There  arose,  too,  as  is  natural  under  such  an  unpro 
voked  wrong,  a  dogged  determination  to  resist — and,  whatever  came,  to  fight 
out  the  matter  step  by  step.  And  why  should  I  hesitate  to  say,  that  the 
trust  in  ONE  above  courts  and  nations,  and*above  this  oppression  of  men, 
grew  that  night  more  calm  and  strong  within  me.  Though  I  had  not  slept 
a  moment,  the  morning's  light  seemed  to  bring  hope  again,  and  I  rose  the 
next  day  quite  cheerfully." 

Mr.  Brace  saw  that  his  only  hope  for  liberation  was  in  sending  news  of 
his  arrest  to  our  Embassy  at  Vienna,  so  he  managed  to  bribe  a  servant  to 
bring  him  paper  and  ink,  and  hs  wrote  two  letters — one  to  a  friend  in  Hun 
gary,  under  a  disguised  name,  and  the  other  to  Mr.  Schwarz,  our  consul  in 
Vienna,  giving  the  full  particulars,  and  calling  for  aid.  He  did  not  dare  to 
write  to  Mr.  McCurdy,  our  minister  at  the  Austrian  court,  fearing  that  his 
name  would  attract  suspicion.  These  letters  he  sent  out  to  be  posted  by  a 
discharged  prisoner  who  concealed  them  in  the  lining  of  his  boots.  Not 
thinking  this  enough,  he  got  another  prisoner  who  was  about  to  be  liberated 
interested,  who  promised  to  do  all  he  could  for  him  in  Vienna.  He  was  a 
Catholic  priest,  a  whole-souled  fellow,  who  enlivened  the  whole  prison  by 
hifl  merriment.  Says  Brace, 

"  Ho  was  too  old  '  a  bird,'  however,  to  take  any  papers  from  me,  for,  of 
course,  as  all  the  others,  he  believed  I  was  '  deeply  in,'  some  affair.  Ho 


OF  AMERICANS.  549 

said  he  had  been  searched  twenty-five  times  for  revolutionary  papers,  and 
he  should  be  cautious  how  he  risked  anything  again.  I  gave  him  McCur- 
dy's  name  and  address,  and  he  wrote  them  backward,  and  in  cypher,  in  his 
note-book.  The  way  in  which  he  kept  up  the  conversation  with  me  was 
characteristic.  As  we  stood  in  the  hall,  in  the  morning,  he  would  walk 
about  piously  reading  from  his  prayer-book,  and  every  time  he  passed  me 
'What  did  you  say  is  his  name  ? — (in  louder  tones  from  the  book),  Oh', 
Maria  beatisst'me  ! ' 

Then  again,  as  he  came  back,  '  Ora  pro  nobis  !  Mac  Curdy,  did  you  say  ? 
Oh  Iwldseliyste!  segn  et  uns !  Oh  sanctissime,'  "  ect. 

In  a  few  days  Brace  was  allowed  to  walk  out  for  an  hour  in  the  day  with 
other  prisoners.  Many  a  curious  look  was  fixed  upon  him  from  every  part 
of  the  barracks  as  the  American  shut  up  there  in  that  distant  prison. 

"I  often,"  said  he,  "used  to  slip  by  the  sentinel,  and  go  to  one  window 
which  but  few  knew  of.  It  commanded  a  view  of  the  windows  of  a  fellow- 
prisoner  whose  fate  deeply  interested  me.  The  unfortunate  was  a  young 
lady — a  countess — from  one  of  the  first  families  in  Hungary,  a  family  long 
distinguished  in  its  history,  the  TELEKI.  She  had  been  arrested  a  short 
time  before  I  was,  on  a  similar  charge,  of  being  in  correspondence  with  the 
Hungarian  Emigration,  and  beside  with  Mazzini.  The  arrest  had  made 
»reat  noise  in  Hungaiy,  and  I  had  often  heard  of  it.  How  little  I  had  ever 
thought  of  sharing  the  same  prison  with  her  !  One  of  her  friends  supposed 
we  were  in  the  same  conspiracy,  and  had  told  me  of  this  window.  I  made 
many  attempts  to  communicate  with  her,  hoping  to  be  able  to  assist  her 
v/hen  without ;  but,  somehow,  I  could  never  eatch  her  eye.  She  used  often 
to  come  to  the  window,  to  tend  the  few  plants  she  had  there,  or  to  gaze 
longingly  out  on  the  distant  landscapes.  Poor  lady  !  It  seemed  to  me 
she  ^rew  paler  every  day.  It  was  very  sad  ;  so  young  arid  beautiful — with 
wonderful  accomplishments,  and  a  noble  heart — to  spend  her  fresh,  young 
years  in  that  heart-crushing  place  !  At  first,  she  used  to  have  a  lively, 
young  girl  running  by  her  side — a  maid-servant  of  extraordinary  genius, 
and  accused  of  being  engaged  in  the  same  plot  with  herself,  though  only 
twelve  years  old!  But  afterward,  with  a  truly  Austrian  refinement  of  cru 
elty,  they  were  separated,  and  the  child  was  confined  by  herself  in  the  city. 
The  auditor  said  of  the  little  girl,  after  the  trial,  '  It  is  korrille !  Sie  est 
verdorben  vom  grand  und  boden !  She  is  contaminated  from  the  very  root  and 
core  /'  Or,  in  other  words,  young  as  she  was,  she  was  a  thorough  republican 
and  a  downright  hater  of  tyranny.  I  had  good  information  of  what  was 
going  on,  and  I  learned  that  the  defense  of  the  countess  on  her  trial  was 
most  heroic  and  patriotic.  She  met  the  abuse  and  cunning  of  the  auditor, 
with  a  spirit  and  dignity  which  even  abashed  him.  And  I  know  that  in 
private  she  expressed  herself  ready  to  go  through  with  any  length  of  im 
prisonment  if  she  could  only  help  her  unhappy  country.  Whether  she 
was  guilty  or  not,  I  do  not  know ;  but  from  my  own  experience  of  Austrian 
courts,  I  should  think  it  not  in  the  least  improbable  she  was  another  victim 
tc  their  infernal  system.  She  often  inquired  after  the  fate  of  the  American 
so  strangely  arrested  in  the  midst  of  Hungary ;  but  we  never  succeeded  in 
changing  a  word."  She  was  afterward  sentenced  by  court-martial  to 
twenty  years  imprisonment. 


550  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

The  examination  of  Mr.  Brace  was  continued  at  intervals.  "It  is  diffi 
cult,"  says  he,  "  to  convey  the  Inquisition-like  tone  of  them  all — the  petty 
tricks,  the  attempts  to  entangle,  the  means  used  to  force  a  confession.  For 
instance,  one  morning  as  I  entered  the  court-room,  the  auditor  turned  ever 
my  papers  in  a  careless  way,  and  asked,  half  unconsciously,  "  Where  is  that 
letter  from  Uj hazy  ?"  I  rose  up  in  indignation  at  such  a  mean  device  i 
'  Sir,  you  know  that  I  have  told  you  again  and  again,  I  have  no  acquaintanoa 
with  Ujhazy  !'  'Oh,  I  beg  your  pardon,  I  mean  that  letter  from  Czetz.'M 

When  his  last  trial  came  on,  they  asked  him  if  he  had  anything  to  urge. 
The  remarks  which  he  then  made,  he  thought  undoubtedly  injured  him 
more  than  anything  else  in  the  trial.  Still  they  were  not  uttered  without 
consideration.  In  his  narrative,  he  says,  "Thus  far,  I  had  answered  their 
accusations  point  by  point,  not  going  into  anything  irrelevant,  and  avoiding 
carefully  all  personalities,  so  that  their  case  might  stand  as  bad  as  possible 
before  the  world.  But  through  it  all,  without  our  directly  saying  anything 
about  it,  there  was  underlying  always  a  reference  to  the  two  different  prin 
ciples  of  government.  They  had  caught  a  republican  in  the  midst  of 
Hungary.  They  suspect  him  of  trying  to  diffuse  republican  sentiments — 
though  they  accuse  him  of  offenses  against  their  laws.  He  defends  himself 
on  their  own  grounds,  and  shows  his  innocence.  This,  legally,  was  enough. 
But  I  could  not  think  it  worthy  of  a  man,  or  of  the  great  principles  which 
I,  as  one  individual  of  our  nation,  might  represent  to  leave  the  case  so.  I 
was  here,  indeed,  alone,  and  in  their  power,  but  I  could  not  slip  out,  with 
out  one  word  before  this  dark  and  secret  tribunal,  for  that  cause  which  they 
had  so  constantly  sneered  at  in  this  trial,  and  which  is  to  me,  if  I  know 
myself,  more  than  life. 

'  Sir,'  said  I,  '  the  question  thus  far,  in  this  trial,  has  not  been  what  my 
personal  political  feelings  are,  but  what  these  writings,  found  upon  me 
prove.  On  this  ground  I  have  answered  and  defended  myself.  But  I  cannot 
let  this  trial  be  terminated  without  declaring  before  this  court,  what  my 
political  sentiments  are.  I  am  from  heart  and  soul  a  republican  —  an 
American — and  I  have  been  in  no  land  in  which  I  have  not  been  proud  of 
those  names !  We  have  seen  in  our  country  the  wonderful  results  of  self- 
government,  and  I  would  here,  as  everywhere,  confess  myself  most  heartily 
and  fully  to  that  principle.  At  the  same  time,  I  wish  you  to  remember  our 
countrymen  never  feel  themselves  compelled  to  swear  to  a  revolution 
because  it  is  a  revolution.  They  must  know  first  that  it  seeks  for  right,  and 
justice,  and  true  equality.  Although  holding  these  republican  views,  it  is 
due  to  myself  to  say  that  never,  since  I  have  been  in  Austria,  have  I  ex 
pressed  them  in  public,  and  not  often  in  private.  .  .  .  My  actions  have 
been  open  and  public — never  in  any  degree  like  those  of  a  conspirator  or 
emissary.  I  have  visited  many  public  men  of  different  parties,  and  have 
been  in  public  places  often.  Yet,  with  all  this,  while  observing  every  law 
of  your  country,  I  have  been  arrested,  and .' 

'Altogether  superfluous,  sir!  Altogether  irrelevant!'  interrupted  the 
auditor,  with  a  disturbed  shrug  of  his  shoulders — and  rising  indignantly— 
'You  have  said  quite  enough,  sir!  We  see  what  you  are!'  looking  at  tha 
president.  'Strange  that  he  should  have  been  admitted  into  the  country  !' 

'Very  ptrange  !'  said  the  president,  frowning  angrily. 


OF  AMERICANS.  551 

At  length,  after  some  three  weeks  of  this,  I  was  summoned  one  day 
before  the  court,  and  the  auditor  met  me,  with  his  most  conciliating  manner, 
and  said,  '  I  have  good  news  for  you ! '  handing  me  a  letter  from  Mr. 
M'Curdy.  I  was  obliged  to  break  the  seal  before  the  court,  and  allow  them 
to  read  it  first.  But  as  it  was  English,  and  the  president  only  knew  a  few 
words,  they  at  length  permitted  me  to  read  it  aloud  in  German,  before  the 
court,  which  I  did  with  great  gusto  ! 

If  any  one  of  my  readers  will  imagine  himself  shut  up  for  weeks  in  a 
remote,  foreign  prison,  not  knowing,  all  the  while,  whether  he  was  to  be 
imprisoned  for  life,  or  to  be  summarily  shot  by  a  '  drumhead  court-martial ' — 
treated  throughout  like  a  worthless  criminal,  then  if  he  will  suppose  himself 
suddenly  receiving  a  letter  from  the  representative  of  a  mighty  nation,  the 
only  man  who  possibly  could  help  him — a  letter  at  once  friendly,  and  bold, 
and  manly — he  will  get  some  faint  idea  of  my  feelings,  as  I  read  Mr. 
M'Curdy's  letter  to  the  court  on  this  occasion.  I  felt  safe  again.  I  felt 
that  the  representative  of  twenty-five  millions  of  men  was  speaking  for  me, 
and  in  a  way  which  must  be  heard. 

The  letter  had  been  detained  some  ten  days  after  the  time  in  which  it 
ought  to  have  reached  me.  It  began  with  an  account  of  his  proceedings  in 
my  behalf.  As  soon  as  he  had  heard  of  the  event,  he  applied  directly,  by 
letter,  to  Prince  Schwarzenberg,  and  then  personally  enforced  his  demand  for 
my  immediate  release.  He  had  received  favorable  assurances,  and  should  not 
intermit  a  moment  his  efforts,  etc.  Then  followed  this  passage,  which  it  was  a 
great  satisfaction  to  read  to  the  man  who  had  treated  me  as  an  impostor,  and 
bullied  me  so  long;  'As  I  am  perfectly  convinced  you  can  have  been  guilty 
of  no  offense,  and  as  the  Austrian  government  can  have  no  motive  or  incli 
nation  to  create  a  hostile  feeling  on  the  part  of  ours,  I  expect  your  imme 
diate  release.'  And  then,  after  some  further  friendly  words,  the  closing 
passage  :  '  Every  motive — friendship  for  you,  respect  for  your  family,  a 
regard  for  tlie  rights  and  lionors  of  oar  country,  impel  me  to  spare  no  efforts  in 
your  behalf.' 

The  auditor  looked  positively  uncomfortable  as  I  read  out  that  last,  with 
all  proper  emphasis.  It  had  begun  to  enter  his  head  that  shutting  up  an 
American  citizen  for  a  month  in  an  Austrian  dungeon,  on  suspicion,  might 
not  be  considered  at  all  as  a  trifling  matter  by  the  American  people. 

When  I  came  up-stairs  again,  a  crowd  of  the  prisoners  gathered  eagerly 
around  me,  and  I  read  the  letter  in  full  to  them.  They  could  not  restrain 
their  delight,  and  at  the  close  there  was  an  enthusiastic  Eljen  M'Curdy  ! 
which  made  the  old  walls  ring  again." 

"From  the  extraordinary  sympathy,"  continues  Mr.  Brace,  "in  the  town, 
and  among  all  the  Hungarians  for  my  case,  I  obtained  very  good  information 
of  all  their  measures.  I  knew  that  they  were  alarmed  at  certain  proceedings 
(I  supposed,  of  Mr.  M'Curdy),  in  Vienna,  and  that  their  great  object  was  to 
fix  something  upon  me,  so  that  they  could  still  hold  me.  There  was  a 
report  for  a  time  among  the  prisoners  that  they  would  use  violence,  in  order 
to  get  rid  of  my  troublesome  testimony  afterward.  I  never  credited  it, 
nowever.  I  knew  that  the  murder  of  an  American  citizen,  under  such  cir 
cumstances,  would  be  the  signal  of  a  storm,  which  would  scatter  this  hoary 


552  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

old  monarchy  of  oppression  to  the  winds.     And  they  must  be  clear-sighted 
enough  to  see  it." 

After  this  he  found  himself  better  treated.  Thirty  days  had  passed  in 
prison,  when  one  afternoon  he  was  summoned  before  the  court,  but  this 
time  without  a  soldier.  This  he  understood  at  once,  and  as  he  entered  th.3 
officers  rose,  bowed,  and  then  announced  that  he  was  free.  He  went  back 
to  the  prison  to  bid  farewell  to  his  fellow  prisoners,  most  of  whom  were 
confined  for  rebellious  acts  against  Austria.  "Tell  our  countrymen,"  said 
one,  "  wherever  you  meet  them,  in  your  fatherland  or  in  Europe,  that  we 
are  waiting  for  them  !  They  are  the  happy  ones  !  They  are  free  !  We, 
in  the  prisons,  or  anywnere  in  this  land,  are  tJie  slaves!  But  tell  them 
never  to  forget  their  country ! "  Then  with  a  regret  which  he  had  never 
expected  to  feel  at  leaving  a  Hungarian  prison,  they  embraced  each  other. 

Among  these  was  a  Protestant  clergyman  from  the  neighborhood,  an 
eloquent  preacher  —  a  "senior"  who  had  presided  over  some  twenty 
churches.  He  was  a  man  of  remarkable  natural  dignity.  Like  the  clergy 
man  in  our  revolution,  he  had  preached  against  the  tyranny  of  the  Austrian 
government,  and  when  words  were  of  no  more  avail,  he  had  joined  the 
ranks  as  a  common  soldier.  The  Austrians  had  sentenced  him  to  the 
gallows,  but  the  sentence  was  not,  for  some  unknown  reason,  executed.  He 
had  talked  much  with  Mr.  Brace  about  America,  and  had  declared  that  if 
he  should  be  freed  he  never  would  remain  in  Hungary.  He  never  could 
live  in  a  land  where  he  would  be  a  slave ;  but  he  would  go  to  America, 
where  he  should  be  happy,  and  health}'',  and  could  work  in  the  ground 
again.  "Though  a  man  unaccustomed,"  says  Mr.  Brace,  "  to  express  his  feel 
ings,  he  threw  his  arms  around  my  neck,  and  kissed  me  repeatedly  ;  his  firm 
face  working  in  uncontrollable  emotion.  Poor  man  !  I  know  how  he  felt. 
It  was  like  a  glimpse  for  a  moment  of  the  free  land,  which  he  had  dreamed 
of,  for  Hungary  and  himself,  and  then  all  to  be  darkness  again." 

Mr.  Brace  subsequently  ascertained  that  the  orders  for  his  arrest  had  come 
from  Vienna,  and  it  could  only  be  explained  as  a  reprisal  for  American 
sympathy  for  Hungary,  or  as  the  usual  Austrian  suspicion  of  an  American. 
The  testimony  showed  that  it  did  not  arise  from  any  proceedings  of  hia 
within  Hungary,  for  his  most  suspicious  acts  in  the  country,  his  visits  to 
certain  disaffected  villages  were  unknown  to  the  Austrian  Court. 

Mr.  Brace  was  placed  in  charge  of  a  military  officer  and  conducted  to 
Pesth,  the  capital  of  the  country,  a  few  hours  travel  from  Vienna,  whither 
he  started  with  his  own  passport,  lie  called  on  Mr.  M'Curdy  as  soon  as 
possible,  for  fear  he  might  fall  into  the  hands  of  another  of  their  courts,  and 
nobody  be  the  wiser  for  it. 

"  I  need  not  say,"  says  he,  "that  my  meeting  with  Mr.  M'Curdy  was 
most  joyful.  We  had  of  course  much  to  review  and  examine  in  the  case. 
When  this  correspondence  is  finally  published,  I  am  very  much  mistaken  if 
Mr.  M'Curdy's  notes,  so  spirited  and  vigorous,  do  not  contrast  very  favor 
ably  with  the  long-winded,  indefinite  epistles  of  the  Austrians.  They  are 
words  strong  and  direct,  and  are  worthy  of  a  representative  of  America. 
That  I  owe  everything  to  him,  in  this  affair,  I  need  not  say.  If  he  had  not 
been  a  genuine  man,  and  had  not  dared  to  address  the  Austrian  Cabinet  as 


OF  AMERICANS. 

the  representative  of  the  United  States  should  address  it,  I  should  have 
been  still  in  Austrian  dungeons,  or  have  been  shot  before  now  as  a  spy. 
However,  it  is  probable,  all  demands  for  my  release  might  have  been  in 
effectual,  if  it  had  not  been  for  the  accidental  presence  of  two  American 
ships  of  war  in  Trieste,  just  at  the  time  of  this  correspondence — an  entirely 
chance-event,  but  which  gave  a  peculiar  edge  to  Mr.  M'Curdy's  words." 

He  had  scarce  returned  from  his  visit,  when  he  was  summoned  before  the 
police,  and,  in  a  half-sneaking  manner,  told  that  he  "must  leave  the 
Austrian  territory  within  three  days."  In  this  difficulty  he  called  upon 
Mr.  M'Curdy,  who  wrote  one  of  his  brief,  pointed  notes  to  the  ministry, 
stating  that  Mr.  Brace  had  returned  here  acquitted  of  the  charges,  and  ex 
pected  at  least  courtesy  after  such  treatment,  and  inquiring  "  if  anythin| 
new  had  occurred  to  cause  this  order,  or  whether  it  was  a  part  of  the  previous 
proceedings."  " This  was,"  says  Mr.  Brace,  "somewhat  of  a  dilemma  fo" 
them,  and  they  dropped  the  matter,  and  I  remained  in  Vienna.  I  had  no 
permission  to  remain,  and  I  knew  I  was  everywhere  a  suspected  man — the 
more  dangerous,  because  I  had  been  unjustly  treated  by  their  courts.  Yet 
I  walked  around,  feeling  that  the  strong  arm  of  the  United  States  was 
around  me.  Still,  very  grand  and  consoling  as  the  feeling  is,  it  becomes 
rather  uncomfortable  when  it  is  continued  too  long.  One  has  a  sensation  as 
of  walking  around  in  a  highly  gallant  manner  among  pit-falls.  It  seemed 
to  me  every  man  I  met  knew  I  had  been  a  convict ;  and  that  every  gendarme 
eyed  me  longingly,  as  if  he  should  soon  have  his  warrant  for  me.  Besides 
I  could  see  in  reality  that  each  step  of  mine  was  watched,  and  I  began  to 
grow  tired  of  such  unceasing  paternal  attention  from  the  Viennese  authorities. 
A  vague  fear,  too,  never  left  me  that  I  had  not  seen  the  end  of  this — that  I 
should  never  entirely  escape  !  Mr.  M'Curdy  used  to  congratulate  me 
every  morning  when  he  met  me,  that  "my  head  was  still  safe  where  it 
should  be  ! " 

I  found  that  all  my  acquaintances  in  Vienna  had  been  examined  before 
the  Police  Courts,  as  to  my  objects  and  character.  My  few  liberal  acquaint 
ances  I  feared  to  compromise,  by  visiting,  and  only  allowed  myself  to  call 
upon  one  gentleman  in  the  late  evening.  He  received  me,  as  if  from  tha 
dead — turned  pale,  led  me  hurriedly  through  half  a  dozen  rooms,  into  a 
boudoir,  double-locked  the  door,  listened  at  the  key-hole,  embraced  me, 
and  then  demanded  an  account  of  my  affair.  I  gave  it  in  full,  he  interlard 
ing  it  every  now  and  then  with  "  Ach  Qott  I  SchrecJchch  !  (Horrible),"  and 
"Schandlich!  (shameful!)"  etc.  Occasionally,  too,  shaking  my  hand,  to 
assure  himself  of  my  identity. 

After  holding  this  out  eight  days,  I  concluded  to  bid  "good-bye,"  for  aye 
to  Austria,  provided  the  police  would  let  me  go.  I  made  my  parting  visits, 
arranging  everything  with  Mr.  M'Curdy,  so  that  he  would  know,  at  once,  if 
Anything  of  a  serious  nature  happened  to  me  on  the  Danube,  and  started  off 
Ihe  next  morning  in  the  steamboat  with  a  fear  of  secret,  sudden  violence, 
which  never  left  me  while  under  the  power  of  the  Austrian  police.  At 
Linz,  I  was  obliged  to  wait  a  day  for  my  passport,  and  there,  of  course,  was 
brought  under  the  annoying  police  inspection  again.  I  then  went  on  broad 
the  boat,  received  my  pass,  and  began  to  hope  I  was  escaping  all  farther 
difficulties.  I  took  my  seat  in  the  cabin,  as  it  was  raining  hard,  and  waa 


554  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS. 

amusing  myself  with  observing  the  various  passengers  who  collect  on  a 
Danube  boat,  when  I  became  gradually  conscious  that  a  man  on  the  opposite 
side  was  watching  me  closely.  He  sat  somewhat  retired  in  a  corner,  but 
yet  his  eyes  would  find  their  way,  all  the  while,  toward  me,  though  when 
I  looked  at  him,  he  appeared  occupied  in  something  else.  He  was  dressed 
in  a  half-military  green  suit,  and  I  concluded,  was  very  probably  some  ageLt 
of  the  police.  I  resolved  to  be  on  my  guard  toward  him. 

When  we  reached  the  station,  on  the  Austrian  frontier,  I  jumped  ashoro 
to  get  something  to  eat,  and  had  not  made  a  dozen  steps  when  I  felt  somo 
one  touch  me  on  the  shoulder.  I  turned  and  saw  what  I  had  fully  ex 
pected — ray  man  in  the  green  suit.  I  had  become,  by  this  time,  quite 
used  to  these  gentry,  and  demanded,  abruptly,  "  What  lie  wanted  ?"  .  "  You 
will  come  with  me  to  the  police  office." 

«  Wliy  /—Who  are  you  ?  " 

The  captain  of  the  boat  came  up  at  this  moment,  and  explained  that  the 
gentleman  was  an  "  agent"  from  Vienna,  and  we  all  went  together  to  the  office. 

The  commissary  asked  me  why  I  was  there.  "  I  am  an  American,  and  a 
Republican  ! "  said  I.  "  That  is  reason  enough.  Suspicion  !  suspicion  is 
the  rule  in  Austria!"  He  shrugged  his  shoulders,  took  down  a  minute 
description  of  me,  vised  the  passport,  wished  us  "  good-morning,"  and  I  was 
handed  over  into  Bavaria  ! 

I  returned  to  the  boat,  and,  in  a  few  minutes,  with  a  feeling  of  relief  and 
security,  which  I  had  not  had  for  months  before,  saw  the  well-known 
monument  which  marks  the  Austrian  borders  grow  dim  in  the  distance." 
The  reader  will  find  Mr.  Brace  again  referred  to  on  page  572  of  this 
work. 

CORRESPONDENCE  BETWEEN  CHEVALIER  HULSEMANN,  THE  AUSTRIAN  MINISTER, 
AND  DANIEL  WEBSTER,  SECRETARY  OF  STATE,  UPON  AMERICAN  INTERFERENCK 
IN  THE  AFFAIRS  OF  HUNGARY. 

The  Hungarian  War  for  Independence  commenced  in  September,  1848, 
by  the  invasion  of  Hungary  by  Jellachich.  He  was  summarily  driven  out 
by  the  peopK  A  mouth  later,  a  second  Austrian  army  entered  the  country, 
under  Windischgratz.  On  the  14th  of  the  succeeding  April  (1849),  the 
Declaration  of  Hungarian  Independence  was  promulgated,  and  at  the  closo 
of  that  month,  the  Austrians  were  the  second  time  expelled  from  Hungary, 
so  that  the  contest  between  Hungary  and  Austria,  by  itself,  was  settled.  Of 
the  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  troops  that  had  invaded  the  country, 
one  half  had  been  killed,  disabled,  or  taken  prisoners.  At  this  juncture  the 
Imperial  Government  called  in  the  aid  of  Russia,  and  with  this  immense 
weight  thrown  into  the  scale,  the  eventual  issue  could  not  be  longer  doubt 
ful.  It  was  hastened  by  the  treachery  of  Gorgey,  who  surrendered  to  the 
Russians,  on  the  13th  of  August,  1849. 

While  the  contest  was  progressing,  President  Taylor  dispatched  A.  Dud 
ley  Mann  to  Vienna,  as  special  agent,  with  instructions  to  watch  the  pro 
gress  of  the  movement,  and  in  caso  of  its  success,  to  recognize,  on  the  jjart 
of  our  government,  the  Republic  of  Hungary.  Any  such  action  was  preven 
ted  by  the  overthrow  of  the  Hungarian  cause ;  but  the  Austrian  charge  at 
Washington,  the  Chevalier  J.  G.  llulsemann  took  occasion  of  the  commu- 


OF  AMERICANS.  555 

nication  to  the  senate  of  the  instructions  given  to  Mr.  Mann,  to  enter  in  the 
name  of  his  government  a  formal  protest  against  the  procedure  of  the 
United  States,  as  an  unwarrantable  interference  in  the  affairs  of  a  friendly 
power ;  and  as  a  breach  of  propriety  in  national  intercourse,  jeopardizing  the 
amity  between  the  two  countries.  He  took  especial  exception  to  the 
expression  "  iron  rule,"  said  to  be  applied  to  the  government  of  Austria, — 
to  the  designation  of  "  Kossuth,  as  an  illustrious  man,"  and  to  "im 
proper  expressions"  in  regard  to  Kussia,  "the  intimate  and  faithful  ally 
of  Austria."  He  said  that  Mr.  Mann  had  been  placed  in  a  position  which 
rendered  him  liable  to  the  treatment  of  a  spy.;  and  concluded  by  hinting 
that  the  United  States  were  not  free  from  the  danger  of  civil  war,  and  were 
liable  to  acts  of  retaliation. 

The  reply  of  Mr.  Webster  produced  the  most  lively  sensation  of  delight 
throughout  the  whole  country,  as  a  masterly  answer  to  the  allegations  of  thia 
agent  of  Austrian  despotism,  and  as  an  exposition  of  American  sympathy 
in  behalf  of  a  gallant  people  in  their  struggle  for  liberty.  The  comparison 
of  Austria  with  America — in  which  the  possessions  of  the  house  of  Hapsburg 
are  likened  to  a  mere  "patch  on  the  earth's  surface  "  beside  those  of  tho 
United  States,  touched  a  chord  in  our  national  pride  that  vibrates  in  tho 
memory  to  this  day.  The  keen  irony  with  which  Mr.  Webster  congratulates 
the  chevalier  upon  the  liberal  principles  "recently  introduced  into  the  con 
stitution  of  ths  Austrian  Empire,"  forms  an  interesting  point  in  this  cele 
brated  epistle,  The  letter  we  give  entire. 

The  Secretary  of  State  to  Mr.  Hulsemann. 

Department  of  State,  Washington,  Decemoer  21,  1850 

The  undersigned,  Secretary  of  State  of  the  United  States,  had  the  honor 
to  receive,  some  time  ago,  the  note  of  Mr.  Hulsemann,  Charge  d'Afi'aires  of 
his  Majesty,  the  Emperor  of  Austria,  of  the  30th  of  September.  Causes, 
not  arising  from  any  want  of  personal  regard  for  Mr.  Hulsemann,  or  of  pro 
per  respect  for  his  government,  having  delayed  an  answer  until  the  present 
moment.  Having  submitted  Mr.  Hiilsemann's  letter  to  the  President,  the 
undersigned  is  now  directed  by  him  to  return  the  following  reply. 

The  objects  of  Mr.  Hiilsemann's  note  are  first,  to  protest,  by  order  of  his 
government,  against  the  steps  taken  by  the  late  President  of  the  United 
States  to  ascertain  the  progress  and  probable  result  of  the  revolutionary 
movements  in  Hungary  ;  and,  secondly,  to  complain  of  some  expressions  in 
the  instructions  of  the  late  Secretary  of  State  to  Mr.  A.  Dudley  Mann,  a 
confidential  agent  of  the  United  States,  as  communicated  by  President 
Taylor  to  the  Senate  on  the  28th  of  March  last. 

The  principal  ground  of  protest  is  founded  on  the  idea,  or  in  the  allega 
tion,  that  the  goverment  of  the  United  States,  by  the  mission  of  Mr.  Mann 
and  his  instructions,  has  interfered  in  the  domestic  affairs  of  Austria  in  a 
manner  unjust  or  disrespectful  toward  that  power.  The  President's  message 
was  a  communication  made  by  him  to  the  Senate,  transmitting  a  correspon 
dence  between  the  executive  government  and  a  confidential  agent  of  its 
own,  This  would  seem  to  be  itself  a  domestic  transaction,  a  mere  instance 
of  intercourse  between  the  President  and  the  Senate,  in  a  manner  which  it 
usual  and  indispensable  in  communications  between  the  different  branche* 


556  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

of  the  government.  It  was  not  addressed  either  to  Austria  or  Hungary ; 
nor  was  it  a  public  manifesto,  to  which  any  foreign  state  was  called  on  to 
reply.  It  was  an  account  of  its  transactions  communicated  by  the  execu 
tive  government  to  the  Senate,  at  the  request  of  that  body  ;  made  public, 
indeed,  but  made  public  only  because  such  is  the  common  and  usual  course 
of  proceeding.  It  may  be  regarded  as  somewhat  strange,  therefore,  that 
the  Austrian  Cabinet  did  not  perceive  that,  by  the  instructions  given  to  Mr. 
Hiilsernann,  it  was  itself  interfering  with  the  domestic  concerns  of  a  foreign 
state,  the  very  thing  which  is  the  ground  of  its  complaint  against  the 
United  States. 

This  department  has,  on  former  occasions,  informed  the  ministers  of  for 
eign  powers,  that  a  communication  from  the  President  to  either  house  of  con 
gress  is  regarded  as  a  domestic  communication,  of  which,  ordinarily,  no 
foreign  state  h;is  cognizance  ;  and  in  more  recent  instances,  the  great  incon 
venience  of  making  such  communications  the  subject  of  diplomatic  corres 
pondence  and  discussion  has  been  fully  shown.  If  it  had  been  the  pleasure 
of  his  majesty,  the  Emperor  of  Austria,  during  the  struggles  in  Hungary,  to 
have  admonished  the  provisional  government,  or  the  people  of  that  country, 
against  involving  themselves  in  disaster,  by  following  the  evil  and  dangerous 
example  of  the  United  States  of  America,  in  making  efforts  for  the  establish 
ment  of  independent  governments,  such  an  admonition  from  that  sovereign 
to  his  Hungarian  subjects  would  not  have  originated  here  a  diplomatic  cor 
respondence.  The  President  might,  perhaps,  on  this  ground,  have  declined 
to  direct  any  particular  reply  to  Mr.  Hiilsemann's  note  ;  but,  out  of  proper 
respect  for  the  Austrian  government,  it  has  been  thought  better  to  answer 
that  note  at  length  ;  arid  the  more  especially,  as  the  occasion  is  not  unfavor 
able  for  the  expression  of  the  general  sentiments  of  the  government  of  the 
United  States  upon  the  topics  which  that  note  discusses. 

A  leading  subject  in  Mr.  Hiilsemann's  note  is  that  of  the  correspondence 
between  Mr.  Hiilsemann  and  the  predecessor  of  the  undersigned,  in  which 
Mr.  Clayton,  by  direction  of  the  President,  informed  Mr.  Hiilsemann  "that 
Mr.  Mann's  mission  had  no  other  object  in  view  than  to  obtain  reliable  in 
formation  as  to  the  true  state  of  affairs  in  Hungary,  by  personal  observation." 
Mr.  Hiilsemann  remarks,  that  "  this  explanation  can  hardly  be  admitted, 
for  it  says  very  little  as  to  the  cause  of  the  anxiety  which  was  felt  to 
ascertain  the  chances  of  the  revolutionists."  As  this,  however,  is  the  only 
purpose  which  can,  with  any  appearance  of  truth,  be  attributed  to  the 
agency  ;  as  nothing  whatever  is  alleged  by  Mr.  Hiilsemann  to  have  been 
either  done  or  said  by  the  agent  inconsistent  with  such  an  object,  the  un 
dersigned  conceives  that  Mr.  Clayton's  explanation  ought  to  be  deemed,  not 
only  admissible,  but  quite  satisfactory. 

Mr.  Hiilsemann  states,  in  the  course  of  his  note,  that  his  instructions  to 
address  his  present  communication  to  Mr.  Clayton  reached  Washington 
about  the  time  of  the  lamented  death  of  the  late  President,  and  that'  he 
delayed,  from  a  sense  of  propriety,  the  execution  of  his  task  until  the  new 
administration  should  be  fully  organized  ;  "a  delay  which  he  now  rejoices 
at,  as  it  has  given  him  the  opportunity  of  ascertaining  from  the  new  Presi 
dent  himself,  on  the  occasion  of  the  reception  of  the  diplomatic  corps,  that 
the  fundamental  policy  of  the  United  States,  so  frequently  proclaimed, 


OF  AMERICANS.  55'1 

would  guide  the  relations  of  the  American  government  with  other  powers." 
Mr.  Hiilsemann  also  observes,  that  it  is  in  his  power  to  assure  the  under 
signed  "that  the  imperial  government  is  disposed  to  cultivate  relations  of 
friendship  and  good  understanding  with  the  United  States." 

The  President  receives  this  assurance  of  the  disposition  of  the  imperial 
gove:nment  with  great  satisfaction  ;  and,  in  consideration  of  the  friendly- 
relations  of  the  two  governments  thus  mutually  recognized,  and  of  the 
peculiar  nature  of  the  incidents  by  which  their  good  understanding  is  sup 
posed  by  Mr.  Hiilsemann  to  have  been  for  a  moment  disturbed  or  en 
dangered,  the  President  regrets  that  Mr.  Hiilsemann  did  not  feel  himself  at 
liberty  wholly  to  forbear  from  the  execution  of  instructions,  which  were  of 
course  transmitted  from  Vienna  without  any  foresight  of  the  state  of  things 
under  which  they  would  reach  Washington.  If  Mr.  Hiilsemann  saw,  in  the 
address  of  the  President  to  the  diplomatic  corps,  satisfactory  pledges  of  the 
sentiments  and  the  policy  of  this  government  in  regard  to  neutral  rights  and 
neutral  duties,  it  might,  perhaps,  have  been  better  not  to  bring  on  a  dis 
cussion  of  past  transactions.  But  the  undersigned  readily  admits  that  this 
was  a  question  fit  only  for  the  consideration  and  decision  of  Mr.  Hiilsemann 
himself;  and  although  the  President  does  riot  see  that  any  good  purpose  can 
be  answered  by  reopening  the  inquiry  into  the  propriety  of  the  steps  taken 
by  President  Taylor  to  ascertain  the  probable  issue  of  the  late  civil  war  in 
Hungary,  justice  to  his  memory  requires  the  undersigned  briefly  to  restate 
the  history  of  those  steps,  and  to  show  their  consistency  with  the  neutral 
policy  which  has  invariably  guided  the  government  of  the  United  States  in 
its  foreign  relations,  as  well  as  with  the  established  and  well-settled  prin 
ciples  of  national  intercourse,  and  the  doctrines  of  public  law. 

The  undersigned  will  first  observe,  that  the  President  is  persuaded  his 
majesty,  the  Emperor  of  Austria,  does  not  think  that  the  government  of  the 
United  States  ought  to  view  with  unconcern  the  extraordinary  events  which 
have  occurred,  not  only  in  his  dominions,  but  in  many  other  parts  of  Europe, 
since  February,  1848.  The  government  and  people  of  the  United  States, 
like  other  intelligent  governments  and  communities,  take  a  lively  interest 
in  the  movements  and  the  events  of  this  remarkable  age,  in  whatever  part 
of  the  world  they  may  be  exhibited.  But  the  interest  taken  by  the  United 
States  in  those  events  has  not  proceeded  from  any  disposition  to  depart 
from  that  neutrality  toward  foreign  powers,  which  is  among  the  deepest 
principles  and  the  most  cherished  traditions  of  the  political  history  of  the 
Union.  It  has  been  the  necessary  effect  of  the  unexampled  character  of  the 
events  themselves,  which  could  not  fail  to  arrest  the  attention  of  the  contem 
porary  world  as  they  will  doubtless  fill  a  memorable  page  in  history. 

But  the  undersigned  goes  further,  and  freely  admits  that,  in  proportion 
as  these  extraordinary  events  appear  to  have  their  origin  in  those  great 
ideas  of  responsible  and  popular  government,  on  which  the  American  con 
stitutions  themselves  are  wholly  founded,  they  could  not  but  command  the 
warm  sympathy  of  the  people  of  this  country.  Well-known  circumstances 
in  their  history,  indeed  their  whole  history,  have  made  them  the  represen 
tatives  of  purely  popular  principles  of  government.  In  this  light  they  now 
stand  before  the  world.  They  could  not,  if  they  would,  conceal  their 
character,  their  condition,  or  their  destiny.  They  could  not,  if  they  so 


558  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

desired,  shut  out  from  the  view  of  mankind  the  causes  which  have  placed 
them,  in  so  short  a  national  career,  in  the  station  which  they  now  hold 
among  the  civilized  states  of  the  world.  They  could  not,  if  they  desired 
it,  suppress  either  the  thoughts  or  the  hopes  which  arise  in  men's  minds,  in 
other  countries,  from  contemplating  their  successful  example  of  free  govern 
ment.  That  very  intelligent  and  distinguished  personage,  the  Emperor 
Joseph  the  Second,  was  among  the  first  to  discern  this  necessary  conse 
quence  of  the  American  Revolution  on  the  sentiments  and  opinions  of  the 
people  of  Europe.  In  a  letter  to  his  minister  in  the  Netherlands  in  1787, 
he  observes,  that  "  it  is  remarkable  that  France,  by  the  assistance  which  sho 
afforded  to  the  Americans,  gave  birth  to  reflections  on  freedom."  This 
fact,  which  the  sagacity  of  that  monarch  perceived  at  so  early* a  day,  is 
aow  known  and  admitted  by  intelligent  powers  all  over  the  world.  True, 
indeed,  it  is,  that  the  prevalence  on  the  other  continent  of  sentiments  favor 
able  to  republican  liberty  is  the  result  of  the  reaction  of  America  upon 
Europe  ;  and  the  source  and  center  of  this  reaction  has  doubtless  been,  and 
now  is,  in  these  United  States. 

'  The  position  thus  belonging  to  the  United  States  is  H  fact  as  inseparable 
from  their  history,  their  constitutional  organization,  and  their  character,  as 
the  opposite  position  of  the  powers  composing  the  European  alliance  is 
from  the  history  and  constitutional  organization  of  the  government  of  those 
powers.  The  sovereigns  who  form  that  alliance  have  not  unfrequently  felt 
it  their  right  to  interfere  with  the  political  movements  of  foreign  states ; 
and  have,  in  their  manifestoes  and  declarations,  denounced  the  popular  ideas 
of  the  age  in  terms  so  comprehensive  as  of  necessity  to  include  the  United 
States,  and  their  forms  of  government.  It  is  well  known  that  one  of  the 
leading  principles  announced  by  the  allied  sovereigns,  after  the  restoration 
of  the  Bourbons,  is,  that  all  popular  or  constitutional  rights  are  holden  no 
otherwise  than  as  grants  and  indulgencies  from  crowned  heads.  "  Useful 
and  necessary  changes  in  legislation  and  administration,"  says  the  Laybach 
Circular  of  May,  1821,  "ought  only  to  emanate  from  the  free  will  and  in 
telligent  conviction  of  those  whom  God  has  rendered  responsible  for  power  ; 
all  that  deviates  from  this  line  necessarily  leads  to  disorder,  commotions, 
and  evils  far  more  insufferable  than  those  which  they  pretend  to  remedy." 
And  his  late  Austrian  majesty,  Francis  the  First,  is  reported  to  have  declared, 
in  an  address  to  the  Hungarian  Diet,  in  1820,  that  "  the  whole  world  had 
become  foolish,  and,  leaving  their  ancient  laws,  were  in  search  of  imaginary 
constitutions."  These  declarations  amount  to  nothing  less  than  a  denial  of 
the  lawfulness  of  the  origin  of  the  government  of  the  United  States,  since 
it  is  certain  that  that  government  was  established  in  consequence  of  a  change 
which  did  not  proceed  from  thrones,  or  the  permission  of  crowned  heads. 
But  the  government  of  the  United  States  heard  these  denunciations  of  its 
fundamental  principles  without  remonstrance,  or  the  disturbance  of  its 
equanimity.  This  was  thirty  years  ago. 

The  power  of  this  republic,  at  the  present  moment,  is  spread  over  a 
region  one  of  the  richest  and  most  fertile  on  the  globe,  and  of  an  extent  in 
comparison  with  which  the  possessions  of  the  house  of  Hapsburg  are  but  as 
a  patch  on  the  earth's  surface.  Its  population,  already  twenty-five  millions, 
will  exceed  that  of  the  Austrian  empire  within  the  period  during  which  it 


OF  AMERICANS.  559 

may  be  hoped  that  Mr.  Hiilsemann  may  yet  remain  in  the  honorable  dis 
charge  of  his  duties  to  his  government.  Its  navigation  and  commerce  are 
hardly  exceeded  by  the  oldest  and  most  commercial  nations  ;  its  maritime 
means  and  its  maritime  power  may  be  seen  by  Austria  herself,  in  all  seas 
where  she  has  ports,  as  well  as  they  may  be  seen,  also,  in  all  other  quarters 
of  tbe  globe.  Life,  liberty,  property,  and  all  personal  rights,  are  amply 
secured  to  all  citizens,  and  protected  by  just  and  stable  laws ;  and  credit, 
public  and  private,  is  as  well  established  as  in  any  government  of  Conti 
nental  Europe  ;  and  the  country,  in  all  its  interests  and  concerns,  partakes 
most  largely  in  all  the  improvements  and  progress  which  distinguish  the 
age.  Certainly,  the  United  States  may  be  pardoned,  even  by  those  who 
profess  adherence  to  the  principles  of  absolute  government,  if  they  enter 
tain  an  ardent  affection  for  those  popular  forms  of  political  organization, 
which  have  so  rapidly  advanced  their  own  prosperity  and  happiness,  and 
enabled  them,  in  so  short  a  period,  to  bring  their  country,  and  the  hemi 
sphere  to  which  it  belongs,  to  the  notice  and  respectful  regard,  not  to  say 
the  admiration,  of  the  civilized  world.  Nevertheless,  the  United  States 
have  abstained,  at  all  times,  from  acts  of  interference  with  the  political 
changes  of  Europe.  They  cannot,  however,  fail  to  cherish  always  a  lively 
interest  in  the  fortunes  of  nations  struggling  for  institutions  like  their  own* 
But  this  sympathy,  so  far  from  being  necessarily  a  hostile  feeling  toward  any 
of  the  parties  to  these  great  national  struggles,  is  quite  consistent  with 
amicable  relations  with  them  all.  The  Hungarian  people  are  three  or  four 
times  as  numerous  as  the  inhabitants  of  these  United  States  were  when  the 
American  Kevolution  broke  out  They  possess,  in  a  distinct  language,  and 
in  other  respects,  important  elements  of  a  separate  nationality,  which  the 
Anglo-Saxon  race  in  this  country  did  not  possess  ;  and  if  the  United  States 
wish  success  to  countries  contending  for  popular  constitutions  and  national 
independence,  it  is  only  because  they  regard  such  constitutions,  and  such 
national  independence,  not  as  imaginary,  but  as  real  blessings.  They 
claim  no  right,  however,  to  take  part  in  the  struggles  of  foreign  powers  in 
order  to  promote  these  ends.  It  is  only  in  defense  of  his  own  government, 
and  its  principles  and  character,  that  the  undersigned  has  now  expressed 
himself  on  this  subject.  But  when  the  people  of  the  United  States  be 
hold  the  people  of  foreign  countries,  without  any  such  interference,  spon 
taneously  moving  toward  the  adoption  of  institutions  like  their  own, 
it  surely  cannot  be  expected  of  them  to  remain  wholly  indifferent 
spectators. 

In  regard  to  the  recent  very  important  occurrences  in  the  Austrian  em 
pire,  the  undersigned  freely  admits  the  difficulty  which  exists  in  this 
country,  and  is  alluded  to  by  Mr.  Hiilsemann,  of  obtaining  accurate  infor 
mation.  But  this  difficulty  is  by  no  means  to  be  ascribed  to  what  Mr. 
Hiilsemann  calls,  with  little  justice,  as  it  seems  to  the  undersigned,  "the 
mendacious  rumors  propagated  by  the  American  press."  For  information 
on  this  subject,  and  others  of  the  same  kind,  the  American  press  is,  of 
necessity,  almost  wholly  dependent  upon  that  of  Europe;  and  if  "men 
dacious  rumors  "  respecting  Austrian  and  Hungarian  affairs  have  been  any 
where  propagated,  that  propagation  of  falsehoods  has  been  most  prolific  on 
the  European  continent,  and  in  countries  immediately  bordering  on  tb* 


560  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

Austrian  empire.  But,  wherever  these  errors  may  have  originated,  they 
certainly  justified  the  late  President  in  seeking  true  information  through 
authentic  channels. 

His  attention  was  first  particularly  drawn  to  the  state  of  things  in  Hun- 
gary  by  the  correspondence  of  Mr.  Stiles,  Charge  d' Affaires  of  the  Uirited 
States  at  Vienna.  In  the  autumn  of  1848,  an  application  was  made  to  this 
gentleman,  on  behalf  of  Mr.  Kossuth,  formerly  Minister  of  Finance  for  tin 
Kingdom  of  Hungary,  by  Imperial  appointment,  but,  at  the  time  tho 
application  was  made,  chief  of  the  revolutionary  government.  The  object 
of  this  application  was  to  obtain  the  good  offices  of  Mr.  Stiles  with  the  Im 
perial  government,  with  a  view  to  the  suspension  of  hostilities.  This 
application  became  the  subject  of  a  conference  between  Prince  Schwarzen- 
berg,  the  Imperial  Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs,  and  Mr.  Stiles.  The 
Prince  commended  the  considerateness  and  propriety  with  which  Mr. 
Stiles  had  acted ;  and,  so  far  from,  disapproving  his  interference,  advised 
him,  in  case  he  received  a  further  communication  from  the  revolutionary 
government  in  Hungary,  to  have  an  interview  with  Prince  Windischgriitz, 
who  was  charged  by  the  Emperor  with  the  proceedings  determined  on  in 
relation  to  that  kingdom.  A  week  after  these  occurrences,  Mr.  Stiles  re 
ceived,  through  a  secret  channel,  a  communication  signed  by  L.  Kossuth, 
President  of  the  Committee  of  Defense,  and  countersigned  by  Francis 
Pulszky,  Secretary  of  State.  On  the  receipt  of  this  communication,  Mr. 
Stiles  had  an  interview  with  Prince  Windischgratz,  "  who  received  him 
with  the  utmost  kindness,  and  thanked  him  for  his  efforts  toward  reconcil 
ing  the  existing  difficulties."  Such  were  the  incidents  which  first  drew  the 
attention  of  the  government  of  the  United  States  particularly  to  the  affairs 
of  Hungary,  and  the  conduct  of  Mr.  Stiles,  though  acting  without  instruc 
tions  in  a  matter  of  much  delicacy,  having  been  viewed  with  satisfaction 
by  the  Imperial  government,  was  approved  by  that  of  the  United 
States. 

In  the  course  of  the  year  1848,  and  in  the  early  part  of  1849,  a  con 
siderable  number  of  Hungarians  came  to  the  United  States.  Among  them 
were  individuals  representing  themselves  to  be  in  the  confidence  of  tho 
revolutionar}r  government,  and  by  these  persons  the  President  was  strongly 
urged  to  recognize  the  existence  of  that  government.  In  these  applica 
tions,  and  in  the  manner  in  which  they  were  viewed  by  the  President, 
there  was  nothing  unusual :  still  less  was  there  anything  unauthorized  by 
the  law  of  nations.  It  is  the  right  of  every  independent  state  to  enter  into 
friendly  relations  with  every  other  independent  state.  Of  course,  questions 
of  prudence  naturally  arise  in  reference  to  new  states,  brought  by  successful 
revolutions  into  the  family  of  nations ;  but  it  is  not  to  be  required  of  neutral 
powers  that  they  should  await  the  recognition  of  the  new  government  by 
the  parent  state.  No  principle  of  public  law  has  been  more  frequently 
acted  upon,  within  the  last  thirty  years,  by  the  great  powers  of  the  world, 
than  this.  Within  that  period,  eight  or  ten  new  states  have  established  in- 
dependent  governments,  within  the  limits  of  the  colonial  dominions  of  Spain, 
on  this  continent ;  and  in  Europe  the  same  thing  has  been  done  by  Belgium 
and  Greece.  The  existence  of  all  these  governments  was  recognized  by  some 
of  the  leading  powers  of  Europe,  as  well  as  by  the  United  States,  before  it 


OF  AMERICANS.  561 

was  acknowledged  by  the  states  from  which  they  had  separated  themselves. 
If,  therefore,  the  United  States  had  gone  so  far  as  formally  to  acknowledge 
the  independence  of  Hungary,  although,  as  the  result  has  proved,  it  would 
have  been  a  precipitate  step,  and  one  from  which  no  benefit  would  have 
resulted  to  either  party ;  it  would  not,  nevertheless,  have  been  an  act 
against  the  law  of  nations,  provided  they  took  no  part  in  her  contest  with 
Austria.  But  the  United  States  did  no  such  thing.  Not  only  did  they 
Bi't  yield  to  Hungary  any  actual  countenance  or  succor,  not  only  did  they 
not  show  their  ships  of  war  in  the  Adriatic  with  any  menacing  or  hostile 
aspect,  but  they  studiously  abstained  from  everything  which  had  not  been 
done  in  other  cases  in  times  past,  and  contented  themselves  with  instituting 
an  inquiry  into  the  truth  and  reality  of  alleged  political  occurrences.  Mr. 
Hiilsemann  incorrectly  states,  unintentionally  certainly,  the  nature  of  the 
mission  of  this  agent,  when  he  says,  that  "a  United  States  agent  had  been 
dispatched  to  Vienna,  with  orders  to  watch  for  a  favorable  moment  to 
recognize  the  Hungarian  republic,  and  to  conclude  a  treaty  of  commerces 
with  the  same."  This,  indeed,  would  have  been  a  lawful  object,  but  Mr. 
Mann's  errand  was,  in  the  first  instance,  purely  one  of  inquiry.  He  had  no 
power  to  act,  unless  he  had  first  come  to  the  conviction  that  a  firm  and 
stable  Hungarian  government  existed.  "  The  principal  object  the  Presi 
dent  has  in  view,"  according  to  his  instructions,  "  is  to  obtain  minute  arid 
reliable  information  in  regard  to  Hungary,  in  connection  with  the  affairs  of 
adjoining  countries,  the  probable  issue  of  the  present  revolutionary  move 
ments,  and  the  chances  we  may  have  of  forming  commercial  arrangements 
with  that  power  favorable  to  the  United  States."  Again,  in  the  same  paper, 
it  is  said  :  "  The  object  of  the  President  is  to  obtain  information  in  regard 
to  Hungary,  and  her  resources  and  prospects,  with  a  view  to  an  early  recog 
nition  of  her  independence,  and  the  formation  of  commercial  relations  with 
her."  It  was  only  in  the  event  that  the  new  government  should  appear,  in 
the  opinion  of  the  agent,  to  be  firm  and  stable,  that  the  President  proposed 
to  recommend  its  recognition. 

Mr.  Hiilsemann,  in  qualifying  these  steps  of  President  Taylor  with  the 
epithet  of  "  hostile,"  seems  to  take  for  granted  that  the  inquiry  could,  in 
the  expectation  of  the  President,  have  but  one  result,  and  that  favorable  to 
Hungary.  If  this  were  so,  it  would  not  change  the  case.  But  the  Ameri 
can  government  sought  for  nothing  but  truth  ;  it  desired  to  learn  the  facts 
through  a  reliable  channel.  It  so  happened,  in  the  chances  and  vicissitudes 
of  human  affairs,  that  the  result  was  adverse  to  the  Hungarian  revolution. 
The  American  agent,  as  was  stated  in  his  instructions  to  be  not  unlikely, 
found  the  condition  of  Hungarian  affairs  less  prosperous  than  it  had  been,  or 
had  been  believed  to  be.  He  did  not  enter  Hungary,  nor  hold  any  direct 
communication  with  her  revolutionary  leaders.  He  reported  against  the 
recognition  of  her  independence,  because  he  found  she  had  been  unable  to 
Bet  up  a  firm  and  stable  government.  He  carefully  forbore,  as  his  instruc 
tions  required,  to  give  publicity  to  his  mission,  and  the  undersigned  sup 
poses  that  the  Austrian  government  first  learned  its  existence  from  the  com 
munications  of  the  President  to  the  Senate. 

Mr.  Hiilsemann  will  observe  from  this  statement,  that  Mr.  Mann's  mission 
was  wholly  unobjectionable,  and  strictly  within  the  rule  of  the  law  of 


562  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS. 

nations  and  the  duty  of  the  United  States  as  a  neutral  power.  He  will 
accordingly  feel  how  little  foundation  there  is  for  his  remark,  that  "  those 
who  did  not  hesitate  to  assume  the  responsibility  of  sending  Mr.  Dudley 
Mann  on  such  an  errand,  should,  independent  of  considerations  of  propriety, 
have  borne  in  mind  that  they  were  exposing  their  emissary  to  be  treated  as 
a  spy."  A  spy  is  a  person  sent  by  one  belligerent  to  gain  secret  informa 
tion  of  the  forces  and  defenses  of  the  other,  to  be  used  for  hostile  purposes. 
According  to  practice,  he  may  use  deception,  under  the  penalty  of  being 
lawfully  hanged  if  detected.  To  give  this  odious  name  and  character  to  a 
confidential  agent  of  a  neutral  power,  bearing  the  commission  of  his  country, 
and  sent  for  a  purpose  fully  warranted  by  the  law  of  nations,  is  not  only  to 
abuse  language,  but  also  to  confound  all  just  ideas,  and  to  announce  the 
wildest  and  most  extravagant  notions,  such  as  certainly  were  not  to  havo 
been  expected  in  a  grave  diplomatic  paper;  and  the  President  directs  the 
undersigned  to  say  to  Mr.  Hiilsemann,  that  the  American  government 
would  regard  such  an  imputation  upon  it  by  the  Cabinet  of  Austria,  as  that 
it  employs  spies,  and  that  in  a  quarrel  none  of  its  own,  as  distinctly  offen 
sive,  if  it  did  not  presume,  as  it  is  willing  to  presume,  that  the  word  used 
in  the  original  German  was  not  of  equivalent  meaning  with  "spy"  in  the 
English  language,  or  that  in  some  other  way  the  employment  of  such  an 
opprobrious  term  may  be  explained.  Had  the  Imperial  government  of 
Austria  subjected  Mr.  Mann  to  the  treatment  of  a  spy,  it  would  have  placed 
itself  without  the  pale  of  civilized  nations  ;  and  the  Cabinet  of  Vienna  mav 
be  assured,  that  if  it  had  carried,  or  attempted  to  carry,  any  such  lawless 
purpose  into  effect,  in  the  case  of  an  authorized  agent  of  this  government, 
the  spirit  of  the  people  of  this  country  would  have  demanded  immediate 
hostilities  to  be  waged  by  the  utmost  exertion  of  the  power  of  the  republic, 
military  and  naval. 

Mr.  Hiilsemann  proceeds  to  remark,  that  "this  extremely  painful  inci 
dent,  therefore,  might  have  been  passed  over,  without  any  written  evidence 
being  left  on  our  part  in  the  archives  of  the  United  States,  had  not  General 
Taylor  thought  proper  to  revive  the  whole  subject,  by  communicating  to 
the  Senate,  in  his  message  of  the  18th  (28th)  of  last  March,  the  instructions 
with  which  Mr.  Mann  had  been  furnished  on  the  occasion  of  his  mission  to 
Vienna.  The  publicity  which  has  been  given  to  that  document,  has  placed 
the  Imperial  government  under  the  necessity  of  entering  a  formal  protest, 
through  its  official  representative,  against  the  proceedings  of  the  American 
government,  lest  that  government  should  construe  our  silence  into  approba 
tion,  or  toleration  even,  of  the  principles  which  appear  to  have  guided  its 
action  and  the  means  it  has  adopted."  The  undersigned  reasserts  to  Mr. 
Hiilsemann,  and  to  the  Cabinet  of  Vienna,  and  in  the  presence  of  the  world, 
that  the  steps  taken  by  President  Taylor,  now  protested  against  by  the 
Austrian  government,  were  warranted  by  the  law  of  nations,  and  agreeable 
to  the  usages  of  civilized  states.  With  respect  to  the  communication  of  Mr. 
Mann's  instructions  to  the  Senate,  and  the  language  in  which  they  are 
couched,  it  has  already  been  said,  and  Mr.  Hiilsemann  must  feel  the  justice 
of  the  remark,  that  these  are  domestic  affairs,  in  reference  to  which  the 
government  of  the  United  States  cannot  admit  the  slightest  responsibility 
to  the  government  of  his  Imperial  Majesty.  No  state,  deservirg  the  appel- 


OF  AMERICANS.  56$ 

iation  of  independent,  can  permit  the  language  in  which  it  may  instruct  its 
own  officers,  in  the  discharge  of  their  duties  to  itself,  to  be  called  in  ques 
tion  under  any  pretext  by  a  foreign  power. 

But  even  if  this  were  not  so,  Mr.  Hulsemann  is  in  an  error  in  stating  that 
the  Austrian  government  is  called  an  "  iron  rule,"  in  Mr.  Mann's  instruc 
tions.  That  phrase  is  not  found  in  the  paper ;  and  in  respect  to  the  honor 
ary  epithet  bestowed  in  Mr.  Mann's  instructions  on  the  late  chief  of  the 
revolutionary  government  of  Hungary,  Mr.  Hulsemann  will  bear  in  mind 
that  the  government  of  the  United  States  cannot  justly  be  expected,  in  a 
confidential  communication  to  its  own  agent,  to  withhold  frohi  an  indi 
vidual  an  epithet  of  distinction,  of  which  a  great  part  of  the  world  thinks 
him  worthy,  merely  on  the  ground  that  his  own  government  regards  him 
as  a  rebel.  At  an  early  stage  of  the  American  Revolution,  while  Washing 
ton  was  considered  by  the  English  government  as  a  rebel  chief,  he  waa 
regarded  on  the  Continent  of  Europe  as  an  illustrious  hero.  But  the 
undersigned  will  take  the  liberty  of  bringing  the  Cabinet  of  Vienna  into  the 
presence  of  its  own  predecessors,  and  of  citing  for  its  consideration  the  con 
duct  of  the  Imperial  government  itself.  In  the  year  1777,  the  war  of  the 
American  Revolution  was  raging  all  over  these  United  States.  England 
was  prosecuting  that  war  with  a  most  resolute  determination,  and  by  the 
exertion  of  all  her  military  means  to  the  fullest  extent.  Germany  was  at 
that  time  at  peace  with  England  ;  and  yet  an  agent  of  that  Congress,  which 
was  looked  upon  by  England  in  no  other  light  than  that  of  a  body  in  open 
rebellion,  was  not  only  received  with  great  respect  by  the  ambassador  of  the 
Empress  Queen,  at  Paris,  and  by  the  minister  of  the  Grand  Duke  of 
Tuscany  (who  afterward  mounted  the  Imperial  throne),  but  resided  in 
Vienna  for  a  considerable  time ;  not,  indeed,  officially  acknowledged,  but 
treated  with  courtesy  and  respect ;  and  the  Emperor  suffered  himself  to  be 
persuaded  by  that  agent  to  exert  himself  to  prevent  the  German  powers 
from  furnishing  troops  to  England  to  enable  her  to  suppress  the  rebellion  in 
America.  Neither  Mr.  Hulsemann  nor  the  Cabinet  of  Vienna,  it  is  pre 
sumed,  will  undertake  to  say  that  any  thing  said  or  done  by  this  govern 
ment  in  regard  to  the  recent  war  between  Austria  and  Hungary  is  not  borne 
out,  and  much  more  than  borne  out,  by  this  example  of  the  Imperial  Court 
It  is  believed  that  the  Emperor  Joseph  the  Second  habitually  spoke  in 
terms  of  respect  and  admiration  of  the  character  of  Washington,  as  he  is 
known  to  have  done  of  that  of  Franklin  ;  and  he  deemed  it  no  infraction  of 
neutrality  to  inform  himself  of  the  progress  of  the  revolutionary  struggle  in 
America,  or  to  express  his  deep  sense  of  the  merits  and  the  talents  of  those 
illustrious  men  who  were  then  leading  their  country  to  independence  and 
renown.  The  undersigned  may  add,  that  in -1781  the  courts  of  Russia  and 
Austria  proposed  a  diplomatic  congress  of  the  belligerent  powers,  to  which 
the  commissioners  of  the  United  States  should  be  admitted. 

Mr.  Hulsemann  thinks  that  in  Mr.  Mann's  instructions  improper  expres 
sions  are  introduced  in  regard  to  Russia  ;  but  the  undersigned  has  no  reason  . 
to  suppose  that  Russia  herself  is  of  that  opinion.  The  only  observation 
made  in  those  instructions  about  Russia,  is,  that  she  "  has  chosen  to  assume 
an  attitude  of  interference,  and  her  immense  preparations  for  invading  and 
reducing  the  Hungarians  to  the  rule  of  Austria,  from  which  they  desire  to 
36 


564  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

be  released,  gave  so  serious  a  character  to  the  contest  as  to  awaken  tho 
most  painful  solicitude  in  the  minds  of  Americans."  The  undersigned  can 
not  but  consider  the  Austrian  Cabinet  as  unnecessarily  susceptible  in  look 
ing  upon  language  like  this  as  a  "hostile  demonstration."  If  we  remember 
that  it  was  addressed  by  the  government  to  its  own  agent,  and  has  received 
publicity  only  through  a  communication  from  one  department  of  tha 
American  government  to  another,  the  language  quoted  must  be  deemed 
moderate  and  inoffensive.  The  comity  of  nations  would  hardly  forbid  ita 
being  addressed  to  the  two  imperial  powers  themselves.  It  is  scarcely 
necessary  for  the  undersigned  to  say,  that  the  relations  of  the  United 
States  with  Russia  have  always  been  of  the  most  friendly  kind,  and  have 
never  been  deemed  by  either  party  to  require  any  compromise  of  their 
peculiar  views  upon  subjects  of  domestic  or  foreign  polity,  or  the  true  origin 
of  governments.  At  any  rate,  the  fact  that  Austria,  in  her  contest  with 
Hungary,  had  an  intimate  and  faithful  ally  in  Russia,  cannot  alter  the  real 
nature  of  the  question  between  Austria  and  Hungary,  nor  in  any  way  affect 
the  neutral  rights  and  duties  of  the  government  of  the  United  States,  or  the 
justifiable  sympathies  of  the  American  people.  It  is,  indeed,  easy  to  con 
ceive,  that  favor  toward  struggling  Hungary  would  be  not  diminished,  but 
increased,  when  it  was  seen  that  the  arm  of  Austria  was  strengthened  and 
upheld  by  a  power  whose  assistance  threatened  to  be,  and  which  in  the  end 
proved  to  be,  overwhelmingly  destructive  of  all  her  hopes. 

Toward  the  conclusion  of  his  note  Mr.  Hiilsemann  remarks,  that  "if  the 
government  of  the  United  States  were  to  think  it  proper  to  take  an  indirect 
part  in  the  political  movements  of  Europe,  American  policy  would  be  ex 
posed  to  acts  of  retaliation,  and  to  certain  inconveniences,  which  would  not 
fail  to  affect  the  commerce  and  industry  of  the  two  hemispheres."  As  to 
this  possible  fortune,  this  hypothetical  retaliation,  the  government  and  peo 
ple  of  the  United  States  are  quite  willing  to  take  their  chances,  and  abide 
their  destiny.  Taking  neither  a  direct  nor  an  indirect  part  in  the  domestic 
or  intestine  movements  of  Europe,  they  have  no  fear  of  events  of  the  nature 
alluded  to  by  Mr.  Hiilsemann.  It  would  be  idle  now  to  discuss  with  Mr. 
Hiilsemann  those  acts  of  retaliation,  which  he  imagines  may  possibly  take 
place  at  some  indefinite  time  hereafter.  Those  questions  will  be  discussed 
when  they  arise  ;  and  Mr.  Hiilsemann  and  the  Cabinet  at  Vienna  may  rest 
assured,  that,  in  the  meantime,  while  performing  with  strict  and  exact 
fidelity  all  their  neutral  duties,  nothing  will  deter  either  the  government  or 
the  people  of  the  United  States  from  exercising,  at  their  own  discretion,  the 
rights  belonging  to  them  as  an  independent  nation,  and  of  forming  and  ex 
pressing  their  own  opinions,  freely,  and  at  all  times,  upon  the  great  political 
events  which  may  transpire  among  the  civilized  nations  of  the  earth. 
Their  own  institutions  stand  upon  the  broadest  principles  of  civil  liberty  ; 
and  beHeving  those  principles  and  the  fundamental  laws  in  which  they  are 
embodied,  to  be  eminently  favorable  to  the  prosperity  of  states,  to  be,  in 
fact,  the  only  principles  of  government  which  meet  the  demands  of  tho 
present  enlightened  age,  the  President  has  perceived,  with  great  satisfaction, 
that,  in  the  constitution  recently  introduced  into  the  Austrian  empire,  many 
of  these  great  principles  are  recognized  and  applied,  and  he  cherishes  a 
sincere  wish  that  they  may  produce  the  same  happy  effects  throughout  his 


OF  AMERICANS. 

Austrian  Majesty's  extensive  dominions  that  they  have  done  in  the  United 
States. 

The  undersigned  has  the  honor  to  repeat  to  Mr.  Hiilsemann  the  assurance 
of  his  high  consideration.  DANIEL  WEBSTER. 

TUE  CHEVALIER  J.  G.  HULSKMANN,  Charge  d'  Affaires  of  Austria,  Washington. 

Chevalier  Hiilsemann,  under  date  of  March  llth,  1851,  briefly  replied  to 
this  "  famous  dispatch"  from  Mr.  Webster,  and  in  it  stated  that  the  opinions 
of  his  government  remain  unaltered  in  respect  to  the  mission  of  Mr.  Mann ; 
but  that  it  "declines  all  ulterior  discussion  of  that  annoying  incident,"  from 
unwillingness  to  disturb  its  friendly  relations  with  the  United  States.  Mr. 
Webster,  in  his  rejoinder  to  this  communication,  said  that  the  government 
of  the  United  States  was  equally  disinclined  to  prolong  the  discussion,  but 
declared  that  their  principles  and  policy  are  fixed  and  fastened  upon  them  by 
their  character,  their  history,  and  their  position  among  the  nations  of  the 
world  ;  and  it  may  be  regarded  as  certain,  that  those  principles  and  this 
policy  will  not  be  abandoned  or  departed  from  until  some  extraordinary 
change  shall  take  place  in  the  general  current  of  human  affairs." 

AMERICAN   INTERVENTION    IN    BEHALF   OF   THE    HUNGARIAN   EXILES,  WITH   A 
SKETCH  OF   THE  VISIT  OF  KOSSUTH  TO  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

On  the  termination  of  the  Hungarian  War,  in  August,  1849,  Louis 
Kossuth,  who  had  been  governor  of  Hungary,  and  was  the  one  ruling  and 
directing  spirit  of  the  Hungarian  cause,  with  a  party  of  officers  and  others 
'fled  across  the  Turkish  frontier,  and  threw  himself  on  the  hospitality  of  the 
Sultan,  who  promised  them  a  safe  asylum. 

Russia  and  Austria  demanded  that  the  fugitives  should  be  given  up ;  and 
for  some  months  it  was  uncertain  if  the  Turkish  government  would  dare  to 
refuse.  At  first  a  decided  negative  was  given  ;  then  the  Porte  wavered, 
and  it  was  officially  announced  to  Kossuth  and  his  companions  that  the 
only  means  for  them  to  avoid  a  surrender  would  be  to  give  up  the  Chris 
tian  religion  and  become  Mohammedans,  and  thus  take  advantage  of  the 
Moslem  law,  that  any  fugitive  embracing  that  faith  can  claim  the  protec 
tion  of  the  government.  Kossuth  refused  to  purchase  his  life  at  such  a 
pric<\  Finally  Austria  and  Russia  were  induced  to  modify  their  demand, 
and  merely  insist  upon  the  detention  of  the  fugitives. 

Early  in  the  year  1851,  Daniel  Webster,  as  Secretary  of  State,  directed 
Mr.  Marsh,  our  minister  at  Constantinople,  to  urge  the  Porf.e  to  suffer  the 
exiles  to  come  to  the  United  States.  A  similar  course  was  pursued  by  the 
British  government.  It  was  finally  promised  that  these  requests  should  be 
complied  with  at  the  expiration  of  the  period  of  the  detention  agreed  upon 
by  the  Sultan,  when  the  exiles  would  be  free  to  depart  to  any  part  of  the 
world.  Our  government  at  once  placed  the  United  States'  steam-frigate 
Mississippi  at  the  disposal  of  Kossuth,  who  accepted  the  offer  and  embarked 
with  his  suite  on  the  12th  of  September,  1851.  They  arrived  at  Marseilles 
on  the  25th,  when  the  French  government  refused  permission  to  Kossuth 
to  pass  through  France  to  England,  where  he  wished  to  leave  his  children 
for  their  education,  prior  to  visiting  the  United  States.  On  the  5th  of 
October,  Kossutb,  with  his  wife,  three  children,  and  eleven  of  his  suite,  left 


566  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

the  Mississippi  at  Gibraltar  and  embarked  on  an  English  passenger-steamer 
for  Southampton,  while  the  Mississippi,  with  the  remainder  of  the  exiles, 
forty-two  in  number,  sailed  for  New  York. 

Early  in  December,  Kossuth  and  his  suite  arrived  at  New  York  in  the 
steamer  Humbolt,  from  England.  The  enthusiasm  with  which  he  was 
received  was  never  equaled  in  our  country  on  any  occasion  within  this 
century.  It  arose  from  the  extraordinary  ability  of  the  man,  and  the 
character  of  the  heroic  struggle  in  which  he  had  been  engaged. 

On  his  entrance  into  New  York,  as  the  guest  of  the  city,  he  was  greeted 
by  thousands  upon  thousands  of  the  people,  whose  wild  excitement  was 
such  that  it  seemed  as  if  even  the  loudest  huzzas  were  insufficient  to  give 
vent  to  their  emotions.  Ho  reviewed  the  troops,  and  there  was  a  large 
civil  and  military  procession  in  his  honor.  For  the  few  subsequent  days 
he  was  waited  upon  at  his  rooms  by  numerous  deputations  from  societies, 
and  from  cities,  inviting  him  to  visit  them.  On  the  12th,  the  corporation 
of  New  York  entertained  him  at  a  splendid  banquet,  in  which  he  made  a> 
long  and  able  speech,  explanatory  of  the  objects  of  his  visit  to  the  United 
States.  The  point  of  his  address,  and  of  his  speeches  generally  throughout 
the  country,  was  to  urge  this  government  to  combine  with  that  of  England 
in  a  protest  against  the  intervention  of  Russia  in  the  affairs  of  Hungary. 
He  argued  that  this  would  be  sufficient  to  effect  the  object — that  Russia 
would  be  overawed  to  continue  at  peace,  and  thus  his  country  would  be 
enabled  to  gain  her  independence  of  Austria.  On  the  15th,  the  banquet  of 
the  press  was  given  him  at  the  Astor  House  ;  and  on  the  succeeding  day 
the  military  of  New  York,  about  six  thousand  strong,  received  him  at 
Castle  Garden.  The  bar  of  the  city  gave  him  a  banquet  on  the  19th,  and 
on  the  20th  he  pronounced  a  farewell  address  to  the  ladies,  at  Tripler  Hall. 
Passing  through  Philadelphia  and  Baltimore  to  Washington,  he  was  re 
ceived  in  those  cities  with  similar  honors  and  enthusiasm.  At  the  Federal 
city,  Kossuth  called  upon  President  Fillmore,  with  his  suite,  and  read  a 
short  address,  to  which  the  President  replied.  Congress,  who  had  passed 
an  almost  unanimous  resolution  welcoming  him  to  the  capital  and  the 
country,  on  the  7th  gave  him  a  banquet.  His  speech  on  this  occasion  was 
"a  ter»e  and  most  eloquent  sketch  of  the  position  of  his  country." 
Speeches  in  reply  were  made  by  Messrs.  Cass,  Douglass,  and  Webster — the 
latter  expressing  his  high  admiration  for  their  guest,  and  declaring  his 
opinion  that  Hungary  was  admirably  fitted  for  republican  institutions,  and 
his  wish  for  the  speedy  establishment  of  her  independence.  The  others 
affirmed  their  desire  that  the  United  States  should  protest  against  Russian 
intervention. 

In  the  course  of  the  next  few  weeks,  Kossuth  visited  Annapolis,  Harris- 
burg,  Pittsburg,  Cleveland,  and  Columbus,  and  was  received  by  the  legisla 
tures  of  Maryland,  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio.  The  same  unbounded  enthu 
siasm  greeted  him.  On  the  9th  of  February  he  reached  Cincinnati,  where 
he  remained  several  weeks,  receiving  deputations,  making  speeches,  otc. 
He  solicited  and  received,  in  the  whole  course  of  his  tour,  large  sums  of 
money,  as  contributions  to  assist  in  a  second  proposed  attempt  to  establish 
Hungarian  Independence.  He  declined  at  this  point  to  receive  any  more 
public  entertainments,  on  the  ground  that  it  involved  a  waste  of  money, 


OF  AMERICANS.  567 

and  to  no  benefit.  At  this  period  some  published  letters  of  exiled  Hun* 
garian  leaders,  upon  the  merits  of  Kossuth,  reached  the  country,  and  much 
cooled  the  public  sentiment  in  his  favor.  Besides  this,  President  Fillmore, 
in  compliance  with  a  resolution  of  Congress,  transmitted  copies  of  the  cor 
respondence  between  officers  of  the  Mississippi  and  some  American  consuls  in 
Europe,  and  the  government  concerning  Kossuth.  They  showed  distrust 
of  his  plans,  and  expressed  great  dissatisfaction  at  the  marks  of  respect 
which  were  paid  him  at  the  various  ports  on  the  Mediterranean  at  which 
the  Mississippi  had  touched.  His  returning  thanks  to  "the  people"  of 
Marseilles,  who  cheered  him  from  boats  in  the  harbor,  was  especially  cen 
sured  :  "  liberty  of  speech  "  having  been  considered  as  a  liberty  too  great 
to  be  taken  with  the  subjects  of  Louis  Napoleon,  even  from  the  decks  of  an 
American  national  vessel,  under  the  star'd  and  striped  flag,  that  freemen 
have,  perhaps  erroneously,  deemed  the  emblem  of  Liberty  the  world  over, 
and  if  so,  they  should  in  all  humility  ask  pardon  for  so  monstrous  an 
offense. 

In  March,  Kossuth  reached  St.  Louis,  and  from  thence  he  passed  down 
the  Mississippi,  and  following  along  the  seaboard  States  of  the  South  he 
ended  his  tour  by  a  visit  to  the  New  England  States.  Throughout  the 
South  he  was  generally  received  with  coldness  and  distrust,  but  on  reaching 
the  soil  of  New  England,  he  was  greeted  with  something  of  the  same  fervor 
that  had  previously  attended  him  at  the  North  and  West.  On  the  16th  of 
July,  Kossuth  left  the  country  in  a  steamer  for  England,  after  the  most  ex 
traordinary  tour  of  modern  times.  He  had  failed  in  the  main  object  of  his 
mission,  the  enlistment  of  our  government  in  his  doctrine  of  intervention  in 
European  politics. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  of  all  the  incidents  which  had  marked  his 
tour,  was  his  visit  to  the  bedside  of  the  great-hearted  and  genial  Henry 
Clay,  then  near  his  end.  The  venerable  patriot  had  witnessed  with  alarm 
the  wild  furor  with  which  the  American  people  had  welcomed  this  dis 
tinguished  foreigner,  and  fearing  that  his  seductive  eloquence  would  betray 
his  countrymen  into  an  armed  crusade  in  behalf  of  Republicanism  in 
Europe,  he  summoned  Kossuth  to  his  dying  bed,  to  dissuade  him  against  the 
dissemination  of  doctrines  that  he  considered  not  only  of  no  avail  to  the 
cause  of  liberty  on  the  continent,  but  which  he  feared  would  prove  in  the 
end  disastrous  to  his  own  beloved  country,  to  whose  welfare  a  long  life  of 
persevering  service  had  attested  his  devotion. 

The  visit  of  Kossuth  to  the  United  States  was  instructive  and  not  unpro 
ductive  of  good  results.  It  was  a  pleasant  interlude  in  the  keen  excitement 
and  hurry  of  American  life,  for  the  masses  to  pause  and  listen  to  this  sur 
passing  orator  upon  the  vital  topics  of  liberty,  and  the  rights  of  man  ;  and  it 
was  gratifying  to  observe  from  how,  down  deep  in  the  public  heart  came 
the  response  to  those  ideas  which  form  the  foundation  of  all  that  makes  us 
great  as  a  people.  It  was  amusing  to  witness  the  excitement  of  some  ordi 
narily  very  grave  citizens,  who  bawled  themselves  hoarse  in  their  welcomes 
to  the  famous  Hungarian.  Equally  amusing  was  it  to  observe  the  disgust 
of  others  of  jaundiced  temperaments  at  all  this  popular  frenzy,  and  the  ex 
pressions  of  distrust  that  came  from  some  people,  who  meant  well,  but  who 
philosophized  unhappily.  Others  there  were,  too,  we  were  astonished  to 


568  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

find,  that,  although  to  "  the  manor  born  "  we  had  to  judge  were  "  Bourbons 
among  us  ;  "  for  so  strong  was  the  evidence  they  gave  that  they  had  no  sym 
pathy  in  these  subjects,  that  we  could  but  wish  that  they  might  pass  the 
rest  of  their  days  under  the  most  grinding  despotism,  to  get  ample  expe 
rience  to  the  pleasantness  of  the  sensation.  Poor  Chevalier  Hiilsemann, 
whose  bout  with  Webster  was  fresh  in  the  public  memory,  was  in  sore  dis 
tress,  and  indited  several  letters  to  c«r  government,  protesting. against  the 
attentions  that  were  being  shown  to  Kossuth  ;  the  last,  a  bitter  complaint 
that  no  notice  had  been  deigned  to  his  communications. 

And  the  crowds  that  followed  Kossuth  !  What  a  variety  of  character  for 
observation!  and  what  a  variety  of  motive  that  drew  them  together! — the 
keen  and  miserably  selfish  politician,  ready  to  rise  on  the  wave  of  popular 
opinion  to  popularity  and  a  fat  office — the  simple  hearted  school-boy,  big 
with  a  boy's  thoughts,  and  the  thoughts  in  Fourth  of  July  orations — the 
ladies,  and  in  crushing  masses,  too  !  all  talking  at  once,  half  crazy  with  ex 
citement,  pushing  against  each  other,  and  pushing  against  the  men,  and  then 
raising  on  tip- toe  to  get  a  peep  at  a  foreigner  with  a  long  beard,  a  wig — he 
had  lost  his  hair  in  an  Austrian  dungeon — mild  blue  eye,  winning  smile,  and 
a  most  musical  voice,  that  was  continually  pleading  in  sad  tones  for  "  poor, 
do \vn- trodden  Hungary,"  in  utterances,  too,  of  that  broken  English  that 
always  seems  so  artless,  because  so  like  the  half-formed  words  of  little 
children. 

Of  Kossuth,  it  has  been  said,  "  He  is  the  living  leader  of  a  lost  cause. 
His  country  is  ruined — its  nationality  destroyed,  and  through  his  efforts. 
Yet  the  Hungarian  people  lay  not  this  ruin  to  his  charge ;  and  the  first 
lesson  taught  the  infant  Magyar  is  a  blessing  upon  his  name.  Yet  what 
ever  the  future  may  have  in  store,  his  efforts  have  not  been  lost  efforts. 
The  tree  which  he  planted  in  blood,  and  agony,  and  tears,  though  its  tender 
shoots  have  been  trampled  down  by  the  Russian  bear,  will  yet  spring  up 
again  to  gladden,  if  not  his  heart,  yet  those  of  his  children,  or  his  children's 
children.  The  man  may  perish,  but  the  cause  endures." 

HEROIC    CONDUCT    OF    CAPTAIN  INGRAHAM,  OF    THE    UNITED  STATES  NAVT,  IN 
THE  RESCUE  OF  MARTIN  KOSTA   FROM  THE  AUSTRIANS,  AT  SMYRNA. 

In  the  summer  of  1853,  an  incident  occurred  in  Smyrna,  Turkey,  which 
showed  such  fearless  intrepidity  in  an  American  naval  officer,  in  the  rescue 
of  one  of  the  Hungarian  refugees,  who  had  been  seized  and  carried  a 
prisoner  on  board  an  Austrian  man-of-war,  that  when  the  news  of  that  event 
reached  America,  a  thrill  of  pride  and  of  joy  ran  through  all  the  land. 

This  officer  was  Captain  Ingraham,  of  the  United  States  Corvette,  St. 
Louis,  and  a  native  of  South  Carolina.  The  Hungarian  who  was  thus  res- 
cued  from  an  imprisonment,  designed  to  have  terminated  in  his  execution, 
was  a  young  man  named  Martin  Kosta,  who  had  been  a  captain  in  the  Hun 
garian  army,  and  who  had  subsequently  emigrated  to  the  United  States. 
Various  accounts  of  this  event  were  published  at  the  time,  Ibut  that  which 
we  annex  is  extracted  from  a  letter  of  an  officer  on  board  the  American 
vessel,  Passed  Midshipman  Charles  B.  Smith,  of  St.  Louis  Mo.,  to  his 
brother,  then  in  Paris. 

"We  arrived  at  Smyrna  the  23d  of  June.     Immediately  after  our  arrival, 


OF  AMERICANS. 

our  consul  came  on  board  and  informed  Captain  Ingraham  that  the  Austrian 
consul  had,  in  the  most  shameful  manner,  seized  upon  the  body  of  Martin 
Kosta,  a  Hungarian  refugee,  upon  whose  head  Austria  had  set  a  great  price. 
Kostu  had  belonged  to  Kossuth's  suite,  and  while  in  New  York  had  ob 
tained  a  paper  from  the  New  York  State  authorities,  declaring  his  intention 
of  beunning  a  citizen  of  the  United  States.  He  left  the  United  States 
temporally,  after  staying  there  nearly  two  years,  and  came  to  Smyrna, 
where,  on  the  22d  of  June,  while  sitting  in  a  cafe,  he  was  seized  by  three 
Greek  hirelings  of  the  Austrian  consul,  and  carried  on  board  of  the  Austrian 
brig-of-war  Hussar,  to  be  conveyed  as  a  prisoner  to  Trieste.  Our  captain 
immediately  boarded  the  brig,  and  demanded  to  see  Kosta.  At  first  he 
was  told  he  was  not  on  board  ;  but  finally  he  visited  the  Austrian  consul 
and  declared  he  would  see  him — that  he  believed  him  to  be  an  American 
citizen,  and  he  would  have  him  at  all  hazards!  Ingraham  then  again 
boarded  the  Austrian  vessel,  and  asked  Kosta  these,  among  other  ques 
tions  :  'When  he  left  the  United  States?'  'Why  he  did  so?'  and 
'if  he  was  an  American  citizen  ?'  To  these  questions  he  replied  :  'I  came 
to  Smyrna  to  settle — I  am  not  an  American.'  This  was  in  the  presence  of 
the  Austrian  officers. 

Nothing  then  could  be  done.  But  Captain  Ingraham  was  not  satisfied, 
as  Kosta  held  a  paper  from  the  New  York  State  authorities,  swearing  to 
become  a  citizen  of  the  United  States  ;  and  he  therefore  wrote  immediately 
to  our  minister  at  Constantinople,  who  replied  in  a  very  indicisive  and 
evasive  letter.  The  captain  again  wrote  to  him — Mr.  Brown. 

On  the  30th  of  June,  a  letter  was  sent  on  board  from  the  shore,  signed 
'Humanitas,'  praying  in  pleading  terms  the  interference  of  our  captain  for 
Kosta. 

As  Captain  Ingraham  had  not  received  a  second  repljr  from  Mr.  Brown, 
he  was  determined  that  the  man  should  not  be  conveyed  by  steamer  to 
Trieste  until  Mr.  Brown  had  replied.  We  immediately  got  under  weigh 
and  stood  down,  anchoring  near  the  brig,  fearing  she  might,  unknown  to  us, 
send  Kosta  on  board  the  steamer,  as  it  was  our  intention,  should  he  be 
taken  on  board,  and  the  steamer  put  to  sea,  to  go  after  her  and  release  him. 
Of  course  protests  against  his  removal  were  made  by  our  consul  and  captain 
to  the  Austrian  consul,  under  whose  directions  the  captain  of  the  Austrian 
brig  was  acting. 

In  the  meantime,  an  Austrian  schooner-of-war  came  into  port.  Next 
morning  our  captain  received  a  letter  authorizing  him  to  take  Kosta,  be  it 
by  force  :  the  letter  stating  that  he,  being  an  outlaw  of  Austria,  and  holding 
the  paper  he  did,  necessarily  belonged  to  the  United  States.  Captain 
Ingraham  immediately  boarded  the  brig,  and  demanded  to  see  Kosta,  and 
asked  him  again  : 

'Are  you  an  American? 
I  am.' 

Do  you  demand  protection  of  the  American  flag  ?' 
'I  do.' 

1  THEN  YOU  SHALL  HAVE  IT  ! ' 

This  time  which  was  or.  the  2d  of  July,  the  captain  saw  Kosta  alone  : 
before  it  was  in  the  presence  of  the  Austrian  captain,  when  he  thought, 


570  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

from  the  manner  in  which  he  made  his  replies,  that  he  was  frightened. 
Captain  Ingraham  then  informed  the  Austrian  captain  of  the  letter  which 
he  had  received,  and,  of  course,  his  orders  ;  and  added  that  he  would 
give  him  four  Itours  in  which  to  deliver  Kosta  up.  The  other  replied,  'It 
rests  with  the  Austrian  consul.'  At  nine  o'clock  the  American  consul  came 
on  board,  and  told  Captain  Ingraham  to  lengthen  the  time,  whereupon  a 
letter  was  sent,  giving  until  four  o'clock,  p.  M.  At  eleven  o'clock,  A.  M., 
we  cleared  ship  for  action,  as  did  the  Austrian  brg,  schooner,  and  two 
steamers.  We  mounted  twenty  guns,  viz  :  four  sixty-eight  pounders,  and 
sixteen  thirty-two  pounders;  the  Austrian  brig  sixteen  thirty-two  pound 
carronades ;  the  schoonef  ten  twelve  pound  carronades,  and  the  two 
steamers  each  four  twelve  pound  carronades.  We  carried  two  hundred  men, 
and  they,  in  all,  two  hundred  and  forty. 

All  preparations  were  made,  and  thousands  flocked  to  the  shore  to  wit- 
mess  the  tight.  A  committee  of  gentlemen  on  shore,  not  wishing  to  see 
bloodshed — and  indeed  it  would  have  been  a  hard  fight — called  upon  the 
Austrian  consul,  and  the  matter  was  arranged  by  delivering  Kosta  up  to  the 
care  of  the  French  consul,  who  is  responsible  for  his  body,  to  be  delivered 
only  by  the  ag-eement  of  the  Austrian  and  American  consuls.  So  the 
matter  now  rests  with  the  two  governments.  These  are  the  unvarnished 
facts  of  the  occurrence. 

At  four  o'clock,  p.  M.,  Kosta  was  landed  amid  the  cheering  of  thousands 
for  '  America  and  Kosta.'  Parties  were  given,  and  the  hospitalities  of  the 
whole  town  were  extended  us — there  were  no  persons  like  tlie  Americans. 
That  same  evening,  after  Kosta's  deliverance,  a  steamboat  tilled  with  ladies 
and  gentlemen  came  near  our  ship,  serenading  us,  and  shouting  most  deaf 
ening  cheers  for  our  flag." 

After  a  lapse  of  some  time,  Kosta  was  set  at  liberty,  and  returned  and 
settled  in  the  United  States.  No  single  event  within  our  day  has  given 
more  wide  satisfaction  than  the  noble  conduct  of  our  naval  officer  in  rescu 
ing  this  unfortunate  man  on  his  demand  for  American  protection.  While  in 
the  exercise  of  his  benevolent  impulses,  Captain  Ingraham  was  firm  and 
fearless,  even  to  the  point  of  battling  with  the  whole  Austrian  fleet ;  yet 
when  it  was  all  over,  and  Kosta  relieved  from  peril,  it  is  said,  with  a 
modesty  peculiar  to  his  nature,  he  was  under  apprehension  of  being  cen 
sured  for  it  by  his  countrymen  at  home  !  This  event  also  created  much 
comment  in  Europe — indignation  at  the  despotic  seizure  of  Kosta  on  the 
neutral  soil  of  Turkey,  and  admiration  for  the  heroism  of  Ingraham,  whose 
conduct  greatly  tended  to  raise  the  American  character  in  the  estimation  of 
foreigners. 

The  Austrian  government  addressed  a  protest  to  the  various  crowned  heads 
of  Europe,  against  the  act  of  Captain  Ingraham,  and  a  correspondence  also 
ensued  on  the  subject  between  Chevalier  Hulsemann  and  Mr.  Marcy,  tho 
American  Secretary  of  State,  in  which  the  latter  fully  sustained  the  conduct 
of  Ingraham,  declaring  that  Kosta,  when  seized,  had  the  national  character 
of  an  American,  and  that  the  United  States  had  the  right  to  extend  its  pro 
tection  over 


Heathen  of  the  Fife  Points. 


NARRATIVE. 

OF  SOME  OF  THE 

PHILANTHROPIC   ENTERPRISES 

IN    THE   GREAT   METROPOLIS    (NEW    YORK),    FOR   THE   BENEFIT    OF   THE 

MISERABLE  AND  DEGRADED  CLASSES. 


To  DOUBT  that  moral  evil  exists  otherwise  than  for  an  eventual  good,  if 
to  question  either  the  power  or  benevolence  of  the  Creator.  The  world, 
checkered  as  it  is  with  happiness  and  misery,  is  precisely  as  foreknown,  and 
no  disappointment  with  its  condition  can  exist  in  the  Divine  Mind. 

Some  of  the  uses  of  evil  are  clear  to  us.  If,  with  our  present  mental  con 
stitutions,  life  was  an  eternal  sunshine,  with  no  ills  to  combat,  with  no  suf 
fering  to  relieve,  a  monotony  of  ease  would  ensue,  involving  the  loss  of  a 
great  source  of  happiness  and  a  discipline  which  strengthens  and  ennobles 
character.  The  greatest  glory  is  in  the  combat  for  the  welfare  of  others. 
"It  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to  receive,"  like  every  axiom  of  the  Great 
Teacher,  is  a  vital  truth  tested  by  experience.  And  where  this  is  united 
to  self-sacrifice,  then  the  measure  of  the  blessing  is  as  the  measure  of  the 
denial.  That  man  who  dwells  encased  in  self,  is  more  to  be  pitied  than 
if  he  had  been  bom  lame  and  blind,  for  he  never  can  enjoy  that  most  ex 
quisite  of  all  sensations — the  pleasure  of  doing  good. 

In  our  large  cities  where  men  most  do  congregate,  the  greatest  amount  of 
evil,  moral  and  physical,  awaits  the  exertions  of  the  benevolent.  Our  own 
New  York  is  a  vast  theater  for  the  exercise  of  man's  humanity  ;  and  when 
we  behold  the  amount  of  woe  existing  in  that  great  metropolis,  we  stand 
appalled  in  view  of  the  gigantic  task  of  its  relief. 

During  the  last  twenty  years  a  tide  of  population  has  been  setting  in 
toward  these  shores  to  which  there  is  no  movement  parallel  in  history. 
Within  the  past  year  over  three  hundred  thousand  foreigners  have  landed 
in  New  York,  or  about  one  thousand  per  day  for  every  week  day.  Of  these 
a  portion  have  been  good,  sober,  hard-working  people,  who  have  spread  over 
the  country  and  mingled  with  our  population.  Another  part  has  been  the 
off-scouring  of  the  poorest  districts  and  most  degraded  cities  of  the  Old 
World,  which,  in  the  main,  has  settled  and  stagnated  in  our  metropolis. 

The  poor  and  idle  of  a  street  grew  worse  by  having  poor  and  idle  neigh 
bors.  The  respectable  and  industrious  moved  out  of  certain  quarters,  and 
such  places  as  the  Five  Points  began  to  be  known.  Streets  once  inhabited  by 
the  best  of  people  (Lower  Pearl,  Cherry  and  Dover  streets),  being  aban 
doned,  have  since  been  held  mostly  by  lodging  houses  of  the  poorest  im 
migrants.  The  children  of  this  class  have  naturally  grown  up  under  the 

(571) 


572  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

concentrated  influences  of  the  poverty  and  vice  around  them.  By  the  re« 
port  of  Matsell,  Chief  of  Police,  some  ten  years  since,  it  appears  that  there 
were  even  then  ten  thousand  vagrant  children  in  the  city,  and  in  eleven 
wards  nearly  three  thousand  children  were  engaged  in  thieving,  of  whom 
two  thirds  were  girls  between  the  ages  of  eight  and  sixteen.  In  one  ward, 
there  were  twelve  thousand  children  ;  of  these,  nine  thousand  were  destitute 
of  public  religious  influence. 

Institutions  have  been  established  within  a  few  years  in  the  city,  which, 
although  young,  have  attracted  great  attention  from  the  blessings  they  have 
produced.  As  American  enterprises  of  a  noble  character,  we  are  pleased  to 
present  this  account  of  them,  as  given  us  by  a  lady  friend.  They  are  the 
Children's  Aid  Society,  the  Industrial  and  Mission  Schools,  etc.,  etc.  Theso 
are  directed  mainly  to  the  reformation  of  the  juvenile  portion  of  the  de 
graded  classes  ;  thus  attacking  vice  and  crime  before  the  iron  habits  of  ma 
ture  life  should  render  hopeless  all  attempts  at  reform. 

The  CHILDREN'S  AID  SOCIETY  was  founded  a  few  years  since  by  the  Rev. 
Charles  L.  Brace,  a  gentleman  of  education,  and  noted  as  a  traveler.  While 
in  Europe  during  the  period  of  the  Hungarian  War,  he  devoted  his  best 
thoughts  and  energies  to  the  condition  of  the  poor  and  the  degraded  of  the 
Old  World.  As  he  traveled  from  point  to  point,  he  inquired  into  the  re 
sults  of  the  various  experiments  making  for  their  moral  and  spiritual  wel 
fare.  He  soon  became  convinced  of  the  truth  of  the  remark  of  Talleyrand, 
that  "the  vilest  of  people  are  not  formidable  to  him  who  approaches  them 
in  a  spirit  of  kindness."  On  his  return  to  New  York,  he  began  his  benev 
olent  efforts  to  arouse  the  public  mind  to  the  great  work  of  elevating  and 
reforming  the  lowest  poor.  "  The  persons  here  to  be  aided  and  Christianized," 
said  he,  ''are  not  pagans  and  heathen,  in  lands  where  the  very  difficulties 
make  the  work  heroic,  and  where  the  associations  of  thousands  of  years 
of  history  throw  a  romantic  and  factious  interest  about  our  labors."  The 
result  of  his  statements,  followed  by  eloquent  appeals,  was  the  establish 
ment  of  this  society,  of  which  he  is  the  secretary.  Their  office  is  at  No, 
11  Clinton  Hall,  Astor  Place.  Their  business  is  transacted  by  Mr.  Brace 
and  his  assistants,  in  reference  to  the  different  objects  of  benevolence  under 
his  supervision.  At  all  hours  of  the  day,  groups  of  men,  women,  and  chil 
dren  are  in  attendance,  waiting  to  tell  the  sad  story  of  their  sorrows — to  be 
provided  with  employment,  or  to  meet  individuals  who  are  about  to  take 
them  to  new  homes  in  the  country.  Packages  of  old  and  new  clothing  are 
also  received  at  the  office  and  distributed  by  the  visitors  connected  with  the 
institution. 

There  are  no  lodging-rooms  in  the  building,  but  vagrant  boys  are  placed 
temporarily  at  the  News  Boys'  Lodging- House.  A  building  given  by  Mr. 
Grinnell  in  the  fourth  Ward,  for  an  Industrial  School,  has  been  used  as  a 
temporary  home  for  girls.  The  list  subjoined  will  show  where  the  visitors 
found  these  young  girls  and  rescued  them  just  at  the  fearful  turning  point 
between  purity  and  vice  :  Girls  taken  from  tjhe  Tombs  Prison,  ten  ;  found 
without  a  home,  twenty-three ;  beaten  and  turned  out,  two ;  found  in  tho 
streets  (some  nearly  starved),  seven;  came  in  sick,  etc.,  eight;  vagrants, 
from  the  office  of  the  Society,  twenty-eight.  Total  lodgers  in  one  year, 
eightv-two. 


OF  AMERICANS.  573 

The  NEWS  BOYS'  LODGING-HOUSE  is  in  the  fifth  story  of  the  Sun  office, 
Nassau  street.  It  is  an  important  branch-  of  the  Children's  Aid  Society, 
and  is  under  the  superintendence  of  Rev.  C.  C.  Tracy.  It  has  been  sue 
eessful  in  elevating  a  class  who  were  once  called  by  the  police  the  banditt 
of  the  city  A  cut  prefacing  this  article  is  a  representation  of  that  class  ol 
"heathen"  in  an  unconverted  state.  One  of  their  rooms  is  furnished  with 
neat  little  beds,  for  which  the  boys  pay  sixpence  a  lodging,  including  a  bath 
in  an  adjoining  room.  The  amount  aside  from  this  charge  of  sixpence  neces 
sary  to  support  the  establishment,  is  given  by  the  society.  If  the  visitor 
can  drop  in  of  an  evening,  he  may  find  the  boys  assembled  at  their  desks, 
engaged  in  reading  or  study,  or  quietly  listening  to  some  familiar  lecture 
from  one  of  their  many  friends.  And  a  new  book  presented  to  their  little 
library,  will  give  the  visitor  a  warm  place  in  the  affection  of  these  sharp 
little  traders.  It  is  wonderful  to  witness  the  tact,  ingenuity,  and  assiduous 
care  which  is  constantly  exercised  toward  them  by  their  kind  superintend 
ent.  In  addition  to  his  other  cares,  Mr.  Tracy  has  of  late  assumed  the 
charge  of  conducting  these  boys  to  new  homes  provided  for  them  in  differ 
ent  parts  of  the  country.  His  letters  are  so  replete  with  interest  that  some 
extracts  from  them  will  be  given  in  this  article  ;  may  they  be  the  means  of 
eliciting  aid  for  the  many  wretched  and  friendless  children,  who  are  de 
pendent  upon  this  society  for  their  hopes  of  happiness  both  here  and  here 
after. 

The  Boys'  Meetings  is  another  department  of  the  same  society.  These, 
says  Mr  Brace,  will  be  important  links  in  a  chain  of  influences  connecting 
the  multitude  of  benevolent,  who  wish  to  help,  with  the  multitude  of  va 
grant  children,  who  perish  for  the  lack  of  aid. 

The  visitor  of  the  Children's  Aid  Society,  in  searching  the  docks,  and 
lumber  yards,  and  low  lodging-houses,  finds  ample  materials  for  his  Sun 
day  gatherings.  He  is  careful  not  to  excite  their  prejudice  by  speaking  of 
poor  and  ragged  boys  ;  but  scatters  numerous  cards  of  invitation  to  a  "  Boys' 
Meeting."  These  are  held  in  a  loft  in  a  warehouse,  or  some  other  room 
that  can  be  procured,  at  a  trifling  expense.  Then  the  most  interesting 
speakers  that  can  be  procured  are  enlisted  in  the  work.  "These,"  says  Mr.. 
Brace,  "must  be  men  of  sense ;  the  vagrant  boy  sees  through  any  humbug; 
they  must  regard  these  helpless,  forsaken  ones  as  their  brethren,  and  not 
forget  that  in  working  for  the  least  of  these,  they  are  working  for  Christ. 
The  leader  must  have  several  with  him  to  gather  in  the  boys,  and  assist  in 
Kinging  and  speaking.  But  they  should  all  be  men  of  force;  and,  above 
all,  with  a  patient,  good  nature."  The  following  incident  will  show  the  im 
portance  of  this  qualification,  in  addressing  an  audience  who  have  never  en 
tered  a  church,  and  who  have  not  the  slightest  idea  of  veneration.  A  friend 
of  the  writer  has  acquired  great  tact  in  securing  the  sympathy  and  interest 
of  these  bright  little  urchins.-  He  does  not  attempt  to  present  abstract 
truths  or  mere  exhortations ;  but  he  never  fails  to  fix  the  attention  of  the 
boys,  while  presenting  the  truths  of  Christianity  in  a  narrative  form,  avoid 
ing  merely  religious  phrases,  but  enforcing  duty  by  vivid  illustrations.  On 
one  occasion,  he  called  upon  a  friend  to  assist  him.  The  speaker,  a  tall, 
dignified  man,  with  auburn  hair,  and  pleasing  expression  of  countenance, 
arose  and  commenced  : 


574  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

"My  young  friends,  I  shall  occupy  but  a  few  moments  in  addressing  you." 
The  boys  listened  attentively  for  a  time ;  but  at  length  he  became  prosy, 
They  shuffled  and  whispered,  and  one  near  the  door,  to  the  delight  of  nig 
companions,  addressed  the  speaker  in  the  following  laconic  manner  :  "Time's 
up,  Sandy  !  " 

Some  of  our  most  distinguished  public  speakers  have  never  acquired  the 
art  of  addressing  children.  A  certain  doctor  of  divinity  once  assembled 
his  Sabbath  School,  arid  commenced  the  following  exordium  : 

"  My  dear  little  children,  I  am  now  about  to  give  you  a  syllabus  of  the 
doctrines  contained  in  the  Assembly's  Catechism.  But  it  mav  be,  that  you 
do  not  apprehend  syllabus.  Syllabus,  my  young  friends,  is  equivalent  to 
synopsis." 

Such  speakers  would  find  themselves  out  of  place  among  the  little  heathen 
composing  the  audiences  convened  in  these  Boys'  Meetings. 

INDUSTRIAL  SCHOOLS  have  been  established  in  various  parts  of  the  city, 
and  conducted  with  great  success.  These  encourage  industry,  as  tho  gar 
ments  made  are  given  to  the  children  by  the  way  of  reward.  In  all  these 
schools,  the  ragged  are  provided  with  clothing  in  a  manner  which  is  calcu 
lated  to  cherish  a  feeling  of  independence,  and  remove  the  disposition  for 
begging,  which  is  so  prevalent  among  the  poor.  Each  article  of  clothing  is 
valued  at  a  certain  number  of  marks,  and  the  children  are  permitted  to  earn 
their  own  garments  by  marks  for  good  behavior  and  scholarship;  and  the 
most  industrious  can  take  home  some  articles  of  clothing  for  a  needy  brother 
or  sister.  In  giving  to  this  society,  the  stranger  may  rest  assured  that  all 
of  his  money  will  be  used  directly  for  the  object  designated — none  will  ba 
spent  on  buildings  and  fixtures.  The  way  in  which  the  designs  of  the  be 
nevolent  are  often  misapplied,  is  illustrated  by  the  well  known  anecdote  of 
the  sailor,  who,  on  being  called  on  in  a  church  to  give  to  some  charity, 
dropped  one  dollar  in  the  box,  then  added  two  more  to  "pay  expenses." 

Another  department  of  the  efforts  of  Mr.  Brace,  is  the  providing  of  homes 
in  the  West  for  the  poor  seamstresses  of  the  city,  who  are  suffering  for  tho 
want  of  employment.  No  sight  is  more  affecting  than  that  of  virtuous, 
friendless  females,  in  the  midst  of  the  selfishness  of  a  large  city,  struggling 
to  eke  out  a  bare  subsistence,  by  that  most  miserable,  life-destroying  and 
illy-paid  of  all  avocations — the  needle. 

MISSION  SCHOOLS  arc  Sabbath  Schools,  established  in  neighborhoods  des 
titute  of  gospel  privileges.  They  form  a  nucleus,  in  their  working,  for  the 
formation  of  new  churches. 

The  locality  called  "  THE  FIVK  POINTS,"  so  named  from  the  fact  that  five 
street's  there  corner,  has  been  the  most  famous  seat  of  degradation  and  woe 
on  this  continent.  Situated  in  the  very  heart  of  the  metropolis,  it  was  the 
great  plague-spot  of  moral  pollution  and  death;  a  nauseous  sink  of  filthy 
poverty  and  beastly  crime.  Two  noble  institutions  now  stand  upon  tho 
spot,  "The  Ladies' Mission "  and  "The  Five  Points'  House  of  Industry." 

That  eminent  laborer  for  the  suffering  poor,  Mr.  Lewis  M.  Pease,  re 
moved  to  the  Five  Points,  with  his  wife,  in  the  spring  of  1850,  and  estab 
lished  there  one  Christian  Home,  with  the  hope  of  leavening  this  mass  of 
crime  arid  woe  with  the  leaven  of  the  gospel.  There  he  labored  with  un 
tiring  zeal,  visiting  damp  and  polluted  cellars,  dark  garrets,  and  dilapidated 


OF  AMERICANS.  575 

buildings,  to  aid  the  miserable  wretches  who  appealed  destitute  of  every 
thing  but  filth  and  crime. 

The  wretched  state  of  this  spot,  when  Frederika  Bremer  wrote  her 
"  Homes  of  the  New  World,"  is  therein  thus  described  by  her  :  "  Lower 
than  the  Five  Points,"  she  says,  "  it  is  not  possible  for  human  nature  to 
gink.  Quarrels  and  blows,  theft  and  even  murder,  belong  to  the  order  of 
the  day  and  the  night.  There  is  in  the  square,  in  particular,  one  large, 
yellow-colored,  dilapidated  old  house,  called  'The  Old  Brewery,'  which 
is  properly  the  head-quarters  of  vice  and  misery  ;  and  the  old  Brewer  of  all 
the  world's  misery  has  dominion  there  at  this  day.  I  wandered  through 
this  dark  realm  of  shadows  and  hell,  however,  accompanied  by  an  angel  of 

light.     I  cannot  otherwise  speak  of  Mrs.  G ,  the  Quaker  lady,  whose 

countenance  was  bright  and  beautiful  as  the  purest  goodness.  .  .  .  We 
went  alone  through  these  hidden  dens,  considering  it  safer  than  in  company 
with  a  gentleman.  We  saw  unfortunate  women  suffering  from  horrible  dis 
eases  ;  sickly  children  ;  giddy  young  girls  ;  ill-tempered  women,  quarreling 
with  the  whole  world  ;  unabashed,  hardened  crime,  filth,  rags,  and  pesti 
lential  air.  The  off-scouring  of  society  flows  hither,  and  I  wished  to  visit 
the  Five  Points,  that  I  might  make  a  closer  acquaintance  with  that  portion 
of  the  life  of  New  York  which  belongs  to  the  night  side ;  to  the  dark 
realm  of  shadows  and  hell,  as  it  exists  in  this  great  city." 

The  old  Brewery  to  which  Miss  Bremer  alludes,  is  alike  famous  and  in 
famous  in  song  and  story.  It  was  erected  in  1792,  and  used  as  a  brewery  by 
one  Coulter.  In  1830,  it  was  partitioned  into  oddly  shaped,  ill-contrived 
apartments,  so  arranged  as  to  afford  convenient  hiding-places  for  the  thieves 
and  pickpockets,  who  herded  at  the  Five  Points.  Over  three  hundred  peo 
ple,  the  filthiest  and  vilest  of  the  scum  of  the  city,  dwelt  in  this  building, 
which  was  eventually  purchased  by  the  ladies,  who  destroyed  the  foul  nest, 
and  reared  upon  its  ruins  their  New  Mission  House.  A  vivid  sketch  of  a 
visit  there  in  the  day  of  its  degradation,  is  herein  extracted  from  a  little 
work  called  "  The  Old  Brewery,"  published  for  the  benefit  of  the  Ladies' 
Mission : 

"  An  alley  extends  all  around  the  building,  wide  at  the  entrance  and  grad 
ually  tapering  to  a  point.  On  the  south,  it  is  known  as  the  Murderer's 
Alley,  a  filthy  path  three  feet  in  width.  The  dark,  winding  passages  afford 
convenient  modes  of  escape  for  criminals.  In  the  floor  of  one  of  the  upper 
rooms,  a  place  was  found  where  the  boards  had  been  sawed  ;  upon  tearing 
them  up,  human  bones  were  found — the  remains,  no  doubt,  of  a  victim  of 
some  diabolical  murder. 

The  upper  part  of  the  premises,  once  plastered,  has  now  a  broken  wall, 
mended  in  some  places  by  pasting  newspapers,  but  often  revealing  unsightly 
holes.  The  under  part  is  still  worse  ;  in  one  room,  fifteen  feet  square,  we 
found  twenty-six  human  beings.  \  man  could  scarcely  stand  erect  in  it ;  two 
men  were  sitting  by  the  blaze  of  a  few  sticks,  as  we  entered  ;  women  lay  on 
a  mass  of  filthy,  unsightly  rags,  in  the  corner — sick,  feeble,  and  emaciated  ; 
six  or  seven  children  were  in  various  attitudes  in  the  corner  ;  at  an  old 
talle,  covered  with  a  few  dishes,  two  women  were  peeling  off  the  skins  of 
tomatoes,  with  their  finger-nails  ;  and  the  smoke  and  stench  of  the  room 
were  too  suffocating  to  be  endured.  The  announcement  that,  in  addition  to 


576  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

the  misfortune  of  poverty,  they  had  the  measles  also,  started  most  of  our 
party  in  a  precipitate  retreat  from  the  premises. 

Our  way  had  been  explored  over  the  building  by  the  aid  of  a  single  lamp, 
in  company  with  two  gentlemen  and  a  guide.  Beside  these,  there  were  a 
number  of  rough  looking  customers,  who  appeared  to  share  our  interest  in 
the  scene.  But  it  was  not  till  one  of  the  gentlemen  complained,  in  a  dark 
passage-way,  of  a  strange  hand  in  his  pocket,  that  these  characters  wero 
suspected.  Then  our  guide  informed  us,  in  an  under  tone,  that  we  were 
surrounded  by  a  gang  of  the  most  notorious  pickpockets  and  thieves  of  that 
section  ;  that  we  must  take  good  care  of  our  watches,  or  we  should  lose 
them  before  we  were  aware.  To  grope  one's  way,  at  night,  through  such  dark 
passages,  when  the  light  was  in  sight  only  a  part  of  the  time,  and  to  be 
surrounded  with  a  crowding,  pushing  gang  of  desperadoes,  was  not  pleasant." 

Much  was  said  to  deter  the  ladies  from  establishing  a  mission  at  the  Five 
Points.  The  idea  of  confronting  this  indescribable  wretchedness,  and  ming 
ling  with  drunkards,  thieves,  prostitutes,  and  murderers,  was  enough  to 
sicken  and  appall  the  most  courageous.  The  ladies  were  told,  that  "  no  one, 
who  valued  their  life  or  honor,  could  venture  within  this  murderous  cess 
pool  of  human  wickedness."  But  Mr.  Pease  was  willing  to  make  the  at 
tempt  ;  and  after  much  difficulty,  they  succeeded  in  hiring  a  gin-shop,  at  the 
corner  of  Little- Water  and  Cross  streets,  which,  when  cleaned  and  prepared 
for  an  audience,  was  capable  of  seating  about  two  hundred  persons.  The 
novelty  of  this  effort  secured  them  a  congregation.  Let  us  look  in  upon 
Mr.  Pease,  the  first  Sabbath  of  his  missionary  labors.  He  is  aided  by  the 
pious  ladies,  who  have  entered  upon  this  labor  of  love,  with  an  unfailing 
trust  in  the  efficacy  of  the  gospel  to  save  the  very  chief  of  sinners. 

The  bell  rings,  and  seventy  little  ragged  and  dirty  urchins  come  tumbling 
in !  Was  ever  such  a  Sabbath  school  collected  in  a  Christian  land  ?  The 
idea  of  law  and  order  was  to  them  a  thing  unknown.  They  stood  upon 
their  heads — knocked  each  other  down,  arid,  to  the  dismay  of  the  kind 
ladies,  performed  all  kinds  of  feats  in  ground  and  lofty  tumbling.  Poor 
little,  degraded  creatures — heirs  of  kicks  and  neglect — abandoned  by  parents, 
or  ruined,  soul  and  body,  by  their  vicious  examples — what  better  things 
could  be  expected  of  them  ?  They  could  not  believe  that  these  kind  ladies 
really  loved  them,  and  that  the  missionary  had  come  to  try  and  make  them 
happy.  In  the  language  of  the  first  report,  "  Mr.  Pease  preached  the  first 
sermon  to  about  as  heterogeneous  a  mass  of  rags  and  filth  as  ever  disgraced 
humanity." 

But  out  of  all  this  chaos,  harmony  and  order  were  by  degrees  established. 
Intemperance,  the  greatest  enemy  of  the  mission,  was  met  with  temperance 
songs,  temperance  speeches,  and  private  visits  and  entreaties ;  and  during 
the  first  year,  some  of  those  who  had  signed  the  temperance  pledge,  were 
from  the  very  dregs  of  the  crowded  inmates  of  the  old  Brewery. 

At  the  close  of  the  year,  when  Mr.  Pease's  services  were  no  longer  re 
quired  by  the  ladies,  and  Mr.  Luckey  was  appointed  to  be  their  missionary, 
an  Industrial  Establishment  was  opened  by  Mr.  Pease.  He  believed  that 
many  were  driven  to  the  wretched  alternative  of  vice  or  starvation  ;  and 
he  felt  that  it  was  important  to  provide  honest  employment  for  those  who 
wore  willing  to  live  an  honest  life  ;  for  employers  were  not  willing  to  trust 


OF  AMERICANS.  577 

their  work  to  these  abandoned  creatures,  to  be  taken  to  a  place  which  they 
considered  a  den  of  thieves.  If  they  could  have  the  advantage  of  a  work 
shop  by  day,  which  would  also  give  them  a  shelter  by  night,  he  felt  that 
those  he  was  struggling  to  reform,  would  be  beyond  the  reach  of  tempta 
tion. 

The  whole  work  was  then  an  experiment ;  and  there  were  those  who  felt 
that  Mr.  Pease  was  turning  aside  from  his  missionary  duties,  and  not  placing 
sufficient  reliance  on  the  efficacy  of  the  gospel.  But  whatever  may  have 
been  tho  cause  of  Mr.  Pease's  separation  from  the  Ladies'  Mission,  it  is  evi 
dent  that  they  could  not  have  disapproved  of  his  obeying  the  gospel  re 
quirement,  to  feed  the  hungry  and  clothe  the  naked ;  for  they  have  con 
tinued  to  blend  physical  relief  with  their  faithful  efforts  to  convert  the  soul 
to  God.  And  now  that  two  noble  institutions,  strong  and  mighty  for  good, 
have  followed  this  separation,  we  can  but  rejoice  at  the  result. 

Thousands  of  dollars  were  cheerfully  given  to  build  the  "  FIVE  POINTS' 
HOUSE  OF  INDUSTRY."  Work  for  the  inmates,  however,  has  never  to  a  great 
extent  been  forthcoming.  Philanthropists  and  Christian  manufacturers  do 
not  wish  to  associate  their  business  with  the  dregs  of  humanity ;  and  if 
work  is  to  be  supplied,  it  must  be  done  by  removing  the  laborers  to  the 
West,  where  there  is  enough  work  and  bread  for  all. 

We  continue  this  sketch  of  American  Philanthropy,  by  taking  the  reader, 
in  imagination,  to  Paradise  Park,  a  small  triangular  space  in  the  center  of 
the  Five  Points,  upon  the  first  occasion,  when  the  friends  of  the  mission 
were  obeying  the  injunction  of  the  Saviour,  to  "make  a  feast  and  call  the 
poor,  the  maimed,  the  halt,  and  the  blind." 

"  The  morning  of  Thanksgiving,"  writes  one  of  the  lady  friends  pre 
sent,  "dawned  in  cloudless  beauty,  and  the  cool  bracing  atmosphere  and 
glowing  sunshine  seemed  to  inspire  every  heart  with  courage.  We  met  in 
the  office  of  the  Old  Brewery,  a  low,  long  room,  with  crooked  and  stained 
walls.  Its  only  furniture,  beside  the  missionary  book-case,  being  some 
benches  and  the  boxes  of  clothing,  supplied  by  friends  from  abroad.  Pro 
visions  began  to  arrive,  and  soon  presented  a  ludicrous  aspect.  Turkeys, 
chickens,  and  meats  of  every  kind,  mingled  in  confusion  with  cakes,  pies, 
fruit,  etc. ;  huge  piles  of  clothing,  waiting  for  distribution ;  visitors  pouring 
in,  and  childish  faces  peeping  through  every  window  and  open  door  ! 

The  mammoth  tent  of  the  City  Temperance  Society,  was  erected  in  the 
little  Park.  It  is  circular,  and  very  lofty.  Around  it  were  tiers  of  seats, 
meeting  at  a  platform.  Some  evergreens  were  festooned  from  tables  the 
length  of  the  tent,  arranged,  leaving  wide  passages  between  for  the  visitors. 
By  this  time,  hundreds  of  ragged,  dirty  children  had  collected  around  tho 
tent  and  the  Old  Brewery.  A  passage-way  was  cleared,  and  the  ladies 
and  gentlemen  were  transformed  into  carriers  and  waiters.  (We  could  not 
trust  the  little  rebels  to  help,  though  we  had  plenty  of  offers).  As  they 
passed  through  rank  and  file  of  the  hungry  watchers,  loud  cheers  were 
given  for  every  turkey,  and  three,  long  and  loud,  for  a  whole  pig,  with  a 
lemon  in  its  mouth.  . 

During  these  preparations,  the  ladies  were  trying  to  select,  first,  our  Sab 
bath  School  children,  and  then  any  others  who  seemed  hopeful.  Theso 


578  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

were  washed  and  dressed.     At  half  past  four,  all  was  ready,  and  they  en. 
tered  in  procession,  singing, 

"  The  morn  of  hope  is  breaking — 

The  darkness  disappears  : 

For  the  Five  Points  are  waking 

To  penitential  tears ;  "  etc. 

They  took  the  circuit  of  the  tent,  then  stood  around  the  tables  with 
folded  hands,  while  Mr.  Luckey  asked  a  blessing.  Not  a  hand  was  raised  ; 
not  a  voice  heard,  till  the  food  was  served.  Then  all  was  glad  commotion, 
and  then  was  the  time  for  joyous  tears.  Three  hundred  and  seventy  poor, 
neglected,  helpless  children,  placed  for  an  hour  in  an  atmosphere  of  love  and 
gladness,  woed  and  won  to  cling  to  those  whose  inmost  hearts  were  strug 
gling  in  earnest  prayer  for  grace  and  wisdom  to  lead  them  unto  God ! 
With  tearful  eyes,  the  assembly  gazed  upon  them. 

"  Children,  who  seldom  know  a  parent's  care, 

In  whom  the  woes  of  elder  years  are  seen — 
Whose  earliest  steps  must  be  upon  a  snare, 

Unless  some  watchful  stranger  intervene, 
A.nd  stand — those  frail  young  things  and  the  dark  gulf,  between." 

In  the  central  aisle,  was  placed  the  stand  for  toys  and  cornucopias  of 
candy,  a  gift  for  each  of  the  children  as  they  passed  out  the  tent.  Thero 
was  now  an  interval  of  a  few  moments.  The  tables  were  hastily  replen 
ished  ;  and  then  notice  was  given  to  visitors,  that  the  outsiders  would  then 
enter,  about  whom  the  ladies  knew  nothing,  save  that  they  were  poor  and 
wretched.  Visitors  were  warned  to  take  care  of  their  pocket-books  and 
watches.  They  came  in  scores ;  nay,  in  hundreds !  and  surrounded  the 
tables ;  men,  women,  and  children ;  ragged,  dirty,  and  forlorn !  What 
countenances  we  read, 

"Victims  of  ceaseless  toil,  and  want,  and  care  !  " 

And  the  children  who  accompanied  them,  miniature  likeness,  both  physi 
cally  and  morally.  Alas !  we  could  scarcely  hope  to  snatch  these  from  the 
vortex ;  but  we  spoke  to  them  words  of  kindness,  and  they  partook  till  not 
a  fragment  was  left.  Sixty  turkeys,  chickens,  geese,  hams,  beef,  and  tongue, 
with  pies,  cake,  fruit,  and  candy  pyramids — all  had  vanished  ;  then  quietly 
they  left  the  tent. 

Our  weary  company  now  hastened  over  to  the  Old  Brewery,  which  was 
illuminated  from  every  window.  With  joy,  we  looked  forward  to  the 
happy  day,  when  from  this  mission  a  light  would  emanate,  both  mental  and 
moral,  of  which  this  illumination  would  be  only  the  foreshadowing  and  the 
faint  emblem  " 

Reader !  when  you  visit  New  York,  and  saunter  down  Broadway,  amid 
the  refinements  and  luxuries  ofc  life,  remember  that  three  minutes  walk  will 
bring  you  to  the  Five  Points.  Turn  aside,  and  gaz*  upon  this  region — once 
the  central  point  of  misery  and  crime;  and  as»  you  view  the  two  noble 


OF  AMERICANS. 

structures  that  have  been  reared  by  Christian  beneficence,  reflect  how  much 
poverty,  distress,  and  crime  have  been  prevented  !  Enter  that  House  of 
Industry,  and  the  New  Mission  House  ;  or  visit  the  Astor  Place,  and  see  the 
groups  of  little  children,  prepared  by  the  Children's  Aid  Society  for  a  land 
of  hope  in  the  Far  West — it  will  all  be  an  experience  to  you  well  worth 
the  having. 

The  Five  Points'  Hous?  of  Industry  is  a  noble  structure — seven  stories 
high,  fire  proof,  and  most  admirably  constructed.  There  is  a  fine  children's 
play  room — large  and  airy  school-rooms  and  work  rooms  ;  dormitories  and 
private  rooms  for  the  resident  family  and  teachers.  The  entire  number  of 
inmates,  since  its  establishment,  exceeds  five  thousand.  Of  these,  twenty- 
eight  hundred,  principally  children,  have  found  homes  in  the  country.  The 
entire  property  of  the  institution,  including  a  country  farm  which  belongs  to 
it,  amounts  to  sixty  thousand  dollars,  including  a  recent  bequest  of  twenty 
thousand  from  M.  Sickles,  a  devoted  friend  of  the  cause. 

The  scene  which  strikes  the  beholder,  in  the  chapel  of  the  Five  Points' 
House  of  Industry,  when  all  the  little,  fatherless  ones  are  collected  for  wor 
ship  and  instruction,  is  heart- touching.  How  vivid  is  the  picture,  as  drawn 
by  one  of  their  instructors,  and  copied  below  : 

"  On  entering  ths  chapel,  the  long  rows  of  children  sitting  erect  upon 
their  elevated  seats,  meet  my  eager  gaze  ;  and  as  I  take  my  accustomed 
place  before  them,  they  greet  me  with  their  sparkling  eyes  and  sunny  faces. 
As  my  eye  wanders  involuntarily  over  the  happy  group,  it  soon  rests  upon 
the  laughing,  curly-headed  Jewish  girl,  known  as  '  Dummy.'  There  she 
sits,  her  intelligent  face  all  wreathed  with  smiles,  her  heart  all  light  with 
sunshine,  and  warm  with  aifection.  I  love  her — dearly  love  her — and  so 
do  all  who  know  her.  A  smile  will  make  her  countenance  radiant  with 
delight,  while  a  cold  look,  or  frown,  will  fill  her  eyes  with  tears.  Though 
ihe  cannot  hear,  her  quick  eye  notices  every  motion.  When  the  children 
sing,  though  she  cannot  articulate  a  word,  she  opens  her  mouth  as  wide,  and 
makes  her  little  lips  move  as  fast  as  any  of  them  ;  and  when,  during 
prayer,  the  children  cover  their  eyes  with  their  hands,  she  follows  their  ex 
ample — peeping  between  her  fingers  to  see  when  it  is  finished.  Her  place 
is  never  vacant.  She  is  the  first  to  greet  me  when  I  enter,  and  the  last  to 
relinquish  her  hold  upon  my  hand  when  I  leave  for  home.  That  little  tiny 
thing  by  her  side,  with  a  face  so  round  and  ruddy,  and  beautifully  vailed 
with  curling  ringlets,  is  her  sister  Ella,  two  years  younger  than  herself. 
See  how  lovingly  her  little  head  is  laid  in  Dummy's  lap,  while  she  twines 
her  glossy  hair  about  her  fingers. 

A  few  seats  above,  sits  a  little  blind  girl.  I  never  look  upon  her  without 
a  feeling  of  sadness.  She  hears  the  children  sing  and  answer  questions,  and 
does  the  same  herself,  but  their  faces  she  never  looked  upon.  The  world  is 
all  dark  to  her.  Occasionally  you  will  see  her  passing  her  hands  over  the 
heads  and  faces  of  her  young  companions,  and  gently  running  her  fingers 
through  their  hair,  thus  trying  to  gain  some  knowledge  of  their  appearance. 
The  children  all  love  her,  and  vie  with  each  other  in  their  little  acts  of 
kindness  to  her.  When  she  wishes  to  come  to  school,  some  one  is  always 
ready  to  lead  her  ;  and  when  the  hour  arrives  for  going  home,  a  score  of 
little  hands  are  eagerly  proffered  for  her  acceptance. 
37 


580  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

A  noise  at  the  door  attracts  the  attention  of  the  children,  and  my  eyes 
involuntarily  turn  with  theirs,  to  discover  its  occasion.  The  utmost  still 
ness  prevails,  and  a  feeling  of  sympathy  seems  to  pervade  every  heart, 
while  a  little  girl,  poorly  clad,  with  thin,  gaunt  face  clouded  witb  sadness, 
hobbles  in  on  crutches,  for  she  has  but  one  leg.  Last  winter,  while  she  ivaa 
playing  in  Center  street,  the  cars  ran  over  her,  and  so  mutilated  one  of  her 
legs  that  it  had  to  be  amputated.  Poor  child  !  we  all  pity  her,  fur  she  has 
her  full  share  of  affliction.  The  loss  of  a  limb  is  bad  enough — the  loss  of 
father  and  mother,  in  one's  innocent,  unprotected  childhood,  is  worse  ;  but 
the  loss  of  their  sympathy,  their  kind  admonitions  and  good  example,  in 
those  tender  years,  while  they  still  live — cursed  and  cursing  by  rum,  is  in 
comparably  worse.  When  she  joins  with  the  children  in  their  sweet  songs, 
the  sadness  of  her  little  face  occasionally  gives  place  to  sunshine  ;  but  it  is 
only  for  a  little  while  ;  for  when  night  comes,  she  must  return  again  to  her 
home,  made  miserable  by  the  intemperance  of  her  parents. 

Close  up  in  the  corner  there,  with  her  eyes  as  black  as  her  face,  and  her 
face  as  black  as  ebony,  sits  little  Topsy.  She  is  as  cunning  as  a  fox ;  and 
though  she  has  seen  but  four  years,  she  is  as  old  as  most  girls  three  times 
her  age.  No  child  in  school  is  more  orderly  or  attentive  ;  and  once  a  day, 
rain  or  shine,  punctual  to  the  hour,  she  may  be  seen  in  our  second  hall,  stand 
ing  near  the  entrance  of  the  bread-room,  with  a  clean,  white  towel  in  one 
hand  ind  a  card  in  the  other,  on  the  back  of  which  is  written,  in  large  let 
ters,  words  which  she  cannot  read,  but  the  import  of  which  she  fully  com 
prehends.  If  not  immediately  waited  upon,  she  does  not  become  impatient : 
for  that  mystic  card,  with  its  broad  and  truthful  letters,  assures  her  that  her 
wish  will  ere  long  be  gratified.  Soon  the  door  to  the  bread-room  opens  ; 
there  stands  Topsy,  her  eyes  sparkling  with  delight,  holding  high  up  to  tho 
gaze  of  the  envious  urchins,  the  magic  card,  on  which  is  written  :  '  The  bearer 
is  entitled  to  one  loaf  of  bread  per  day.'  Topsy's  mother  lives  in  a  dark 
and  fearful  place,  in  Cow-bay.  She  occupies  a  little  room  in  an  old,  tum 
ble  down  building,  with  none  but  thieves  and  abandoned  women  around 
her,  whose  drunken  brawls  make  the  night  hideous.  Though  compelled  by 
poverty  to  live  in  such  a  place,  she  is  almost  always  happy,  and  especially 
when  she  has  succeeded,  by  scrubbing  or  washing,  in  earning  sufficient  to 
pay  the  rent  of  her  little  room  and  supply  her  with  the  most  common  ne 
cessities  of  life. 

On  the  seat  close  by  Topsy,  with  her  sister  sleeping  in  her  arms,  sits  a 
little  black-eyed  French  girl.  She  is  poorly  chid,  but  her  heart  is  rich  in 
sisterly  affection.  Love  sits  laughing  on  her  countenance,  and  makes  even 
the  bitterness  of  poverty  sweet.  Her  eyes  are  fixed  upon  the  speaker's,  ex 
cept  when  an  occasional  glance  is  given  to  her  little  charge. 

Sitting  close  by  my  side,  and  playing  alternately  with  my  watch-chain, 
my  buttons,  and  my  fingers,  and  then  rubbing  her  soft,  silken  hair  against 
my  hands,  is  a  little,  fat  dumpling,  with  rosy  cheeks.  She  is  a  dear  little 
creature — as  affectionate  and  playful  as  a  kitten — with  a  voice  as  sweet  and 
musical  as  the  birds  of  spring,  and  a  heart  just  as  full  as  it  can  hold  of  sym 
pathy  and  love.  She  has  a  little  brother,  almost  exactly  like  her,  and  two 
years  older  than  herself.  Their  mother  is  dead,  and  their  father  has  left 
them  to  the  charity  of  strangers,  and  gone  back  to  England.  They  would 


OF  AMERICANS.  581 

have  been  adopted  long  ago,  had  it  not  been  that  little  Ella,  while  she  pos 
sesses  so  many  desirable  qualities,  has  lost  the  sight  of  one  of  her  eyes.  Is 
there  not  some  mother,  whose  little  ones  'Our  Father'  has  taken  to  himself, 
who  would  like  to  fill  their  places  with  our  dear  one-eyed  Ella  and  her 
brother  Johnny? 

Turning  my  eyes  toward  the  audience,  a  lad  of  fourteen  attracts  my  at 
tention.  He  looks  so  much  like  one  of  our  'House'  boys.  Can  it  be — yes, 
it  is — Freddy  !  But  he  has  on  a  new  suit  of  clothes,  and  looks  so  different, 
I  hardly  know  him.  He  is  constantly  looking  in  the  face  of  the  gentleman 
beside  him,  and  they  both  seem  very  happy.  Last  Sunday  he  sat  among 
the  children,  with  his  face  clouded  by  the  uncertainty  of  his  future  destiny  ; 
to-day  a  different  spirit  seems  to  possess  him.  What  can  it  mean  ?  Let  us 
listen,  for  he  is  about  to  tell  his  own  story.  '  Freddy,'  says  Mr.  Pease, 
would  you  like  to  tell  us  your  history,  and  bid  good-by  to  the  children  ? ' 
Freddy,  with  a  fluttering  heart  and  a  tear  in  his  eye,  comes  upon  the  plat 
form.  'I  never  made  a  speech  in  my  life ;  but  I  shall  never  see  you  again, 
and  I  want  to  tell  you  a  short  sketch  of  my  history.  My  first  recollection 
was  living  with  my  father  and  mother  in  the  City  of  London.  They  were 
rich,  and  I  had  everything  that  I  wanted  ;  but  after  awhile,  my  father  in 
dorsed  for  a  friend,  and  lost  a  great  deal  of  money ;  soon  after  which  we 
moved  to  New  York,  and  lived  in  Canal  street.  We  got  along  well  for  a 
little  while,  but  soon  everything  went  wrong ;  for  father  began  to  drink, 
and  then  we  went  down,  and  down !  till  we  were  very  poor. 

We  then  went  to  Chicago,  but  there  father  drank  harder  than  ever.  One 
day  he  went  out,  leaving  us  cold  and  hungry.  He  never  came  back  again  ; 
for  the  cholera  and  hard  drinking  killed  him.  After  father's  death,  mother 
grieved  so  that  she  soon  followed  him  ;  and  then  I  was  left  all  alone.  I  had 
nc  money  or  friends ;  but  I  thought  if  I  could  only  get  back  to  London,  I 
could  find  friends  who  knew  father  when  he  was  rich,  and  they  would  help 
me.  I  worked  my  passage  from  Chicago  to  New  York.  When  I  got  here, 
I  wandered  around  the  wharfs,  into  the  shipping-offices,  and  on  board  the 
ships ;  but  nobody  wanted  me,  because  I  was  a  strange  boy,  and  had  no 
recommendations.  I  was  poor — didn't  have  a  penny,  or  any  place  to  sleep  in 
but  the  station-house,  or  around  the  docks  ;  and  at  last  I  sat  down  on  the 
wharf  and  cried.  While  I  was  crying,  some  one  told  me  to  go  to  Mr. 
Pease's.  I  didn't  know  where  it  was,  but  a  policeman  told  me,  and  after 
awhile  I  found  it.  Mr.  Pease  spoke  kindly  to  me,  and  told  me  I  could 
come  here  to  live,  and  he  would  be  like  a  father  to  me.  My  heart  was  so 
full  I  couldn't  speak,  and  I  had  to  sit  down  and  cry.  I  couldn't  help  it.  I 
have  been  here  a  few  weeks,  and  have  learned  to  love  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pease, 
and  the  teachers  and  children.  Yesterday  that  gentleman  came  here  and 
adopted  me,  and  said  I  should  be  his  boy,  and  that  he  would  take  me  to 
his  home  in  the  West,  and  make  a  man  of  me — perhaps  a  lawyer,  like  him 
self—if  I  would  be  a  good  boy.  I  mean  to  try  and  be  the  best  boy  I  can. 
Children,  many  of  you  have  no  father  or  mother ;  but  if  }^ou  are  good,  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Pease  will  be  your  father  and  mother.  0  children,  try  and  be  good 
And  now,  good-by  ;  for  I  shan't  see  you  any  more.  Good-by,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Peace— good-by,  kind  teachers!'  And  then  the  manly  little  fellow,  de 
scending  from  the  platform,  took  each  by  the  hand,  bidding  them  good-by 


582  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

in  such  a  kind,  touching  manner,  that  many  eyes  filled  with  tears,  and  every 
heart  was  moved  with  tender  emotion." 

To  this  word-painting  of  the  scene  in  the  chapel,  we  add  another  from  one 
of  those  faithful  missionaries,  describing  a  scene  but  too  common  in  their 
errands  of  mercy  in  search  of  the  neglected  little  outcasts,  to  bring  them 
within  the  warm,  loving  folds  of  their  noble  institution  : 

"  In  the  after-part  of  a  bleak  December  day,  as  I  sat  within  my  office,  tho 
storm  raging  without,  and  my  mind  dwelling  upon  the  distress  it  must  :n- 
evitably  occasion  to  the  thousands  of  unprotected  poor,  I  chanced  to  re 
member  two  little  ones,  the  children  of  drunken  parents,  who  lived  a  few 
doors  away. 

I  had  often  found  them  in  great  want,  and  was  fearful  they  might  now 
be  in  need  of  some  kind  attention  ;  so  putting  on  my  overcoat,  I  started  for 
that  habitation  of  misery.  The  house  in  which  they  lived  had,  for  the 
neighborhood,  quite  a  decent  exterior  appearance  ;  but  within,  almost  every 
conceivable  abomination  existed.  In  reaching  their  room,  I  passed  through 
a  long,  filthy  hall,  blackened  by  smoke,  and  by  poisonous  gases  arising  from 
stagnant  water  and  heaps  of  decaying  vegetable  matter,  that  had  for  years 
been  accumulating  in  the  cellar. 

1  rapped  at  the  door,  but  heard  no  reply.  I  rapped  again,  and  again,  till 
finally  some  one,  in  a  half-choked  voice,  said,  'Come  in.'  My  hand  had 
already  found  the  string ;  I  pulled  it,  and  found  my  way  into  a  small  room, 
half  under  ground.  The  low,  dingy  walls  were  covered  with  cobwebs,  and 
its  only  window  broken  to  pieces.  The  three  lower  lights  were  boarded 
up,  and  all  but  two  of  the  remainder  stuffed  with  old  hats  and  rags.  No 
ray  of  God's  sunshine  ever  penetrated  that  filthy  abode. 

On  entering  the  room,  my  attention  was  first  attracted  by  an  overturned 
stove,  with  lids,  pipes,  soot,  coals  and  ashes  scattered  about  the  floor.  The 
ill-matched,  rust-eaten  pipe,  in  falling,  had  knocked  down  an  old  picture- 
frame,  and  shivered  the  last  bit  of  a  looking-glass,  which  had  been  pre 
served  as  a  relic  of  better  days. 

On  the  dirty  floor,  in  the  midst  of  this  scene  of  confusion,  with  legs  ex 
tended,  and  almost  naked,  feet  bare,  and  his  whole  body  shaking  with  cold, 
sat  one  of  the  objects  of  my  visit,  a  boy  five  years  old.  He  was  holding  in 
his  lap  a  half-rotten  head  of  cabbage,  from  which  he  kept  picking,  and 
greedily  eating  the  frozen  leaves.  So  intent  was  he  on  satisfying  his  appe 
tite,  that  he  scarcely  noticed  my  entrance.  Scattered  around  him  were  the 
contents  of  an  old  basket,  from  which  he  had  made  his  selection.  They 
were  decayed  potatoes,  frozen  apples,  and  turnips,  pigs'  ears  and  calves' 
feet ;  and  among  a  variety  of  other  things,  a  sheep's  head,  with  its  eyes 
staring  right  at  me.  These  things  were  collected  by  the  mother,  either  by 
begging  or  stealing  them  from  the  gutters  of  Washington  Market.  Here 
was  not  all  the  fruits  of  her  day's  labor,  for  on  her  way  home  she  had 
stopped,  as  was  her  custom,  at  a  vile,  penny  soup-house,  and  parted  with 
the  choicest  bits  for  rum. 

A  few  feet  removed  from  the  boy,  and  nearly  behind  the  door,  sat  the 
mother,  in  an  old  rickety  chair,  her  head  fallen  back,  her  eyes  closed,  her 
mouth  wide  open,  her  hair  disheveled  about  her  face  and  neck,  her  arma 
hanging  by  her  side,  and  her  breath  labored.  Oh  !  what  a  mockery  of  God's 


OF  AMERICANS.  583 

fmage  !  what  a  terrible  wreck  of  his  beautiful  handiwork  !  Leaning  against 
her,  bare-footed,  half-clad,  dirty  and  ragged,  folding  to  her  shivering  bosom 
a  dry  loaf  of  bread,  stood  a  wan,  sunken-eyed  girl,  only  three  years  old, 
She  cast  on  me  a  look  of  recognition,  took  the  bread  in  her  skeleton  fingers, 
extended  it  toward  me,  a  smile  lighting  up  her  sad  and  sickly  features,  and 
exclaimed:  'I've  got  bread!'  That  smile  was  meteor-like;  it  lingered 
but  a  moment,  then  vanished  leaving  her  face  darker  than  before.  Sho 
dropped  her  head,  pressed  the  bread  back  to  her  bosom  again,  drew  a  long 
breath,  and  sighing  said,  '  Mother's  drunk.'  My  breast  swelled  with  intense 
agony.  I  could  not  refrain  from  exclaiming  aloud,  '0  God  !  what  has  this 
little  child  done,  that  a  smile,  thus  cheaply  purchased,  must  so  soon  be 
driven  away  by  the  consciousness  of  a  mother's  shame  ?' 

Childhood  !  —  man's  common,  yet  unconscious,  foretaste  of  heaven — last 
relic  of  his  Eden  state — what  immeasurable  guilt  must  rest  on  those  who 
spoil  thy  young  years,  or  leave  thee  to  be  thus  fearfully  outraged. 

These  little  innocents  were  taken  to  the  House  of  Industry,  and  carefully 
cared  for ;  but  neglect  and  want  had  so  weakened  their  hold  on  life,  that 
they  were  soon  added  to  the  number  of  the  little  ones  above." 

The  Ladies'  Mission,  at  the  Five  Points,  continues  to  be  eminently  suc 
cessful.  They  have  labored  faithfully  to  reform  the  vicious,  and  to  bring 
all  under  their  influence.  Let  us  follow  one  of  these  ladies  to  the  home  of 

a  dying  mother.     Mrs.  D hastened  to  her  bedside.     Kissing  her  hands 

again  and  again,  she  said,  "  I  am  about  to  leave  you,  my  dear  friend,  and 
I  wish  you  to  take  care  of  my  orphans."  The  promise  was  given,  and 
faithfully  performed  through  the  Children's  Aid  Society.  Some  one  pro 
posed  to  call  the  priest.  "  No,  no  ! "  she  said  ;  "  the  Lord  Jesus  is  with  me. 
Let  i;hcre  be  no  wake  over  my  body — no  liquor  drank  when  I  am  buried  !  " 
This  charge  was  given  to  her  husband ;  and  then  she  continued  communing 
with  God. 

The  mother  was  laid  in  the  grave  ;  and  deep  was  the  solicitude  of  that 
lady's  heart  for  the  children  thus  solemnly  committed  to  her  care.  The 
only  hope  for  their  future  well-being,  was  to  transplant  these  young  immor 
tals  to  a  more  congenial  soil,  and  to  a  better  atmosphere,  than  that  of  tho 
Five  Points.  A  happy  home  was  offered  by  Mr.  Brace,  who  pledged  him 
self  that  the  Children's  Aid  Society  should  kindly  cherish  the  little  or 
phans,  and  seek  out  a  new  home  for  them  in  the  Great  West.  Their  ticket 
had  been  secured,  and  while  waiting,  Barney,  one  of  the  children,  was  told 
of  a  poor  boy  departing  under  less  favorable  circumstances  to  the  West, 
who  became  one  of  the  chief  judges  in  the  State  in  which  he  resided.  The 
boy's  eye  kindled,  his  form  straightened,  and  he  exclaimed,  "  You  shall 
see,  sir,  what  I  will  become  !"  Yes,  we  shall  see  :  for  the  Children's  Aid 
Society  will  not  cease  to  care  for  these  little  orphans. 

In  their  last  report,  Mr.  Brace  writes  :  "  The  year  past  has  been  peculiarly 
valuable  in  furnishing  us  proofs,  which  only  time  could  furnish,  of  the  re 
sult  of  placing  children  in  new  homes.  This,  we  regard  as  the  most  im 
portant  branch  of  our  enterprises.  Two  or  more  letters  have  been  written 
to  every  one  of  the  two  thousand  and  odd  children,  whose  addresses  are  yet 
known,  and  the  replies  of  those  received,  in  the  great  majority  of  cases, 
have  been  most  encouraging  and  hopeful. 


584  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

This  correspondence  shows  what  simple  kindness  can  do  for  the  out 
cast.  The  poor  vagabond  boy,  or  the  child  whom  misfortune  has  made 
wretched  and  homeless,  goes  to  a  quiet  country  home.  He  is  not  under  a 
s.\  stem  ;  he  is  not  put  by  name  as  a  vagrant ;  ho  is  not  mingling  with  others 
who  are  as  miserable,  and  perhaps  more  unprincipled  than  himself.  He  does 
not  feel  himself  the  member  of  an  asylum,  where,  at  the  best,  with  tha 
kindest  officers,  the  care  can  only  be  general  and  public.  lie  is  one  of  a 
little  Christian  family.  He  sits  at  the  same  table  with  the  farmer's  family, 
and  goes  to  school  with  his  children  ;  his  habits  are  closely  watched  by 
them,  and  he  watches  theirs.  He  hears  the  morning  prayer;  he  reads  the 
'sweet  story  of  old,'  with  his  little  companions  ;  he  learns  what  they  think 
to  be  proper  and  right.  Perhaps,  as  we  often  hear  from  our  letters,  the  poor 
lad,  remembering  the  dirty  cellars,  and  the  alleys  filled  with  garbage,  and 
the  filthy  holes  of  the  great  city,  wonders  with  delight  at  the  great  orchards, 
and  the  lilacs,  and  the  green  grass,  and  the  pure  air,  of  his  new  home. 
Soon,  perhaps  for  the  first  time  in  his  life,  LOVE  begins  to  encircle  the  little 
castaway,  and  he  feels,  at  length,  there  is  somebody  in  the  world  who  cares 
for  him.  What  wonder,  if  sometimes  the  soul  of  the  young  vagrant,  in 
this  new  atmosphere,  as  plants  under  spring  sunlight,  blossoms  forth  sud 
denly,  with  such  fair  flowers  as  we  do  not  see  spring  at  once  in  other  classes 
of  life.  Some  of  our  letters  seem  to  point  to  this ;  letters  so  personal  that 
we  are  not  at  liberty  to  publish  thorn." 

Of  the  tens  of  thousands  of  destitute  children  in  New  York,  how  many 
might  thus  be  provided  with  happy  homes,  if  the  interest  of  the  humane 
and  Christian  public  could  be  enlisted  in  their  behalf ! 

"  This  association,"  says  Mr.  Brace,  "has  sprung  from  the  increasing  senso 
.among  our  citizens  of  the  evils  of  the  city.  Thirty  years  ago,  the  proposal 
of  an  important  organization,  which  should  devote  itself  entirely  to  the  class 
of  vagrant,  homeless,  and  criminal  children  in  New  York,  would  have 
seemed  absurd.  There  were  vile  streets,  and  destitute  and  abandoned  peo 
ple  ;  but  the  city  was  young  and  thriving.  Wealth  and  Christian  enter 
prise  had  centered  here  ;  and  the  scum  of  poverty,  it  was  thought,  would 
soon  be  floated  off  through  the  thousand  channels  of  livelihood  over  the 
whole  country.  No  one  would  have  believed,  that  in  less  than  half  a  cen 
tury,  a  London,  St.  Giles,  or  Spitalfields,  would  have  grown  up  in  New 
York. 

But  the  schedule  of  the  City  Prison,  in  the  year  1852,  gave  sixteen  thou 
sand  criminals  ;  and  of  these,  four  thousand  were  under  twenty-one  years 
of  age  ;  and  the  next  year,  by  the  estimate  of  the  police,  there  were  nearly 
ciglit  thousand  arrests  of  minors. 

Crime  among  children  has  become  organized  as  it  never  was  previously 
in  this  country.  The  police  state,  that  picking  pockets  is  a  profession 
among  a  certain  class  of  boys.  They  have  their  haunts,  their  '  flash  '  lan 
guage,  their  '  decoys,'  and  '  coverers,'  as  they  are  called,  or  persons  who  will 
entice  others  where  they  can  be  plundered,  and  protect  the  thieves,  if  they 
are  caught.  There  is  another  class  of  young  lads,  known  as  '  feelers,'  who  are 
employed  by  older  rogues  to  ascertain  the  best  places  for  committing  theii 
depredations.  Cotton  picking,  on  the  wharves;  iron  stealing,  in  dry  docks  ; 
'smashing  baggage,'  under  pretense  of  carrying  it;  and  'book  bluffing.' 


OF  AMERICANS.  585 

a  kind  of  a  mock  book-selling,  are  all  means  of  a  livelihood  for  dishonest, 
poor  boys  of  New  York. 

Of  the  young  girls  in  the  city,  driven  to  dishonest  means  of  living,  it  is 
most  sad  to  speak.  Privation,  crime,  and  old  debasement,. in  the  pure  and 
sunny  years  of  childhood,  is  a  shocking  spectacle  which  we  daily  witness. 
Many  of  these  street-children  are  not  engaged  in  dishonest  business.  There 
are  thousands  of  German  children,  whose  sole  occupation  is  picking  rags 
and  bones  in  the  street  to  sell.  Others  sell  fruit,  or  sweep  the  streets,  for  a 
living.  And  although  their  employment  is  honest,  the  roving  vagabond 
life  of  such  children,  exposes  them  to  every  temptation,  and  leads  to  the 
worst  habits.  Among  the  little  traders  of  the  city,  the  news-boys  rank 
among  the  shrewdest  and  sharpest  of  all.  This  class  numbers  several  hun 
dred  boys,  of  different  ages,  who  live  entirely  by  the  sale  of  papers.  Be 
fore  this  Association  had  provided  a  lodging  room  for  them,  they  slept  in 
boxes,  printing-house  alleys,  and  wherever  they  could  find  a  shelter." 

In  making  his  first  appeal  to  the  public,  in  behalf  of  these  different 
classes  of  poor  children,  Mr.  Brace  remarked  :  "  These  boys  and  girls,  it 
should  be  remembered,  will  soon  form  the  great  lower  class  of  our  city. 
They  will  influence  elections — they  may  shape  the  policy  of  New  York — 
they  will  assuredly,  if  unreclaimed,  poison  society  all  around  them.  They 
will  help  to  form  the  great  multitude  of  robbers,  thieves,  and  vagrants,  who 
are  now  such  a  burden  on  the  law  respecting  community."  To  prevent  or 
remove  this  great  moral  evil,  the  Children's  Aid  Society  have  sought  to 
promote  the  education,  the  employment,  and  permanent  change  of  character  of 
the  children  of  the  poor.  A  few  extracts  from  the  Reports  of  the  Teachers 
in  tho  Industrial  Schools,  will  show  how  much  has  been  accomplished  in 
this  department  of  labor,  which  has  enlisted  the  sympathy  of  all  who  are 
able  to  appreciate  the  sad  fate  of  these  poor  girls,  so  exposed  to  all  the 
temptations  of  a  large  city. 

One  of  these  schools  is  intended  for  German  girls.  "  These,  from  igno 
rance  of  our  language,  poverty  of  parents,  or  indifference  to  its  necessity,  are 
unable,  or  unwilling,  to  attend  the  public  schools.  A  good  dinner  is  pro 
vided  them,  with  meat  three  times  a  week,  which  a  certain  number  of  the 
older  girls  assist  the  matron  in  preparing.  It  is  affecting  to  learn  of  instances 
where  hungry  little  ones  have  asked  permission  to  take  home  a  portion  of 
their  dinner  to  a  sick  parent,  or  a  little  brother  or  sister.  They  are  taught 
to  Jo  general  housework,  to  wash  and  iron  such  articles  as  are  used  in  the 
school,  and  to  keep  the  house  in  order.  In  the  afternoons,  they  are  taught 
to  sew  upon  garments,  which  they  earn  as  rewards  for  good  behavior.  Each 
child  is  required  to  take  a  thorough  bath  once  a  week.  The  principal, 
Miss  Reed,  is  assisted  by  sixty  volunteer  teachers,  ladies  of  the  city.  Most 
of  these  receive  one  child  on  Saturday  at  their  own  homes,  to  teach  some 
nicer  kind  of  work,  and  awaken  her  religious  feelings  through  personal  in 
tercourse." 

"  Here,  woman  may  find  her  true  mission  ;  and  the  individual  influence 
thus  exerted,  is  soon  apparent  in  the  homes  of  these  children.  The  hearts 
of  these  noblo  women  are  often  cheered  by  finding  the  most  wretched 
hovels  assuming  an  appearance  of  order  and  comparative  cleanliness. 
Coarse,  rough  men  will  gather  with  delight  around  their  little  ones,  to 


586  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

listen  to  the  sweet  songs  learned  at  school,  and  to  admire  the  neat  gar 
ments — the  fruit  of  their  own  industry.  The  uncouth,  rough  manners  of 
these  vagrant  children,  under  such  influences,  become  subdued.  They  learn 
that  there  is  a  higher  pleasure  in  store  for  them,  than  '  filling  their  baskets 
with  refuse,  from  the  rich  man's  table,'  or  idly  basking  in  the  warm  sunshine 
on  his  door-steps. " 

These  Industrial  Schools  supply  a  place  which  no  other  schools  have 
done— forming  a  connecting  link  between  the  lowest  poor  and  the  rich,  and 
bringing  a  personal  influence  to  bear  on  the  children  of  poverty  and  crime. 
A  few  incidents  will  show  that  these  self-denying  efforts  have  had  a  reflex 
influence,  and  yielded  a  rich  reward  to  those  engaged  in  the  good  work. 

One  visitor  says  :  "  We  started  out,  a  wintery  afternoon,  to  see  some  of 
our  scholars,  in  the  Fourth  Ward.  We  enter  a  narrow  door- way,  wind 
through  a  dark  passage,  arid  are  at  the  door  of  a  filthy,  close  room.  We 
are  in  search  of  a  German  rag-picker,  who  has  a  child  in  the  school.  There 
is  one  window,  a  small  stove,  and  two  or  three  chairs.  The  little  girl  looks 
neat  and  healthy.  '  I  pick  rags,'  says  the  mother,  '  and  I  cannot  send  her  to 
the  public  school ; — it  is  a  great  help  to  me,  that  you  can  teach  her.  I  am 
away  from  home  all  day,  and  if  she  did  not  go  there,  she  would  have  to  be 
in  the  streets  all  day.' 

Here,  beyond,  is  an  old  house.  We  climb  the  shaking  stairs,  up  to  the 
attic,  a  front  room,  with  one  window  in  the  roof.  Very  chill  and  bare, 
but  floor  well  swept.  A  little  hump-backed  child,  reading  very  busily,  on 
the  floor,  and  another  scrubbing  on  the  other  side.  The  mother  is  Irish. 
We  asked  about  the  little,  deformed  child.  '  Och  !  she  is  such  a  swate  one  ! 
She  always  lamed  very  quick,  since  her  accident,  and  I  am  very  thankful 
to  the  ladies  for  what  they're  teaching  her — God  bless  them  !  Shure,  an1 
its  niver  won  of  the  schools  I  could  sind  ?em  to.  1  had  no  clo's  or  shoes 
for  'em, — an'  its  the  truth,  I'm  just  living  an'  no  more.' 

Another  home  of  poverty,  dark,  damp,  and  chill.  The  mother,  an  Eng 
lish  woman  ;  her  child  had  gone  to  school  barefooted,  and  we  found  that 
she  had  been  sent,  in  the  cold  nights,  to  the  brothels,  with  fruits  to  sell.  'I 
know,'  she  said,  it  is  wrong — she  ought  to  have  as  good  a  chance  as  other 
people's  children.  But  I'm  so  poor  !  I  haven't  paid  a  month's  rent ;  and  L 
was  sick  three  weeks.  I  know  the  city,  and  I  would  rather  have  her  in 
the  grave  than  brought  down  to  those  cellars.  But  what  can  I  do  ?' 

The  society  will  find  a  place  for  the  little  girl  in  the  country,  if  ghe 
wishes.  In  the  meantime,  we  engage  her  to  keep  the  child  at  school.  Our 
little  guide  shows  us  another  home  of  one  of  our  scholars — a  prostitute's 
cellar.  An  elder  sister  comes  to  the  door,  and  with  a  shame-faced  look, 
promises  that  she  shall  come  to  school  every  day.  We  tell  her  the  general 
object  of  the  society,  and  of  the  good,  kind  home  which  can  be  found  for  her 
sister  in  the  country.  She  seems  glad,  and  her  face,  which  must  have  been 
pretty  once,  lights  up;  perhaps  at  the  thought,  for  her  sister,  of  what  sho 
shall  never  more  have— a  pure  home.  Within  the  room,  two  or  three 
sailors,  sitting  at  their  bottles,  seemed  to  understand  what  we  are  doing. 
One  of  them  says,  very  respectfully,  'Yes,  that's  it !  Git  the  little  girl  out 
of  this  !  It  aint  no  place  for  her.' " 

We  give  one  more  incident  Mr.  Brace  has  recorded  of  the  good  alread* 


OF  AMERICANS.  5S7 

accomplished  by  the  Industrial  Schools.     "I  was  going  down  Ninth  street, 
on  the  east  side,  lately,  when  I  met  a  little  girl,  very  poor,  but  with  such  ? 
sweet,  sad  expression,  that  I  involuntarily  stopped  and  spoke  to  her.     She 
answered  my  questions  very  clearly,  but  the  heavy,  sad  look  never  left  her 
eyes  for  a  moment.     She  had  no  father  or  mother — took  care  of  the  chil 
dren  herself — sewed  on  check-shirts  and  made  a  living  for  them.     And  yet 
the  child  was  only  thirteen  years  of  age!     I  went  to  the  lo\v,  damp  base 
ment,  which  she  calls  her  home.     She  lives  there  with  the  three  little  ones, 
and  the  elder  sick  brother,  who  sometimes  picks  up  a  trifle  to  aid  in  their 
support.     She  had  been  washing  for  the  family.     She  almost  thought  she 
might  take  in  washing  now  ;  and  the  little  ones,  with  their  knees  to  their 
mouths,  crouched   up  before   the  stove,  looked  as  if  there  could  not  be  a 
doubt  of  sister's  doing  anything  she   tried.       '  Well,  Annie,    how  do  you 
make  a  living  now  ?'     'I  sews  on  check-shirts,  sir,  and   ttnnnel  shirts  ;  I 
gets  five  cents  for  the  check,  and  nine  cents  for  the  others  ;  but  they  wont 
let  me  have  the  flannel  any  more,  because  I  can't  deposit  two  dollars.'     'It 
must  be  very  hard  work  ? '     '  Oh,  I  don't  mind  that,  sir ;  but  to-day  they  say 
we'd  better  all  go  to  the  poor-house ;  but  if  I  only  had  candles,  I  would  sit 
up  late — till  ten  or  eleven  o'clock — and  make  shirts,  and  with  the  help  of 
the  neighbors,  I  could  keep  the  little  things  together.'     She  had  learned  all 
she  knew  at  the  Industry  School,  and  she  now  sends  her  little  sisters  there. 
I  went  into  the  little  back  room,  to  the  one  bed,  where  the  whole  five  slept ; 
the  walls  damp — only  two  thin  coverlids  for  warmth.     Their  fuel  had  been 
picked  up  in  the  streets  ;    but  '  we  never  begged  '  she  said.      I  left  some 
stores  for  Sunday  ;  a  kind  friend  has  given  us  money  for  Christmas  presents> 
and  to-morrow  she  shall  be  supplied,  if  possible,  with  work,  and  the  two 
dollars  to  deposit.     As  I  went  out,  the  cold,  wintery  wind  blew  fiercely  by. 
1  thought  of  the  weary,  sad  look,  which  had  not  changed  during  the  visit. 
I  thought  of  the  thousand  warm,  comfortable  homes,  this  cold  night,  and 
the  happy  children,  and  then  of  this  brave  little  heart,  in  the  damp  cellar — 
the  child  made  old  by  poverty.     God  bless  thee,  little  Annie,  for  a  true, 
staunch  soul !     May  thy  day  of  life  not  be  so  weary  as  thy  young  morning." 
"  The  News  Boys,"  like  other  mercantile  professors,  have  their  jobbers  and 
their  wholesale  dealers.     These  last  are  older  lads,  who  buy  papers  by  the 
hundred,  and  give  them  to  smaller  boys  to  sell  on  commission.     "In  their 
various   business    transactions,"  says    Mr.  Tracy,  the   gentleman   who    has 
charge  of  the  News  Boys'  Lodging-Room,  "there  is  one  law  which  is  well 
understood,  and  often  executed  upon  the  delinquent,  arid  that  is  punching. 
When  a  boy  has  bought  papers  on  a  credit,  borrowed  money,  or  sold  for  an 
other,  and  fails  to  meet  his  account,  he  gets  an  awful  punching.     When 
selling  for  another,  if  he  should  happen  to  'step  out,'  with  a  few  shillings, 
a  condign  punishment  of  punching  awaits  him.     Sometimes  the  delinquent 
is  followed  up  to  the  Bowery  or  National  Theater,  where  a  settlement  is 
made    in   a  summary  manner.      They  earn    their  money  easily — average 
profits,  from  three  to  four  shillings  a  day,  and  on  Sundays,  often  sixteen 
shillings.     The   calamity  which  brings  sorrow  to  a  whole  community,  is 
often  a  rich  harvest  to  them.     On  the  day  when  the  first  news  of  the  Arctic 
came,  many  deposited  five  dollars,  as  a  day's  earnings,  in  the  Savings'  Bank 
of  the  Lodging- House.     Yet  the  boys  joined  in  the  general  feeling.     Thej 


588  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

discussed  over  the  warm  stove,  after  school  hours,  the  conduct  of  Captaiu 
Luce,  and  the  cowardly  sailors,  as  much  as  any  of  us.  One  looked  really 
solemn,  as  he  told  of  a  lady  in  an  upper  part  of  the  street,  who  had  rushed 
out  after  one  of  his  extras,  and  then  shrieked  and  wept,  as  she  saw  a  name 
on  the  list.  '  Isn't  it  awful  ?'  said  he,  'I  do  hope  he  ain't  lost,  Mr.  Tracy  ! ' 
But  although  these  little  ragged  merchants  can  earn  money  easily,  yet  wrong 
calculations  or  bankruptcy  have  usually  left  them  hungry  in  the  streets,  01 
vagrants  in  the  City  Prison." 

A  few  incidents  will  give  our  readers  some  idea  of  the  mode  of  life  and 
character  of  the  New  York  news-boys.  "  Mr.  Tracy  brought  to  our  office," 
says  Mr.  Brace,  "a  few  da}rs  since, a  little  boy,  of  twelve  or  thirteen,  with  a 
singularly  sharp,  old  face — the  type  of  so  many  child-faces  we  continually 
meet,  worn  and  whetted  by  this  incessant  rubbing  of  the  street-life  in  a  great 
city.  He  had  been  to  the  Lodging-House,  and  the  night  before  had  came 
in  with  two  suspicious  looking  boys,  whose  lodging  he  paid,  and  MY.  T. 
suspected  they  were  trying  to  'pluck'  him.  'Where  are  you  from?  my 
boy.'  '  Patterson,  sir.'  '  What  made  you  leave  your  home  ? '  '  Me  mother 
drinks,  and  me  father,  he  licks  me,  when  he's  drunk.'  *  How  long  since 
you  run  away?'  'Three  years,  sir;  for  a  while  I  worked  with  a  farmer, 
en  Long  Island  ;  then  I  went  to  selling  papers  at  the  ferries,  and  slept  in 
boxes,  and  the  old  cars  at  the  Erie  station.  I  have  sometimes  made  six 
shillings  a  day,  and  I  don't  know  how  I  used  to  spend  it.  Mr.  Tracy  has 
got  ten  shillings  of  mine  now.  Well,  I  see  them  two  boys,  and  they  had 
nothing  to  eat,  'cause  they'd  been  off  'on  a  lay'  (i.  e.,  thieving),  in  the  rail 
road.  They  went  sixty  or  seventy  miles  south,  they  said,  so  as  to  get  into 
the  country,  where  it  was  warm  enough  to  sleep  out  o'  nights  ;  but  they 
couldn't  steal  long,  'cause  the  conductor,  he  sent  'em  back.  Then  I  got 'em 
both  a  supper,  and  paid  their  lodging,  which  was  only  six  pence  a  piece.' 
'Don't  you  know  that  those  two  boys  were  trying  to  sound  you?  They 
would  soon  have  stripped  you  of  everything.'  The  boy  seemed  to  feel 
that  we  were  his  friends;  but  he  believed  he  could  not  go  back  to  his 
home  ;  he  would  stay  in  New  York,  and  try  to  live  on  his  own  hook. 

James  was  one  of  the  most  honorable  of  our  little  news-boys.  He  had  a 
handsome  face,  rich  brown  hair,  a  large,  dark  eye,  and  very  winning,  frank 
expression.  He  became  tired  of  his  wandering  life,  and  Mr.  Tracy  brought 
him  to  the  office  to  get  a  place  in  the  country.  He  talked  very  openly  ; 
said  he  had  enough  of  New  York,  and  wanted  to  be  a  farmer.  '  Have  you 
no  home,  James  ?'  'No,  I  havn't.'  '  Where  are  your  father  and  mother  ?' 
'Havn't  got  no  father  and  mother,'  and  the  large  tears  forced  themselves 
through  the  child's  eyes,  and  ran  down  his  cheeks.  We  did  not  question 
him  more  ;  Mr.  T.  knew  the  sad  story  of  this  friendless  boy — his  bitter, 
weary,  and  lonely  childhood,  and  his  yearning  for  some  spot,  which  he  could 
call  his  home.  There  was  a  rough,  hearty  old  farmer  in  the  office,  at  the 
time,  who  liked  the  boy,  and  took  him.  We  give  his  first  letter  from  his 
new  home  : 

'  My  dear  friends  :  I  am  much  indebted  for  your  kindness  to  me.  I  think 
I  a-n  one  of  the  most  fortunate  of  your  boys.  I  had  not  been  here  long, 
when  I  had  a  great  many  presents  in  clothing — all  new  from  the  store.  I 
have  plenty  to  eat,  and  live  like  one  of  the  family — shall  stay  till  I  am 


OF  AMERICANS.  589 

eighteen,  then  Mr.  V •  is  going  to  give  me  a  trade.     When  I  came  here, 

I  did  not  know  how  to  work — now,  I  can  work  a  little,  and  I  mean  to  do 
all  I  am  able.  I  like  the  country — thought  I  would  not  like  it  all,  but  now 
I  see  the  difference  :  instead  of  running  about  selling  papers,  and  living  in 
the  midst  of  wickedness,  I  am  in  the  quiet,  pleasant  country.  I  would  give 
my  advice  to  any  boy  that  sells  papers,  or  any  other  boy  running  about  the 
streets  of  New  York,  to  go  to  the  Children's  Aid  Society,  and  Mr.  Brace 
•will  find  a  place  for  them  to  go  into  the  country.  Give  my  best  respects  to 

the  Trustees.     When  you  write,  direct  care  of  Mr.  V C ,  N.  J. 

Yours  truly,  JAMES.'  " 

An  amusing  scene  occurred  at  the  Lodging-Room,  on  the  occasion  of  tho 
first  opening  of  their  bank,  which  the  news-boys  had  voted  to  keep  closed  an 
entire  month.  Mr.  Tracy  was  expecting  some  friends,  and  hoped  that  they 
might  induce  the  boys  to  deposit  something  in  the  six-penny  bank.  They 
grew  impatient,  and  filled  up  the  time  in  all  manner  of  sharp-shooting. 

"  I  move  that  the  boy  as  has  most  tin  in  the  bank,  shall  give  Us  a  treat," 
said  one  little  fellow,  mounted  on  a  desk — (immense  applause.) 

"  I  move,  coffee  and  cakes  ! " 

11 1  go  in  for  that." 

"  Half  past  seven  ;  Mr.  Tracy,  open  sesame  !" 

"  I  move  that  the  bank  be  opened  !" 

"How  much  have  you  got  in — sixpence  ?" 

"  Boys,  be  seated  ! "  exclaims  Mr.  Tracy. 

Older  boys  to  smaller — "You  keep  order,  there." 

"Now,"  says  Mr.  Tracy,  "I  will  call  the  numbers,  and  I  propose  that 
Mike  counts  the  money." 

"  No,  no,  sir ! "  arose  in  a  shout ;  "  let  every  boy  finger  his  own  money." 

Mr.  Tracy  proceeded  to  call  the  numbers.  "No.  1?" — "Absent;  getting 
dinner." 

"  No.  2  ?  "     "Here  I  be,  sir." 

"No.  3?"     "Gone,  dead." 

"No.  4  ?  "  "At  his  country  seat,  gettin'  his  winter  lodgin'."  (House  of 
Refuge.) 

"  No.  5?  "     "  Gone  to  heaven  ! " 

"  No.  6  ?  "  "  My  eyes  ! — what  a  stock  of  pennies  Barney  has  !  Count 
it — hurry  up — two  pounds  two  shillings  ! "  "I  make  a  move,"  says  Barney, 
(having  got  his  own  money),  "  that  now  the  bank  be  closed." 

"  No.  7? "     "  Got  a  check  for  poor  house  ?  " 

"No.  8?"     "Gone  to  sleep.     Go  ahead." 

"  No.  9?  "     "  Put  on  your  shirt,  Paddy,  and  get  your  money  ! " 

This  kind  of  running  fire  was  kept  up  till  the  close,  when  it  was  found 
that  some  had  as  high  as  ten  or  eleven  dollars  in  the  bank,  and  the  whole 
amount  of  their  savings  was  sixty-nine  dollars.  Great  excitement  prevailed, 
when  one  boy  proposed  to  close  their  bank  for  another  month.  The  uproar 
increased,  as  if  the  loudest  lungs  would  carry  it.  The  superintendent,  Mr. 
Tracy,  quieted  them,  and  said,  "  Boys,  you  know  that  this  is  }Tour  affair ;  I 
shall  do  as  you  decide  ;  but  you  had  better  vote,  and  not  make  all  this  noise 
about  it."  The  result  was  a  tie. 


500  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

Barney,  one  of  the  smartest,  jumped  upon  a  bench,  and  made  a  speech  in 
stump-orator  style.  He  called  upon  them  to  come  up  to  their  duty,  like 
men  and  cit.zens  of  a  great  republic.  He  denounced  the  other  party. 
"  What  right  have  those  coves  to  vote  ?  They  never  had  nothing  in  the 
bank,  feller  citizens  !  They  haint  got  their  papers  ! "  etc.,  etc. 

Mr.  Tracy  proposed  that  the  house  divide.  As  arguments  would  not  do, 
the  big  boys  tried  to  pull  the  small  ones  over  to  their  side.  At  length,  it 
was  decided  that  those  who  had  never  put  anything  in,  should  not  vole, 
and  the  bank  was  closed  till  the  first  of  December. 

All  were  pleased  with  the  mysterious  influence  of  the  bank,  when  they 
assembled,  after  driving,  sharp  bargains  at  the  different  clothing  establish 
ments.  Some  had  overcoats,  for  which  they  paid  from  four  to  six  dollars  ; 
others  jaunty  caps,  others  pants,  good  flannel  shirts,  and  warm  vests.  On 
the  whole,  the  investments  were  judicious,  and  the  society  rejoiced  at  these 
first  steps  toward  respectability,  for  six  months  previous,  a  flannel  shirt  of 
three  months'  wear,  unchanged,  had  been  the  principal  garment  of  the 
corps. 

The  effort  to  provide  honest  employment  in  the  city  for  poor  children,  is 
the  only  branch  of  the  society's  labors  that  has  not  proved  successful.  In 
the  Fourth  Ward,  a  class  of  girls  was  formed  to  bind  shoes.  This,  for  a 
while,  seemed  to  go  on  very  well.  In  addition  to  binding,  several  thousand 
pairs  of  shoes  were  pegged  by  the  children.  But  suddenly  a  machine  was 
invented  to  do  the  work  faster  and  cheaper.  Then  the  making  of  paper 
bags,  with  a  similar  result.  Then  came  the  vearing  of  cane-chair  bottoms. 
But  when  the  girls  found  that  they  earned  more  in  the  streets,  as  rag 
pickers,  the  thing  had  to  be  dropped.  That  business  man  who  would  give 
employment  to  these  young  girls,  would  do  more  to  save  wretched  young 
creatures  from  prostitution, 'than  philanthropists  or  preachers,  thus  far,  have 
been  able  to  do. 

A  sketch  of  one  of  these  poor  girls,  will  show  how  greatly  honest  employ 
ment  is  needed.  Mr.  Brace  was  sent  for,  by  the  matron  of  the  Toomtw,  to 
visit  a  young  German  girl,  of  fourteen  years,  committed  for  vagrancy.  We 
give  the  details  in  his  own  graphic  language.  "On  entering  those  soiled  and 
gloomy  Egyptian  archways,  I  could  but  associate  the  low  columns  and  lotus 
capitals  with  the  sombre  and  miserable  history  of  the  place.  After  a  short 
waiting,  the  girl  was  brought  in.  She  had  a  slight  figure,  and  a  face  intelli 
gent  and  old  for  her  years.  The  story  she  told  with  a  wonderful  eloquence, 
which  thrilled  to  our  hearts.  It  seemed  then  like  the  first  articulate  voice 
from  the  great  poor  class  of  our  city.  It  may  jar  our  refined  sensibilities, 
but  we  ought  to  hear  it. 

Her  eye  had  a  hard  look,  at  first,  but  softened  when  I  addressed  her  in 
the  German  language.  '  How  long  have  you  been  in  the  Toombs,  and  why 
are  you  here  ?' 

'  I  will  tell  you,  sir;  I  have  been  here  two  days.  I  was  working  out.  I 
had  to  get  up  early  and  go  to  bed  late,  and  I  never  had  any  rest.  The  lady 
worked  me  always,  and  at  last,  because  I  could  not  do  everything,  she  beat 
me  like  a  dog,  and  I  ran  away.  I  could  not  bear  it !'  The  manner  of  this 
was  wonderfully  passionate  arid  eloquent. 

4  But  I  thought  you  were  arrested  for  being  near  a  place  of  bad  character. 


OF  AMERICANS.  591 

'I  am  going  to  tell  you,  sir.  The  next  day  I  went  with  my  father  to  get 
my  clothes,  and  the  lady  would  not  give  them  up,  and  what  could  we  do  ? 
My  father  is  a  poor  old  man,  who  picks  rags  in  the  streets,  and  lie  said,  I 
don't  want  you  to  be  a  rag-picker.  You  are  not  a  child  now — people  will 
look  at  you — you  will  come  to  harm. 

And  I  said,  No,  father,  I  will  help  you.  We  must  do  something,  now  I 
*m  out  of  a  place.  So  I  picked  rags  all  day,  and  did  not  make  much ;  and 
at  night  I  was  cold  and  hungry.  Toward  night  a  gentleman  met  me — a 
ver\r  fine,  well  dressed  gentleman — American,  and  he  said,  Will  you  go  with 
me  ?  And  I  said,  No  !  But  when  he  said,  I  will  give  you  twenty  shillings, 
I  told  him  I  would  go.  The  next  morning  I  was  taken  up  by  the  officer.' 

'  Poor  girl,'  said  the  matron,  '  what  a  sin  it  was  !  Had  you  forgotten 'your 
mother  ? ' 

'No,  I  did  remember  her  then.  She  had  no  clothes,  and  I  have  no 
shoes,  and  only  this  thin  dress,  and  a  cold  winter  coming  on.  I  have  had 
to  take  care  of  myself  ever  since  I  was  ten  years  old,  and  never  had  a 
cent  given  me.  It  may  be  a  sin,  sir  [here  the  tears  rolled  down  her  cheeks]  ; 
I  do  not  ask  you  to  forgive  it.  Men  cannot  forgive,  but  God  will  forgive. 
I  know  about  men.  The  rich  do  such  things,  and  worse,  and  no  one  says 
anything  against  them.  But  I,  sir,  I  AM  POOR  [this  she  said  with  a  tone 
which  struck  the  very  heart-strings]  .  Many  is  the  day  I  have  gone  hun 
gry  from  morning  till  night,  because  I  did  not  dare  spend  a  cent  or  two — the 
only  ones  I  had.  Oh,  I  have  sometimes  wished  to  die.  Why  does  not 
God  kill  me?' 

She  was  choked  by  her  sobs,  and  when  she  became  calm,  and  was  told  of 
our  plan  of  finding  her  a  good  home,  where  she  could  make  an  honest 
living,  she  seemed  mistrustful.  '  I  will  tell  you,  Meinne  llerrn,  I  know  men, 
and  I  do  not  believe  any  one — I  have  been  cheated  so  often.  I  am  net  a 
child  :  in  fourteen  years,  I  have  lived  as  long  as  people  twice  as  old  !' 

'But  you  do  not  wish  to  stay  in  prison  ?  ' 

'  0  God,  no !  0,  there  is  such  a  weight  on  my  heart  here  !  Why  was 
I  ever  born.  I  have  such  Jcummerniss  (woes)  here, — [she  pressed  her  hands 
to  her  heart] — /  am  poor ! ' 

We  talked  with  the  matron.  She  had  often  seen  children  in  the  Toombs 
of  nine  or  ten  years,  as  old  as  young  women,  but  this  was  a  remarkable 
oi  rl.  It  was,  undoubtedly,  her  first  offense.  We  obtained  her  release,  and 
she  consented  to  leave  the  city.  But  before  wo  took  her  to  our  office,  we 
went  to  her  cabin,  that  she  might  first  see  her  parents. 

She  asked  in  broken  English  of  us,  4  Don't  you  think,  better  for  poor  girls 
to  die  than  live  ?' 

Mr.  G said  something  kindly  to  her  about  a  good  God. 

She  shook  her  head  ;  '  No  ;  no  good  God  !  Why  much  suffer,  if  good 
God  ? ' 

After  much  trouble,  we  reached  the  house — or  the  den — of  the  rag 
picker.  The  parents  were  very  grateful  that  she  was  to  start  the  next  morn 
ing  for  a  country  home,  where,  perhaps,  they  will  finally  join  her.  For  my- 
self,  the  evening  shadow  seemed  more  somber,  and  the  cheerful  home-lights 
lees  cheerful,  as  I  walked  home,  thinking  of  such  a  history." 

In  the  European  Reformatory  Institutions,  this  plan  is  adopted  on  a  very 


592  ADVENTUKES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

limited  scale,  as  emigration  to  distant  countries  is  so  burdensome  in  expense 
"Norway  and  Sweden,"  says  Mr.  Brace,  "are  the  only  countries  that  have 
carried  out  the  system  of  placing  destitute  and  criminal  youth  in  families, 
and  with  the  same  happy  result  as  the  Children's  Aid  Society."  Hov. 
trifling  is  the  expense  incurred  by  sending  these  children  to  the  country, 
compared  with  the  expense  and  punishment  of  crime  in  the  city.  Even  a 
child  cannot  be  arrested,  held  in  the  Toombs,  tried,  and  afterward  confined' 
for  a  year,  at  less  than  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  or  two  hundred  dol 
lars.  Eight  boys,  now  in  the  House  of  Refuge,  from  a  vile  locality,  where 
many  of  their  comrades  have  since  been  saved,  will  cost  the  city  almost 
double  the  whole  expense  of  the  News  Boys'  Lodging-Room,  without  reck 
oning  the  future  loss  and  damage  they  will  inevitably  occasion  to  property, 
and  expense  of  future  trials  and  punishment.  As  a  mere  matter  of  economy, 
such  an  Association  in  New  York,  should  receive  tenfold  more  liberal  sup 
port  than  has  yet  been  extended  to  the  Children's  Aid  Society. 

Let  us  now  follow  some  of  these  little  vagrants  to  their  new  homes.  Mr. 
Van  Meter,  who  has  for  years  been  connected  with  Five  Points'  Mission,  has 
been  employed  to  take  children  thence  to  their  new  homes.  He  has  also 
been  employed  by  Mr.  Brace,  before  Mr.  Tracy  could  be  spared  from  the 
News  Boys'  Lodging- House.  The  warm  hearts  of  these  devoted  laborers, 
arc  constantly  overflowing  with  love  and  sympathy  for  the  little  ones  com 
mitted  to  their  charge.  Their  correspondence  is  replete  with  interest,  and 
few  incidents  of  travel  have  such  power  to  enlist  our  feelings,  as  those  of  the 
city  youth  who,  for  the  first  time,  begins  to  appreciate  the  sentiment  of 
Cowper, 

"God  made  the  country,  but  man  made  the  town." 

These  children  are  not  sent  away  until  they  have  spent  some  time  in  tho 
institution,  under  the  management  of  kind  teachers,  who  seek  to  prepare 
them  for  their  new  homes.  Mr.  Van  Meter  thus  describes,  in  a  letter,  one  of 
these  tours  to  the  West,  which  is  full  of  interest : 

"I  embrace  the  first  opportunity  of  reporting,  through  you,  to  the  Ladies' 
Mission,  the  result  of  my  present  tour.  As  we  were  about  starting,  several 
children  arrived  from  the  Children's  Aid  Society,  some  from  the  News 
Boys'  Lodging-Room,  and  when  we  reached  Jersey  City,  a  beautiful 
little  lame  girl,  from  the  Home  of  the  Friendless,  was  placed  under  my 
care.  As  the  cry,  'all  aboard,'  was  heard,  little  Mary  was  forever  freed  from 
the  cruel  tyranny  of  the  woman  who  had  driven  her  forth  to  beg,  since  she  was 
five  years  old.  On  we  went — some  singing,  others  crying.  It  was  a  sleep 
less  night  to  me.  Though  we  had  clothed  them  at  the  Mission,  as  well  as 
our  exhausted  wardrobe  would  permit,  they  often  became  very  cold.  The 
snow-storm  in  the  mountains  was  severe.  Toward  morning,  a  pipe  burst, 
and  we  were  frozen  up.  As  the  storm  subsided,  I  went  to  a  farm-house, 
and  begged  a  pail  of  milk  for  the  children. 

As  we  were  hastening  on.  trying  to  redeem  the  time  lost,  little  Paddy  was 
sitting  by  a  very  interesting,  young  lad}',  who  seemed  to  treat  him  with  groat 
tenderness.  At  length,  Paddy  leaned  on  her  lap,  talked  and  smiled,  and 
she  asked  him  about  his  brothers  and  sisters.  When  she  learned  that  he 
was  homeless  and  friendless,  though  but  six  }7ears  old,  she  took  him  in  her 
arms,  and  kissed  him,  and  bathed  his  face  with  her  tears. 


OF   AMERICANS.  593 

Turning  to  her  father,  she  said,  'Now,  father,  we  never  had  a  brother. 
There  are  none  but  Mary  and  I;  you  have  enough  to  live  on  ;  —  take  littlo 
Paddy  ;  he  shall  be  no  trouble  to  mother  ;  we  will  teach  him,  and  when  he 
is  old  enough,  you  can  make  a  doctor  of  him.' 

Soon  the  point  was  settled.  He  takes  Paddy  as  a  son,  and  I  have  author- 
;/ed  him  to  change  his  name.  This  good  home  cheered  up  the  children, 
and  often  they  said,  'I  am  glad  for  Paddy.  Will  you  get  as  good  homes 
for  us  ? ' 

When  we  arrived  in  Cleveland,  two  large  omnibuses  were  placed  at  my 
disposal.  Off  we  went  to  the  Angier  House,  and  were  welcomed  the  moro 
cordially  because  there  were  so  many  of  us.  Fires  were  immediately  made; 
those  wLo  were  sick  from  the  shaking  of  the  cars,  were  put  to  bed,  and  the 
rest  prepared  for  breakfast.  The  generous  landlord  refused  any  compensa 
tion.  His  only  charge  was,  '  come  again.' 

On  the  Sabbath,  I  plead  for  the  mission  in  three  churches.  The  result  of 
that  day  humbled  me  in  the  dust.  0  the  immortal  kindness  of  God  !  When 

I  saw  Ellen  K at  the  Home  for  the  Friendless,  and  learned  that  nobody 

would  have  her,  because  she  was  so  lame,  my  sympathy  was  awakened,  and 
I  said  in  my  heart,  she  shall  not  go  to  the  alms-house.  At  the  close  of  my 
address,  in  the  Euclid  street  Church,  I  alluded  to  Ellen.  Six  wealthy  ladies 
consulted  together,  and  then  said,  '  We  have  determined  to  take  Ellen  and 
educate  her,  sharing  the  expense.' 

You  remember  Kate  C ,  the  beautiful  little  girl  who,  for  many  days, 

wandered  through  the  city,  seeking  a  home,  and  at  night,  sad  and  weary, 
vould  go  to  the  Toombs  to  sleep  !  Well,  sir,  a  good,  praying  man  and  wife, 
whose  children  are  gone,  said,  '  She  shall  be  to  us  a  daughter.'  The  dear 
little  one  wept  aloud  for  joy.  You  remember  one  from  the  Children's  Aid 
Society,  who  was  so  disfigured  that  no  one  would  let  her  come  near  their 
children.  After  looking  at  her,  a  mother  in  Israel  said,  '  This  one  needs 
sympathy  more  than  any  of  the  others  ;  /will  take  her.'  Noble,  generous 


woman 


'  Scotchy,'  being  only  five  or  six  years  old,  unusually  beautiful  and  smart, 
it  was  not  strange  that  many  a  wealthy,  but  childless,  home  was  offered 
him.  As  we  were  leaving  the  Angier  House,  a  lady  who  had  recently  lost 
her  only  son,  came  and  said,  '  I  must  have  John,  the  youngest  of  the  news 
boys.  ' 

After  my  arrival  in  Peoria,  I  took  Mary  Jane  Small  to  Judge  P .  He 

has  one  of  the  most  truly  noble  families  in  the  land.  The  judge  took  the 
little  one  on  his  knee,  pressed  her  to  his  heart,  and  said  to  his  wife,  'The 
Lord  has  given  us  enough,  let  us  take  her.'  Mar}',  with  all  the  innocent 
fulness  of  her  little  heart,  said.  'I'm  so  glad!'  One  of  the  daughters 
turned  to  me  and  said,  '  We  have  a  little  sister  now  ! '  They  have  changed 
her  name,  clothed  her  beautifully,  and  sent  back  her  own  wardrobe  for  the 
use  of  the  mission.  She  is  addressed  by  the  children  as  sister,  and  calls 
the  judge  and  his  wife,  father  and  mother.  When  the  box  of  clothes  ar 
rives,  please  send  them  to  the  Children's  Aid  Society,  for  the  use  of  her  six 
sisters.  She  wants  them  all  to  come  to  this  good  country. 

William  Wright  is  taken  by  a  pious  banker,  who  says  that  his  most  ar 
dent  desire  is  to  see  him  a  Christian,  that  he  may  fit  him  for  the  ministry, 


ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

Jane,  the  little  Irish  girl,  who  learned  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  has,  in 
n'.ne  weeks  from  her  arrival  in  America,  been  adopted  as  a  daughter  by  one 
of  the  most  pious  and  wealthy -lawyers  in  this  country.  Just  think  of  it ! 
Five  weeks  ago,  she  and  her  mother  and  little  sister  wandered  about  the 
Five  Points  without  a  shelter.  Jane's  mother  has  now  a  good  home  near 
her  daughter,  and  they  are  all  so  happy." 

We  make  a  few  extracts  from  the  narrative  of  a  similar  trip  to  the  West, 
in  the  autumn  of  1855.  It  will  interest  the  reader  to  see  how  these  poor 
children  were  affected  by  the  beautiful  scenery  of  the  country,  in  contrast 
with  their  wretched  surroundings  at  the  Five  Points.  It  reminds  one  of  the 
exclamations  of  Casper  Hauser,  when  he  first  looked  upon  this  beautiful 
world,  after  spending  all  his  childhood  in  a  dark  dungeon. 

"I  hired  a  band-wagon,"  says  Mr.  Van  Meter,  "put  in  the  children,  and 
went  four  miles,  to  Milan.  The  road  was  fine,  the  forests  beautiful  ;  yards 
and  gardens  full  of  beautiful  flowers,  and  the  orchards  bending  under  the 
weight  of  apples,  pears,  and  other  fruit.  The  children  were  quite  crazed 
with  the  scene — they  laughed,  and  sung,  and  hallooed  ;  all  talked  at  once* 
each  trying  to  call  the  attention  of  the  others. 

One  was  enraptured  to  think  she  was  where  oranges  grew.  '  0,  look  at 
the  oranges — how  large,  how  many  !  Would  they  not  bring  a  shilling  in 
New  York  ?'  She  was  looking  into  a  garden  of  ripe  squashes. 

'  0,  aint  you  glad  you  come  ?  Why,  Mr.  Van  Meter,  you  did  not  tell  us 
as  much  as  this,  Monday  night,'  said  one  of  the  boys. 

'0,  just  stop  a  minute,  and  let  me  get  some  flowers,'  said  Delia. 
'I  do  wish  father  and  mother  and  the  baby  were  here,'  said  little  Lizzie. 
Bless  her  little  kind  heart.     How  I  love  that  child  ! 

I  defy  any  New  York  reporter  to  give  anything  like  a  correct  sketch  of 
the  scene,  opinions,  and  exclamations.  Perhaps  you  conclude  that  they 
were  rudely  boisterous,  and  I  ought  to  have  made  them  quiet.  No,  sir. 
Do  not  birds  sing  as  loud  as  they  can,  when  such  a  glorious  morning  opens 
upon  them  ?  And  shall  the  poor  little  ones,  caged  all  their  lives  at  the 
Five  Points,  give  no  expression  of  joy  ?  Why,  their  little  hearts  would 
burst,  if  I  were  to  make  them  hold  their  tongues.  No,  shout,  my  dear  little 
ones,  halloo — sing  to  the  top  of  your  voice — anything  you  please.  I  de 
clare,  I  could  not  avoid  entering  into  the  same  spirit. 

Well,  we  drove  right  to  the  church,  which  was  soon  full,  and  I  humbly 
trust  that  the  scenes  of  the  past  hour  did  not  unfit  me  for  the  duties  of  the 
present.  I  talked  and  the  people  cried.  At  the  close,  the  ladies  went  to 
work  in  earnest.  Mr.  S.  F.  Taylor,  mayor  of  the  city,  was  present  with  his 
wife. 

Their  eyes  were  fixed  on  John  Taff.  'Oh,'  exclaimed  Mrs.  T.,  'how 
much  he  looks  like  our  dear  boy,  who  was  drowned  a  few  weeks  ago  !  Let 
us  take  him  to  fill  the  place  of  our  son.' 

The  people  gathered  round,  and  said, '  0  what  a  blessing  to  this  poor  boy, 
to  get  such  a  home  ! ' 

One  woman  said,  '  That's  just  what  I  always  said  :  the   Lord  manages 
everything  right.     Don't  you  see,  there  was  no  place  for  this  little  one,  SD 
the  Lord  took  their  only  son  to  heaven  to  make  room  for  little  Johnny.' 
We  all  cried.     It  does  seem  to  me  that  the  Lord  has  reserved  the  best 


OF  AMERICANS.  595 

places  for  our  poor  children  of  the  Five  Points.  The  next  morning  at 
Beven  o'clock,  not  less  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  persons  met  us,  bringing 
clothing,  bedding,  etc.,  which  I  have  shipped  to  the  mission.  The  children 
have  all  found  the  best  homes.  But  the  morning  of  parting  was  one  of 
trial.  They  seemed  to  realize  that  they  were  in  a  land  of  strangers,  and 
therefore  clung  to  me.  Little  Lizzie  kept  her  arms  round  my  neck.  Mag 
gie  leaned  her  head  on  my  breast,  and  for  the  first  time  cried  aloud.  The 
boys  struggled  manfully,  but  broke  down.  0,  my  dear  brother,  it  tried  my 
heart,  as  it  has  never  been  tried  before  !  I  tried  to  comfort  them,  and  then 
kneeled  down  and  commended  each  one  separately  to  God." 

When  we  reflect  upon  the  fearful  amount  of  crime  in  our  large  cities — the 
garroting,  the  robbery,  the  theft — who  can  over-estimate  the  importance  of 
educating  the  poor  street  child,  and  providing  Christian  homes  for  the 
young  vagrant  lad,  and  the  houseless  girl,  who,  if  unreclaimed,  will  in  a 
a  few  years  become  a  pest  to  society.  Throughout  the  length  and  breadth 
of  our  Great  West,  how  many  homes  might  be  found  for  these  friendless 
ones  !  Although  much  has  been  done  by  the  Children's  Aid  Society,  and 
the  various  city  missions,  yet  it  is  estimated  that  there  are  still  ten  thousand 
destitute  children  in  the  City  of  New  York,  of  whom  not  more  than  one 
quarter  are  provided  with  homes. 

The  following  statistics  for  the  past  year  will  show  the  efforts  that  have 
been  made  by  benevolent  societies  for  their  instruction  : 

SCHOOLS  OF  CHARITY. — School  on  Randall's  Island,  654  pupils ;  Colored 
Orphan  Asylum,  295:  Orphans'  Home,  57;  Orphan  Asylum,  184 ;  Half 
Orphan  [about],  190;  Home  of  Friendless,  300;  Five  Points,  315;  Ladies' 
Home  Mission,  Five  Points,  313;  House  of  Refuge,  858;  Juvenile  Asylum, 
569  ;  Schools  of  Children's  Aid  Society,  1,176;  Wilson  School,  490;  Home 
of  Industry  (West  16th  Street),  200;  other  Industrial  Schools,  130.  Total, 
5,831. 

Sending  children  to  the  country,  has  not  been  attempted  anywhere  on  so 
large  a  scale  as  by  the  Children's  Aid  Society.  Since  its  formation,  two 
thousand  seven  hundred  and  forty-three  children  have  been  provided  with 
homes  and  employment.  The  narrative  of  the  expeditions  of  Mr.  C.  C. 
Tracy,  to  the  West  with  these  children,  also  abound  with  thrilling  incidents. 
We  have  only  room  for  a  few  of  these  incidents  of  travel.  The  first  ex 
tract  is  from  a  letter  of  Mr.  Tracy,  dated  at  the  News  Boys'  Lodging- 
House,  November  29,  1856: 

"  As  you  are  aware,  I  started  with  my  family  of  nearly  fifty  unprotected 
ones,  on  the  eighteenth  inst.,  taking  passage  to  Albany  in  the  splendid 
steamer  New  World.  I  had  sent  word  to  Kalamazoo,  Mich.,  of  our  intended 
appearance  there,  and  believing  that  would  be  the  most  favorable  place  to 
accomplish  the  object  in  view,  I  was  not  desirous  to  part  with  any  of  my 
children  by  the  way.  At  Detroit,  however,  I  was  induced  by  their  own  per 
suasions,  as  well  as  by  very  favorable  applications,  to  leave  three  of  our 
company.  The  others  all  went  off  '  like  hot  cakes '  in  Kalamazoo. 

Thus,  in  less  than  one  week  from  being  homeless,  street-wandering  chil 
dren,  in  the  City  of  New  York,  with  a  life  of  vice  and  wretchedness  before 
them,  each  one  of  that  whole  company  was  adopted  into  some  well-to-do, 
respectable  familv,  in  one  of  the  most  prosperous  States  in  the  Union. 
38 


596  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

Had  you  the  space,  I  could  recount  for  your  gratification,  and  that  of  vour 
readers,  many  highly  interesting  incidents  connected  with  our  travel.  Tho 
children  showed  the  most  extravagant  delight  at  the  way-side  scenery. 
Many  of  them  looked  upon  trees,  broad  fields,  running  brooks,  and  high 
mountains,  for  the  first  time  in  their  lives.  One  little  German  boy,  on 
coming  in  sight  of  Lake  Ontario,  was  evidently  struck  with  the  most  in 
tense  wonder  and  amazement.  After  shading  his  eyes,  while  he  gazed  upon 
the  wide  expanse  of  water  for  several  minutes,  he  turned  to  me,  saying, 

'What  world  is  this  we're  coming  to  now,  Mr.  Tracy  ?  What  is  all  that, 
there  ? ' 

I  told  him  we  were  in  Canada,  and  that  was  Lake  Ontario. 

1  What,  a  lake  ?  —  all  that !     Why,  it  looks  like  the  ocean,  don't  it  ? ' 

At  Detroit,  a  gentleman  from  a  few  miles  buck  in  the  country,  named 
Coyle,  looked  with  some  interest  upon  one  of  the  boys,  named  John  Smith, 
saying  to  him  in  the  course  of  conversation,  that  if  he  was  to  take  a  boy,  he 
should  make  him  change  his  name  and  take  his.  John  took  quite  a  liking 
to  Mr.  Coyle,  and  when  he  left  to  transact  some  business  about  town,  asked 
to  go  with  him.  During  the  walk,  some  friends  whom  Mr.  Coyle  met, 
asked  the  boy  his  name  ;  '  John  Coyle,  sir,'  was  the  prompt  reply.  Mr. 
Coyle  looked  at  him  sharply,  but  pleased  with  the  shrewdness  manifested, 
immediately  rejoined,  'John  Coyle  it  shall  be,  then."  They  came  back  at 
once  to  me,  and  I  soon  furnished  Mr.  Coyle  with  the  means  of  fulfilling  his 
promise. 

We  had  a  standard  bearer  (having  been  furnished  by  some  kind  friends 
with  an  American  flag,  before  we  started),  in  the  person  of  a  clever  little 
black  boy,  who  was  included  in  the  number.  He  enjoyed  his  impcrtauce 
much,  and  his  appearance,  marshaling  the  little  host,  everywhere  attracted 
attention." 

An  account  of  another  expedition,  we  extract  from  a  city  newspaper  :  "  It 
will  be  recollected,  that  two  or  three  weeks  ago,  Mr.  Tracy,  Agent  of  tho 
Children's  Aid  Society,  started  on  another  of  his  western  trips,  with  a  car 
load  of  homeless  children.  He  returned  a  few  days  ago,  and  gave  a  very 
interesting  description  of  his  journey.  They  left  the  city  on  December  23d, 
in  the  Albany  train.  The  day  was  excessively  cold,  but  the  car  devoted  to 
the  use  of  Mr.  Tracy  and  his  juvenile  companions  was  well  warmed,  and 
the  children  were  well  clothed. 

The  scene  on  their  leaving  was  a  deeply  interesting  one ;  but  the  sadness 
on  the  faces  of  the  little  group  was  mingled  with  joy,  as  they  seemed  to 
look  forward  to  the  broad  future  before  them,  in  which  they  saw  the  prom 
ise  of  their  past  homeless  condition  changed  for  brightness  and  prosperity. 
Kind  friends  spoke  encouragingly  to  them  on  their  way ;  and  during  the 
whole  route,  kind  friends  arose  up  all  around  them,  to  warm  the  forlorn 
hearts  of  the  little  strangers,  giving  them  an  ever-smiling  welcome,  and  as 
surance  of  deep-felt  interest.  At  Niagara,  having  a  few  hours  to  spare  the 
wandering  group,  the  most  of  whom,  probably,  had  never  seen  anything 
beyond  the  brick-and- mortar  city,  were  feasted  with  the  sight  of  this  majes 
tic  ever-pouring  flood  of  water.  Their  astonishment  and  joy  amounted  to 
ecstacy.  In  fact,  the  scenery  during  the  whole  journey,  although  a  snowjr 
landscape,  excited  the  most  intense  and  noisy  interest  in  them  all. 


OF  AMERICANS.  597 

On  Friday,  the  26th,  at  five  A.  M.,  the  party  arrived  at  Kalamazoo,  their 
destination,  and  hefore  Saturday  evening  Mr.  Tracy  had  disposed,  in  the 
happiest  manner,  of  all  -but  ten  of  the  children,  who  were  bound  still  far 
ther.  Accord ingly,  on  Monday  morning,  the  ten  little  bo}Ts  were  packed 
into  the  comfortable  sleigh,  where  they  enjoyed  a  twenty-miles'  ride  with 
Mr.  Tracy,  over  the  prairie  to  a  village  called  Prairie  Ronde.  A  gentleman 
from  Three-Rivers,  111.,  who  happened  to  be  stopping  at  the  tavern  there, 
expressed  great  interest  in  the  little  party,  especially  in  one  bright-eyed, 
pleasant- faced  chap,  of  eight  years, — little  Danny. 

This  gentleman,  a  man  of  wealth,  and  of  much  consideration  out  West, 
was  awaiting  the  stage,  to  return  to  his  distant  home,  and  as  the  stage  drove 
up,  and  he  was  about  to  bid  good-by,  little  Danny  bounded  up  to  him,  threw 
his  arms  round  his  knees,  and  exclaimed,  '  0,  Mister,  please  take  me  home 
with  you  !  —  0,  won't  you  ?  —  I  want  to  go  home  with  you  so  much.' 

The  gentleman,  one  of  the  finest  and  most  stalwart  specimens  of  western 
giants,  looked  down  for  a  moment  upon  the  little,  pale,  pleading  orphan 
boy,  who  still  clung  tenaciously  to  his  knees.  The  big  tears  gathered  slowly 
in  his  eyes,  but  brushing  them  off  hastily  with  his  hand,  he  exclaimed  in  a 
hearty  tone, 

'Come  then,  Danny,  you  shall  go  home  with  me.  I  have  two  girls,  but 
no  boy — you  are  a  good  little  fellow,  and  you  shall  be  my  son  !' 

And  the  great,  burly,  but  tender-hearted,  man  brushed  another  tear  from 
his  eye.  The  emotion  seemed  contagious  ; — even  the  hearty  stage-driver 
was  affected,  but  he  cracked  his  whip  lustily  to  conceal  his  soft-heartedness, 
as  Danny  was  lifted  into  the  stage  by  his  new  friend,  and  in  a  moment  more 
the  little  Five  Pointer,  whose  infancy  had  been  passed  in  such  a  hard  school 
of  want  and  suffering,  was  rattling  on  toward  a  home  of  love  and  plenty. 

Another  traveler,  on  his  way  to  his  home,  chancing  to  stop  at  the  tavern 
with  no  previous  thought  of  adopting  a  boy,  was  so  much  taken  with  a 
round-faced,  chubby  little  fellow,  of  ten,  an  orphan — the  Willie  of  the 
company — that  he  secured  him  on  the  spot.  He  is  a  wealthy,  kind-hearted 
farmer,  and  one  calculated  to  bring  up  the  boy  in  a  way  to  insure  his  be 
coming  a  valuable  member  of  society. 

Little  Freddy,  the  youngling  of  the  flock,  only  six  years  old,  whose  only 
parent,  his  mother,  was  lying  at  the  point  of  death  in  Bellevue  Hospital, 
when  he  left  with  the  rest,  was  adopted  by  a  farmer  and  his  wife,  who,  ex 
pecting  the  company,  had  come  some  thirty  miles  to  procure  a  nice  little 
boy. 

Mr.  Tracy  saw  a  large  number  of  the  children  during  his  stay,  whom,  on 
former  occasions,  he  had  provided  with  western  homes.  They  were  all 
very  happy;  and  to  his  question,  'Would  they  return  to  New  York?'  a 
universal,  '0,  no,  sir!'  was  the  reply." 

Occasionally  a  child  is  returned.  People  are  not  always  so  forbearing  or 
unselfish  as  they  should  be,  and  now  and  then  the  old  roving  passion  comes 

over  the  child.     A  family  in  S sent  back  a  bright  little  fellow.     He  had 

not  behaved  badly,  but  was  not  quite  so  immaculate  as  they  had  hoped. 
The  result  of  his  return  to  that  miserable  hovel  might  hav  been  expected — 
he  was  soon  taken  up  by  the  police  as  a  vagrant,  and  bent  to  the  Essex 
Market  Prison.  Mr.  Brace  found  the  family  in  iireat  distress — there  wcra 


598  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

eight  other  children,  cold  and  hungry.  One  of  them  said,  "  Brothei  had 
gone  to  the  prison,"  crying  hard  ;  "  father  was  out  picking  rags  ; — he  would 
like  to  go  to  school,  but  there  wasn't  none  near.  A  jintleman  did  take  him 
once  to  Sunday  School,  and  he  liked  it."  Whoever  would  aid  the  poor, 
must  have  some  tinge  of  the  patience  and  long-suffering  our  great  Benefactor 
has  shown  toward  us.  ^ 

We  will  close  this  article  with  an  exhibition  of  kindness  among  the  lowly, 
presenting  a  happy  contrast  to  the  above.  "  One  of  our  visitors,"  says  Mr, 
Brace,  "  found  a  little  boy  under  a  cart,  gnawing  a  bone,  which  he  had 
picked  up  for  his  breakfast.  He  had  a  good  natured  little  face,  and  fine 

dark  eye.     Mr.  S felt  a  sympathy  for  him,  and  asked, 

'  Where  do  you  live,  my  boy  ? ' 

'  Don't  live  nowhere !'  [0,  how  often  this  answer  is  given].  He  said  his 
mother  had  left  him,  and  lived  all  about,  doin'  washin' ;  but  a  woman  in 
Thirteenth  street  had  taken  him  in,  and  he  slept  in  one  corner  of  her  room. 
Mr.  S.  went  with  him  to  the  place,  and  found  that  this  kind  woman  was 
very  poor — bare  room,  and  scarcely  enough  to  live  herself,  yet  she  had  taken 
in  this  wretched  little  creature.  'She  was  the  poorest  creature  in  New 
York,'  she  said,  'but  some  how,  everything  that  was  poor  always  came  to 
her,  and  while  God  gave  her  anything,  she  meant  to  share  it  with  others.' " 
"Ye  who  are  happy,  whose  lives  have  been  under  sunshine  and  gentle  in 
fluences  ;  ye  who  gather  in  cheerful  home  circles,  think  of  the  friendless  chil 
dren  in  our  great  cities !  Hear  the  eloquent  pleading  of  C.  T.  Brace  in 
their  behalf,  and  do  not  withhold  your  aid  from  the  noble  work  in  which 
he  is  engaged.  But  few  have  such  eloquent  expression  as  the  poor  little 
prisoner  at  the  Toombs,  but  all  inarticulately  feel.  There  are  sad  histories 
beneath  this  gay  world — lives,  over  which  is  the  very  shadow  of  death. 
God  be  thanked,  there  is  a  heart  to  feel  for  them  all,  where  every  pang  and 
groan  will  find  sympathy.  The  day  is  short  for  us  all ;  but  for  some,  it  will 
be  a  pleasant  thought  when  we  come  to  lay  down  our  heads,  at  last,  that  we 
have  eased  a  few  aching  hearts,  and  brought  peace  and  joy  to  the  dark  lives 
of  some  whom  men  had  forgotten,  or  cast  out."  LEILA  LEE. 

And  now,  one  cheering  word  to  you,  whom  God  hath  richly  blessed, 
And  opened  wide  your  generous  hearts  to  succor  the  distressed : 
Ye  sow  the  seed  with  trembling  hope — ye  water  it  with  tears, — 
But  ye  shall  gather  precious  fruit,  to  chide  your  anxious  fears. 
As  plants  their  fragrant  buds  unfold,  when  taken  from  the  shade, 
And  flowers  in  Spring's  warm  sunlight ;  —  when  gentle  breezes  played, 
Have  yielded  up  a  sweet  perfume,  to  bless  our  fostering  care — 
So  may  that  youthful  soul  expand  in  more  congenial  air. 
Your  Christian  home  affords  it  now — an  atmosphere  of  love — 
And,  while  you  sow  the  precious  seed,  you  lift  your  heart  above : 
"  Help,  Lord,  to  take  this  little  one  and  bring  it  up  for  thee." 
Toil  on  !  you  soon  will  hear  the  words,  when  ye  your  Saviour  see, 
"As  ye  have  done  to  one  of  these  so  have  ye  done  to  me." — L.  L. 


AMERICA 


AT 


THE    WORLD' S     FAIR, 


HELD     N  THE  CRYSTAL    PALACE,  LONDON,  IN    1851,  TOGETHER  WITH    A    DESCRIPTION  Of 
THE  GREAT  YACHT  RACE,  OFF    THE  ISLE    OF    WIGHT,  IN  WHICH  THE 

"AMERICA,"   GAINED   A   SIGNAL  TRIUMPH. 


THE  Exhibition  of  the  Industry  of  All  Nations,  at  London,  in  1851,  it  is 
said,  "will  ever  be  referred  to  as  the  most  stupendous  conception  of  modern 
times."  The  Crystal  Palace,  in  which  it  was  held,  occupied  an  area  of 
eighteen  acres.  The  building  was  formally  opened  on  the  1st  of  May,  by 
her  majesty  Queen  Victoria,  with  suitable  and  imposing  ceremonies. 

An  extraordinary  space  at  the  eastern  end  of  the  palace  was  assigned  for 
the  exhibition  of  articles  from  the  United  States.  This  was  sparsely  filled, 
compared  with  the  crowded  apartments  of  other  countries.  While  the 
signs  indicating  each  of  these  were  small  and  neat,  that  over  the  receptacle 
for  American  contributions,  was  a  long  piece  of  planed  and  painted  lumber 
with  the  golden  words  "United  States  of  America"  in  huge  proportions, 
surmounted  by  a  gigantic  eagle,  with  expanded  wings.  These  peculiarities 
drew  forth  the  ridicule  of  the  English  writers,  who  appeared,  for  the  mo 
ment,  to  forget  that  even  these  were  but  properly  characteristic  contributions 
from  a  land  generous  beyond  all  other  lands  in  wood  and  gold. 

A  few  extracts  will  show  the  spirit  with  which  Young  America  was 
greeted  by  the  English  press.  On  the  very  opening  day  of  the  exhibition, 
the  London  Times  thus  began  with  a  fusilade  : 

"Our  Transatlantic  descendants,  following  out  their  New  World  instincts, 
feave  no  idea  of  being  jostled  by  other  nations,  or  pinched  for  space,  even  in 
the  Crystal  Palace.  While  the  industries  of  other  countries  have  been 
screwing  themselves  up  tight,  and  getting  into  the  smallest  possible  com 
pass,  that  of  the  United  States  invites  emigration  from  France — from  our 
selves — from  the  rest  of  Europe  generally.  Other  nations  rely  upon  their 
proficiency  in  the  arts,  or  in  manufactures,  or  in  machinery,  for  producing 
effect.  Not  so  with  America.  She  is  proud  of  her  agricultural  imple  ' 
ments  which  Garrett,  or  Ransom  and  May  would  reject  as  worthless ;  she  is 
proud  of  her  machinery,  which  would  hardly  fill  one  corner  of  our  exhibi 
tion,  and  upon  the  merits  of  which  our  civil  engineers  would  not  pronounce 
a  very  nattering  opinion  ;  and  she  thinks  a  great  deal  of  her  first  efforts  in 
native  marble  by  an  untaught  sculptor." 


600  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

Two  weeks  later,  the  Times  poured  in  a  few  more  shot :  "What  idea 
of  Jonathan  is  to  be  gathered  from  his  'notions  ?'  and  can  we  detect  in  the 
offspring  the  lineaments  of  its  parent's  face  ?  England  is  not  given  to  boast 
ing  and  swaggering ;  [  ?]  she  generally  understates  her  strength,  and  studies 
moderation  of  language  about  herself,  though  she  has  some  excuse  for  being 
proiul.  Her  republican  progeny  are  not  so  modest,  if  one  may  judge  from 
the  wings  of  that  very  aggressive  American  eagle,  with  which,  the  eastern 
end  of  the  nave  is  decorated.  The  king  of  birds  is  hovering  over  a  set  of 
'notions,'  spread  out  very  sparsely  beneath  him;  and  the  visitor  is  some 
what  astonished  to  find  him  making  so  vast  a  demonstration  over  a  space  so 
unoccupied.  The  American  department  is  the  prairie-ground  of  the  exhibi 
tion  ;  and  our  cousins,  smart  as  they  are,  have  failed  to  fill  it.  They  cannot 
yet  keep  pace  with  the  great  strides  of  the  European  industries,  and  even 
the  seven  league  boots,  if  they  had  them,  would  not  enable  them  to  do  so 
for  some  generations  to  come.  They  are  growing,  and  will  be  a  great  com 
munity  by  and  by.  Let  them  therefore  await  the  future  with  patience  and 
humility." 

The  unwise  sensitiveness  to  these  attacks,  shown  by  the  wincing  of  some 
of  our  countrymen,  who  could  not  "bide  their  time,"  were  "nuts"  to  the 
Thunderer;  so,  a  little  later,  he  indulges  in  more  amusement  of  the  same 
sort. 

"  If  the  Americans  do  excite  a  smile,  it  is  by  their  pretensions.  When 
ever  they  do  come  out  of  their  own  province  of  rugged  utility  and  enter  into 
competition  with  European  elegance,  they  do  certainly  make  themselves 
ridiculous.  Their  furniture  is  grotesque  ;  their  carriages  and  harness  are 
gingerbread  ;  their  carpets  are  tawdry  ;  their  patchwork  quilts  surpass  even 
the  invariable  ugliness  of  this  fabric  ;  their  cut-glass  is  clumsy  ;  their  pianos 
sound  of  nothing  but  iron  and  wood  ;  their  bookbinding  is  that  of  a  jour 
neyman  working  on  his  own  account  in  an  English  market-town  ;  their 
daguerreotypes  are  the  sternest  and  gloomiest  of  all  daguerreotypes  ;  their 
printed  calicoes  are  such  as  our  house-maids  would  not  think  it  respectable 
to  wear.  Even  their  ingenuity,  great  as  it  is,  becomes  ridiculous,  when  it 
attempts  competition  with  Europe.  Double  pianos,  a  combination  of  a 
piano  and  a  violin,  a  chair  with  a  cigar  case  in  its  back,  and  other  mongrel 
constructions,  belong  to  a  people  that  would  be  centaurs  and  mermen  if 
they  could,  and  are  always  rebelling  against  the  trammels  of  unity.  .  .  . 
The  Americans  have  no  occasion  to  fret  at  the  uncouth  figure  they  cut 
beside  their  neighbors.  A  nation  with  a  continent  in  its  pocket  can  afford 
to  be  laughed  at.  After  all  the  American  section  of  the  exhibition  is  the 
fittest  possible  picture  of  the  geographical  part,  not  merely  as  a  fastidious 
European  might  describe  it,  but  even  as  it  would  strike  an  American  him 
self,  in  his  progress  from  the  Broadway  to  the  Missouri  or  the  Rio 
Grande." 

Other  papers  followed  in  an  echo  of  the  Times,  and  the  Illustrated  News 
thus  discoursed  upon  the  "very  modest  Yankees  :"  "According  to  popu 
lar  opinion,  as  taught  by  their  newspapers,  the  United  States  were  to  carry 
off  the  chief  glories  of  the  '  World's  Fair.'  Now,  as  in  the  United  States 
every  one  reads  the  newspapers,  and  many  read  nothing  else,  it  was  just 
natural  that  the  people  should  fancy  they  were  going  '  to  lick  old  worn  out 


OF  AMERICANS.  601 

Europe.'  The  result  has  been  that  the  Americans  \vere  deeply  mortified, 
and  somewhat  angry  at  the  insignificant  performances  of  their  own  magni 
ficent  promises.  On  board  an  American  steamer,  in  which  a  friend  of  ours 
made  his  passage  from  New  York,  in  March  last,  every  assemblage  in  the 
day,  at  dinner,  breakfast,  luncheon,  and  supper,  brought  out  bold  offers 
from  the  '  State's  men '  of  bets  of  many  dollars,  that  their  country  would 
carry  off  the  greatest  number  of  prizes  from  all  tho  competitors  of  the 
World's  Fair.  And  we  believe  that,  until  the  opening  of  the  exhibition, 
the  same  confidence  prevailed  in  all  American  assemblages.  Can  they 
wonder  that  we  laugh  a  little,  or  can  they  doubt  that  this  laughing  will  do 
them  good?" 

It  would  be  a  miracle  in  human  nature  if  the  American  people  wero 
devoid  of  the  habit  of  boasting,  for  they  are  full  of  the  vigor  of  youth,  with 
a  glorious  past,  free  institutions,  and  a  whole  continent  on  which  to  work 
out  a  magnificent  future — if  they  but  will.  It  is  therefore  only  the  logical 
consequence  of  their  condition,  for  them  to  feel  as  if  they  could  surpass  all 
other  nations  in  any  field  of  enterprize  which  they  may  choose,  and  it  should 
be  no  cause  of  complaint  if  they  manifest  the  frankness  to  say  what  they  be 
lieve  they  can  accomplish.  One  consolation  remains,  that  is,  in  time  they 
may  grow  as  modest  as  even  John  Bull  himself,  until  they  arrive  at  that 
point  where,  like  him,  they  can  boast  of  their  modesty  without  a  blush  ! 

Before  the  close  of  the  exhibition  the  tone  of  the  English  papers  changed 
very  essentially,  and  their  commendation  became  as  strong  as  had  been 
their  detraction  toward  the  contributions  of  our  young  and  progressive 
people.  John  Bull,  self-sufficient  as  he  is,  when  fairly  convinced  of  his 
errors,  acknowledges  them  with  a  heartiness  that  makes  full  amends  for 
the  bluntness  with  which  he  expresses  his  hastily-formed  opinions.  The 
exhibition  proved  a  decided  triumph  for  the  Americans.  We  present  a 
sketch  of  their  successes  in  an  abridgement  from  the  report  of  Colonel  Ben 
jamin  P.  Johnston,  agent  of  the  State  of  New  York,  in  which  he  sums  up 
tho  results  of  the  exhibition,  and  speaks  more  particularly  upon  those 
articles  to  which  awards  were  assigned.  We  mention  only  the  more 
prominent. 

"It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  exhibitors  from  this  country  were 
placed  in  a  very  different  position  from  any  other  foreign  country.  The  ex 
hibition  from  the  United  States  was  made  by  the  exhibitors  themselves, 
\uitliout  aid  or  assistance,  in  their  preparation,  from  the  government,  was 
/nade  by  our  citizens  themselves,  and  showed  their  enterprize,  their  energy, 
their  skill  and  ingenuity  ;  and  when  this  was  known,  it  was  a  matter  of 
Hurprise  to  foreigners  that  we  exhibited  as  much  as  we  did.  It  was  designed 
to  show,  as  it  did,  that  in  this  country  "genius,  industry  and  energy  find 
no  barriers  to  their  career."  The  number  of  inventions  exhibited  which 
were  calculated  to  reduce  the  cost  of  production  in  agriculture,  manufactures 
and  the  mechanic  arts,  was  in  the  highest  degree  creditable  to  us,  and  elic 
ited  from  distinguished  sources  in  Great  Britain  the  admission  that  to  "tho 
department  of  American  'notions'"  they  owed  "the  most  important  contri 
butions  to  their  industrial  system." 

In  the  early  part  of  tho  Exhibition,  the  U.  S.  Department  was  the  subject 
of  much  invidious  remark,  and  our  contributions  were  considered  as  far  bft- 


602  ADVENTURES  AND   ACHIEVEMENTS 

hiud  the  times.  Located  in  the  buildings  as  we  were,  adjacent  to  France, 
Russia  and  Austria,  there  was  indeed  a  striking  difference  in  the  appearance 
of  the  contributions  from  the  different  countries.  While  that  from  the 
United  States  was  mainly  of  a  character  of  utility  in  the  Implement  and 
Machinery  department,  and  of  the  productions  of  the  soil,  the  others  con 
sisted  of  the  most  costly  articles,  wrought  with  exquisite  taste,  silks,  statu 
ary,  diamonds,  jewelry,  etc.,  which  attracted  the  eye  and  called  forth  the 
warmest  encomiums.  During  the  first  three  weeks,  while  the  admissions 
comprised  only  the  wealthy  classes,  the  United  States  Department  was 
hastily  passed  over — a  glance  given,  an  inquiry  made  at  the  implements,  a 
remark  occasionally,  "  these  may  do  for  a  new  country,  but  would  not  answer 
in  England — unless  our  mechanics  have  the  altering  of  them,  etc.,"  was  the 
principal  notice  which  was  given  them.  In  answer  to  these  remarks  upon 
our  implements — the  reply  was  frequently  given  that  no  "  English  Mechanic" 
would  have  the  privilege  of  practicing  upon  our  implements,  until  they 
were  tried,  and  we  had  the  opportunity  of  showing  what  our  implements 
could  perform.  It  was  not  &  very  pleasant  position,  to  be  met  with  remarks 
similar  to  these,  day  after  day,  for  several  weeks.  As  the  jurors,  however, 
began  to  make  their  examinations,  and  as  exhibitors  and  others  interested  in 
the  articles  on  exhibition  were  called  upon  to  explain  to  intelligent  and 
practical  men,  what  were  the  properties  claimed  for  our  articles,  more  inte 
rest  was  manifested  in  our  department. 

MACHINERY. — In  this  department,  as  was  to  have  been  expected,  the 
English  display  a  far  more  extensive  assortment  than  all  the  other  nations. 
The  exhibition  shows  what  perfection  has  been  attained,  and  the  beauty  of 
finish  and  arrangement,  is  certainly  worthy  of  all  praise.  Of  machinery,  of 
really  new  principles,  there  did  not  appear  to  me  to  be  much  in  the  English 
department.  I  was  informed  by  a  very  skillful  mechanic  from  our  State, 
who  examined  the  machinery  with  great  minuteness,  that  very  many  of  the 
most  valuable  improvements  were  taken  from  American  inventions,  and  the  very 
machines  were  named  in  which  they  were  to  be  found. 

A  considerable  number  of  Prize  Medals  were  awarded  for  guns,  rifles,  etc., 
but  strange  to  say,  Colt's  celebrated  Revolvers,  were  only  favored  with  an 
Honorable  Mention,  as  appears  from  the  returns  I  have.  This  is  the  more 
singular,  when  it  is  recollected,  that  the  English  press  without  an  excep 
tion,  so  far  as  I  am  informed,  gave  great  prominence  to  this  most  important 
and  invaluable  improvement  of  Mr.  Colt,  which  has  found  great  favor  in 
England,  and  his  rifles  and  pistols  have  been  largely  ordered  for  the  use  of 
the  British  army.  There  was  an  attempt  made  during  the  exhibition,  to 
show  that  Colt  was  not  the  inventor  of  the  revolvers,  one  having  been, 
found  in  Paris,  I  believe,  of  very  ancient  date.  That  may  be  so,  for  aught 
I  know,  but  it  is  riot  the  less  true,  that  so  far  as  giving  efficiency  and  prac 
ticability  to  the  invention,  the  world  is  indebted  to  him,  and  he  is  as  truly 
and  justly  entitled  to  the  credit  of  the  invention,  as  if  it  had  never  before 
entered  into  the  mind  of  another.  Honorable  Mention  was  also  given  to 
W.  R.  Palmer,  for  a  Target  Rifle,  and  to  Robbins  and  Lawrence  for  Military 
Rifles. 

Previous  to  the  trial  of  our  plows,  a  very  erroneous  idea  generally  pre 
vailed  among  those  who  visited  the  Exhibition,  as  to  what  they  could  per- 


OF  AMERICANS.  603 

form.  They  were  so  different  from  the  English  plows,  so  light  in  theil 
structure,  and  so  much  shorter,  the  impression  was  very  general,  that  they 
would  not  succeed.  The  following  description  of  our  plows,  as  compared 
with  the  English  implements  was  given  during  the  Exhibition,  in  the  lead 
ing  Agricultural  Monthly  Magazine  published  in  England. 

After  describing  the  defects  of  the  implements  exhibited  from  the  Con 
tinent,  the  writer  remarks,  "  this  is  also  particularly  noticeable  in  the  Amer 
ican  plows,  which,  with  the  exception  of  the  varnish  and  high  finish,  remind 
us  of  the  prints  in  agricultural  works  intended  to  represent  plows  that  were 
used  several  hundred  years  ago.  They  also  show  us  that  the  Americans  must 
have  a  very  friable  soil  to  cultivate,  or  that  their  tillage  operations  are  ex 
ecuted  in  a  very  imperfect  manner." 

It  was  under  all  these  disadvantages  that  the  trial  was  had  ;  but  the  result 
proved  that  what  had  been  affirmed  by  us  of  our  plows  was  practically  de 
monstrated  to  be  true.  There  were  present  at  the  trial,  a  large  number  of 
practical  farmers  and  land  proprietors  who  felt  a  deep  interest  in  the  result  ; 
for  if  the  American  plows  succeeded — their  cheapness,  as  well  as  lightness 
and  diminished  draught — were  objects  of  no  small  moment  to  the  English 
farmer,  struggling  with  exorbitant  rents,  taxes,  and  poor  rates,  as  well  as  with 
the  foreign  competition  induced  by  Free  Trade,  which  called  for  every  pos 
sible  improvement  that  would  cheapen  the  production  of  grain  crops. 

The  trial  ground  was  a  moderately  stiff  soil,  with  a  light  sod,  and  the 
depth  and  width  of  furrow  was  fixed  at  six  and  nine  inches.  When  the 
first  American  plow  was  brought  on  to  the  ground  for  trial,  the  interest  man 
ifested  was  very  great.  A  large  number  of  farm  laborers  as  well  as  farmers 
were  gathered  around  the  plow,  and  the  expressions  I  heard  from  many 
were — "that  plow  won't  go  in  ;"  "that  plow  will  break  ;"  and  other  remarks 
of  a  similar  character.  I  had  an  American  with  me  to  hold  the  plow — but 
the  gentleman  upon  whose  land  the  trial  was  made,  advised  that  his  plow 
man  who  was  well  versed  in  his  work,  should  hold  the  first  one — and  I  con 
sented.  The  plow  was  set  to  the  required  depth  and  width,  as  near  as  it 
could  be  done,  and  the  team  started.  The  plowman,  unused  to  the  plow, 
pressing  his  whole  weight  upon  the  handles,  to  keep  it  in,  was  desired  to  let 
the  plow  take  its  own  course,  merely  steadying  it,  and  it  went  through  its 
work  with  great  ease,  both  to  the  plowman  and  team.  As  we  returned  to 
the  starting  point,  it  was  settled  that  our  plow  would  do  its  work. 

We  tried  several  American  plows :  Starbuck's,  of  Troy  ;  Prouty  and 
Mear's,  of  Boston  ;  Allen's,  of  New  York,  and  one  from  Philadelphia.  The 
work  was  well  done,  the  sole  of  the  furrow  was  as  well  finished  as  by  any 
plow  upon  the  ground  and  the  only  objection  made  by  the  Jurors,  to  the 
work  of  our  plows  was,  that  the  furrow  slice  was  broken  too  much.  It  was 
evident  to  those  familiar  with  plowing  such  soil,  that  this  was  an  advantage 
in  favor  of  our  plows,  as  a  stiff  soil  needed  to  be  broken  to  prepare  it  for 
the  seed,  and  if  not  done  by  the  plow,  it  would  require  much  more  labor 
with  the  harrow  or  cultivator  to  prepare  it ;  and  this  was  sustained  by  the 
judgment  of  practical  farmers  on  the  ground,  whose  attention  was  particu 
larly  called  to  the  work  done  by  our  plows,  and  who  admitted  that  it  could 
be  prepared  for  the  seed  at  much  less  expense  and  labor,  than  when  the 
furrow  slice  was  laid  over  smoothly  and  unbroken. 


604  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

But  a  most  satisfactory  evidence  of  the  adaptation  of  our  plows  to  the  work 
required  there,  resulted  from  u  trial  of  one  of  Starbuck's  Troy  plows,  with 
a  single  horse,  in  the  same  field,  with  the  same  width  and  depth  of  furrow, 
as  was  required  on  the  trial.  An  English  farmer  made  the  trial  himself. 
The  plow  was  drawn  by  one  of  the  large  English  farm  horses,  with  entire 
ease,  and  when  he  had  plowed  so  as  to  satisfy  all  present,  that  one  horse 
would  do  the  work,  even  in  soil  of  the  kind  we  were  engaged  in  at  the  trial, 
it  was  remarked  by  many  of  the  persons  present,  that  "  that  is  the  plow  the 
English  farmer  wants."  This  plow  was  sold  on  the  ground  and  ten  more 
were  ordered  in  the  very  same  neighborhood,  and  a  very  large  number  have 
since  been  sent  to  England  as  well  as  the  Continent,  "as  the  Americarfplows 
found  great  favor  among  the  English  farmers,  on  account  of  their  extraor 
dinary  cheapness  and  lightness  of  draught." 

REAPING  MACHINES. — The  favorable  results  of  the  trial  of  the  plows, 
called  more  especially  the  attention  of  the  public  who  visited  the  exhibition, 
to  the  value  of  the  American  Implements.  On  the  return  of  the  plows  to 
the  Palace,  the  one  upon  which  the  award  was  placed,  as  well  as  the  others, 
excited  much  interest,  and  the  reaping  machines,  which  were  soon  to  be 
tried,  excited  far  more  attention  than  before.  The  impression  now  seemed 
to  prevail  that  these  American  Implements  may,  after  all,  do  what  has  been 
promised. 

TRIAL  OF  THE  REAPERS  AT  TIP-TREE  HALL. — Succeeding  the  trial  of  the 
plows  came  that  of  the  Reapers,  on  the  24th  of  July.  There  were  three 
machines  on  exhibition.  McCormick's  Virginia  Reaper,  Hussey's  American 
Reaper,  and  an  English  Reaper,  made  after  Hussey's,  but  which,  I  believe, 
had  not  been  tried.  The  place  selected  for  trial  was  at  Tip-tree  Hall,  Kel- 
vedon,  Essex,  the  farm  of  Mr.  J.  J.  Mechi,  about  forty-five  miles  from 
town.  The  day  selected  was  the  annual  gathering  of  gentlemen  at  the  farm 
of  Mr.  Mechi  to  inspect  his  crops  and  method  of  farming,  which  is  exciting 
much  interest  in  England.  The  day  proved  a  very  unfavorable  one,  as  it 
rained  during  the  whole  day.  The  wheat  upon  which  the  trial  was  to  be 
made  was  quite  green  and  remarkably  heavy,  and  everything  as  unfavorable 
as  could  well  be.  There  were  from  one  hundred  and  fifty  to  two  hundred 
gentlemen  present,  many  of  whom  had  come  upward  of  three  hundred 
miles  to  witness  the  trial. 

The  Sub-jury  assigned  to  conduct  the  trial  was  composed  of  Colonel 
Challoner,  one  of  the  English  J-urors,  Baron  Merten  d'Ostins,  of  Belgium, 
and  B.  P.  Johnson,  United  States  ;  and  W.  Fisher  Hobbs,  Esq.,  though  not 
a  member  of  the  Jury,  was  present  by  invitation,  at  the  trial.  The  first 
machine  tried  was  Hussey's,  which  did  not  succeed,  at  it  clogged  very  soon, 
and  passed  over  the  grain  without  cutting  it.  After  this  had  been  tried  two 
or  three  times  and  failed,  it  was  proposed  by  one  of  the  Jurors  that  no  fur 
ther  trial  be  made  by  the  Reapers — but  it  was  insisted  that  the  other  Amer 
ican  Reaper  should  be  tried.  The  gentlemen  present  expected  it,  and  I  waa 
not  willing  they  should  leave  the  ground  without  satisfying  those  present  that 
the  American  Reapers  would  perform  the  work  which  it  had  been  affirmed 
thsj  could  do.  Mr.  McCormick's  Reaper  was  then  brought  up,  managed  by 
D.  C.  McKenzie,  of  Livingston  county,  in  this  State,  who  is  entitled  to  no 
little  credit  for  the  successful  result  of  the  trial.  This  was  a  moment,  an 


OF  AMERICANS.  e05 

may  well  be  imagined,  of  no  ordinary  interest.  One  reaper  had  not  operated 
as  was  expected — another,  and  the  only  remaining  American  reaper  to  be 
tried,  was  now  to  be  tested.  The  gentlemen  present  were  anxious  that  some 
thing  should  succeed  that  would  cheapen  the  gathering  of  their  crops — but 
from  expressions  made  around  me,  I  was  satisfied  they  had  no  confidence  in 
the  reaper.  They  said,  after  the  first  trial,  "it  is  as  we  expected — they  will 
not  work  until  perfected  by  an  English  mechanic."  The  laboring  men,  too 
when  the  first  one  was  started,  seemed  perfectly  astonished,  fearing  their 
vocation  was  gone — but  when  it  failed  to  work,  they  brightened  up  and 
would  doubtless  have  given  vent  to  their  feelings,  if  another  one  had  not 
been  found  ready  for  the  trial,  and  might  succeed.  It  can  well  be  imagined 
that  the  Americans,  of  whom  only  three  were  present,  beside  myself,  were 
in  quite  as  great  a  state  of  excitement  as  the  others.  The  machine  was 
started.  After  it  had  passed  its  length,  the  clean  path  made  by  the  reaper — 
the  grain  falling  from  its  side,  showed  that  the  work  was  done,  and  the 
reaper  was  successful.  After  proceeding  as  far  as  was  deemed  necessary,  the 
team  was  stopped,  and  Mr.  Mechi  jumped  upon  the  platform  and  said, 
"  Gentlemen,  here  is  a  triumph  for  the  American  Heaping  Machine.  It  has, 
under  all  its  disadvantages,  done  its  work  completely.  Now  let  us,  as  Eng 
lishmen,  show  them  that  we  appreciate  this  contribution  for  cheapening  our 
agriculture,  and  let  us  give  the  Americans  three  hearty  English  cheers."  They 
were  given,  and  with  a  fourth  added,  satisfying  all  that  they  were  heartily 
given.  Another  trial  was  then  had,  and  the  reaper  timed — cutting,  in  sev 
enty  seconds,  seventy-four  yards  in  length,  entirely  clean,  and  to  the  satis 
faction  of  the  Jurors  and  the  gentlemen  present.  The  Jurors  recommended 
the  award  of  a  Medal  to  Mr.  McCormick. 

The  result  of  this  trial  gave  a  new  turn  to  affairs,  and  on  the  return  of 
the  Reapers  to  the  Palace,  crowds  were  continually  examining  them,  and 
the  American  department  from  this  time  to  the  closing  of  the  exhibition, 
was  no  lorger  the  "prairie  ground,"  but  was  thronged  with  inquiring  visi 
tors.  The  London  Times,  whose  agricultural  reporter  was  present,  gave  a 
very  full  account  of  this  successful  trial  ;  and  in  an  article  published  soon 
after  the  trial,  it  was  said,  "that  every  practical  success  of  the  season  be 
longed  to  the  Americans,  their  consignments  showed  poorly  at  first,  but  come 
out  well  upon  trial"  And  again,  "it  will  be  remembered  that  the  American 
department  was  the  poorest  and  least  interesting  of  all  foreign  countries.  Of 
late,  it  has  justly  assumed  a  position  of  the  first  importance,  as  having  brought 
to  the  aid  of  our  distressed  agriculturalists,  a  machine,  which  if  it  realizes  the 
anticipations  of  competent  judges,  will  amply  remunerate  England  for  all  her 
outlay  connected  with  the  Great  Exhibition.  The  reaping  machine  from  the 
United  States  is  the  most  valuable  contribution  from  abroad,  to  the  stock  of 
our  previous  knowledge,  that  we  have  yet  discovered." 

The  late  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  Earl  Granville,  one  of  the  Royal 
Commissioners,  who  devoted  himself  constantly  to  his  duties  as  Commis 
sioner,  and  to  whom  the  exhibition  is  greatly  indebted  for  its  success,  in 
speaking  of  the  success  of  the  Americans  at  the  exhibition,  alludes  to  "  two 
other  American  gentlemen,  who  are  at  present  teaching  us  Iww  to  cut  corn, 
an  act  which  we  have  been  practicing  for  some  hundreds  of  years  in  this 
.sland,  but  qf  which,  it  appears,  we  are  ignorant  of  the  first  principles  " 


606  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

Subsequent  to  the  trial  at  Mr.  Mechi's,  another  trial  was  had  before  the 
Chairman  of  the  Jury,  Hon.  Mr.  Pusey,  Mr.  Miles,  M.  P.,  and  Baron  Hlu- 
beck,  of  Austria ;  I  give  the  report  of  Mr.  Pusey,  the  Chairman,  in  which 
it  will  be  noticed,  that  he  speaks  of  an  English  machine,  as  too  intricate,  and 
that  it  had  fallen  into  disuse  fifty  years  since. 

MR.  PUSEY'S  REPORT. — "At  the  opening  of  this  century  it  was  thought 
that  a  successful  reaping  machine  had  been  invented,  and  a  reward  was 
voted  by  Parliament,  to  its  author.  The  machine  was  employed  here  and 
abroad,  but  from  its  intricacy  fell  into  disuse.  Our  farmers  may  well  have 
been  astonished  by  an  American  implement  which  not  only  reaped  their 
wheat,  but  performed  the  work  with  the  neatness  and  certainty  of  an  old 
and  perfect  machine.  Its  novelty  of  action  reminded  one  of  seeing  the  first 
engine  run  on  the  Liverpool  and  Manchester  Railway,  in  1830.  Its  perfec 
tion  depended  on  its  being  new  only  in  England,  but  in  America  the  result 
of  repeated  disappointment,  untired  perseverance. 

The  United  States  Patent  Commissioner  says  of  Mr.  McCormick's  reaping 
machine  : — '  In  agriculture  it  is,  in  my  view,  as  important,  as  a  labor  saving 
device,  as  the  Spinning  Jenny  and  Power  Loom  in  Manufactures.  It  is  one 
of  those  great  and  valuable  inventions  which  commence  a  new  era  in  the 
progress  of  improvement,  and  whose  beneficial  influence  is  felt  in  all  coming 
time.' 

As  to  the  practical  working  of  the  reaper,  two  horses  drew  it  at  the  trial 
very  easily  round  the  outside  of  the  crop  until  they  finished  in  the  center, 
showing  that  they  could  easily  cut  fifteen  acres  in  ten  hours.  One  man 
drives  sitting,  and  another  stands  on  the  machine  to  rake.  It  is  hard  work 
for  him,  and  the  men  ought  sometimes  to  change  places.  The  straw  left 
behind  at  the  trial  was  cut  very  regularly  ;  lower  than  by  reaping,  but  higher 
than  by  fagging.  The  inventor  stated  that  he  had  a  machine  which  would 
cut  it  two  inches  lower.  This  is  the  point,  I  should  say,  to  attend  to,  espe 
cially  for  autumn  cleaning.  Though  it  seems  superfluous  to  bring  this  ma 
chine  to  the  test  of  economy,  we  may  estimate  the  present  cost  of  cutting 
fifteen  acres  of  wheat,  at  an  average  of  9s.  per  acre,  to  be  £6  155.  Deduct 
for  horses  and  men  105.  3d.,  and  for  binding  2$.  Qd.  per  acre,  the  account  will 
stand  thus  : 

Average  cost  of  reaping  15  acre*,  9s. £6  15.0 

Horses  and  men  for  Reaper,  ------------.£0  100 

Binding,  15  acres,  2s.  Qd., 1  17.6     2  7.  6 

Saving  per  acre,  5s.  I0d., £4.  7.6,  or  $21.20 

The  saving  in  wages,  however,  would  of  course  be  an  imperfect  test  of 
the  reaper's  merits,  since  in  bad  seasons  and  late  districts  it  may  often  enable 
the  farmer  to  save  the  crop. 

Since  fresh  trials  have  been  mado  of  Mr.  McCormick's  reaper,  as  also  of 
one  of  Mr.  Hussey  ;  and  as  the  award  under  the  Commission  has  been 
called  in  question,  it  is  right  that  some  statement  should  be  made  on  the 
subject.  In  the  first  trial,  at  Tiptree  Hall,  Mr.  McCormick's  reaper  worked 
well '  the  other  did  not  act  at  all.  As  the  corn,  however,  was  then  green. 


OF  AMERICANS.  607 

it  was  thought  right  to  make  further  trial,  and  special  leave  was  obtained 
from  the  Council  of  Chairmen  to  give  two  Council  Medals,  one  to  each  reaper, 
if  on  further  trial  their  respective  performances  should  be  found  to  deserve 
one.  The  object  in  our  second  trial  was  not  to  decide  which  was  the  best 
implement,  but  whether  either  or  both,  were  sufficiently  good  to  receive  the 
Council  Medal.  Mr.  McCormick's  in  this  trial  worked,  as  it  has  since  worked 
at  Cirencester  College  and  elsewhere,  to  the  admiration  of  practical  farmers, 
and  therefore  received  a  Council  Medal.  Mr.  Hussey's  sometimes  became 
clogged,  as  in  the  former  trial  at  Tiptree,  and  therefore  could  not  possibly 
obtain  that  distinction. 

Further  trials,  however,  have  since  been  made  by  other  persons  else 
where,  in  which  Mr.  Hussey's  machine  worked  well ;  and  one  of  our  col 
leagues,  Mr.  Thompson,  informs  me  that  it  had  been  used  for  a  week  by  a 
practical  farmer,  on  his  own  farm,  who  was  perfectly  satisfied.  Its  inventor 
states  that  at  the  trials  for  the  commission  the  failure  arose  from  a  mal-ad- 
justment ;  and  Mr.  Thompson  informs  me  that  at  one  of  the  subsequent 
trials  a  similar  mal-adjustment  impeded  its  action,  until  Mr.  Hussey  arrived 
to  set  it  right.  I  am  bound,  then,  to  express  my  own  individual  opinion 
that  the  merits  of  the  machine  are  such  as  to  entitle  it  to  a  Council  Medal, 
and  my  regret  that  it  should  formally  be  disqualified  to  receive  one." 

Until  the  trial  of  the  American  Implements,  and  the  most  triumphant 
success  of  McCormick's  Reaper,  the  United  States  department  was  compar 
atively  overlooked.  But  our  triumph  here,  gave  a  new  direction  to  public 
attention,  and  that  part  of  our  exhibition  which  previously  had  been  slightly 
passed  over,  now  attracted  the  notice  of  every  visitor,  and  the  press  of 
England  was  prompt  in  admitting  the  complete  and  triumphant  success 
of  the  Americans.  It  was  no  longer  deemed  necessary  to  say  of  our  im 
plements,  "they  may  do  for  a  new  country,"  for  the  trial  had  satisfied  the 
most  prejudiced,  that  they  were  designed  to  advance  the  interests  of 
the  best  cultivated  countries  of  the  old  world,  and  "taught  them  how 
to  cut  corn  by  machinery,  of  whose  first  principles  it  appeared  they  were 
ignorant." 

The  result  of  this  trial  was  not  unexpected  to  those  Americans  who  were 
familiar  with  our  implements,  and  to  them  was  peculiarly  gratifying,  as 
placing  our  country  in  the  position  to  which  it  was  entitled  and  commanding 
that  attention  for  our  exhibition,  which  was  justly  due  to  it,  from  the  char 
acter  of  many  of  our  articles,  particularly  those  in  the  machinery  and  agri 
cultural  departments. 

CHURNS  formed  a  very  numerous  class  in  the  exhibition  ;  of  the  four 
prizes  awarded,  one  was  for  Anthony's  American  Churn,  called  the  "Im 
proved  American  Churn,"  well  known  in  this  country,  exhibited  by  an 
English  firm  who  have  the  patent  for  England.  In  the  American  depart 
ment  there  was  shown  from  New  Hampshire  "  Davis'  Self  Adjusting  Churn," 
of  the  same  principle  substantially  as  the  "  Improved  American  Churn,"  to 
vhich  a  prize  was  awarded. 

The  American  Scythes,  Axes,  Hay  and  Manure  Forks,  etc.,  were  very 
much  approved,  and  so  far  as  I  have  heard  from  those  familiar  with  these 
implements  they  were  considered  decidedly  superior. 

Professor  BACHE,  of  Washington,  received  a  Prize  Medal  for  his  Standard 


608  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

Weights,  Meisures  and  Balance.     They  were  admirably  prepared,  and  few 
articles  in  the  United  States  department  attracted  more  attention. 

DAGUERREOTYPES  were  extensively  shown.  Those  from  the  United  States 
were  conceded  to  be  superior  in  general  effect,  to  those  from  any  other 
country.  BRADY  &  LAWRENCE,  of  New  York,  each  received  a  Prize  Medal — 
and  one  was  awarded  to  a  Mr.  W hippie,  of  Michigan,  for  a  daguerreotype 
of  the  moon.  There  were  several  other  exhibitors  whose  pictures  were  very 
superior.  Those  of  Evans,  from  Buffalo,  were  much  admired,  as  were  those 
of  Meade  &  Brothers,  New  York.  The  following  article,  from  an  English 
literary  journal,  shows  in  what  estimation  our  exhibition  was  held.  "Da 
guerreotypes  are  largely  displayed  by  the  French,  as  might  have  been  ex 
pected,  that  country  being  proud  of  the  discovery  ;  but  the  examples  ex 
hibited  by  the  Americans  surpass,  in  general  beauty  of  effect,  any  which  we 
have  examined  from  other  countries.  This  has  been  attributed  to  a  differ 
ence  in  the  character  of  the  solar  light,  as  modified  by  atmospheric  condi 
tions  ;  we  are  not,  however,  disposed  to  believe  that  to  be  the  case.  We 
have  certain  indications  that  an  increased  intensity  of  light  is  not  of  any 
advantage,  but  rather  the  contrary,  for  tl*e  production  of  daguerreotypes ; 
the  luminous  rays  appearing  to  act  as  balancing  powers  against  the  chemical 
rays.  Now,  this  being  the  case,  we  know  of  no  physical  cause  by  which  the 
superiority  can  be  explained,  and  we  are  quite  disposed  to  be  sufficiently 
honest  to  admit  that  the  mode  of  manipulation  has  more  to  do  with  the 
result  than  any  atmospheric  influences.  However  this  may  be,  the  character 
of  the  daguerreotypes  executed  in  America  is  very  remarkable.  There  is 
a  fullness  of  tone,  and  an  artistic  modulation  of  light  and  shadow  which,  in 
England,  we  do  not  obtain.  The  striking  contrasts  of  white  and  black  are 
shown  decidedly  enough  in  the  British  examples  exhibited  in  the  gallery — 
but  here  are  coldness  and  hardness  of  outline.  Within  the  shadow  of  the 
eagle  and  the  striped  banner  we  find  no  lights  too  white  and  no  shadows  too 
dark  ;  they  dissolve,  as  in  Nature,  one  into  the  other,  in  the  most  harmo 
nious  and  truthful  manner — and  the  result  is  more  perfect  pictures." 

MUSICAL  INSTRUMENTS. — From  the  United  States  there  were  a  number  of 
Pianos  exhibited,  and  although  in  the  early  part  of  the  Exhibition  they  were 
slightly  noticed  by  the  press,  every  one  of  them  received  an  award  of  a 
Medal  or  Honorable  Mention.  Chickering,  Meyer,  Nunns  and  Clark,  re 
ceived  Medals.  Messrs.  Gilbert  &  Co.,  Heers  &  Pirsson,  Honorable  Mention  ; 
and  Wood  of  Virginia,  a  money  award  of  £50,  for  his  Piano  Violin,  which 
attracted  attention  from  its  ingenuity,  and  was  in  constant  requisition  to 
satisfy  the  eager  curiosity  of  visitors.  Goodyear,  of  the  United  States,  re 
ceived  Honorable  Mention  for  an  India  Rubber  flute.  Palmer's  artificial  leg, 
from  this  country,  received  a  medal,  to  which  it  was  most  justly  entitled. 
Among  the  great  number  of  preparations  there  was  none  that  compared  with 
this — and  I  was  informed  that  the  Marquis  of  Anglesea,  who  left  one  of  his 
limbs  at  the  battle  of  Waterloo — had  Mr.  Palmer  before  him,  with  his  leg, 
and,  in  the  midst  of  a  collection  not  numerous  enough  to  supply  a  large 
army,  yet  very  extensive — this  was  pronounced  superior  to  all. 

Prize  Medals  were  awarded  to  the  United  States  for  an  assortment  of 
drillings,  tickings,  shirtings,  sheetings  and  cotton  flannel,  exhibited  by  tne 
Amoskeag  Manufacturing  Company,  Manchester,  New  Hampshire,  and  th« 


OF  AMERICANS.  609 

Willimantic  Duck  Manufacturing  Company,  for  cotton  sail  cloth  ;  the  samo 
material,  I  think,  of  which  the  sails  of  the  American  yacht  were  constructed. 
In  the  United  States  department  some  very  fine  shawls  from  the  Lawrence 
Mills  were  shown,  and  attracted  the  notice  of  all  interested  in  this  class,  and 
received  a  Prize  Medal.  There  were  some  capital  samples  of  leather  from 
this  State,  exhibited  by  Hon.  Zadock  Pratt,  of  Prattsville,  of  eight  different 
varieties,  from  four  tanneries,  which  had  been  finished  in  about  four  and  a 
half  months — mostly  with  hemlock  bark.  The  samples  were  very  ad 
mirably  finished,  and  attracted  attention.  Specimens  were  shown  of  Brus 
sels  carpet,  woven  by  steam  power,  by  Mr.  Bigelow  of  the  United  States, 
which  had  never  before  been  accomplished,  and  will  produce  an  entire 
revolution  in  the  manufacture  of  this  kind  of  carpets.  The  United  States 
exhibition  of  Scythes  by  the  North  Wayne  Company  was  decidedly  su 
perior  to  any  other  in  the  exhibition,  and  the  Axes  and  other  edged  tools 
of  Simmons  &  Co.,  of  Cohoes,  New  York,  were  admitted  to  be  without  a 
rival. 

Locks  of  two  of  the  most  celebrated  lock-makers  in  England,  which  had 
been  considered  proof  against  all  attempts  at  picking,  were  opened  by  an 
American  who  had  a  lock  on  exhibition,  Day  &  Newell's  Parautoptic  Per- 
mutating  Lock,  of  which  we  propose  to  take  some  notice  hereafter. 

Silas  C.  Herring's  Salamander  Safe,  received  a  Medal,  and  it  was  equal  to 
any  shown  at  the  exhibition.  There  was  deposited  in  this  safe,  in  my  pre 
sence,  £200  sterling,  by  Mr.  Herring,  and  the  safe  locked,  (having  one  of 
Day  &  Newell's  Locks,  I  believe,)  and  notice  placed  upon  the  safe,  that 
any  person  was  welcome  to  the  money,  who  could  open  the  safe — the  key 
being  at  the  service  of  any  one  who  chose  to  make  the  attempt.  It  re 
mained  for  forty-five  days  unopened. 

The  Exhibition  of  Locks  was  very  extensive  and  of  great  excellence. 
CIIUBB  &  SON,  celebrated  English  lock-makers,  had  a  very  fine  exhibition 
of  their  locks,  in  great  variety  and  most  splendidly  got  up.  They  were  ex 
hibited  as  the  Patent  Detector  Locks — are  in  use,  or  were,  on  the  government 
vaults  and  offices,  the  Bank  of  England,  and  wherever  safety  was  required. 
Chubb's  locks  for  ordinary  purposes  have  each  six  separate  and  distinct 
movable  tumblers  and  a  detector.  If  a  surreptitious  attempt  be  made  to 
open  any  one,  it  was  said  immediate  notice  is  given  by  the  detector  on  the 
next  application  of  the  proper  key.  BEAMAH  &  Co.,  exhibited  very  fine 
samples  of  their  various  locks,  and  one  brass  case  lock,  exhibiting  the  num 
ber  of  changes  their  locks  will  admit  of,  amounting  to  upward  of  four  hun 
dred  and  seventy-nine  millions  !  In  their  shop  window  in  Piccadilly,  London, 
was  displayed  a  large  padlock  with  a  standing  offer  of  two  hundred  guineas 
to  any  person  who  would  open  it  with  a  single  instrument. 

Soon  after  the  exhibition  opened,  Mr.  A.  C.  HOBBS,  of  New  York,  who 
had  charge  of  Day  &  Newell's  locks,  obtained  one  of  Chubb's  locks  and 
opened  it  in  the  space. of  ten  or  fifteen  minutes,  in  the  presence  of  several 
gentlemen.  This,  on  becoming  known,  excited  much  interest  and  led  to  a 
publication  from  Chubb  &  Son  challenging  the  opening  of  their  locks. 
M.7.  Hcbbs  was  permitted  to  make  the  attempt  to  open  one  of  Chubb's  locks, 
which  was  placed  upon  an  iron  door  to  a  vault  built  for  the  depository  of 
valuable  papers.  I  give  the  proceedings  which  took  place  on  this  trial. 


610  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

"  AMERICAN  DEPARTMENT, 

Crystal  Palace,  July  21. 

GENTLEMEN  : — An  attempt  will  be  made  to  open  a  lock  of  your  manu 
facture  on  the  door  of  a  strong  room  at  34  Great  George  Street,  Westminster, 
to-morrow,  Tuesday,  at  eleven  A.  M.  You  are  respectfully  invited  to  be 
present  and  witness  the  operation. 

Yours  respectfully, 

"  A.  C.  HOBBS. 
To  Messrs.  CHUBB  &  SON,  St.  Paul's  Church  Yard." 

(Messrs.  Chubb  did  not  notice  this  communication.) 

"  LONDON,  July  22,  1851. 

We,  the  undersigned,  hereby  certify  that  we  attended,  with  permission  of 
Mr.  Bell,  of  No.  34  Great  George  Street,  Westminster,  an  invitation  sent 
to  us  by  A.  C.  Hobbs,  of  the  City  of  New  York,  to  witness  an  attempt  to 
open  a  lock  throwing  three  bolts,  and  having  six  tumblers,  affixed  to  the 
iron  door  of  a  strong  room  or  vault,  built  for  the  depository  of  valuable 
papers,  and  formerly  occupied  by  the  Agents  of  the  South  Eastern  Railway 
Company  ;  that  we  severally  witnessed  the  operations,  which  Mr.  Hobbs 
commenced  at  thirty-five  minutes  past  eleven  A.  M.,  and  opened  the  lock 
within  twenty-five  minutes.  Mr.  Hobbs,  having  been  requested  to  lock  it 
again,  with  his  instruments,  accomplished  it  in  the  short  space  of  seven 
minutes,  without  the  slightest  injury  to  the  lock  or  door  (having  previously 
had  the  assurance  of  Mr.  Bell  that  the  keys  had  never  been  accessible  to 
Mr.  Hobbs,  he  having  permission  to  examine  the  key  holes  only).  AVe  found 
a  plate  at  the  back  of  the  door  with  the  following  inscription  :  "  Chubb's 
new  patent  (No.  161,  461),  St.  Paul's  Church  Yard,  London,  maker  to  Her 
Majesty."  Signed  by  English  gentlemen. 

The  annexed  remarks  from  the  London  Times  on  the  Lock  controversy, 
and  the  trial  made  upon  Bramah's  lock,  by  Mr.  Hobbs,  we  give  in  prefer 
ence  to  any  remarks  of  our  own,  as  the  whole  matter  is  treated  with  very 
commendable  fairness,  and  atones  for  much  which  the  Times  took  occasion 
to  say  of  our  articles  in  the  early  stages  of  the  Exhibition. 

"We  believed  before  the  Exhibition  opened,  that  we  had  the  best  locks 
in  the  world,  and  among  us,  Bramah  and  Chubb  were  reckoned  quite  as  im 
pregnable  as  Gibraltar — more  so,  indeed,  for  the  key  of  the  Mediterranean 
was  taken  by  us,  but  none  among  us  could  penetrate  into  the  locks  and  shoot 
the  bolts  of  these  makers.  In  this  faith,  we  had  quietly  established  our 
selves  for  years,  and  it  seems  cruel  at  this  time  of  day,  when  men  have  been 
taught  to  look  at  their  bunches  of  keys,  and  at  their  drawers  and  safes  with 
something  like  confidence,  to  scatter  that  feeling  to  the  winds.  The  me 
chanical  spirit,  however,  is  never  at  rest,  and  if  it  is  lulled  into  a  false  state 
of  listlessness  in  one  branch  of  industry,  and  in  one  part  of  the  world,  else 
where  it  springs  up  suddenly  to  admonish  and  reproach  us  with  our  supine- 
ness.  Our  descendants  on  the  other  side  of  the  water  are  every  now  and 
then  administering  to  the  mother  country  a  wholesome  filial  lesson  upcu 
this  veiy  text,  and  recently  they  have  been  "rubbing  us  up"  with  a  severity 
which  perhaps  we  merited  for  sneering  at  their  short  comings  in  the  Exhi- 


OF  AMERICANS.  611 

bition.  While  we  have  been  relying  implicitly  upon  the  artful  arrangement 
of, "tumblers"  and  such  like  devices,  they  have  been  carefully  developing 
their  ingenuity  in  picking  and  opening  locks.  A  man  makes  a  lock,  and 
he  brings  it  to  a  Mechanics'  Institute  in  New  York  with  a  certain  sum  of 
money  secured  by  it,  which  sum  becomes  the  property  of  the  successful 
operator,  who  can  shoot  back  the  bolt  of  the  new  contrivance.  Instantly 
astute  heads,  and  clever,  expert  hands  are  engaged  in  solving  the  mechanical 
riddle  thus  propounded  to  them,  and  so  far  have  these  dexterous  manipula 
tors  carried  their  art,  that  their  "open  sesame"  sweeps  springs,  tumblers, 
false  notches,  letter  devices,  and  everything  else  before  it.  Mr.  Hobbs  is  by 
far  the  most  accomplished  and  successful  of  these  performers,  and  he  has 
come  over  to  this  country  at  a  very  opportune  moment  to  teach  our  makers 
a  very  useful  lesson.  It  is  well  known,  however  Mr.  Chubb  may  wrestle 
with  the  statement,  that  Mr.  Hobbs  has  succeeded,  by  perfectly  fair  m'eans, 
in  opening  his  locks  as  they  have  hitherto  been  made  ;  no  formal  and  de 
liberate  trial  has  taken  place  between  them  to  establish  the  fact,  but  it  never 
theless  remains  undoubted,  and  the  sooner  Mr.  Chubb  improves  his  patent, 
so  as  to  set  Mr.  Hobbs  at  defiance,  the  better  for  his  own  interests. 

"  Bramah  &  Co.,  have  acted  with  more  pluck,  and  have  been  beaten  in 
a  fair  open  field.  They  have  acted  with  so  much  bold,  open  courage,  that 
even  when  Mr.  Hobbs'  success  was  ascertained  by  us,  we  were  reluctant  to 
state  the  facts  positively  and  circumstantially,  until  the  award  of  the  arbiters 
appointed  on  the  subject,  had  been  made.  That  document  we  now  publish, 
and  the  public,  we  are  sure,  when  they  read  it,  will  not  think  the  less  of  a 
firm  whkh  has  been  vanquished  in  a  fair  stand-up  fight,  maintained  for  so 
long  a  period,  and  against  such  extraordinary  skill." 

"Report  of  the  Arbitrators,  to  whom  the  Bramah  Lock  controversy  was 
referred  : 

Whereas,  for  many  years  past,  a  padlock  has  been  exhibited  in  the 
window  of  the  Messrs.  Bramah's  shop,  in  Piccadily,  to  which  was  appended 
a  label  with  these  words;  'the  artist  who  will  make  an  instrument  that  will 
pick  or  open  this  lock,  will  receive  two  hundred  guineas  the  moment  it  is 
produced ;'  and  Mr.  Hobbs  of  America,  having  obtained  permission  from  the 
Messrs.  Bramah,  to  make  a  trial  of  his  skill,  in  opening  said  lock,  Messrs. 
Bramah  and  Mr.  Hobbs,  severally  agreed  that  Mr.  George  Rennie,  F.  R.  S., 
London,  and  Professor  Cowper,  of  King's  College,  London,  and  Dr.  Black, 
of  Kentucky,  should  be  the  Arbitrators  between  the  parties.  On  the  23d  of 
July,  it  was  agreed  that  the  lock  should  be  inclosed  in  a  block  of  wood 
and  screwed  to  a  door,  and  the  screws  sealed,  the  key-hole  and  hasp  only 
being  accessible  to  Mr.  Hobbs  ;  and  when  he  was  not  operating,  the  key-hole 
to  be  covered  with  a  band  of  iron,  and  sealed  by  Mr.  Hobbs ;  that  no  other 
person  should  have  access  to  the  keyhole.  The  key  was  also  sealed  up, 
and  not  to  be  used  till  Mr.  Hobbs  had  finished  his  operations.  If  Mr.  Hobbs 
succeeded  in  picking  or  opening  the  lock,  the  key  was  to  be  tried,  and  if  it 
locked  and  unlocked  the  padlock,  it  should  be  considered  a  proof  that  Mr. 
Hobbs  had  not  injured  the  lock,  but  picked  and  opened  it,  and  was  entitled 
to  the  two  hundred  guineas.  On  the  same  day,  July  23d,  Messrs.  Bramah 
gave  notice  to  Mr.  Hobbs,  that  the  lock  was  ready  for  operations.  On  July 
24th,  Mr.  Hobbs  commenced  his  operations,  and  on  August  23d,  Mr.  Hobbs 
39 


612  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

exhibited  the  lock  open  to  Dr.  Black  and  Prof.  Cowper,  Mr.  Rennie  being 
out  of  town.  Dr.  Black  and  Prof.  Cowper.  then  called  on  Mr.  Edward 
Bramah  and  Mr.  Barzalgette,  and  showed  them  the  lock  open.  They  then 
withdrew,  and  Mr.  Hobbs  locked  and  unlocked  the  padlock,  in  the  presence 
of  Dr.  Black  and  Prof.  Cowper.  Between  July  24th  and  August  23d,  Mr. 
Hcbbs'  operations  were  for  a  time  suspended,  so  that  the  number  of  days 
occupied  by  him  were  sixteen,  and  the  number  of  hours  spent  by  him  iu 
the  room  with  the  lock  was  fifty  one.  On  Friday,  August  29th,  Mr.  Hob'on 
again  locked  and  unlocked  the  padlock  in  the  presence  of  Mr.  George  Rennie» 
Prof.  Cowper,  Dr.  Black,  Mr.  Edward  Bramah,  Mr.  Barzalgette,  and  Mr. 
Abrahant.  On  Saturday,  August  30th,  the  key  was  tried,  and  the  padlock 
was  locked  and  unlocked  with  the  key,  by  Prof.  Cowper,  Mr.  Rennie  and 
Mr.  Gelbertson,  thus  proving  that  Mr.  Hobbs  had  fairly  opened  the  lock  with 
out  injuring  it.  Mr.  Hobbs  then  formally  produced  the  instruments  with 
which  he  had  opened  the  lock.  We  are,  therefore,  unanimously  of  opinion, 
that  Messrs.  Bramah  have  given  Mr.  Hobbs  a  fair  opportunity  of  trying  his 
skill,  and  that  Mr.  Hobbs  has  fairly  picked  or  opened  the  lock,  and  we  decide 
that  Messrs.  Bramah  &  Co.  do  now  pay  to  Mr.  Hobbs,  two  hundred  guineas. 

GEORGE  RENNIE,  Chairman. 

EDWARD  COWPER, 

G.  R.  BLACK. 
Holland  Street,  Blackfriars,  Sept.  2,  1851." 

This  document  is  conclusive  on  the  merits  of  the  question.  "  This  rough 
lesson  will  probably  lead  Messrs.  Bramah  and  Chubb  to  devise  some  means 
for  rendering  their  patents  more  secure,  and  we  have  no  doubt  they  will 
succeed."  "An  attempt  will  be  made,  it  is  said,  to  pick  the  American  lock» 
and  when  it  is  remembered  that  our  cousins  show  several  locks,  all  of  which 
are  represented  as  perfectly  secure,  it  is  high  time  for  our  lockmakers  either 
to  show  that  the  American  patents  are  equally  unsafe  as  their  own,  or  to 
acknowledge  themselves  beaten,  and  endeavor  to  make  better  locks  for  the 
future." 

The  trial  was  made  upon  Day  &  Newell's  lock,  by  one  of  the  most 
expert  locksmiths  to  be  found  in  England,  and  after  a  trial  of  thirty  days, 
the  lock  was  returned  by  the  judges,  who  were  agreed  upon,  uninjured,  the 
operator  not  having  made  an  impression  upon  it.  So  completely  was  the 
security  of  the  American  locks  established,  that  they  were  ordered  for  the 
Bank  of  England,  and  in  other  directions,  where  safety  was  required — and 
a  company  has  been  organized  for  their  manufacture  in  England,  of  which 
Mr.  Hobbs  is  the  managing  director. 

Prize  Medals  were  awarded  to  the  United  States,  to  Day  &  Newell  for 
their  lock  (with  special  approbation),  to  Adams  &  Co.,  for  bank  lock  ; 
Arrowsmith,  for  Permutation  locks ;  McGregor  &  Lee  for  bank  lock,  and 
the  exhibitors  claimed  equal  security  with  Day  &  Newell's  though  they 
were  not  put  to  the  test  so  far  as  I  was  informed. 

In  one  of  the  London  journals,  the  foreign  contributions  were  thus  char 
acterized.  "France,  Austria,  Spain,  Germany,  Belgium,  and  the  United 
States,  have  furnished  us  with  the  finest  specimens  of  their  several  excel 
lence  in  cabinet-making,  in  each  of  which  may  be  traced  the  mechanical 
skill  and  prevailing  taste  of  the  present  time.  France  is  light,  elegant,  yet 


OF  AMERICANS.  613 

convenient  in  the  form  of  her  objects ;  Austria  is  heavy,  luxurious  and  co 
lossal,  with  one  or  two  exceptions ;  America  is  smart,  original  and  adapta- 
tive,- while  Spain  has  sent  a  Table,  the  wonder  of  the  world,  of  inlayers  and 
m  arqueteri  e-  workers." 

The  Exhibition  from  the  United  States  was  not  large,  yet  our  chairs,  bed- 
gteads,  etc.,  were  attractive  to  the  visitors,  and  some  of  them  novelties,  which 
many  had  never  before  seen.  Our  rocking  chairs,  and  the  chairs  of  the  Troy- 
Company,  and  the  reclining  chair  of  Ragan  of  Philadelphia,  were  examined 
with  no  little  interest.  An  Honorable  Mention  was  made  of  the  Reclining 
chairs ;  and  the  chairs  of  the  American  Chair  Company,  Troy,  are  being 
manufactured  in  England,  and  are  much  esteemed. 

GOODYEAR,  from  the  United  States,  received  a  Council  Medal  for  his  In 
dia  Rubber  Goods,  antf  I  think  his  excelled  all  others  in  their  extent,  as 
well  as  their  adaptation  to  the  various  purposes  for  which  they  were  de 
signed.  A  new  article,  India  Rubber  Globes,  which  I  had  never  before  seen, 
was  shown  by  him.  They  are  very  convenient,  can  be  inflated  instantly, 
and  suspended  for  use,  and  when  not  wanted,  can  be  packed  away  occupying 
very  little  space.  They  were  much  admired. 

CORN  BROOMS,  from  this  country,  were  exhibited  of  very  great  perfection,  and 
they  attracted  no  little  attention  as  they  were  objects  of  curiosity  to  the  great 
portion  of  the  visitors  who  had  never  before  seen  a  broom  of  this  description. 

From  this  country,  POWERS'  GREEK  SLAVE  was  the  most  finished  work, 
and  although  it  received  only  a  Prize  Medal,  it  was,  in  the  opinion  of  many, 
entitled  to  a  Council  Medal.  A  young  artist,  by  the  name  of  Stephenson, 
from  this  country,  exhibited  a  statue  of  a  wounded  Indian,  which  was  a 
very  striking  one,  and  possessed  much  merit,  and  several  of  the  distinguished 
sculptors  at  the  exhibition  expressed  the  highest  admiration  of  it. 

The  exhibition  from  the  United  States,  and  that  from  England,  to  a  very 
great  extent,  showed  that  private  enterprise  had  furnished  the  contributions 
exhibited — and  so  far  as  this  country  was  concerned,  the  character  of  our 
contributions  was  such  as  to  meet  the  wants  and  necessities  of  the  great 
body  of  the  people.  The  testimony  given  by  a  leading  journal  in  England, 
is  appropriate,  in  elucidating  this  fact.  The  writer,  in  speaking  of  the  con 
tributions  from  the  United  States,  at  a  late  day  of  the  Exhibition,  after 
dwelling  at  length  upon  the  very  different  character  of  the  contributions 
from  the  continent,  and  from  England,  says  :  "  Their  industrial  system,  un 
fettered  by  ancient  usage,  and  by  the  pomp  and  magnificence  which  our 
social  institutions  countenance,  is  essentially  democratic  in  its  tendencies. 
They  produce  for  the  masses,  and  for  a  wholesale  consumption.  There  is 
hardly  anything  shown  by  them,  which  is  no^  easily  within  the  reach  of  the 
most  moderate  fortune.  No  government  favoritism  raises  any  branch  of 
manufactures  to  a  pre-eminence  which  secures  for  it  the  patronage  of  the 
wealthy.  Everything  is  intrusted  to  the  ingenuity  of  individuals,  who  look 
for  their  reward  to  public  demand  alone.  With  an  immense  command  of 
raw  produce,  they  do  not,  like  many  other  countries,  skip  over  the  wants  of 
the  many,  and  rush  to  supply  the  luxuries  of  the  few.  On  the  contrary, 
they  have  turned  their  attention  eagerly  and  successfully  to  machinery,  as 
the  first  stage  in  their  industrial  progress.  They  seek  to  supply  the  short 
comings  of  their  labor  market,  and  to  combine  utility  with  cheapness. 


614  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS. 

The  most  ordinary  commodities  are  not  beneath  their  notice,  and  even 
nursery  chairs  are  included  in  their  collection  of  'notions.'  They  have 
beaten  us  in  Yacht  building,  they  pick  our  best  locks,  they  show  us  how  to 
reap  corn  by  machinery,  and  to  make  Brussels  carpets  by  the  power  loom. 
Our  coopers  will  hear  with  dismay,  and  our  brewers  with  satisfaction,  that 
by  an  invention  of  theirs  recently  introduced  into  the  Exhibition,  one  man 
can  do  the  work  of  twenty  in  stave-making,  and  far  more  efficiently.  Such 
triumphs  do  not  much  affect  the  mechanical  superiority  of  the  mother  coun 
try,  but  they  serve  to  show,  that  while,  on  the  one  side,  nations  less  free  and 
enlightened  than  ours,  teach  us  how  to  throw  a  luster  and  grace  over  tho 
peaceful  arts ;  our  own  children  are  now  and  then  able  to  point  out  how  wo 
can  improve  and  extend  them." 

I  have  given  these  remarks,  because  they  were  drawn  out  by  the  results 
of  the  trial  of  our  implements,  which  led  to  a  more  candid  and  thorough  ex 
amination  of  all  we  had  on  exhibition,  and  elicited  this  tribute  to  American 
Institutions,  and  the  enterprise  of  our  citizens  ;  and  it  is  also  the  more  readily 
given,  as  it  was  the  very  conclusion,  which  at  an  early  day  in  the  Exhibition, 
was  presented  to  a  distinguished  journalist,  as  the  one  to  which  he  would  be 
constrained  to  come,  when  an  opportunity  was  afforded  us,  of  practically  de 
monstrating  the  value  of  our  implements,  which  were  then  untried.  It  is  im 
portant  also,  as  showing  the  great  change  which  had  taken  place  in  the  public 
mind  in  regard  to  the  American  quarter,  which,  instead  of  being  the  "prairie 
ground,"  as  in  derision  called,  became  the  observed  of  all  observers. 

As  a  further  evidence  of  the  practical  character  and  adaptation  of  many  of 
our  articles  to  the  wants  of  the  age,  1  give  another  extract  from  the  same 
journal,  in  an  article  giving  an  account  of  the  progress  made  bv  the  British 
and  Americans  through  the  trials  of  the  season.  After  alluding  to  the  British 
portion  of  the  contributions,  it  is  remarked  of  the  American,  "  On  the  other 
hand,  it  is  beyond  all  denial,  that  every  practical  success  of  the  season  belongs 
to  the  Americans.  Their  consignments  showed  poorly,  at  first,  but  came 
out  well  upon  trial.  Their  reaping  machine  has  carried  conviction  to  the 
heart  of  the  British  agriculturalist.  Their  revolvers  threaten  to  revolutionize 
military  tactics,  as  completely  as  the  original  discovery  of  gunpowder.  Their 
Yacht  takes  a  class  to  itself.  Of  all  the  victories  ever  won,  none  has  been 
so  transcendent  as  that  of  the  New  York  Schooner.  The  account  given  of 
her  performance,  suggests  the  inapproachable  excellence  attributed  to  JU 
PITER,  by  the  ancient  poets,  who  describe  the  King  of  the  Gods  as  being 
not  only  supreme,  but  having  none  other  next  to  him.  '  What's  first  ?'  '  The 
America.'  'What's  second?'  'Nothing.'  Besides  this,  the  Baltic,  one  of 
Collins'  line  of  steamers,  has  'made  the  fastest  passage  yet  known,  across 
the  Atlantic.'  Finally,  as  if  to  crown  the  triumphs  of  the  year,  Americans 
have  actually  sailed  through  the  Isthmus,  connecting  the  two  continents  of 
the  New  World,  and  while  Englishmen  have  been  doubting  and  grudging, 
Yankees  have  stepped  in  and  won  the  day.  So  we  think,  on  the  whole, 
that  we  may  afford  to  shake  hands  and  exchange  congratulations,  after  which 
we  must  learn  as  much  as  we  can  from  each  other."  In  concluding  another 
article  on  the  Exhibition,  it  is  said,  "  Great  Britain  has  received  more  useful 
ideas  and  more  ingenious  inversions  from  the  United  States,  through  the  ex 
hibition,  than  from  all  other  sources." 


OF  AMERICANS.  615 

VICTORY    OF    THE    YACHT    AMERICA. 

The  New  York  Yacht  America  arrived  at  Cowes,  on  the  Isle  of  Wight, 
early  in  July,  1851,  and  her  owner,  John  C.  Stephens,  at  once  offered  a 
heavy  wager  to  sail  her  against  any  yacht  in  the  world.  She  was  visited 
by  multitudes  from  every  part  of  England,  but  her  challenge  was  not  ac 
cepted. 

On  the  18th  of  August,  there  was  a  race  of  seventeen  yachts,  owned  by 
gentlemen  from  every  part  of  Great  Britain,  contending  for  the  prize  of  the 
golden  cup,  which  the  queen  gives  every  year  to  the  best  yacht  in  the  king 
dom.  The  America  was  entered  for  the  race,  and  won  it  so  easily,  as  to 
excite  the  unbounded  admiration  and  applause  of  the  English  people,  who 
with  a  hearty  generosity  waved  their  hats  and  huzzaed  at  the  sight  of  the 
brilliant  success  of  the  Yankee  schooner,  over  a  whole  fleet  of  their  choicest 
yachts. 

On  the  25th  of  August,  there  was  another  race  by  the  squadron,  but  the 
America  was  not  entered.  The  wind  was  light,  and  the  last  vessel  of  the 
squadron  had  been  under  weigh  an  hour  and  five  minutes,  when  the  America 
hoisted  sail  and  followed.  The  race  was  round  the  Isle  of  Wight,  and  she 
came  in  only  ten  minutes  behind  the  winner,  thus  having  accomplished  the 
distance  in  fifty-five  minutes  less  time  than  the  fastest  of  the  English  yachts. 

Mr.  Stephenson,  the  distinguished  English  engineer,  then  offered  to  sail 
his  yacht  the  Titania,  for  a  small  wager  against  the  America.  The  offer  was 
accepted  and  the  race  came  off  on  the  28th  of  August.  The  wind  was  fresh 
and  the  course  was  forty  miles  out  and  forty  back.  Earl  Wilton  was  umpire. 
The  America  won  the  race  by  a  long  distance. 

We  give  a  detailed  account  of  the  first  of  these  trials,  that  of  August  18th, 
when  the  queen  and  royal  family  were  witnesses  of  the  triumph  of  our 
countrymen.  It  is  extracted  from  the  London  Times. 

"  The  telegraphic  dispatch  which  appeared  in  the  Times  this  morning 
s.ated  the  'great  fact'  that  the  America  had  beaten  the  yachts  which  had 
started  against  her  on  Friday,  for  the  Royal  Yacht  Squadron  Cup  of  one 
hundred  pounds  value  in  the  most  complete  and  triumphant  manner.  It 
now  remains  to  give  the  particulars  of  the  event,  as  one  of  no  ordinary  in 
terest.  A  large  portion  of  the  peerage  and  gentry  of  the  United  Kingdom, 
loft  their  residences,  to  witness  the  struggle  between  the  yachtsmen  of  Eng 
land,  hitherto  unmatched  and  unchallenged,  and  the  Americans  who  had 
crossed  the  Atlantic  to  meet  them.  Even  the  Queen  of  England  did  not 
deem  the  occasion  unworthy  of  her  presence.  Until  within  a  few  days  no 
Englishman  ever  dreamed  that  any  nation  could  produce  a  yacht  with  the 
least  pretensions  to  match  the  efforts  of  our  eminent  builders. 

In  the  yacht  list,  for  this  very  year,  there  is  an  assertion  which  every  man 
within  sight  of  sea  water  from  the  Clyde  to  the  Solent  would  swear  to — that 
'yacht  building,  was  an  art  in  which  England  was  unrivaled,  and  that  she 
was  distinguished  pre-eminently  and  alone  for  the  perfection  of  science  in 
handling  them.'  The  conduct  of  the  Americans  since  their  arrival  in  the 
Solent,  had  been  bold,  manly  and  straight- for  ward — qualities,  which  Eng 
lishmen  respect  wherever  they  are  found,  and  love  to  see  even  in  an  oppo 
nent 


616  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

In  the  memory  of  man,  Cowes  never  presented  such  an  appearance  as  on 
last  Friday.  There  must  have  been  upward  of  one  hundred  yachts  lying  at 
anchor  in  the  roads;  the  beach  was  crowded,  the  esplanade  in  front  of  the 
club  house  thronged  with  ladies  and  gentlemen,  and  with  the  people  from 
the  main  land,  who  came  over  in  shoals  to  the  island,  with  wives,  sons  and 
daughters  for  the  day.  Booths  were  erected  all  along  the  quay,  and  ths 
roadstead  was  alive  with  boats,  while  from  sea  and  shore  arose  an  incessant 
buzz  of  voices,  mingled  with  the  splashing  of  oars,  the  flapping  of  sails  and 
the  hissing  of  steam  from  the  excursion  vessels  preparing  to 'accompany  the 
race.  The  windows  of  the  houses  which  commanded  the  harbor  were  filled 
from  the  parlor  to  the  attic,  and  the  old  'salts'  on  the  beach  gazed  moodily 
on  the  low  black  hull  of  '  the  Yankee,'  and  spoke  doubtingly  of  the  chances 
of  her  competitors,  for  the  few  trial  runs  the  America  had  made  after  her 
arrival  proved  she  was  of  great  speed,  and  had  given  them  such  a  taste  of 
her  quality  that  they  were  truly  apprehensive  of  the  result.  Some  thought 
'the  Volante'  might  prove  a  teazer  if  the  wind  was  light,  others  speculated 
on  '  the  Alarm'  doing  mischief  if  the  wind  was  heavy  enough  to  bring  out 
her  qualities,  in  beating  up  to  windward  and  in  tacking ;  while  more  were 
of  the  opinion  that  the  America  would  carry  off  the  cup,  'blow  high  or 
blow  low.' 

It  was  with  the  greatest  difficulty  that  the  little  town  gave  space  enough 
to  the  multitudes  that  came  from  all  quarters  to  witness  an  event  so  novel 
and  interesting.  Among  the  visitors  were  many  strangers, — Frenchmen  en 
route  for  Havre,  Germans  in  quiet  wonderment  at  the  excitement  around 
them,  and  Americans  already  triumphing  in  the  anticipated  success  of  their 
countrymen. 

The  following  yachts  were  entered  and  moored  in  a  double  line,  in  the  order 
in  which  they  here  follow.  Beatrice,  Volante,  Arrow,  Wyvern,  lone,  Con 
stance,  Titania,  Gipsey-Queen,  Alarm,  Mona,  America,  Brilliant,  Bochante 
Freak,  Stella,  Eclipse,  Fernande  and  Aurora.  At  five  minutes  before  ten 
o'clock,  the  preparatory  gun  was  fired,  from  the  club  house  battery,  and  the 
yachts  were  soon  sheeted  from  deck  to  topmast,  with  clouds  of  canvas.  The 
whole  flotilla  not  in  the  race,  were  already  in  motion  to  get  a  good  start  of 
the  clippers  and  witness  the  race. 

At  ten  o'clock,  the  signal  gun  for  sailing  was  fired,  and  before  the  smoke 
had  well  cleared  away  the  whole  of  the  beautiful  fleet  was  under  way, 
moving  steadily  to  the  east,  with  the  tide  and  a  gentle  breeze.  The  start 
was  effected  splendidly,  the  yachts  breaking  away  like  a  field  of  race  horses  ; 
the  only  laggard  was  the  America,  which  did  not  move  for  a  second  or  so 
after  the  others. 

Steamers,  shore  boats  and  yachts,  of  all  sizes  buzzed  along  on  each 
side  of  the  course,  and  spread  away  for  miles  over  the  rippling  sea — such  a 
sight  as  the  Adriatic  never  beheld  in  all  the  pride  of  Venice  ;  such,  beaten 
though  we  are,  as  no  other  country  in  the  world  could  exhibit,  while  it  is 
confessed  that  anything  like  it  was  never  seen  even  here  in  the  annals  of 
yachting. 

The  Gipsey-Queen  with  all  her  canvas  set,  and  in  the  strength  of  the 
tide,  took  the  lead  after  starting,  with  the  Beatrice  next,  and  then  with  little 
'inference  in  order,  the  Volante,  Constance,  Arrow  and  a  flock  of  others. 


OF  AMERICANS.  617 

The  America  went  easily  for  some  time  under  mainsail  with  a  small  gaff  top 
sail,  forsail,  forestaysail  and  jib ;  while  her  opponents  had  every  cloth  set 
that  the  club  regulations  allow.  She  soon  began  to  creep  upon  them,  and 
in  a  quarter  of  an  hour  she  had  left  them  all  behind,  except  the  Constance, 
Beatrice  and  Gipsey-Queen,  which  went  along  smartly,  together  with  the 
light  breeze.  As  the  glorious  pageant  passed  under  Osborne  House,  the  sight 
was  surpassing  fine,  the  whole  expanse  of  sea,  from  shore  to  shore,  being 
filled  as  it  were  with  a  countless  fleet.  At  half  past  ten,  the  Gipsey-Queen 
caught  a  draft  of  wind,  arid  ran  past  the  Constance,  Arrow,  America  and 
Alarm,  being  nearly  in  a  line.  At  a  quarter  to  eleven,  the  breeze  freshened 
again  for  a  few  minutes,  and  the  America  passed  the  Arrow,  Constance  and 
Alarm,  but  could  not  shake  off  the  Volante,  nor  come  up  with  the  Gipsey- 
Queen,  and  exclamations  were  heard  of — '  Well,  Brother  Jonathan  is  not 
going  to  have  it  all  his  own  way.'  Passing  Ryde,  the  excitement  on  shore 
was  very  great ;  but  the  America  was  forging  ahead,  and  lessening  the 
number  of  her  rivals  every  moment.  The  Sandheads  were  rounded  by  the 
Volante,  Gipsey-Queen  and  America  at  eleven  o'clock.  Again  the  wind 
freshened,  and  the  fast  yachts  came  rushing  up  before  it,  the  run  from  the 
Sandheads  beinsj  most  exciting  and  well  contested. 

At  Norman's  Land  buoy,  the  wind  blew  more  steadily,  and  the  America 
began  to  show  a  touch  of  her  quality.  Whenever  the  breeze  took  the  line 
of  her  hull,  all  the  sails  set  as  flat  as  a  dram  head,  and  without  any  careening 
or  staggering,  she  'walked  along'  past  cutter  and  schooner,  and  when  off 
Brading  had  left  every  vessel  in  the  squadron  behind  her — a  mere  ruck — 
except  the  Volante,  which  she  overtook  at  half  past  eleven,  when  she  very 
quietly  hauled  down  her  jib,  as  much  as  to  say  she  would  give  her  rival 
every  odds,  and  laid  herself  out  for  the  race  back  of  the  island.  The  weather 
showed  symptoms  of  improvement  as  far  as  yachting  was  concerned  ;  the 
waves  rolled  their  white  caps  under  the  increasing  breeze,  and  the  Yankee 
flew  like  the  wind  leaping  over,  not  against  the  water,  and  increasing  her 
distance  from  the  Gipsey-Queen,  Volante  and  Alarm  every  instant. 

The  way  her  sails  were  set  evinced  superiority  in  the  cutting,  which  our 
makers  would  barely  allow  ;  but  certain  it  is  that  while  the  jibs  and  main 
sails  of  her  antagonists  were  'bellied  out,'  her  canvass  was  as  flat  as  a  sheet 
of  paper.  No  foam,  but  rather  a  water  jet  arose  from  her  bow  ;  and  the 
greatest  point  of  resistance — and  resistance  there  must  be  somewhere — seemed 
about  the  beam,  or  just  forward  of  her  mainmast,  for  the  sea  flashed  off  from 
her  sides,  at  that  point  every  time  she  met  them.  While  the  cutters  vere 
thrashing  through  the  water,  and  sending  the  spray  over  their  bows,  and  the 
schooners  were  wet  up  to  the  foot  of  the  foremast,  the  America  was  as  dry 
as  a  bone. 

When  off  Sandown,  a  few  minutes  past  twelve,  the  breeze  lulled  away. 
While  running  under  Dunnoze,  at  two  minutes- to  one,  her  jib  beam  broke 
short  off.  This  accident  gave  her  opponents  advantage  of  about  quarter  of 
an  hour,  while  she  was  gathering  in  the  wreck.  But  it  was  of  little  use  to 
them.  Looking  away  to  the  east,  they  were  visible  at  great  distances, 
standing  in  shore  or  running  in  and  out  most  helplessly  astern.  Her  supe 
riority  was  so  decided,  that  several  of  the  yachts  wore  and  went  back  agaiu 
to  Cowes  in  despair. 


618  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

At  twenty  minutes  to  six,  the  Aurora,  the  nearest  yacht  was  fully  seve\ 
and  a  half  miles  astern,  the  Freak  eight  and  a  half  miles,  and  the  reut  'no 
where.'  The  America  was  at  this  time  close  to  the  Needles.  Two  of  tho 
excursion  steamers  ran  into  Alum  Bay  and  anchored.  While  waiting  there 
in  intense  anxiety  for  the  first  vessel  that  should  shoot  round  the  immense 
pillars  of  chalk  and  limestone  which  comprise  what  is  called  the  Needles^ 
the  passengers  were  delighted  to  behold  the  Victoria  and  Albert  (on  board 
of  which  was  the  queen,  her  husband  and  suite)  steaming  round  from  the 
northwest.  Her  majesty,  the  prince,  and  the  royal  family,  were  visible  by  the 
aid  of  a  glass  from  the  excursion  steamers.  Soon  all  doubt  and  speculation, 
if  any  there  could  have  been,  was  removed  by  the  appearance  of  the  Amer 
ica,  hauling  her  wind  round  the  cliff  at  ten  minutes  to  six.  When  under 
the  shore  all  the  steamers  weighed  and  accompanied  her,  giving  three  cheers 
as  she  passed,  a  compliment  which  owners  and  crew  acknowledged  with 
uncovered  heads  and  waving  hats.  At  ten  minutes  past  six,  the  America 
got  in  a  line  with  the  Victoria  and  Albert. 

Though  it  is  not  usual,  to  recognize  the  presence  of  her  majesty  on  such 
occasions  as  a  racing  match,  no  more  indeed  than  a  jockey  would  pull  up  his 
horse,  to  salute  the  queen  when  in  the  middle  of  his  stride,  the  America 
instantly  lowered  her  ensign — blue,  with  white  stars — the  commodore  took 
off  his  hat,  and  all  his  crew  following  his  order  and  example,  remained  with 
uncovered  hei>ds  for  some  minutes  till  they  had  passed — a  mark  of  respect 
to  the  queen  not  the  less  becoming  because  it  was  bestowed  by  republicans. 
The  steamers  as  she  passed  on,  renewed  their  cheering  and  the  private  bat 
tery  of  some  excellent  gentleman  opened  fire,  with  a  royal  salute,  as  tho 
Victoria  and  Albert  slowly  steamed  alongside  the  America. 

When  off  Cowes,  near  the  starting  point,  were  innumerable  yachts,  and  on 
every  side  was  heard  the  hail. 

'  Is  the  America  first  ?  » 

The  answer,  '  Yes  ! ' 

'What  second  ?' 

The  reply,  'Nothing!' 

On  the  evening  of  the  day  after  the  race,  a  reunion  took  place  at  the  club 
house,  and  the  occasion  was  taken  of  the  presence  of  Mr.  Abbot  Lawrence, 
the  American  minister,  to  compliment  him  on  the  success  of  his  countrymen. 
His  excellency  acknowledged  the  kindness  in  suitable  terms,  and  said  that 
though  he  could  not  but  be  proud  of  the  triumph  of  his  fellow-citizens,  ho 
still  felt  it  was  but  the  children  giving  a  lesson  to  the  father. 

We  have  thus  undeniably  been  beaten,  but  we  have  been  beaten  with  a  good 
grace  and  our  conquerors  are  the  first  to  admit  it.  They  speak  in  the  highest 
terms  of  the  condescension  and  kindness  of  the  aristocracy  they  had  been 
taught  to  believe  arrogant  and  unbending,  and  acknowledge  in  the  warmest 
way  the  affability  and  courtesy  of  the  gentry  and  of  the  various  clubs. 

This  evening  the  America  sailed  from  Cowes  to  Osborne,  in  consequence 
of  an  intimation,  that  the  queen  wished  to  inspect  her.  At  a  quarter  past 
six,  the  queen  embarked  in  the  state  barge,  accompanied  by  his  royal  high 
ness,  Prince  Albert  and  suite,  and  on  nearing  the  America  the  national  colors, 
were  dipped  out  of  respect  to  her  majesty,  and  raised  again  when  she  had 
proceeded  on  board.  The  queeu  made  a  close  inspection  of  the  America 


OF  AMERICANS.  619 

and  expressed  great  admiration  of  the  general  arrangements,  and  character 
of  this  famous  schooner." 

When  the  tidings  reached  onr  country,  that  the  "America  liad  beaten  ihs 
world,"  the  electric  telegraph  everywhere  burned  with  welcome  news.  "  The 
cry  was  causjhy  up  by  millions,  and  congratulations  of  joy  went  reverberating 
from  the  sterile  hills  of  New  England  until  they  were  answered  back  from 
the  orange  groves  of  the  distant  Mississippi." 

The  magnanimity  with  which  the  English  people  cheered  the  America, 
on  witnessing  her  triumph  over  their  whole  fleet  of  choicest  yachts  we  fear 
would  not  have  been  paralleled  under  similar  circumstances  by  our  country 
men.  The  Liverpool  Journal  from  which  we  now  quote,  furnished  a  speci 
men  of  the  comments  which  this  event  drew  from  the  English  press. 

"  When  Charlemagne  saw  the  sail  of  the  Northmen  in  the  Mediterranean 
he  covered  his  face  with  his  hands  and  wept,  in  a  prescience  of  the  future. 
When  Queen  Victoria,  yesterday  week,  witnessed  the  triumph  of  an  American 
sail  in  a  channel  that  washes  her  marine  residence  on  the  Isle  of  Wight,  she 
did  what  Charlemagne  ought  to  have  done — she  took  note  of  the  excellence 
which  had  achieved  a  victory,  tacitly  telling  her  subjects  to  profit  by  rivalry 
and  keep  their  proud  place  in  the  advance  of  nations.  The  United  States 
of  America,  now  occupy  that  place  on  the  globe  which  presents  advantages 
unknown  to  all  ancient  and  contemporary  nations.  She  reposes  betwreen 
two  oceans,  one  washing  Europe,  the  other  Asia.  Nothing  was  wanting  to 
the  local  enthronement  of  civilization  but  aptitude  in  the  inhabitants  ;  and 
the  history  of  the  past  week,  gives  ample  testimony  to  its  abundant  exist 
ence.  In  practical  science  we  admitted  no  rivalry  for  more  than  a  century ; 
in  trade  we  despised  competition  ;  and  we  claimed  indisputably  the  sove 
reignty  of  the  seas.  For  some  time,  however,  the  Yankees  have  been  quietly 
encroaching  on  our  maritime  privilege  by  the  rigid  application  of  the  great 
principles  of  commerce  and  science.  They  have,  compared  with  ourselves, 
been  equally  enterprising — they  have  been  more  skillful  ;  and  while  we  pay 
willing  homage  to  genius  in  whomsoever  manifested,  it  is  a  mortification  that 
in  our  waters,  an  American  yacht  won  the  prize  from  the  yachts  of  all  na 
tions,  and  that  an  American-built  steamer  has  made  the  quickest  passage 
across  the  Atlantic.  The  Yankees  are  no  longer  to  be  ridiculed,  much  less 
despised.  The  new  world  is  bursting  into  greatness — walking  past  the  old 
world,  as  the  America  did  the  yachts  at  Cowes,  '  hand  over  hand.'  She 
dipped  her  star-spangled  banner  to  the  royalty  of  Great  Britain,  for  supe 
riority  is  ever  courteous;  and  this  graceful  act  indicates  the  direction  in 
which  our  inevitable  competition  should  proceed,  America,  in  her  own 
phrase,  is  '  going  ahead,'  and  will  assuredly  pass  us  unless  we  accelerate  our 
speed  ;  and  if  our  competitors  once  pass  us,  we  are  lost." 

The  results  of  the  exhibition  and  the  yacht  race  were  so  astonishing  that 
it  led  to  much  philosophizing,  by  the  English  press,  upon  America  and  the 
Americans.  The  British  Quarterly  Review  came  out  in  an  article  upon  this 
subject,  from  which  we  take  a  few  paragraphs,  which  are  worthy  of  record 
for  their  general  truthfulness  and  insight  into  the  workings  of  our  institutions. 
"  First  of  all  then,  the  Americans  are  a  nation  ;  they  display  and  are  per 
vaded  by  a  most  intense  spirit  of  nationality.  No  small  nation  of  the  Old 
World — not  the  Swiss,  not  the  Scotch  before  the  Union,  not  the  Danes,  nr« 


620  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

possessed  and  animated  in  so  extreme  a  degree  by  the  pure  sentiment  of  nation 
ality  as  this  large  and  highly-factitious  nation  of  North  America.  True,  the 
Union  is  divisible  into  four  groups  of  States,  presenting  very  marked  differ 
ences  from  each  other,  as  regards  interests,  social  condition,  and  even  physi 
ognomy.  First,  there  is  the  New  England  group  of  States — the  land  of 
the  genuine  Yankees,  the  hard-headed,  laborious,  dogmatic,  shrewd,  free, 
and  enterprising  descendants  of  the  old  Puritans.  Next,  there  is  the  middle 
group  of  States — the  seat  of  the  great  commercial  interests,  and  of  the  more 
comprehensive  political  tendencies,  of  the  Union.  Then  there  is  the 
southern  group  of  States — the  seat  of  slavery,  and  of  aristocratic  leisure  and 
luxury,  and  the  population  of  which,  though  less  industrious,  enterprising, 
and  even  intellectual  than  the  New  Englanders,  are  yet  distinguished  as 
having  supplied  the  greatest  number  of  statesmen  to  the  Union.  Lastly, 
there  is  the  western  group  of  States — the  land  of  independent  small  farmers, 
the  paradise  of  the  agricultural  immigrant,  and  the  home  of  absolute  demo 
cratic  equality.  But  though  these  four  groups  of  States  have  their  distin 
guishing  characteristics,  and  even  their  points  of  antagonism,  in  some  cases 
exaggerated  (as  in  the  slavery  controversy  between  the  South  and  the 
North),  into  threats  of  political  disruption  ;  yet,  on  the  whole,  the  inhabit 
ants  of  all  the  four  have  no  deeper  feeling  than  that  which  displays  itself 
in  the  boast  that  they  are  Americans.  The  nationality  of  the  Americans  is, 
as  we  all  know,  proverbially  offensive.  There  never  was  a  nation  on  the 
earth  so  vain  of  its  own  merits,  and  so  contemptuous  of  the  merits  of  others. 
'  Are  we  not  a  great  nation,  sir  ? '  is  their  salutation  to  every  foreign  traveler  in 
the  States ;  and  the  common  phrases  of  bombast  put  into  the  mouths  of 
Americans  in  works  of  fiction,  'We  are  an  almighty  fine  people  ;'  'We  can 
put  the  Atlantic  in  one  pocket,  and  the  Pacific  in  another,  arid  reduce  the 
universe  to  nowhere  and  a  spot  of  grease,'  are  hardly  exaggerations  of  the 
actual  slang  with  which  the  Americans  regale  their  own  sense  of  their 
national  importance.  Disagreeable  in  individuals,  this  national  braggardism 
is  formidable  and  respectable  when  viewed  as  characteristic  of  a  people  in 
the  aggregate;  and  its  possession  by  a  people  composed  ethnographically  of 
such  heterogeneous  elements  is  an  illustration  of  Kossuth's  remark,  that  the 
nation  of  every  man  is  not  a  certain  fragment  of  population  marked  out  for 
him  by  considerations  of  race  or  even  of  language,  but  the  seat  of  those 
social  forms  under  whose  influence  his  being  has  been  developed.  Even  a 
black  in  America  disclaims  being  an  African,  and  says  proudly,  when  he  is 
asked  to  what  country  he  belongs,  '  I am  an  American.' 

In  the  second  place,  the  Americans  are  not  only  a  nation,  full  to  the  brim 
of  the  consciousness  of  nationality  ;  they  are  also  entitled,  according  to  any 
test  or  measure  that  can  be  applied  to  them,  to  rank  high  in  the  cosmopo- 
litical  scale.  Tried  by  the  numerical  measure  of  population  they  are  already 
on  a  par  with  Great  Britain,  and  will  soon  leave  it  behind.  Even  Russia, 
with  its  fifty  millions,  must  regard  America  as  a  full-grown  nation.  Again, 
tried  by  the  test  of  exports  and  imports — that  is,  of  commercial  necessity  to 
the  rest  of  the  world — the  United  States  hold  a  place  with  the  first.  Fur 
ther,  if  we  make  military  and  naval  prowess  the  test  of  cosmopolitical  im 
portance,  America  will  still  stand  second  to  none.  She  has  already,  in  th*. 
past,  given  sufficient  proof  of  her  capacities  for  fighting,  both  by  sea  ana 


OF  AMERICANS.  621 

land  ;  and,  if  it  be  not  yet  admitted  that  the  Americans  fire  superior  to  the 
English  at  sea,  it  is  at  least  certain  that  the  despotic  powers  of  the  Old 
World  would  be  more  chary  of  insulting  the  star-spangled  banner,  than  of 
insulting  the  flag  of  England.  A  Yankee  captain,  indeed,  is  notoriously 
the  most  terrible  thing  going  ;  and  chips  of  the  American  block  generally, 
though  they  are  recognized  everywhere  as  the  most  braggart  and  irreverent 
of  the  sons  of  men,  are  recognized,  also,  as  the  most  dangerous  to  be  locked 
up  or  called  in  question  for  anything  they  say  or  do.  Add  to  all  this  the 
consideration  that  in  all  departments  of  intellectual  labor  America  is  a  lead 
ing  nation.  In  art  and  literature,  indeed,  as  well  as  in  the  higher  walks  of 
pure  speculative  science,  America  is  yet  behind-  England  ;  though  there  is 
evidence,  even  now,  that  a  spirit  of  more  original  effort  in  such  things  is  at 
•work  among  the  Americans.  But  in  the  application  of  science  to  the  social 
uses,  in  industrial  invention,  and  generally  in  such  exercises  of  the  intellect 
as  give  a  country  practical  eminence  among  the  nations  of  the  workM^ey 
have  already  an  acknowledged  superiority.  Among  the  machines  for  agri 
cultural  and  other  purposes  sent  to  the  Great  Exhibition,  those  sent  from 
America  were  the  most  useful ;  and  Colt's  pistol  is  but  one  example  of  an 
invention  proceeding  from  America,  and  claiming  instantly  the  attention  of 
the  whole  world.  Essentially  the  same  thing,  in  reality,  with  this  claim  of 
America  to  high  cosmopolitical  estimation,  in  virtue  of  her  Colt's  pistols, 
her  improved  plows,  reaping  machines,  models  of  ships,  and  the  like,  is 
her  claim  to  the  cosmopolitical  estimation  in  virtue  of  the  fact  that  she  is 
already  in  possession  of  a  great  many  conclusions  on  important  social  ques 
tions,  which  are,  by  their  very  nature,  interesting  to  all  the  world  alike,  and 
that  she  is  at  present  the  richest  known  field  of  experimentation,  with  a 
view  to  the  elucidation  of  other  social  questions. 

The  very  thing  that  most  of  all  gives  a  country  cosmopolitical  importance, 
is  its  ability  to  furnish  out  of  its  own  experience  answers  to  the  questions  that 
chance  at  the  moment  to  bo  of  greatest  social  interest  to  other  countries,  or 
to  exhibit  going  on  within  its  bosom  processes  and  experiments,  the  issue  of 
which  is  not  yet  clear  perhaps  even  to  itself,  but  which  are  curious,  novel, 
and  suggestive  in  their  nature.  Russia,  in  this  respect,  is  almost  a  blank  on 
the  map.  It  has  a  claim  to  cosmopolitical  respect,  because  it  is  a  formidable 
power  of  conquest,  and  because  it  supplies  us  with  hemp  and  the  like  ;  but 
who  ever  looks  to  Russia  for  solutions  of  problems  common  to  all  parts  of 
the  world,  or  for  brilliant  social  sights  and  suggestions  ?  America,  on  the 
other  hand,  is  like  a  black-board  on  which  something  new  is  ever  being 
chalked  up,  whether  in  the  way  of  solution  or  of  interrogation.  For  ex 
ample,  the  entire  political  system  of  America  is  a  practical  solution  of  the 
great  problem,  everywhere  important,  of  the  reconciliation  of  local  self- 
government  with  federation.  The  question  of  national  defenses  without 
standing  armies  is  also  set  in  a  new  light  to  us  by  the  militia  system  of 
America  ;  while  the  question  of  the  competence  of  a  people  to  act  on  the 
aggressive,  without  standing  armies,  also  receives  light  from  the  experience 
of  America  in  volunteer  enterprises.  A  hundred  such  examples  might  ba 
given  of  points  of  great  social  interest,  on  which  America  may  be  said  to 
have  fully  made  up  its  mind,  while  the  other  nations  are  still  only  bungling 
in  th.2  dark.  Lastly,  what  are  such  odd  manifestations  as  the  spirit  rapping* 


ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

the  Mormonite  outburst  with  its  consequences,  and  all  the  other  similar 
developments  of  American  inquisitiveness  or  credulity,  but  chalkings,  as  it 
were,  on  the  black-board  of  the  world  for  the  other  nations  to  look  at  ?  If 
it  be  the  case  that  humanity  has  not  yet  filled  out  its  utmost  constitutional 
limits,  but  that  from  age  to  age  it  is  continually  efflorescing  into  new  man 
ifestations,  which  seem  at  first  anomalies,  but  are  in  reality  normal  and 
natural,  where  shall  we  look  for  the  last  efflorescence,  the  freshest  sprouts, 
but  in  that  country  where  human  nature  is  newest  and  most  advanced  ? 

The  third  remark  we  would  make  about  the  American  nation,  regarded 
from  our  present  point  of  view,  is  that  no  nation  of  the  world  seems  to  com 
bine  such  an  incessant  and  universal  disposition  to  political  activity,  with 
such  a  beggarly  show  of  internal  political  questions  whereon  to  gratify  that 
disposition.  The  American  nation  combines,  more  conspicuously  than  any 
other  yet  known,  extreme  sociability,  that  is,  an  extreme  anxiety  on  the 
par^l  individuals  to  concern  themselves  with  the  general  politics  of  the 
state,  with  extreme  individual  freedom — that  is,  an  extreme  want  of  apparent 
necessity  for  any  political  activity  at  all.  The  ancient  Athenians,  in  the 
days  of  their  palmy  democracy,  were  not  characterized  by  greater  political 
zeal  and  activity  than  the  Americans.  Every  American  is  an  active  politi 
cian  ;  every  American,  as  a  citizen,  has  an  interest  in  public  affairs,  widen 
ing  from  the  little  circle  of  his  own  neighborhood  to  the  great  area  of  the 
federal  government.  Hence  a  development  among  the  Americans  of  all 
kinds  of  political  aptitude — aptitude  in  business  arrangements  for  a  political 
purpose,  in  public  speaking  on  political  questions,  and  the  like — unrivaled 
among  any  other  modern  people.  Stump-oratory  among  the  Americans  is 
as  necessary  a  part  of  their  civilization  as  was  the  eloquence  of  popular 
assemblies  among  the  Athenians.  And  yet,  with  all  this  political  energy 
diffused  among  individuals,  the  fields  of  disputed  points  over  which  political 
energy  may  range,  might  seem  to  be  less  important  and  extensive  than  in 
any  of  the  older  nations.  In  America,  the  great  questions  of  civil  liberty, 
of  the  sovereignty  of  the  people,  of  a  state  church  or  no  state  church,  of 
secular  or  ecclesiastical  education — these,  and  all  the  other  great  questions 
of  life  or  death,  which  are'  and  for  a  long  time  will  be  the  standing  difficul 
ties  against  which  political  e*nergy  in  the  older  countries  must  dash  and  dis 
play  itself,  have  been  settled  and  extinguished.  Even  pauperism  has  hardly 
the  rank  of  a  great  public  question  in  a  country  where  there  is  such  indefi 
nite  room  for  an  expansion  of  the  population.  With  the  exception  of  the 
single  matter  of  slavery,  there  seems  to  be  no  question  in  the  internal  poli 
tics  of  America  of  very  great  magnitude,  as  measured  by  a  general  human 
standard.  In  short,  that  general  '  Condition-of-America  question,'  on  which 
the  politicians  and  people  of  the  United  States  divide  themselves  into  parties, 
seems,  to  eyes  looking  on  them  from  the  outside,  to  be  a  mere  aggregate  of  a 
great  number  of  little  questions  of  finance  and  the  like,  floating  on  the  wave  of 
passing  circumstances.  Yet,  out  of  this  most  hopeless  condition  of  things, 
as  it  might  seem,  for  political  activity,  the  Americans  have  contrived  to  raiso 
a  whirlwind  and  palaver,  such  as  has  hardly  ever  been  seen  even  in  a  country 
agonized  by  questions  of  death,  and  life,  and  liberty.  Nowhere  does  party- 
spirit  run  so  high  as  in  the  United  States,  nowhere  is  political  controversy 
carried  on  with  greater  virulence  and  more  tremendous  excitement." 


ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 


OF 


AMERICANS     ABROAD. 

A  COLLECTION  OF  INTERESTING  MISCELLANIES. 


"  LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN,"  is  a  chivalrous  expression,  inasmuch  as  the 
word  which  indicates  the  gentler  sex  first  drops  from  the  lips.  In  accord 
ance  with  the  idea  upon  which  this  custom  is  founded,  viz  :  prior  attention 
to  that  important  part  of  creation  who  alone  furnish  mothers,  wives,  and 
sisters — we  begin  this  article  with  an  account  of  a  lady,  one,  too,  of  the 
"strong-minded"  sort,  who  was  fully  capable  of  taking  care  of  herself  in 
all  situations. 

ADVENTURES   OF   THE    ECCENTRIC   AND  PATRIOTIC  FEMALE  ARTIST,  PATIENCE 

WRIGHT. 

This  extraordinary  woman,  whose  name  belongs  to  the  history  of  Amer 
ican  Art,  and  whose  patriotism  should  make  her  known  to  the  American 
people,  v/as  born  in  Bordentown,  New  Jersey,  in  the  year  1725,  and,  like 
West,  among  a  sect  who  eschewed  images  or  pictures,  for  her  parents  were 
also  Quakers.  Her  maiden  name  was  Lovell,  and  at  twenty-three  years  of 
age  she  married  Joseph  Wright,  who  died  in  1769. 

Dunlap,  in  his  "History  of  the  Arts  of  Design,"  gives  this  account  of 
her  :  "  She  made  her  earliest  attempts  at  molding  before  she  had  any  works 
of  art.  From  childhood,  the  dough  intended  for  the  oven,  or  the  clay 
found  near  the  house,  assumed  in  her  hands  somewhat  the  semblance  of  a 
man,  and,  soon  the  likenesses  of  the  individuals  with  whom  she  associated. 
Before  the  year  1772,  she  had  made  herself  famous  for  likenesses  in  wax, 
in  the  cities  of  her  native  country,  and  when  a  widow  with  three  children, 
was  enabled  to  seek  more  extensive  fame,  and  more  splendid  fortune  in  the 
metropolis  of  Great  Britain.  There  is  ample  testimony  in  the  English  pe 
riodicals  of  the  time,  that  her  work  was  considered  of  an  extraordinary 
kind  :  and  her  talent  for  observation  and  conversation — for  gaining  knowl 
edge  and  eliciting  information,  and  for  communicating  her  stores,  whether 
original  or  acquired,  gained  her  theffettention  and  friendship  of  many  dis 
tinguished  men  of  the  day.  As  she  retained  an  ardent  love  for  her  coun 
try,  urid  entered  into  the  feelings  of  her  injured  countrymen  during  the  war 
of  the  revolution,  she  used  the  information  she  obtained  by  giving  warning 
of  the  intentions  of  their  enemies,  and  especially  corresponding  with  Ben 
jamin  Franklin,  when  he  resided  in  Paris,  having  become  intimate  with 

(623^ 


624  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

him  in  London.  I  have  before  me  an  engraving  published  in  1765,  repre 
senting  Mrs.  Wright  at  full  length  in  the  act  of  modeling  a  bust  of  a  gen- 
tleman.  In  the  London  Magazine  of  that  year,  she  is  styled  the  Prome 
thean  modeler.  In  that  work  it  is  said,  '  In  her  very  infancy  she  discov 
ered  a  striking  genius,  and  began  with  making  faces  with  new  bread  and 
putty,  to  such  excellence  that  she  was  advised  to  try  her  skill  in  wax.' 
Her  likenesses  of  the  King,  Queen,  Lords  Chatham  and  Temple,  Messrs. 
Barrc,  Wilkes  and  others,  attracted  universal  admiration.  The  above 
writer  says,  '  Her  natural  abilities  are  surpassing,  and  had  a  liberal  and  ex  - 
tensive  education  been  added  to  her  innate  qualities,  she  had  been  a  pro 
digy.  She  has  an  eye  of  that  quick  and  brilliant  water,  that  it  penetrates 
and  darts  through  the  person  it  looks  on  ;  and  practice  has  made  her  capa 
ble  of  distinguishing  the  character  and  dispositions  of  her  visitors,  so  that  she 
is  very  rarely  mistaken,  even  in  the  minute  point  of  manners  ;  much  more 
so  hi  the  general  cast  of  character.'  The  only  work  that  I  distinctly  recol 
lect  of  Mrs.  Wright's,  is  the  full  length  of  the  great  Lord  Chatham,  as  it 
stood  in  Westminster  Abbey,  in  1784,  inclosed  in  a  glass  case.  Anecdotes 
are  related  of  the  eccentricities  of  Mrs.  Wright.  Her  manners  were  not 
those  of  a  courtier.  She  once  had  the  ear  and  favor  of  George  the  Third, 
but  lost  it  by  scolding  him  for  sanctioning  the  American  war.  She  was  in 
timate  with  Mr.  West  and  his  family ;  and  the  beautiful  form  and  face  of 
her  younger  daughter  are  frequently  to  be  found  in  hi's  historical  composi 
tions. 

In  1781,  Mrs.  Wright  went  to  Paris.  Her  son,  Joseph  Wright,  followed 
in  1782,  and  remained  in  France  during  part  of  the  year  ;  and  I  have  be 
fore  me  several  of  Mrs.  Wright's  letters  to  him,  replete  with  afifectron  and 
good  sense,  written  after  her  return  to  London  :  and  likewise  letters  to  him 
in  1783,  written  to  meet  him  in  America. 

In  1785,  Mrs.  Wright  sent  the  following  characteristic  letter  to  Mr.  Jef 
ferson,  then  in  Paris. 

'  LONDON,  at  the  Wax- Works,  Aug.  14, 1785. 

HONORED  SIR — I  had  the  pleasure  to  hear  that  my  son,  Joseph  Wright, 
had  painted  the  best  likeness  of  our  HERO  Washington,  of  any  painter  in 
America ;  and  my  friends  are  anxious  that  I  should  make  a  likeness,  a 
bust  in  wax,  to  be  placed  in  the  state -house,  or  some  public  building  that 
may  be  erected  by  congress.  The  flattering  letters  from  gentlemen  of  dis 
tinguished  virtues  and  rank,  and  one  from  that  general  himself,  wherein  he 
says,  'he  shall  think  himself  happy  to  have  his  bust  done  by  Mrs.  Wright, 
whose  uncommon  talents,'  etc.,  make  me  happy  in  the  prospect  of  seeing 
him  in  my  own  country. 

I  most  sincerely  wish  not  only  to  make  the  likeness  of  Washington,  but 
of  those  FIVE  gentlemen  who  assisted  at  the  signing  of  the  treaty  of  peace 
that  put  an  end  to  so  bloody  and  dreadful  a  war.  The  more  public  the 
honors  bestowed  on  such  men  by  theiig^nintry,  the  better.  To  shame  tlae 
English  king,  I  would  go  to  any  trouble  and  expense  to  add  my  mite  in  the 
stock  of  honor  due  to  Adams,  Jefferson,  and  others,  to  send  to  America ; 
and  I  will,  if  it  is  thought  proper  to  pay  my  expense  of  traveling  to  Paris, 
come  myself  and  model  the  likeness  of  Mr.  Jefferson  ;  and  at  the  same 
time  see  the  picture,  and,  if  possible  by  this  painting,  which  is  said  to  b« 


OF  AMERICANS.  625 

BO  like  him,  make  a  likeness  of  the  general.  I  wish  likewise  to  consult 
with  you,  how  best  we  may  honor  our  country,  by  holding  up  the  like 
nesses  of  her  eminent  men,  either  in  painting  or  wax-work.  A  statue  in 
m-arble  is  already  ordered,  and  an  artist  (Houdon)  gone  to  Philadelphia  to 
begin  the  work.  This  is  as  I  wished  and  hoped.' 

The  letter  concludes  by  hinting  the  danger  of  sending  Washington's  pic 
ture  to  London,  from  the  enmity  of  the  government,  and  the  espionage  of 
the  police  ;  which  she  says  has  all  the  '  folly,  without  the  ability  of  the 
French.'  She  subscribes  herself  'Patience  Wright.'  In  the  same  year, 
this  extraordinary  woman  died." 

To  this  account  from  Dunlap,  we  annex  some  amusing  facts  and  anec 
dotes  in  regard  to  her,  from  the  "Memoirs  of  Elkanah  Watson,"  who  first 
met  her  in  Paris,  in  1781. 

"I  came  oddly  in  contact  with  the  eccentric  Mrs.  Wright,  on  my  arrival 
in  Paris  from  Nantes.  Giving  orders  from  the  balcony  of  the  Hotel 
d'York,  to  my  English  servant,  I  was  assailed  by  a  powerful  female  voice, 
crying  out  from  an  upper  story  : 

'  Who  are  you  ? — an  AMERICAN,  I  hope  !J 

1  Yes,  madam,'  I  replied,  'and  who  are  you  ?' 

In  two  minutes  she  came  blustering  down  stairs,  with  the  familiarity  of 
an  old  acquaintance.  We  were  soon  on  the  most  excellent  terms.  I  dis 
covered  that  she  was  in  the  habit  of  daily  intercourse  with  Franklin,  and 
was  visited  and  caressed  by  ,all  the  respectable  Americans  in  Paris.  The 
wild  flights  of  her  powerful  mind  stamped  originality  on  all  her  acts  and 
language.  She  was  a  tall  and  athletic  figure  ;  walked  with  a  firm,  bold 
step,  and  as  erect  as  an  Indian.  Her  complexion  was  somewhat  sallow — 
her  cheek-bones  high — her  face  furrowed,  and  her  olive  eyes  keen,  piercing 
and  expressive.  Her  sharp  glance  was  appalling  ;  it  had  almost  the  wild- 
ness  of  the  maniac. 

The  vigor  and  originality  of  her  conversation  corresponded  with  her  ap 
pearance  and  manners.  She  would  utter  language  in  her  incessant  volu 
bility,  as  if  unconscious  to  whom  directed,  that  would  put  her  hearers  to 
the  blush.  She  apparently  possessed  the  utmost  simplicity  of  heart  and 
character. 

With  the  head  of  wax  upoif  her  lap,  she  would  mold  the  most  accurate 
likenesses,  by  the  mere  force  of  a  retentive  recollection  of  the  traits  and 
lines  of  the  countenance  ;  she  would  form  her  likenesses  by  the  manipula 
tion  of  thft  wax  with  her  thumb  and  finger.  While  thus  engaged,  her 
strong  mind  poured  forth  an  uninterrupted  torrent  of  wild  thought,  and  an- 
dotes  and  reminiscences  of  men  and  events.  She  went  to  London  about 
the  year  1767,  near  the  period  of  Franklin's  appearance  there  as  the  agent 
of  Pennsylvania.  The  peculiarity  of  her  character,  and  the  excellence  of 
her  wax  figures,  made  her  rooms  in  Pall  Mall  a  fashionable  lounging-place 
for  the  nobility  and  distinguished  men  of  England.  Here  her  deep  pene 
tration  and  sagacity,  cloaked  by  her  apparent  simplicity  of  purpose,  enabled 
her  to  gather  many  facts  and  secrets  important  to  'DEAR  AMERICA' — her 
uniform  expression  in  reference  to  her  native  land,  which  she  dearly  loved. 

She  was  a  genuine  republican  and  ardent  whig.  The  king  and  queen 
often  visited  her  rooms  :  they  would  induce  her  to  work  upon  her  heads. 


626  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

regardless  of  their  presence.  She  would  often,  as  if  forgetting  herself,  ad 
dress  them  as  George  and  Charlotte.  This  fact  she  often  mentioned  to  me 
herself.  While  in  England,  she  communicated  much  important  informa 
tion  to  Franklin,  and  remained  in  London  until  1775  or  1776,  engaged  in 
that  kind  of  intercourse  with  him  and  the  American  government,  by  whict 
she  was  placed  in  positions  of  extreme  hazard. 

I  saw  her  frequently  in  Paris,  in  1781,  and  in  various  parts  of  England, 
from  1782  to  1784.  Her  letters  followed  me  in  my  travels  through  Eu 
rope.  I  had  assisted  her  at  Paris ;  had  extended  aid  to  her  son  at  Nantes, 
and  given  him  a  free  passage  in  one  of  our  ships  to  America.  Her  grati 
tude  was  unbounded.  This  son  was  a  painter  and  artist  of  some  emi 
nence,  and  in  1784  took  a  model  of  Washington's  head  in  plaster.  I 
heard  from  Washington  himself  an  amusing  anecdote  connected  with  this 
bust.  In  January,  1785,  I  enjoyed  the  inestimable  privilege  of  a  visit  un 
der  his  roof,  in  the  absence  of  all  visitors.  Among  the  many  interesting 
subjects  which  engaged  our  conversation  in  a  long  winter  evening  (the 
most  valuable  of  my  life),  in  which  his  dignified  lady  and  Miss  Custis 
united,  he  amused  us  by  relating  the  incident  of  the  taking  of  this  model. 
'Wright  came  to  Mt.  Vernon,'  the  general  remarked,  'with  the  singular  re 
quest,  that  I  should  permit  him  to  take  a  model  of  my  face  in  plaster  of 
Paris,  to  which  I  consented  with  some  reluctance.  He  oiled  my  features 
over,  and  placing  me  flat  upon  my  back,  upon  a  cot,  proceeded  to  daub  my 
face  with  the  plaster.  While  in  this  ridiculous  attitude,  Mrs.  Washington 
entered  the  room,  and  seeing  my  face  thus  overspread  with  the  piaster,  in 
voluntarily  exclaimed.  Her  cry  excited  in  me  a  disposition  to  smile,  which 
gave  my  mouth  a  slight  twist,  or  compression  of  the  lips,  that  is  now  ob 
servable  in  the  busts  Wright  afterward  made.'  These  are  nearly  the  words 
of  Washington. 

Some  time  after  my  acquaintance  with  Mrs.  Wright  commenced,  she  in 
formed  me  that  an  eminent  female  chemist  of  Paris  had  written  her  a 
note,  that  she  would  make  her  a  visit  at  twelve  o'clock  the  next  day,  and 
announced,  also,  that  she  could  not  speak  English.  Mrs.  Wright  desired 
me  to  act  as  interpreter.  At  the  appointed  hour,  the  thundering  of  a  car 
riage  in  the  court-yard  announced  the  arrival  of  the  French  lady.  She  en 
tered  with  much  grace,  in  which  Mrs.  W.  wjis  no  match  for  her.  She  was 
old,  with  a  sharp  nose — with  broad  patches  of  vermillion  spread  over  the 
deep  furrows  of  her  cheeks.  I  was  placed  in  a  chair  between  the  two 
originals.  Their  tongues  flew  with  velocity,  the  one  in  English  and  the 
other  in  French,  and  neither  understanding  a  word  the  other  uttered.  I 
saw  no  possibility  of  interpreting  two  such  volleys  of  words,  and  at  length 
abruptly  commanded  SILENCE  FOR  A  MOMENT. 

I  asked  each,  '  Do  you  understand  ?'  '  Not  a  word,'  said  Mrs.  Wright. 
'N'importe,'  replied  the  chemist,  bounding  from  her  chair  in  the  midst  of 
the  floor,  and  dropping  a  low  curtsy — was  off.  '  What  an  old  painted  fooV 
said  Mrs.  W.,  in  anger.  It  was  evident  that  this  visit  was  not  intended  for 
an  interchange  of  sentiment,  but  a  mere  act  of  civility — a  call. 

I  employed  Mrs.  W.  to  make  the  head  of  Franklin,  which  was  often  the 
source  of  much  amusement  to  me.  After  it  was  completed,  both  being  in 
vited  to  dine  with  Franklin,  I  conveyed  her  to  Passy  in  my  carriage,  she 


OF  AMERICANS.  627 

bearing  the  head  upon  her  lap.  No  sooner  in  the  presence  of  the  doctor, 
than  she  had  placed  one  head  beside  the  other.  'There!'  ihe  exclaimed, 
'are  twin  brothers  !'  The  likeness  was  truly  admirable,  and  at  the  sugges 
tion  of  Mrs.  Wright,  to  give  it  more  effect,  Franklin  sent  me  a  suit  of 
silk  clothes  he  wore  in  1778.  Many  years  afterward,  the  head  was  broken 
in  Albany,  and  the  clothes  I  presented  to  the  'Historical  Society  of  Mas 
sachusetts.' 

An  adventure  occurred  to  Mrs.  Wright,  in  connection  with  this  head, 
ludicrous  in  the  highest  degree,  and  although  almost  incredible,  is  literally- 
true.  After  the  head  had  been  modeled,  she  walked  out  to  Passy,  carry 
ing  it  in  a  napkin,  in  order  to  compare  it  with  the  original.  In  returning 
in  the  evening,  she  was  stopped  at  the  barrier  in  course,  to  be  searched  for 
contraband  goods ;  but  as  her  mind  was  as  free  as  her  native  American  air, 
she  knew  no  restraint,  nor  the  reason  why  she  was  detained.  She  resisted 
the  attempt  to  examine  her  bundle,  and  broke  out  in  a  rage  of  fury.  The 
officers  were  amazed,  as  no  explanation,  in  the  absence  of  an  interpreter, 
could  take  place.  She  was  compelled,  however,  to  yield  to  power.  The 
bundle  was  opened,  and,  to  the  astonishment  of  the  officials,  exhibited  the 
head  of  a  dead  man,  as  appeared  to  them  in  the  obscurity  of  the  night. 
They  closed  the^  bundle  without  further  examination,  believing,  as  they 
afterward  assured  me,  that  she  was  an  escaped  maniac,  who  had  committed 
murder,  and  was  about  concealing  the  head  of  her  victim. 

They  were  determined  to  convey  her  to  the  police  station,  when  she 
made  them  comprehend  her  entreaties  to  be  taken  to  the  Hotel  d'York.  I 
was  in  my  room,  and  hearing  in  the  passage  a  great  uproar,  and  Mrs.  W.'s 
voice  pitched  upon  a  higher  key  than  usual,  I  rushed  out,  and  found  her 
in  a  terrible  rage,  her  fine  eye  flashing.  I  thrust  myself  between  her  and 
the  officers,  exclaiming,  'An,  mon  Dieu,  qu'est  ce  qu'el  y-a  ?'  An  expla 
nation  ensued.  All  except  Mrs.  W.  were  highly  amused  at  the  singularity 
nnd  absurdity  of  the  affair. 

The  head  and  clothes  I  transmitted  to  Nantes — they  were  the  instru 
ments  of  many  frolics,  not  inappropriate  to  my  youth,  but  perhaps  it  is 
hardly  safe  to  advert  to  them  in  my  age.  A  few  I  will  venture  to  relate. 
On  my  arrival  at  Nantes,  I  caused  the  head  to  be  properly  adjusted  to  the 
dress,  which  was  arranged  in  a  natural  shape  and  dimensions.  I.  had  the 
figure  placed  in  the  corner  of  a  large  room,  near  a  closet,  and  behind  a 
table.  Before  him  I  laid  an  open  atlas,  his  arm  resting  upon  the  table,  and 
mathematical  instruments  strewn  upon  it.  A  handkerchief  was  thrown 
over  the  arm  stumps,  wires  were  extended  to  the  closet,  by  which  means 
the  body  could  be  elevated  or  depressed,  and  placed  in  various  positions. 
Thus  arranged,  some  ladies  and  gentlemen  were  invited  to  pay  their  re 
spects  to  Dr.  Franklin,  by  candlelight.  For  a  moment,  they  were  com 
pletely  deceived,  and  all  profoundly  bowed  and  curtsied,  which  was  recip 
rocated  by  the  figure.  Not  a  word  being  uttered,  the  trick  was  soon  re 
vealed. 

A  report  soon  circulated  that  Doctor  Franklin  was  at  Monsieur  Watson's 
'sour  1'Isle  de  Prydeau.'  At  eleven  o'clock  the  next  morning,  the  mayor 
of  Nantes  came  in  full  dress,  to  call  on  the  renowned  philosopher.  Cos- 
soul,  my  worthy  partner,  being  acquainted  with  the  mayor,  favored  the 
40 


028  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

joke,  for  a  moment  after  their  mutual  salutations.  Others  carne  in,  and  all 
were  disposed  to  gull  their  friends  in  the  same  manner. 

The  most  amusing  of  all  the  incidents  connected  with  this  head,  occur 
red  in  London,  where  I  had  sent  it  after  the  peace  of  1783,  when  I  had 
established  a  bachelor's  hall  in  that  city.  I  placed  the  figure,  in  full  dress, 
with  the  head  leaning  out  of  the  window,  apparently  gazing  up  and  down 
the  square.  He  had  formerly  been  well  known  in  that  part  of  the  city 
and  was  at  once  recognized.  Observing  a  collection  of  people  gathering  al 
another  window  looking  at  him,  I  ordered  him  down. 

The  morning  papers  announced  the  arrival  of  Doctor  Franklin  at  an 
American  merchant's  in  Beliter  square,  and  I  found  it  necessary  to  contra 
dict  the  report.  In  the  interval,  three  Boston  gentlemen  who  were  in  the 
city,  expressed  a  wish  to  pa}r  their  respects  to  the  doctor.  I  desired  them 
to  call  in  the  evening,  and  bring  their  letters  of  introduction,  which  they 
informed  me  they  bore,  expecting  to  see  him  at  Paris.  I  concerted  mea 
sures  with  a  friend,  to  carry  the  harmless  deception  to  the  utmost  extent 
on  this  occasion.  Before  entering,  I  apprised  them  that  he  was  deeply  en 
gaged  in  examining  maps  and  papers,  and  begged  they  would  not  be  dis 
turbed  at  any  apparent  inattention.  Thus  prepared,  I  conducted  them  into 
a  spacious  room.  Franklin  was  seated  at  the  extremit}',  with  the  atlas,  etc., 
and  my  friend  at  the  wires.  I  advanced  in  succession  with  each,  half 
across  the  room,  and  introduced  them  by  name.  Franklin  raised  his  head, 
bowed,  and  resumed  his  attention  to  the  atlas.  I  then  retired,  and  seated 
them  at  the  further  side  of  the  room.  They  spoke  to  me  in  whispers  : 

'What  a  venerable  figure,'  exclaims  one. 

'Why  don't  he  speak  ?'  says  another. 

'He  is  doubtless  in  a  reverie,'  I  remarked,  'and  has  forgotten  the  pres 
ence  of  his  company  ;  his  great  age  must  be  his  apology.  Gret  your  letters, 
and  go  up  again  with  me  to  him.' 

When  near  the  table,  I  said,  'Mr.  B.,  sir,  from  Boston.'  The  head 
raised  up. 

'A  letter,'  says  B.,  '  from  Doctor  Cooper.' 

I-could  go  no  further.  The  scene  was  too  ludicrous.  As  B.  held  out 
the  letter,  I  struck  the  figure  smartlj',  exclaiming  : 

'Why  don't  you  receive  the  letter  like  a  gentleman  ?' 

They  were  all  petrified  with  astonishment,  but  B.  never  forgave  me  the 
ioke." 

ADVENTURES   OF   WATSON. 

In  the  preceding  sketch,  we  have  made  an  extract  from  the  journal  of 
Elkanah  Watson,  which  work  is  entitled  "  Men  and  Times  of  the  Ameri 
can  Revolution,"  and  is  full  of  interesting  incidents  of  adventure,  both  in 
Europe  and  America.  A  relation  of  a  few  of  those  within  his  experience 
while  abroad,  come  well  within  our  scope.  Watson  was  a  native  of  Ply 
mouth,  Massachusetts,  and,  in  the  latter  part  of  our  revolution,  when  ho 
was  twenty-one  years  of  age,  went  to  Europe,  where  he  was  for  several 
years  engaged  in  mercantile  operations.  During  this  period,  he  was  on 
intimate  terms  vith  Benjamin  Franklin,  John  Adams,  and  other,  of  the 
most  eminent  of  his  countrymen. 

Watson  sailed  for  France  w  1779,  in  a  small,  swift-moving  packet,  co» 


OF  AMERICANS.  629 

structed  for  the  purpose  of  transmitting  dispatches,  and  in  twenty-nine 
days  arrived  at  St.  Martin,  the  port  of  Rochelle.  Everything  was  new  and 
strange  to  him — the  clattering  of  wooden  shoes  along  the  pavement;  the 
young  ladies  astride  of  mules ;  the  appeals  of  beggars  at  every  corner,  and 
the  novelty  of  the  language  and  customs.  His  party  were  alike  objects  of 
curiosity.  They  were  followed  around  the  town  by  the  boys,  gazed  at  by 
the  crowd,  while  the  words,  "  there  go  the  brave  Bostonians,"  continually 
reached  their  ears.  As  the  war  commenced  iif  Boston,  the  term  Bostonians 
was  popularly  given  in  France  to  the  whigs  of  the  Revolution. 

From  Rochelle,  Mr.  Watson  proceeded  to  Paris,  and  there  called  upon 
Dr.  Franklin,  with  his  dispatches.  It  gave  him  exquisite  pleasure  to  meet 
this  great  man,  whose  name  had  been  so  familiar  to  him  from  his  cradle. 
"  The  ensuing  day,"  says  Watson,  "  I  returned  to  Passy,  to  dine  by  invita 
tion,  with  Dr.  Franklin.  At  the  hour  of  dinner,  he  conducted  me  across  a 
spacious  garden  of  several  acres,  to  the  princely  residence  of  M.  Le  Ray  de 
Chaumont.  This  was  the  first  occasion  of  my  dining  in  a  private  circle  in 
Europe,  and  being  still  in  my  American  style  of  dress,  and  ignorant  of  the 
French  language,  and  prepared  for  extreme  ceremony,  I  felt  exceedingly 
embarrassed. 

We  entered  a  spacious  room,  I  following  the  doctor,  where  several  well- 
dressed  persons  (to  my  unsophisticated  eyes,  gentlemen)  bowed  to  us. pro 
foundly.  These  were  servants.  A  folding  door  opened  at  our  approach, 
and  presented- to  my  view  a  brilliant  assembly,  who  all  greeted  the  wise 
old  man  in  the  most  cordial  and  affectionate  manner.  He  introduced  me 
as  a  young  American  just  arrived.  One  of  the  young  ladies  approached 
him  with  the  familiarity  of  a  daughter,  tapped  him  kindly  on  the  cheek, 
and  called  him  '  Pa-pa  Franklin.' 

I  was  enraptured  with  the  ease  and  freedom  exhibited  in  the  table  in- 
tsrcourse  in  France.  Instead  of  the  cold  ceremony  and  formal  compli 
ments,  to  which  I  had  been  accustomed  on  such  occasions,  here  ail  ap 
peared  at  ease,  and  well  sustained.  Some  were  amusing  themselves  with 
music,  others  in  singing  ;  some  were  waltzing,  and  others  gathered  in  little 
groups  in  conversation.  At  the  table,  the  ladies  and  gentlemen  were  min 
gled  together,  and  joined  in  cheerful  conversation,  each  selecting  the  deli 
cacies  of  various  courses,  and  drinking  of  delicious  light  wines,  but  with 
neither  toasts  nor  healths. 

The  lady  of  the  house,  instead  of  bearing  the  burden  and  inconvenience 
of  superintending  the  duties  of  the  table,  here  participates  alike  with  others 
in  its  enjoyment.  No  gentlemen,  I  was  told,  would  be  tolerated  in  France, 
in  monopolizing  the  conversation  of  the  table,  in  discussions  of  politics  or 
religion,  as  is  frequently  the  case  in  America.  A  cup  of  coffee  ordinarily 
terminates  the  dinner." 

On  visiting  the  paintings  in  the  Louvre,  he  was  great/y  pleased  to  find 
the  portrait  of  Franklin  honored,  and,  by  the  royal  orders  in  being,  hung 
near  those  of  the  king  and  queen.  His  popularity  and  influence  at  court 
were  almost  unprecedented,  and  he  was  so  much  venerated  by  the  people, 
that  Watson  often  saw  the  people  following  his  carriage  just  as  they  had 
the  king's.  "  His  venerable  figure,  the  ease  of  his  manners,  formed  in  an 
intercourse  of  fifty  years  with  the  world,  his  benevolent  countenance,  aud 


630  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

his  fame  as  a  philosopher,  all  tended  to  excite  love  and  to  command  influ 
ence  and  respect."  He  was  an  especial  favorite  of  the  queen,  and  through 
the  strong  political  influence  she  held,  adroitly  directed  by  him,  the  gov 
ernment  was  led  to  acknowledge  our  independence,  and  to  aid  us  in  tho 
struggle  with  fleets' and  armies. 

The  winter  of  1780-'81,  Watson  spent  in  Rennes,  and  being  the  first  of 
his  countrymen  ever  seen  there,  the  public  curiosity  in  regard  to  him  was 
very  great,  for  most  people  h^d  an  idea  that  an  American  must  be  an  Indi 
an.  The  French,  at  that  time,  were  very  ignorant  about  our  country  and 
people.  The  first  night  Watson  arrived  at  Ancinis,  he  retired  without 
having  first  seen  the  professors.  The  students,  learning  that  an  American 
had  arrived,  entered  his  room  in  the  iBorning,  and  thinking  he  was  asleep 
carefully  turned  aside  the  curtain  of  his  bed,  with  the  expectation  of  see 
ing  an  Indian  !  Watson's  object  in  passing  a  winter  at  Rennes,  was  to  per 
fect  himself  in  French,  the  language  being  spoken  there  with  remarkable 
purity,  and  also  to  rub  off  a  little  of  his  American  rust,  by  contact  with  the 
elegant  society  of  that  gay  city.  In  the  spring  he  returned  to  Nantes, 
where  he  had  established  a  mercantile  house.  At  that  time  the  notorious 
Tom  Paine  arrived  at  that  place,  and  boarded  at  the  same  house  with  Wat 
son.  He  came  in  the  capacity  of  secretary  to  Colonel  Laurens,  Minister 
Extraordinary  from  Congress.  His  manners  and  person  were  coarse,  un 
couth  and  loathsome.  He  was  eternally  either  talking  of  himself  or  read 
ing  his  own  compositions.  "  Yet,"  says  Watson,  "  I  could  not  repress  the 
deepest  emotions  of  gratitude  toward  him,  as  the  instrument  of  Providence 
in  accelerating  the  Declaration  of  our  Independence.  He  certainly  was  a 
prominent  agent  in  preparing  the  public  sentiment  of  America  for  that  glo 
rious  event.  The  idea  of  Independence  had  not  occupied  the  popular 
mind,  and  when  guardedly  approached  on  the  subject,  it  shrunk  from  the 
conception,  as  fraught  with  doubt,  with  peril,  and  with  suffering. 

In  1776,  I  was  present,  at  Providence,  Rhode  Island,  in  a  social  assembly 
of  the  most  prominent  leaders  of  the  State.  I  recollect  that  the  subject  of 
Independence  was  cautiously  introduced  by  an  ardent  whig,  and  the  thought 
seemed  to  excite  the  abhorrence  of  the  whole  circle. 

A  few  weeks  later,  Paine's  Common  Sense  appeared,  and  passed  through 
the  continent  like  at  electric  spark.  It  everywhere  flashed  conviction,  and 
aroused  a  determined  spirit,  which  resulted  in  the  Declaration  of  Indepen 
dence,  upon  the  4th  of  July  en>suing.  The  name  of  Paine  was  precious  to 
every  whig  heart,  and  had  resounded  throughout  Europe. 

On  his  arrival  being  announced,  the  mayor  and  some  of  the  most  dis 
tinguished  citizens  of  Nantes,  called  upon  him  to  Tender  their  homage  of 
respect.  1  often  officiated  as  interpreter,  although  humbled  and  mortified 
at  his  filthy  appearance  and  awkward  and  unseemly  address.  Besides,  as 
he  had  been  roasted  alive  on  his  arrival  at  L'Orient,  for  the  *  *  *  * 
and  well  basted  with  brimstone,  he  was  absolutely  offensive,  and  perfumed 
the  whole  apartment.  He  was  soon  rid  of  his  respectable  visitors,  who  left 
the  room  with  marks  of  astonishment  and  disgust.  I  took  the  liberty,  on 
his  asking  for  tho  loan  of  a  clean  shirt,  of  speaking  to  him  frankly  of  ais 
dirty  appearance  and  brimstone  odor,  and  prevailed  upon  him  to  stew  for 
an  hour,  in  a  hot  bath.  This,  however,  was  not  done  without  much 


OF  AMERICANS.  631 

entreaty,  and  I  did  not  succeed  until,  receiving  a  file  of  English  newspa 
pers,  I  promised,  after  he  was  in  the  bath,  he  should  have  the  reading  of 
them,  and  not  before.  He  at  once  consented,  and  accompanied  me  to  the 
bath,  where  I  instructed  the  keeper  in  French  (which  Paine  did  not  under 
stand)  to  gradually  increase  the  heat  of  the  water,  until  Me  Monsieur  etait 
bien  bouilli.'  He  became  so  much  absorbed  in  his  reading  that  he  was 
nearly  par-boiled  before  leaving  the  bath,  much  to  his  improvement  and  my 
satisfaction.  * 

One  of  the  most  critical  and  remarkable  events  of  my  life  occurred  at 
this  period.  The  Marshal  de  Castries,  the  Minister  of  Marine,  was  passing 
through  Nantes,  on  his  way  to  Brest,  for  the  purpose  of  dispatching  the 
Count  de  Grasse  with  the  fleet,  which  subsequently  acted  with  so  much 
efficiency  against  Cornwallis. 

Half  the  population  of  the  city,  prompted  by  their  curiosity,  poured  in  a 
torrent  beyond  the  gates,  to  meet  the  marshal  and  his  retinue.  I  threw 
myself  into  this  living  current.  As  soon  as  the  'avant  courier'  appeared 
in  the  distance,  the  immense  crowd  paraded  on  either  side  of  the  road.  At 
the  moment  the  minister  and  his  retinue  approached,  a  little  bell  tinkled  on 
the  opposite  side,  in  directing  the  passage  of  the  '  Bon  Dieu,'  inclosed  in  a 
silver  vase,  and  held  by  a  Catholic  priest,  on  his  way  to  administer  the  Sa 
crament  to  a  dying  believer.  The  bell  was  held  by  a  small  boy,  who  pre 
ceded  the  sacred  procession  ;  four  men  supported  a  canopy  over  the  priest's 
head,  and  forty  or  fifty  stupid  peasants,  in  wooden  shoes,  followed.  Cus 
tom  obliged  all  to  kneel,  as  this  venerated  '  Bon  Dieu  *  passed  by  ;  but  on 
this  occasion,  most  of  the  spectators,  owing  to  the  deep  mud,  leaned  on 
their  canes,  with  hats  in  their  hands,  in  a  respectful  posture.  The  couriers 
checked  their  horses — the  carriages  stopped,  and  all  were  thrown  into  con 
fusion  by  the  unfortunate  presence  of  the  'Bon  Dieu.'  At  this  moment 
the  priest,  as  if  impelled  by  the  spirit  of  malice,  halted  the  procession,  and 
stopped  the  host  directly  in  front  of  the  place  where  I  stood,  and  to  my 
utter  amazement,  pointing  directly  at  me  with  his  finger,  exclaimed,  'aux 
genoux' — to  your  knees.  I  pointed  in  vain  to  the  mud,  and  the  position 
of  those  about  me  similar  to  my  own.  He  again  repeated,  in  a  voice  of 
thunder,  'aux  genoux.'  My  Yankee  blood  flamed  at  this  wanton  attack, 
I  forgot  myself,  and,  with  a  loud  voice,  replied  in  French,  '  no,  sir,  I  will 
not.'  The  populace,  thunderstruck  to  see  their  'Bon  Dieu'  thus  insulted, 
fired  with  enthusiasm,  broke  their  ranks,  and  were  pressing  toward  me, 
with  violent  imprecations.  A  German  gentleman,  an  acquaintance,  and 
then  at  my  side,  exclaimed,  '  for  God's  sake,  drop  in  an  instant.'  Alarmed 
at  my  critical  situation,  I  reluctantly  settled  my  knees  into  a  mud-hole. 
Every  one  within  my  hearing  who  were  respectable,  Catholics  and  Protes 
tants,  condemned  the  rash  and  inexcusable  conduct  of  the  priest. 

My  keenest  sensibilities  were  outraged,  and  I  vowed  vengeance  upon  the 
audacious  priest.  The  next  afternoon,  I  set  off,  armed  with  a  good  hickory, 
to  trace  out  his  residence,  and  to  effect  my  determination.  I  proceeded  to 
the  spot  where  the  offense  had  been  committed,  entered  the  hut  of  a  pea 
sant,  and  inquired  the  name  of  the  priest  who,  the  day  before,  had  passed 
with  the  '  Bon  Dieu.'  He  replied,  'Ma  foi,  oui,  ce  Monsieur  Barage  ' — yes, 
faith,  it  is  M.  Barage.  He  pointed  to  the  steeple  of  the  church  where  he 


632  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

officiated,  near  the  suburbs  of  the  city.  I  soon  found  his  house,  and  pulled 
a  bell -rope.  A  good-looking,  middle-aged  woman,  the  housekeeper,  soon 
appeared.  Contrary  to  her  interdiction,  I  sprung  into  the  court-yard,  and 
proceeded  directly  to  the  house,  and  made  my  way  to  his  library.  The 
priest  soon  appeared,  demanded  my  business,  exclaiming  '  that  I  was  a  mur 
derer  or  robber,'  and  ordered  me  to  quit  his  house.  I  sprung  to  the  door, 
locked  it,  and  placing  the  key  in  my  pocket,  approached  him  in  a  hostilo 
attitude.  I  compelled  him  to  admit  that  he  recognized  my  features.  I 
then  poured  forth  my  detestation  of  him,  and  of  the  tyranny  of  the  French 
clergy.  I  told  him  I  was  a  native  of  North  America,  the  ally  of  France ; 
that  I  was  under  the  protection  of  Dr.  Franklin,  and  would  not  leave  him 
until  I  had  received  adequate  remuneration  for  the  unprovoked  insult  I  had 
received.  In  a  word,  I  insisted  on  his  apologizing  to  rne,  in  the  same  pos 
ture  in  which  I  had  been  placed.  In  taking  my  leave,  I  assured  him  I 
should  proceed  with  the  American  consul,  and  enter  my  formal  complaint 
against  him  to  the  bishop.  This  threat  alarmed  him,  and  he  fervently 
urged  my  forbearance.  I  went,  however,  immediately  to  our  consul,  Col. 
Williams,  and  communicated  to  him  these  incidents.  He  apprised  me  o 
the  extreme  danger  I  should  be  subjected  to  from  the  hostility  of  the 
priests,  and  admonished  me,  as  the  safest  course,  to  prosecute  the  affair  no 
further.  By  his  advice,  and  that  of  Tom  Paine,  I  changed  my  lodgings, 
and  for  two  or  three  weeks  avoided  the  streets.  No  further  unpleasant 
consequence  resulted  from  this  occurrence." 

While  at  Nantes,  Watson  became  acquainted  with  an  American,  one  of 
those  intrepid  adventurers  of  which  our  country  has  been  so  prolific.  His 
history,  if  it  could  be  fully  given,  would  be  a  volume  of  rare  attractiveness. 
This  personage  was  Louis  Littlepage,  a  native  of  Hanover  County,  Va.  He 
went  to  Europe  in  1780,  under  the  patronage  of  Mr.  Jay,  our  Minister  at 
the  Court  of  Spain.  He  was  at  the  time  a  mere  youth,  but  made  every 
where  a  strong  impression,  from  his  extraordinary  genius  and  acquirements, 
and  from  his  noble,  commanding  figure,  set  off  by  dark  sparkling  eyes  and 
a  striking  physiognomy.  He  eventually  left  the  service  of  Mr.  Jay,  and 
acted  as  volunteer  aid  to  the  Duke  de  Ciellon  at  the  siege  of  Minorca.  He 
was  blown  up  with  a  floating  battery  at  the  attack  on  Gibraltar,  but  was 
saved.  Throughout  the  siege  he  was  conspicuous.  Later,  he  was  on  the 
flag-ship  of  the  Spanish  admiral,  and,  in  the  midst  of  a  hotly-contested 
battle,  deliberately  sketched  the  positions  of  the  vessels  of  the  respective 
fleets.  This  sketch,  which  was  a  masterly  view  of  the  action,  he  subse 
quently  showed  to  the  Spanish  Minister,  and  he  was  greeted  with  great 
honor  at  the  Spanish  Court.  He  eventually  found  his  way  to  Poland,  and 
became  in  effect  prime  minister  to  the  king.  On  being  sent  as  the  Polish 
ambassador  to  St.  Petersburg,  he  evinced  signal  ability,  and  won  the  friend 
ship  of  the  Empress  Catharine.  When  Poland  fell,  he  returned  to  his  na 
tive  land,  and  died  in  Fredericksburg,  Va.  A  severe  controversy  arose  be 
tween  him  and  Mr.  Jay,  in  consequence  of  his  refusing  to  refund  money 
loaned  him  by  that  eminent  patriot,  and  he  attacked  Mr.  Jay  in  a  pamphlet 
that  evinced  alike  the  genius  and  the  bitterness  of  a  Junius. 

In  the  fall  of  1781,  Watson  made  the  tour  of  Northern  France  and  the 
Netherlands.  On  his  return,  he  dined  and  passed  an  eveuin^  with  Frauklin 


OF  AMERICANS.  633 

in  Paris.  His  long  and  familiar  intercourse  with  tne  most  refined  people 
in  his  own  country  arid  in  Europe,  had  given  him  an  ease  of  manner  that 
was  heightened  by  a  natural  grace.  His  venerable  locks,  hanging  in  masses 
over  his  shoulders,  and  his  dignified  presence,  while  it  excited  reverence, 
were  united  to  such  kindly  fascinating  manners,  as  to  make  all  within  his 
circle  feel  at  home.  He  asked  Watson  if  he  was  aware  that  he  was  a  mu 
sician,  and  then  conducted  him  to  the  opposite  side  of  the  apartment  to 
show  him  the  harmonica,  a  musical  instrument  he  had  invented,  composed 
of  round  glasses  arranged  in  such  a  manner  as  when  played  upon  to  givo 
forth  sounds  of  remarkable  sweetness.  He  performed  some  Scotch  airs  for 
the  amusement  of  his  guest,  with  considerable  skill. 

Among  the  topics  of  the  conversation  of  the  evening,  was  the  great  and 
absorbing  subject  of  the  union  of  the  French  and  American  forces  against 
Cornwallis.  From  their  latest  information,  matters  appeared  in  a  very  crit 
ical  condition,  and  it  was  found  that  the  British  fleet  might  succeed  in 
landing  an  army  in  Virginia,  and  defeat  and  ruin  the  plans  of  Washington. 
Even  Franklin's  philosophy  and  self-possession  seemed  sorely  tried  as  alter 
nations  of  hope  and  fear  successively  affected  his  mind  ;  yet  he  was  con 
vinced  that  the  genius  of  Washington  would  triumph  over  all  obstacles. 
Watson  left  deeply  depressed  by  fears  of  the  result  to  his  suffering  country. 
A  messenger  from  Franklin  the  next  morning  aroused  him  by  a  thundering 
rap  at  his  door.  He  handed  him  a  circular,  which  filled  him  with  unspeak 
able  thankfulness,  for  it  contained  the  glorious  tidings  of  the  surrender  of 
Cornwallis.  In  company  with  many  French  and  American  gentlemen,  he 
called  upon  Franklin,  to  congratulate  him  upon  this  great  event.  He  found 
him  in  an  ecstasy  of  joy  :  "There  is,"  observed  Franklin,  "no  parallel  in 
history  cf  two  entire  armies  being  captured  from  the  same  enemy  in  any 
one  wur."  The  whole  population  of  Paris  was  wild  with  delight.  And 
not  only  Paris,  but  all  the  cities  of  France  were  illuminated  by  their  re 
joicing  citizens. 

Mr.  Watson's  mercantile  enterprise  was  for  a  time  highly  prosperous,  and 
his  purse  was  freely  opened  to  the  aid  of  friends  at  home,  and  to  the  relief 
of  his  countrymen  imprisoned  in  England,  several  of  whom,  through  him, 
effected  their  escape. 

As  negotiations  were  now  in  progress  in  Paris  for  terminating  the  war, 
Watson  determined,  if  possible,  to  visit  England,  the  land  of  his  forefathers. 
Packets  having  been  started  between  Dover  and  Calais,  to  facilitate  nego 
tiations,  he  thought  he  would  be  enabled  to  cross  by  their  means.  Doctor 
Franklin  suggested,  in  the  most  friendly  manner,  that  it  would  be  attended 
ivith  danger  for  him,  a  known  rebel,  to  visit  an  enemy's  country.  He  how 
ever  gave  in  to  Watson's  persuasions,  prepared  a  passport  for  him,  and  let 
ters  to  several  distinguished  political  and  scientific  characters. 

Landing  on  British  soil,  Watson  felt  under  some  apprehension  ;  yet  he 
could  not  but  exult  at  the  thought  of  how  finely  his  countrymen  had 
avenged  themselves  for  their  wrongs,  by  many  glorious  victories,  and  by 
crippling  England's  commerce  even  to  her  very  shores. 

The  first  person  he  called  upon,  in  London,  was  the  Duke  of  Manches 
ter,  whose  elegant  person  and  dignified  manners  marked  the  high-bred 
nobleman.  "From  his  lips,  Watson  first  learned  that  the  British  government 


634:  ADVENTURES   AND   ACHIEVEMENTS 

had  concluded  to  acknowledge  the  independence  of  the  Colonies.  A  letter 
from  Franklin  introduced  Watson  to  the  celebrated  philosopher  and  divine, 
Dr.  Price.  This  gentleman  \vas  a  zealous  advocate  of  civil  liberty.  He 
was  highly  esteemed  in  the  United  States  for  his  very  able  writings  in  be 
half  of  the  American  cause.  These  were  published  early  in  the  war,  and 
had  a  wonderful  influence  in  England.  A  friend,  in  presence  of  Watson, 
delicately  complimented  him  on  his  great  reputation  as  a  man,  of  learning, 
and  on  the  immense  benefit  he  had  been  to  our  country  by  his  publications. 
His  reply  showed  the  wise  man:  "However  I  maybe  esteemed  among 
men,  I  have  lived  long  enough  to  learn  that  I  know  nothing." 

Watson  concluded  to  remain  in  England  until  December,  at  which  time 
the  king  was  to  acknowledge  the  independence  of  the  United  States  on  the 
opening  of  parliament.  In  the  meantime  he  occupied  himself  in  traveling 
through  some  of  the  most  interesting  parts  of  the  country.  When  in  Bir 
mingham,  he  was  amused  at  this  sentence  in  the  prayer  of  the  clergyman  : 
"0  Lord!  turn  the  hearts  of  our  rebellious  subjects  in  America."  He 
says,  however,  that  during  his  progress  through  England,  he  was  astonished 
at  finding  that  the  people  in  some  localities  appeared  generally  to  sympa 
thize  with  the  Americans  in  their  struggle  for  liberty,  and  advocated  their 
cause  with  most  cogent  and  strenuous  arguments.  He  spent  one  evening* 
with  a  party  of  English  gentlemen,  and  so  strong  was  the  interest  mani 
fested,  that  it  made  him  feel  as  if  he  were  back  among  his  rebel  friends  in 
America.  In  other  localities,  on  the  other  hand,  the  people  were  invete- 
rately  hostile. 

On  one  occasion,  passing  by  an  English  farm-house,  he  was  induced  to 
enter  by  the  lively  sounds  of  a  violin.  He  found  a  collection  of  country 
folks,  lads  and  lassies,  in  the  midst  of  a  dancing  frolic.  Aside  from  their 
dialect,  it  almost  seemed  to  him  as  if  he  were  among  his  own  country  peo 
ple,  yet  he  says  that  one  Yankee  had  more  mother- wit  than  half  of  them 
combined.  The  common  people  showed  great  ignorance  in  regard  to  Amer 
ica  and  Americans.  Many  of  them  thought  we  were  a  nation  of  Indians, 
negroes,  and  mixed  blood.  He  overheard  this  conversation  while  in  a 
stage-coach  near  London,  between  two  genteelly-dressed  ladies.  One  said 
to  the  other  :  "  I  have  seen  a  wonderful  sight — a  little  girl  born  in  a  place 
called  Boston,  in  North  America,  and  what  is  very  astonishing,  but  I  pledge 
you  rny  word  it  is  true,  she  speaks  English  as  well  as  any  child  in  England, 
and  beside  she  is  perfectly  ivhite."  "  Is  it  possible  !"  exclaimed  the  other, 
in  tones  of  genuine  surprise. 

Watson  had  returned  to  London  on  the  eventful  5th  of  December,  1782, 
the  day  on  which  the  king  was  to  announce  to  parliament  the  independence 
of  America.  Early  in  the  morning  the  Earl  of  Ferrers  led  him  into  the 
House  of  Lords,  and  at  the  entrance  whispered  to  him — "  Get  as  near  the 
throne  as  you  can — fear  nothing."  He  elbowed  his  way  in  until  he  was 
exactly  in  front  of  it.  The  lords  were  standing  around  in  groups,  among 
whom,  and  close  by  him,  was  the  celebrated  Admiral  Lord  Howe.  The 
distinguished  American  painters,  Copley  and  West,  were  there,  accompa 
nied  by  some  American  ladies.  A  few  dejected  American  tories,  too,  were 
to  be  seen  in  the  crowd.  The  day  was  foggy  and  lowering,  and  this,  with 
the  dark  tapestry  of  the  walls,  gave  a  gloomy  air  to  all  within.  After  3 


OF  AMERICANS.  635 

delay  of  two  hours,  loud  discharges  of  artillery  told  them  the  king  was 
approaching.  Attired  in  royal  robes,  and  with  all  the  insignia  of  mon 
archy,  he  came  in  a  small  side  door,  and  gracefully  placed  himself  in  the 
chair  of  state.  The  House  of  Commons  having  been  notified,  soon  en 
tered.  When  all  was  still,  the  king,  much  agitated,  took  his  speech,  writ 
ten  on  a  scroll,  from  his  pocket,  and  commenced  reading  it.  Being  only  a 
few  yards  distant,  Watson  watched  with  interest  every  tone  of  his  voice 
and  every  emotion  of  his  countenance.  As  the  king  proceeded,  Watson 
felt  every  nerve  quiver  and  thrill  with  lofty  patriotic  emotion.  Having  ut 
tered  a  few  introductory  sentences,  he  went  on  to  say  : 

"I  left  no  time  in  giving  the  necessary  orders  to  prohibit  the  further  pro 
secution  of  offensive  war  upon  the  continent  of  North  America.  Adopt 
ing,  as  my  inclination  will  always  lead  me  to  do,  with  decision  and  effect, 
whatever  I  collect  to  be  the  sense  of  my  parliament  and  my  people,  I  have 
pointed  all  my  views  and  measures,  in  Europe,  as  in  North  America,  to  an 
entire  and  cordial  reconciliation  with  the  colonies.  Finding  it  indispensa 
ble  to  the  attainment  of  this  object,  I  did  not  hesitate  to  go  to  the  full 
length  of  the  powers  vested  in  me,  and  offer  to  declare  them — "  Here  he 
paused,  and  was  in  evident  agitation  ;  either  embarrassed  in  reading  his 
speech,  by  the  darkness  of  the  room,  or  affected  by  a  very  NATURAL  EMO 
TION.  In  a  moment  he  resumed  : — "  And  offer  to  declare  them  FREE  AND 
INDEPENDENT  STATES.  In  thus  admitting  their  separation  from  the  crown 
of  these  kingdoms,  I  have  sacrificed  every  consideration  of  my  own  to  the 
wishes  and  opinions  of  my  people.  I  make  it  my  humble  and  ardent 
prayer  to  Almighty  God,  that  Great  Britain  may  not  feel  the  evils  which 
might  result  from  so  great  a  dismemberment  of  the  empire,  and  that  Amer 
ica  may  be  free  from  the  calamities  which  have  formerly  proved,  in  the 
mother  country,  how  essential  monarchy  is  to  the  enjoyment  of  constitu 
tional  liberty.  Religion,  language,  interests,  and  affection  may,  and  I  hope 
will,  yet  prove  a  bond  of  permanent  union  between  the  two  countries." 

"  It  is  remarked,  that  George  III  is  celebrated  for  reading  his  speeches 
in  a  distinct,  free,  and  impressive  manner.  On  this  occasion  be  was  evi 
dently  embarrassed  ;  he  hesitated,  choked,  and  executed  the  painful  duties 
required  of  him,  with  an  ill  grace  that  did  not  belong  to  him.  I  caanot 
adequately  portray  my  sensations,  in  the  progress  of  this  address  ;  every 
artery  beat  high,  and  swelled  with  my  PROUD  AMERICAN  BLOOD.  In  leav 
ing  the  house,  I  jostled  Copley  and  West,  who,  I  thought,  were  enjoying 
the  rich  political  repast  of  the  day,  and  noticing  the  anguish  and  despair 
depicted  on  the  long  visages  of  our  American  tories." 

A  few  days  before  Copley  had  painted  a  splendid  portrait  of  Watson. 
In  the  background  was  a  view  of  a  ship  conveying  to  America  the  glad 
tidings  of  the  recognition  of  her  independence,  with  the  star-spangled 
banner,  illuminated  by  the  light  of  a  rising  sun,  streaming  proudly  from 
aloft.  It  was  all  finished  excepting  the  flag.  As  his  gallery  was  continu 
ally  visited,  by  the  royal  family  and  the  nobility,  the  artist  deferred  painting 
it  until  a  more  proper  season.  After  listing  to  the  king's  speech,  Watson 
accompanied  Copley  to  his  house  to  dine.  Soon  as  they  had  entered,  he 
took  him  into  his  studio,  "and  then,"  says  Watson,  "with  a  bold  hand,  a 
master's  touch,  and  I  believe  an  American  heart,  he  attached  to  the  ship  tha 


636  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

stars  and  stripes.     This  I  believe  was  the  first  American  flag  ever  hoistod  in 
old  England." 

On  his  return  to  France,  Watson  showed  Franklin  an  English  paper  with 
a  full  account  of  his  death  and  burial.  The  Doctor  was  exceedingly  amused 
and  told  Watson  that  it  was  the  third  time  that  he  had  been  buried  alive  by 
the  London  newspapers.  Watson  saw  Franklin  for  the  last  time,  in  1786.  Ho 
was  then  eighty  years  of  age.  "On  my  first  entering  the  room,"  Mr.  Watson 
says,  "he  observed  that  all  his  old  friends  were  dead,  and  he  found  himself 
alone,  in  the  midst  of  a  new  generation,  and  added  the  remark,  alike  char 
acteristic  of  the  man  and  the  philosopher,  'he  was  in  their  way,  and  it  was 
time  he  was  off  the  stage.'  Yet  he  delighted  a  circle  of  young  people  (for 
he  was  a  most  instructive  companion  to  youth  in  his  old  age),  the  whole 
evening,  with  pleasant  anecdote  and  interesting  stories.  His  voice  was  very 
sonorous  and  clear,  but  at  the  same  time  hollow  and  peculiar.'1 

In  August  1784,  Watson  embarked  in  the  ship  George  Washington  on  his 
return  to  America,  having  been  absent  five  years.  The  master,  Captain 
Smith,  Watson  had  known  in  his  boyhood.  He  was  an  intelligent,  sensible 
man,  yet  from  an  anecdote  Watson  relates  it  seems  not  devoid  of  that  sin 
gular  superstition  so  common  to  seamen. 

He  noticed  that  the  cook  was  accustomed  to  carry  the  egg  shells  to  deck, 
and  scrupulously  break  them  into  little  bitn  beiore  he  cast  them  overboard. 
Watson  made  up  his  mind  to  ascertain  the  meaning  of  this  singular  super 
stition,  so  one  time  watching  his  opportunity,  he  caught  up  the  bowl  with 
the  shells,  and  emptied  them  into  the  sea  unbroken.  Tli3  cook  started 
after  and  brought  along  the  captain  who  in  a  towering  passion,  fell  to  abusing 
Watson  for  his  temerity.  He  swore  that  he  had  been  to  sea  forty  years,  and 
never  had  known  egg  shells  thrown  whole  into  the  sea,  but  that  old  bitch, 
Mother  Carey,  got  into  them  and  raised  a  gale  of  wind.  To  reason  with  him 
Watson  knew  was  idle,  and  to  ridicule  such  folly  dangerous.  A  night  or  so 
after,  he  was  summoned  to  the  deck  by  unusual  voices  and  the  pitching  of 
the  vessel,  where  he  found  a  tremendous  hurricane  coming  on  ;  vivid  flashes 
of  lightning  shot  across  the  sky  ;  the  ocean  began  to  swell  in  angry  waves 
arid  the  wind  to  whistle  through  the  rigging  with  wild,  appalling  sounds. 
The  captain,  as  he  caught  a  glimpse  of  him,  exclaimed,  "There  !  did'nt  I 
tell  you  so  !"  Thanks  to  a  tight  ship  and  a  skillful  commander,  the  ship 
rode  out  the  gale,  though  the  event  doubtless  tended  to  confirm  the  opin 
ion  of  the  skipper  and  his  crew  in  the  peril  of  throwing  overboard  unbroken 
egg  shells. 

On  the  3d  of  October,  the  cry  of  "Land  "  rang  through  the  ship,  and  in 
a  few  hours  she  was  plowing  among  the  beautiful  islands  of  Narraganset 
Bay.  Viewing  the  landscape  with  a  comparatively  foreign  eye,  the  sky  was 
to  him  more  clear  and  blue,  the  stars  more  bright  and  numerous,  the  fields 
of  corn  more  broad  and  the  forests  more  expanded,  than  in  the  Old  World 
he  had  left  behind.  At  ten  o'clock  at  night,  Watson  was  put  ashore  and 
entered  the  spacious  yard  of  a  respectable  farm-house.  As  lie  knocked  at 
the  door,  the  old,  familiar  invitation,  "  Walk  in,"  pleasantly  greeted  h'is 
his  ear.  A  momentary  flash,  as  he  obeyed  the  invitation,  revealed  the 
figure  of  an  old  man  with  distended  cheeks,  blowing  up  a  liglit  with  a  coal. 
The  flame  lit  the  candle,  then,  turning  to  look  at  his  guest,  he  exclaimed* 


OF  AMERICANS.  637 

"  Sit  down,  sit  down,  my  friend— where  from  ?" 

"  London,"  was  the  reply  ;  "  and  I  wish  a  horse  to  proceod  to  Prov 
idence." 

"It  is  too  late,"  he  responded;  "to-night  you  are  welcome  to  a  bed 
with  us." 

Watson  accepted  this  kind  offer,  and  joined  the  hospitable  farmer  in  a 
pipe  by  his  fireside.  The  latter,  in  the  meantime,  poured  forth  a  continual 
stream  of  questions,  in  which  his  good  wife,  who  had  retired  to  a  bed  in 
the  corner,  soon  united.  The  old  lady  regretted,  as  hospitable  old  ladies 
are  ever  apt  to  on  such  occasions,  that  she  could  not  get  him  a  warm  sup 
per ;  but  baked  apples,  cool  milk,  rye  and  Indian  bread  were  furnished  in 
ample  quantities,  and  their  delicious  taste  reminded  him  of  old  times.  Ho 
retired  for  the  night  in  the  best  room,  a  spacious  apartment  with  everything 
"  neat  as  wax."  As  his  form  pressed  upon  a  most  comfortable  bed,  he 
could  but  mentally  ejaculate,  "These  are  the  blessings  of  an  independent 
American  farmer !" 

In  the  gray  of  the  morning,  the  whole  of  the  family  were  up  and  stir 
ring  around  discharging  their  respective  duties.  Watson  arose,  also,  and 
threw  aside  the  paper  curtains.  The  sight  of  a  beautiful,  well-cultivated 
farm,  a  barn-yard  with  noble  cows,  which  the  boys  and  women  were  busy 
milking,  excited  most  pleasurable  feelings.  Soon  entering  the  yard,  Wat 
son  grasped  his  generous  host  by  the  hand,  and  began  to  tell  him  how 
much  he  was  gratified  by  his  surroundings. 

"0  yes;  I  have  a  fine  farm,  well  stocked,  and  owe  nothing — but  these 
horrible  taxes  are  devouring  a  poor  farmer." 

"  Pray,  sir,"  inquired  Watson,  "  how  much  taxes  do  you  pay  in  a  year  ?" 

"  About  thirty  dollars ;  and  before  the  war  they  did  not  exceed  three 
dollars." 

"Is  it  possible  so  small  a  burden  can  give  so  much  uneasiness.  You  are 
now,  for  thirty  dollars  annually,  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  blessings  of.liberty 
and  independence.  You  know  not  how  to  prize  the  great  privilege.  Can 
you  so  soon  have  forgotten  the  common  language  during  the  Revolution,  'I 
will  sacrifice  half  my  property  to  secure  the  rest.'  I  wish,  it  had  been  pos 
sible  for  every  farmer  in  the  nation  to  have  passed  over  the  ground  I  have 
traversed  the  last  five  years  in  Europe,  and  witnessed  the  suffering  and  op 
pression  I  have  seen  among  the  farmers  there, 'governed  at  the  point  of  the 
bayonet,  and  even  in  England,  overwhelmed  by  taxes,  tithes,  and  rents. 
They  would  kiss  the  soil  of  America,  and  call  it  blessed,  and  raise  their 
hearts  in  pious  gratitude  to  the  Giver  of  all  good." 

This  lesson  did  the  farmer  much  good,  and  eased  his  mind.  Watson 
wished  he  could  have  uttered  it  in  the  presence  of  everv  discontented  citi 
zen  of  the  republic.  The  same  cry  is  heard  too  often  in  our  day,  from 
multitudes  who  possess  everything  to  make  them  happy  ;  but  who,  instead, 
appear  to  study  how  the  most  effectually  to  make  themselves  miserable. 

We  have  somewhat  departed  from  our  text  in  presenting  these  few  inci 
dents  of  Watson  in  his  home  land.  We  will  take  another  and  a  last  step 
in  the  same  direction,  by  giving  his  account  of  a  visit  he  made  to  Mt.  Ver- 
non,  the  home  of  Washington. 

"I  had  feasted  my  imagination  for  several  days  on  the  near  prospect  of  a 


638  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

visit  Mt.  Vcrnon,  the  seat  of  Washington.  No  pilgrim  ever  approached 
Mecca  with  a  deeper  enthusiasm.  I  arrived  there  in  the  afternoon  of 
January  23,  1785.  I  was  the  bearer  of  a  letter  from  Gen.  Green,  with 
another  from  Col.  Fitzgerald,  one  of  the  former  aids  of  Washington,  and 
also  bosks  from  Granville  Sharp.  Although  assured  that  these  credentials 
would  secure  me  a  respectful  reception,  I  trembled  with  awe  as  I  came  into 
the  presence  of  this  great  man.  I  found  him  at  the  table  with  Mrs.  Wash 
ington  and  his  private  family,  and  was  received  in  the  native  dignity  and 
with  that  urbanity  so  peculiarly  combined  in  the  character  of  a  soFdier  and 
eminent  private  gentleman.  He  soon  put  rne  at  ease,  by  unbending  in  a 
free  and  affable  conversation. 

The  cautious  reserve,  which  wisdom  and  policy  dictated,  while  engaged 
in  rearing  the  glorious  fabric  of  our  independence,  was  evidently  the  result 
of  consummate  prudence,  and  not  characteristic  of  his  nature.  Although  I 
had  frequently  seen  him  in  the  progress  of  the  Revolution,  and  had  corres 
ponded  with  him  from  France  in  1781-'82,  this  was  the  first  occasion  on 
which  I  had  contemplated  him  in  his  private  relations.  I  observed  a  pecu 
liarity  in  his  smile,  which  seemed  to  illuminate  his  eye ;  his  whole  coun 
tenance  beamed  with  intelligence,  while  it  commanded  confidence  and  re 
spect.  The  gentleman  who  had  accompanied  me  from  Alexandria,  left  in 
the  evening,  and  I  remained  alone  in  t.he  enjoyment  of  the  society  of  Wash 
ington,  for  two  of  the  richest  days  of  rny  life.  I  saw  him  reaping  the  re 
ward  of  his  beloved  retirement.  He  was  at  the  matured  age  of  fifty-three. 
Alexander  arid  Caesar  both  died  before  they  reached  that  period  of  life,  and 
both  had  immortalized  their  names.  How  much  stronger  and  nobler  the 
churns  of  Washington  to  immortality!  In  the  impulses  of  mad  and  selfish 
ambition,  they  acquired  fame  by  wading  to  the  conquest  of  the  world  through 
eeas  of  blood.  Washington,  on  the  contrary,  was  parsimonious  of  the  blood 
of  his  countrymen,  and  stood  forth,  the  pure  and  virtuous  champion  of  their 
rights,  and  formed  for  them  (not  himself)  a  mighty  empire. 

To  have  communed  with  such  a  man  in  the  bosom  of  his  family,  I  shall 
always  regard  as  one  of  the  highest  privileges,  and  one  of  the  most  cher 
ished  incidents  of  my  life.  I  found  him  kind  and  benignant  in  the  do 
mestic  circle,  revered  and  beloved  by  all  around  him  ;  agreeably  social, 
without  ostentation  ;  delighting  in  anecdote  and  adventure,  without  assump 
tion  ;  his  domestic  arrangements  harmonious  and  systematic.  His  servants 
seemed  to  watch  his  eye,  and  to  anticipate  his  every  wish ;  hence  a  look 
was  equivalent  to  a  command.  His  servant,  Billy,  the  faithful  companion 
of  his  military  career,  was  always  at  his  side.  Smiling  content  beamed  on 
every  countenance  in  his  presence. 

He  modestly  waived  all  allusions  to  the  events  in  which  he  had  acted  so 
glorious  :ind  conspicuous  a  part.  Much  of  his  conversation  had  reference 
to  tho  opening  of  the  navigation  of  the  Potomac,  by  canals  and  locks,  at 
the  Seneca,  the  Great  and  Little  Falls.  His  mind  appeared  to  be  deeply 
absorbed  by  that  object,  then  in  earnest  contemplation. 

The  first  evening  I  spent  under  the  wing  of  his  hospitality,  we  set  a  full 
hour  at  Uble  by  ourselves,  without  the  least  interruption,  after  the  family 
had  retired.  I  was  extremely  oppressed  by  a  severe  cold  and  excessive 
coughing,  contracted  by  the  exposure  of  a  harsh  winter  journey,  lit 


OF  AMERICANS. 

pressed  me  to  use  soiuo  remedies,  but  I  declined  doing  so.  As  usual,  after 
retiring,  ray  coughing  increased.  When  some  time  had  elapsed,  the  door 
of  my  room  was  gently  opened,  and,  on  drawing  m.v  l»i-f«rtph^  !  beheld 
Washington  himself  standing  at  my  bedside,  with  a  bowl  of  hot  tea  in  his 
hand.  I  was  mortified  and  distressed  beyond  expression.  This  little  in 
cident,  occurring  in  common  life  with  an  ordinary  man,  would  not  have 
Ve:i  noticed  ;  but  us  :i  :r.\:t  ot"  the  btMVOliMM  a'.-.d  private  virtue  of  Wash 
ington,  deserves  to  be  recorded." 

AMERICANS   IN   RUSSIA. 

Amv-r.e.ir.s  are  rather  favorites  in  Ku^ia,  and  e;ir  pftOplf  ByttpttthiM  with 
the  progressive  spirit  that  marks  the  present  history  ot"  the  Etuttitttt,  fof 
nothing  gives  Jonathan  greater  pleasure  than  to  see  folks  ugo  ahead."  The 
Emperor  Nicholas  once  said,  to  an  American  minister  at  his  court,  "Amer 
ica  and  Russia  are  the  only  two  genuine  governments  among  civilized  na 
tions — yours  is  a  genuine  republic,  and  mine  a  genuine  monarchy  ,  the  rest 
are  mongrels."  Both  governments  appear  to  be  progressing  in  the  right  di 
rection.  We  havt  got  out  of  leading  strings  and  manage  for  ourselves; 
while,  m  Russia,  tho  emperor  holding  all  power,  with  a  true  paternal  care, 
seems  to  be  trying  t>>  bring  the  people  up  to  a  point  \\here  they  MUD  UW- 
wise  in  time  go  alone. 

Some  twelve  years  since,  when  the  Emperor  Nicholas  was  at  the  height 
of  his  power,  Mr.  J.  S.  Maxwell,  of  New  York,  visited  Russia,  and  in  hia 
published  travels  gives  an  amusing  account  of  our  enterprising  countrymen 
in  that  distant  land.  He  had  been  out  to  visit  the  Imperial  Farming  Insti 
tution,  which  is  in  the  vicinity  of  St.  Petersburg,  and,  after  haying  visited 
it,  thus  continues  : 

"Ono  of  themes!  amusing  ir.eidents  aHer.d'.ng  ourvi>;t  to  this  institu 
tion,  was  to  find  there  an  American,  who  had  but  lately  arrived  in  the 
country,  lie  spoke  nothing  but  Knglish,  and  could  hold  no  communiration 
whatever  with  those  around  him,  except  through  the  medium  of  signs  and 
gestures.  .He  was  a  tall  thin  man,  with  a  thoughtful  countenance.  Ho 
had  brought  with  him  a  number  of  improved  instruments  of  agriculture, 
such  as  never  were  seen  before  in  Russia,  lie  displayed  in  a  practical  light 
the  advantages  of  these  Yankee  contrivances,  lie  found  the  pupils  of  the 
farming  institution  reaping  wheat  with  the  old-fashioned  sickle,  mowing 
with  a  short  scythe  attached  to  a  ten-foot  pole,  and  plowing  in  every  way 
but  tho  right  one.  Ho  perfectly  astonished  the  natives  with  his  long 
straight  furrows,  his  clean-cut  sward,  and  his  gigantic  strides  with  the  mys 
terious  cradle.  One  blustering  day,  he  saw  the  scholars  cleaning  grain,  by 
throwing  it  up  in  the  wind,  which  carried  off  the  dust  and  chaff,  while  thu 
grain  foil  to  the  ground.  Our  countryman  did  not  like  this  antiquated  pro 
cess,  and  constructed  a  winnowing  mill,  out  of  such  materials,  and  with 
such  tools  as  happened  to  bo  at  hand.  It  worked  beautifully,  and  the 
maker  was  regarded  by  the  young  barbarians  with  tho  most  profound  ro 
ut  oet.  Tins  very  useful  and  estimable  person  afterward  had  an  interview 
with  tho  minister  of  the  interior,  who  presides  over  this  institution,  and  it 
was  rumored  that  h©  was  about  to  be  elevated  to  a  professorship  in  the  col- 
lego  of  husbandry,  lie  did  not,  however,  long  remain  in  the  country,  and 


640  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS. 

was  rewarded  for  his  services  by  being  elected  an  honorary  member  of  the 
Imperial  Society  for  the  Improvement  of  Agriculture. 

The  foundry  of  Alexandroffsky,  near  the  gates  of  St.  Petersburg,  is  now 
in  the  possession  and  under  the  control  of  American  mechanics,  in  the  em 
ploy  of  the  government.  Some  account  of  the  settlement  and  success  of 
the  Americans  at  Alexandroffsky  may  be  interesting.  Some  time  in  1810, 
the  Emperor  Nicholas  assembled  his  councillors,  and  requested  their  opin 
ions  as  to  the  feasibility  of  a  railway  from  St.  Petersburg  to  Moscow.  It 
was  opposed  by  all,  except  Count  Kleiumichel,  the  minister  of  ways  and 
communications.  The  emperor,  however,  had  determined  to  make  the 
road  before  he  asked  advice.  He  surmised  that  the  council  merely  op 
posed  his  views,  that  he  might  be  gratified  with  the  apparent  illiberality  ol 
his  ministers,  and  thus  be  pleased  with  the  idea  of  his  own  merit  and  his 
own  power,  as  the  sole  benefactor  of  his  country. 

After  due  consideration,  it  was  concluded  that  railroads,  as  they  are  con 
structed  in  the  United  States,  were  the  best  adapted  for  the  empire,  and 
George  W.  Whistler,  an  American  gentleman  of  distinguished  ability  in  his 
profession,  was  invited  to  visit  Russia,  and  superintend  the  making  of  the 
proposed  road.  A  better  selection  could  not  have  been  made.  Thc>  diffi 
culties,  which  would  have  discouraged  most  men  in  such  a  country  and 
among  such  a  people  at  the  outset  of  such  an  undertaking,  vanished  before 
his  unequaled  industry,  knowledge  and  tact.  Intrigue  and  envy  fell  before 
his  consistency  and  firmness,  and  the  imperial  favor  and  the  public  appro 
bation  have  rewarded  the  merits  and  worth  of  a  citizen  whose  conduct  and 
character  are  worthy  the  republic.  After  certain  preliminaries  had  been 
arranged,  the  contracts  for  the  making  of  the  locomotives,  cars,  wagons  and 
carts,  were  offered,  and  parties  from  England,  France,  Belgium,  Holland 
Germany,  and  the  United  States,  sent  in  their  proposals  to  the  department 
of  ways  and  communications.  Among  these  was  one  from  a  party  of  young 
mechanics,  Messrs.  Harrison  and  Eastwick,  of  Philadelphia,  and  Mr.  Win- 
ants,  of  Baltimore.  They  had  been  informed  by  some  of  the  Russian  agents 
in  the  United  States,  that  it  would  be  for  their  interest  to  visit  St.  Petersburg 
and  endeavor  to  get  the  contract.  They  had  no  capital  to  invest  in  any  un 
dertaking  of  this  kind,  nor  could  they  boast  of  any  influence  at  court.  They 
nevertheless  repaired  to  the  capital,  and  with  little  prospect  of  success  in 
the  race  with  those  of  superior  credit  or  pretension,  they  sent  in  their  pro 
posals.  When  it  is  known  that  these  proposals  were  accepted,  and  that  too, 
when  other  parties  had  offered  to  contract  at  a  much  lower  rate — the  con 
fidence  of  the  government  in  the  skill  and  ability  of  the  American  mechanics, 
is  sufficiently  apparent.  It  also  shows  that  the  government  had  a  perfect 
knowledge,  through  their  foreign  agents,  of  the  capability  and  character  of 
the  men  they  wished  to  employ.  Money  was  a  matter  of  no  consequence, 
influence  at  court  was  of  no  importance,  and  all  those  who  had  built  their 
hopes  on  these  considerations,  were  thrown  aside  for  others,  who  were 
known  at  home  to  be  late  and  early  in  the  workshop,  and  to  possess  tho 
necessary  intelligence,  energy,  and  perseverance. 

As  soon  as  it  was  reported  that  the  Americans  had  the  contract,  a  pro 
longed  growl  was  heard  in  the  English  quarter.  That  the  Kamtschatka 
cteam  frigate  should  have  been  built  in  the  United  States  ;  that  she  should 


OF  AMERICANS.  641 

boat  anything  for  speed  or  beauty  in  the  north — that  she  should  be  the  fa 
vorite  sea-boat  of  the  emperor,  in  spite  of  the  rumors  that  told  of  her  blow 
ing  up,  or  going  down  with  all  on  board,  was  bad  enough  ;  but  that  these 
infernal  Yankees  should  be  insinuating  themselves  into  the  imperial  favor, 
in  defiance  of  all  precautions  to  the  contrary,  was  almost  beyond  endurance. 

The  Americans  had  the  contract,  and  from  the  moment  this  was  known, 
their  credit  was  unlimited  both  in  England  and  in  Russia.  Those  who  had 
possession  of  the  works  at  Alexandroffsky,  were  notified  to  leave  forthwith, 
and  the  Americans  immediately  moved  in  and  occupied  the  vast  buildings 
and  grounds,  covering  about  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres,  and  belonging  to 
the  factory.  The  dwellings  occupied  by  the  late  superintendents  and  now 
opened  for  the  use  of  the  new  proprietors  wera  all  that  could  be  desired. 
Saloons,  bath-rooms,  ceilings  in  fresco,  gardens,  summer-houses  and  duck 
ponds,  witnessed  the  taste  and  the  comfort  of  the  original  possessors.  The 
foundry  itself  contained  three  hundred  Russian  workmen,  and  a  quantity  of 
old  machinery  out  of  date  and  out  of  order.  All  these  wanted  renovating 
and  repairing.  Orders  were  immediately  dispatched  to  England  and  the 
United  States,  for  all  the  new  and  approved  inventions.  Fifteen  or  twenty 
assistant  workmen  were  brought  from  the  latter  country.  But  many  of  these 
would  not  remain,  for  although  they  were  better  paid  than  they  would  be 
elsewhere,  they  could  not  support  the  ennui  attending  a  residence  where 
there  were  no  public  meetings,  nor  discussions,  nor  newspapers,  nor  elec 
tions,  nor  lectures,  not  even  a  temperance  excitement  to  alleviate  the  pains 
of  exile. 

American  newspapers  are  seldom  seen  in  Russia.  The  '  Sun '  published 
in  New  York,  and  sold  for  one  cent  the  number,  was  delivered  to  a  sub 
scriber  in  St.  Petersburg  at  one  dollar  and  a  half  per  copy.  The  rates  of 
postage  are  very  high.  Before  the  subscriber  could  stop  the  aforesaid  jour 
nal,  a  large  amount  of  money  had  been  expended. 

As  the  Russians  were  incapable  of  doing  many  kinds  of  work,  it  became 
necessary  to  resort  to  Sweden  for  assistance,  and  sixty  intelligent  mechanics 
were  brought  from  that  country.  The  foundry  was  enlarged,  all  was  soon 
in  movement,  and  three  thousand  artisans  employed  in  the  manufacture  of 
two  hundred  locomotives  and  seven  thousand  cars,  in  one  of  the  best  and 
most  complete  establishments  in  the  world.  It  was  visited  by  the  minister 
and  princes,  and  all  were  delighted  with  the  experiment  and  the  improve 
ment.  Other  contracts  for  the  making  of  engines  and  steamboats,  amount 
ing  to  many  millions  of  money,  were  offered  to  the  Americans.  Whea 
they  commenced  operations,  they  were  desirious  of  introducing  a  system 
of  police,  altogether  different  from  that  one  prevailing  at  Alexandroffsky. 
Their  humane  exertions  were  frustrated  by  the  utter  ignorance  of  the  Rus 
sian  laborers  of  all  notions  of  common  honesty  and  morality.  Some  of 
them  were  serfs  of  the  crown,  some  of  them  serfs  of  the  nobles,  and  some 
free  peasants.  They  would  steal  whatever  they  could  conveniently  conceal, 
and  carried  off  in  their  clothing,  tools,  bits  of  brass,  copper,  or  whatever 
elso  would  purchase  a  dram.  It  became  absolutely  necessary,  therefore,  to 
adopt  the  old  practice  of  having  soldiers  stationed  at  the  entrances,  and 
every  Russian  who  passed  out  was  regularly  searched.  Every  morning 
some  were  so  intoxicated  as  to  be  unable  to  work  ;  they  were  given  in 


642  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

charge  to  a  police  officer,  by  whom  they  were  stripped  and  flogged.  The 
emperor  visited  the  works  at  Alexandroffsky,  not  long  since,  and  expressed 
his  satisfaction  to  Messrs.  Eastwick,  Harrison  and  Winants,  by  presenting 
each  of  them  with  a  diamond  ring.  He  also  passed  over  the  railway  as 
far  as  Colperno  to  which  point  it  is  finished,  and  returned  to  confer  upon 
the  distinguished  engineer  the  order  of  St.  Anne,  and  to  express  his  grati 
fication  in  a  ukase.  In  1842,  the  most  valuable  import  into  Russia  from 
the  United  States,  next  after  the  artic~.es  of  cotton,  was  machinery.  This 
was  mostly  intended  for  the  foundry  of  Alexandroffsky,  and  the  furtherance 
of  the  work  upon  the  railroad.  The  steam  earth-excavators  and  steam  pile- 
drivers  were  considered  extraordinary  productions,  and  so  useful  did  thev 
appear  that  directions  wer«  given  for  their  further  importation  and  their 
general  use  upon  the  various  public  works.  It  was  about  this  time  that  an 
American  dentist  arrived  from  Paris  to  inspect  the  imperial  masticators,  and 
so  successful  were  his  operations  that  he  was  decorated  with  the  ribbon  of 
St.  Andrew.  Soon  after  Nicholas  sent- to  America  for  bridge  builders  and 
millwrights,  as  Peter  sent  to  Holland  for  blacksmiths  and  carpenters.  The 
report  of  this  exceeding  partiality  for  the  citizens  of  the  republic  soon  at 
tracted  attention  in  the  United  States,  and  during  the  ensuing  summer, 
almost  every  steamer  brought  in  some  enterprising  son  of  New  England. 
Patent  fire-arms,  contrivances  for  making  pins,  and  specimens  of  almost 
every  new  invention,  were  presented  to  the  patronage  of  the  autocrat.  Let 
ters  were  addressed  to  his  imperial  majesty  from  individuals  residing  in  the 
far  west,  requesting  service  in  the  army  and  navy,  while  his  excellency  the 
American  minister  received  parcels  marked  '  this  side  up  with  care,'  and 
containing  various  articles  which  he  was  directed  to  deliver  immediately  to 
the  Emperor  of  all  the  Russias.  There  were  daguerreotype  views,  and 
there  were  models  of  bridges  and  floating  docks,  and  plans  and  specifica 
tions  for  building  ships  and  steamboats.  One  person  was  ready  to  supply 
any  demand  for  excellent  clocks  ;  another  sent  a  set  of  mineral  teeth  as  a 
sample  of  his  workmanship  ;  another  sent  his  majesty  a  work  on  the  treat 
ment  of  diseases  of  the  spine ;  another  sent  to  each  of  the  imperial  family 
a  barrel  of  Newtown  pippins,  and  some  member  of  the  temperance  scjioty, 
an  awful  looking  picture  of  the  human  stomach  diseased  by  the  use  of 
brandy.  Never  was  there  such  a  prospect  of  the  tide  of  emigration  run- 
ning  eastward,  and  if  free  trade  had  been  the  order  of  the  day,  if  passport 
and  police  system  had  not  presented  such  barriers  to  circumfora neons 
strangers,  if  the  emperor  had  not  published  a  ukase,  stating  that  no  presents 
whatever,  coming  from  unknown  individuals,  would  be  received  in  future 
by  the  imperial  family,  the  regeneration  of  the  empire  might  have  been 
completed  through  the  agency  of  speculating  Yankees." 

AMERICAN   NATIONAL    COURTESY. 

One  of  the  most  pleasing  acts  of  national  courtesy  on  record  was  the  res 
toration  by  our  government  to  England  of  one  of  the  vessels  which  had 
been  sent  out  to  the  Arctic  Ocean,  in  search  of  Sir  John  Franklin,  and 
where  she  became  so  hopelessly  shut  up  in  the  ice  as  to  compel  her  crew 
to  abandon  her  to  save  their  own  lives.  She  was  found  by  one  of  our 


OF  AMERICANS.  643 

arid  brought  to  America.  The  full  circumstances  we  annex  from 
Sargent's  Arctic  Adventure. 

"In  the  month  of  September,  1855,  the  whaler  George  Henry,  Captain 
Buddington,  of  New  London,  Connecticut,  was  drifting  along,  beset  by  the 
ice,  in  Baffin's  Bay,  when  one  morning  the  captain,  looking  through  his 
glass,  saw  a  large  ship  some  fifteen  or  twenty  miles  distant,  apparently 
working  her  way  toward  him.  Day  after  day,  while  helplessly  imprisoned 
in  the  pack,  he  watched  her  coming  nearer.  On  the  seventh  day,  the  mate, 
Mr.  Quail,  and  three  men  were  sent  out  to  find  out  what  she  was. 

After  a  hard  day's  journey  over  the  ice — jumping  from  piece  to  piece, 
and  pushing  themselves  along  on  isolated  cakes — they  were  near  enough  to 
see  that  she  was  lying  on  her  larboard  side  firmly  imbedded  in  the  ice. 
They  shouted  lustily,  as  soon  as  they  got  within  hailing  distance  ;  but  there 
was  no  answer.  Not  a  soul  was  to  be  seen.  For  one  moment,  as  the  men 
came  alongside,  they  faltered,  with  a  superstitious  feeling,  and  hesitated  to 
go  on  board.  A  moment  after,  they  had  climbed  over  the  broken  ice,  and 
stood  on  deck.  Everything  was  stowed  away  in  order — spars  hauled  up 
and  lashed  to  one  side,  boats  piled  together,  hatches  calked  down.  Over 
the  helm,  in  letters  of  brass,  was  inscribed  the  motto,  'England  expects 
every  man  to  do  his  duty.'  But  there  was  no  man  on  board  to  heed  the 
warning. 

The  whalemen  broke  open  the  companion-way,  and  descended  into  the 
cabin.  All  was  silence  and  darkness.  Groping  their  way  to  the  table, 
they  found  matches  and  candles,  and  struck  a  light.  There  were  decan 
ters  and  glasses  on  the  table,  chairs  and  lounges  standing  around,  books 
scattered  about — everything  just  as  it  had  been  last  used.  Looking  curi 
ously  from  one  thing  to  another,  wondering  what  this  ship  might  be,  at  last 
they  came  upon  the  log-book.  It  was  indorsed,  '  Bark  Resolute,  1st  Sept., 
1853,  to  April,  1854.'  One  entry  was  as  follows,  '  H.  M.  S.  Resolute,  17th 
January,  1854,  nine  A.  M. — Mustered  by  divisions.  People  taking  exercise 
on  deck.  Five  p.  M. — Mercury  frozen.' 

This  told  the  story.  It  was  Captain  Kellett's  ship,  the  Resolute,  which 
nad  broken  away  from  her  icy  prison,  and  had  thus  fallen  into  the  hands 
of  our  Yankee  whalemen. 

While  the  men  were  making  these  discoveries,  night  came  on,  and  a  gale 
arose.  So  hard  did  it  blow  that  they  were  compelled  to  remain  on  board, 
and  for  two  days  these  four  were  the  whole  crew  of  the  Resolute.  It  was 
not  till  19th  of  September  that  they  returned  to  their  own  ship,  and  made 
their  report. 

All  these  ten  days,  since  Captain  Buddington  had  first  seen  her,  the  ves 
sels  had  been  nearing  each  other.  On  the  19th  he  boarded  her  himself,  and 
found  that  in  her  hold,  on  the  larboard  side,  was  a  good  deal  of  ice.  Her 
tanks  had  burst,  from  the  extreme  cold  ;  and  she  was  full  of  water,  nearly 
to  her  lower  deck.  Everything  that  could  move  from  its  place  had  moved. 
Everything  between  decks  was  wet ;  everything  that  would  mould  was 
mouldy.  'A  sort  of  perspiration '  had  settled  on  the  beams  and  ceilings. 
The  whalemen  made  a  fire  in  Kellett's  stove,  and  soon  started  a  sort  of 
•hower  from  the  vapor  with  which  it  filled  the  air.  The  Resolute  had, 
however,  four  fine  force  Dumps.  For  three  days  the  captain  and<  six-  men 
41 


644  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

worked  fourteen  hours  a  day  on  one  of  these,  and  had  the  pleasure  of  find 
ing  that  they  freed  her  of  water — that  she  was  tight  still.  They  cut  away 
upon  the  masses  of  ice  :  and  on  the  23d  of  September,  in  the  evening,  she 
freed  herself  from  her  encumbrances,  and  took  an  even  keel.  This  was  oft 
the  shore  of  Baffin's  Bay,  in  latitude  67°.  On  the  shortest  tact,  she  was 
twelve  hundred  miles  from  where  Kellett  left  her. 

There  was  work  enough  still  to  be  done.  The  rudder  was  to  be  shipped, 
the  rigging  to  be  made  taut,  sail  to  be  set — and  it  proved,  by  the  way,  that 
the  sail  on  the  yards  was  much  of  it  still  serviceable,  while  a  suit  of  new 
linen  sails  below  were  greatly  injured  \>y  moisture.  In  a  week  more,  she 
was  ready  to  make  sail.  The  pack  of  ice  still  drifted  with  both  ships ;  but 
on  the  21st  of  October,  after  a  long  north-west  gale,  the  Resolute  was  free. 

Captain  Buddington  had  resolved  to  bring  her  home.  He  had  picked 
ten  men  from  the  George  Henry,  and  with  a  rough  tracing  of  the  American 
coast,  drawn  on  a  sheet  of  foolscap,  with  his  lever  watch  and  a  quadrant 
for  his  instruments,  he  squared  off  for  New  London.  A  rough,  hard  pas 
sage  they  had  of  it.  The  ship's  ballast  was  gone,  by  the  bursting  of  the 
tanks  ;  she  was  top-heavy  and  undermanned.  He  spoke  to  a  British  whal 
ing  bark,  and  by  her  sent  to  Captain  Kellett  his  epaulets,  and  to  his  own 
owners  news  that  he  was  coming.  They  had  heavy  gales  and  head  winds, 
and  were  driven  as  far  down  as  the  Bermudas.  The  water  left  in  the  ship's 
tanks  was  brackish,  and  it  needed  .all  the  seasoning  which  the  ship's  choco 
late  would  give  to  make  it  drinkable.  '  For  sixty  hours  at  a  time,'  says  the 
captain,  'I  frequently  had  no  sleep;'  but  his  perseverance  was  crowned 
with  success,  at  last,  and,  on  the  night  of  the  23d  of  December,  he  made 
the  light  off  the  harbor  from  which  he  sailed,  and  on  Sunday  morning,  the 
24th,  dropped  anchor  in  the  Thames,  opposite  New  London,  and  ran  up 
the  British  ensign  on  the  shorn  masts  of  the  Resolute. 

Her  subsequent  history  is  fresh  in  the  minds  of  our  readers.  The  British 
government  generously  released  all  their  claim  in  favor  of  the  sailors. 
Thereupon,  Congress  resolved  that  the  vessel  should  be  purchased  and  re 
stored  as  a  present  to  her  majesty  from  the  American  people.  This  design 
was  fully  carried  out.  The  Resolute  was  taken  to  the  dry-dock  in  Brook- 
lin,  and  there  put  in  complete  order.  Everything  on  board — even  to  the 
smallest  article — was  replaced  as  nearly  as  possible  in  its  original  position ; 
and,  at  length,  having  been  manned  and  officered  from  the  United  States 
navy,  and  placed  under  the  command  of  Captain  Hartstein,  the  Resolute, 
stanch  and  sound  again  from  stem  to  stern,  '  with  sails  all  set  and  streamers 
all  afloat,'  once  more  shaped  her  course  for  England. 

On  the  12th  of  December,  1856,  after  a  boisterous  passage,  she  anchored 
at  Spithead,  with  the  United  States  and  British  ensigns  flying  at  the  peak. 
'Notwithstanding  the  furious  gale  which  was  then  raging,'  says  Captain 
Hartstein,  in  his  official  report,  'we  were  immediately  boarded  by  Captain 
Peal,  of  her  Britannic  Majesty's  frigate  Shannon,  who  cordially  offered  to 
us  every  civility  and  attention.  In  a  few  moments  afterward,  a  steamer 
arrived  from  Vice-Admiral  Sir  George  Seymour  (commanding  officer  of  the 
station),  with  a  tender  of  services,  and  congratulations  upon  our  safe  arrival.  , 
Proceeding  to  Portsmouth  next  morning  (which  I  did  in  a  government 
steamer  provided  me  for  that  purpose),  I  visited  the  United  States  con- 


OF  AMERICANS.  645 

sulate,  and  was  there  waited  upon  by  Sir  Thomas  Maitland,  who  had  be 
come  commanding  officer  of  the  naval  station  in  the  absence  of  the  admi 
ral,  Sir  George  Seymour,  and  received  from  him  a  most  cordial  welcome, 
with  proffers  of  every  possible  service,  by  express  instruction  from  the  ad 
rniralty.  Accommodations  were  prepared  for  us  at  the  first  hotel,  and 
orders  for  a  bountiful  supply  of  provisions  to  be  sent  on  board  the  Reso 
lute  ;  also  a  carte  blanche  for  the  railroad  to  London,  for  myself  and  the 
officers  of  the  Resolute.  In  fact,  nothing  could  exceed  the  kindness  and 
courtesy  with  which  we  were  treated  by  Sir  Thomas  Maitland,  who  seemed 
upwilling  that  any  means  of  adding  to  his  hearty  expressions  of  welcomo 
should  pass  unexhausted.  That  morning's  post  brought  me  a  communica 
tion  from  Sir  Charles  Wood,  first  lord  of  the  admiralt}7,  whose  expressions 
of  kindly  feeling  I  beg  may  bo  particularly  noticed.  At  noon  of  the  day 
after  our  arrival,  a  royal  salute  was  fired  from  the  Victory  (flag  ship),  from 
the  fortifications,  and  from  the  Shannon,  at  Spithead.' 

The  queen  having  expressed  a  wish  'to  visit  the  Resolute,  and  a  desire 
that  the  vessel  might  be  taken  to  Cowes,  near  her  majesty's  private  resi 
dence,  the  ship  was  towed  thither  by  the  government  steamer,  escorted  by 
two  other  steamers  and  the  steam  frigate  Retribution. 

Meanwhile,  the  necessary  diplomatic  formalities  had  been  exchanged  be 
tween  the  American  minister  and  Lord  Clarendon. 

Of  the  queen's  visit  to  the  Resolute,  which  took  place  on  the  16th  of 
December,  we  quote  the  following  description  from  the  London  Times  : 

*  The  queen,  accompanied  by  Prince  Albert,  the  Prince  of  Wales,  the 
Princess  Royal,  and  the  Princess  Alice,  left  Osborne  at  a  quarter  past  ten 
o'clock,  and  drove  to  the  ship  in  an  open  carriage,  drawn  by  four  gray 
ponies.  Her  majesty  was  attended  by  a  distinguished  suite.  The  Reso 
lute,  dressed  in  her  colors,  was  lashed  alongside  of  the  royal  embarkation 
place  at  Trinity  Wharf.  The  English  and  American  flags  were  flying  at 
the  peak  ;  and,  as  soon  as  the  queen  set  her  foot  on  the  deck,  tho  royal 
standard  was  hoisted  at  the  main.  The  Retribution  fired  a  salute,  the 
boats'  crews  'tossed*  their  oars,  and  the  ship's  company,  standing  on  the 
rail,  received  her  majesty  with  three  rounds  of  cheers.  Captain  Hartstein 
received  the  royal  party  at  the  gangway,  and  the  officers,  in  full  uniform, 
were  grouped  on  either  side.  All  were  presented  to  the  queen  by  Captain 
Hartstein,  who  then  addressed  her  majesty  in  the  following  words  : 

'Allow  me  to  welcome  your  majesty  on  board  the  Resolute,  and,  in  obe 
dience   to   the  will  of  my  countrymen   and   the   President   of  the  United 
States,  to  restore  her  to  you,  not  only  as  an  evidence  of  a  friendly  feeling 
to  your  sovereignty,  but  as  a  token  of  love,  admiration,  and  respect  to  your 
mniesty  personally.' 

The  queen  seemed  touched  by  the  manly  simplicity  of  this  frank  and 
sailor-like  address,  and  replied,  with  a  gracious  smile,  'I  thank  you,  sir. 
The  royal  family  then  went  over  the  ship,  and  examined  her  with  manifest 
interest. 

After  the  withdrawal  of  the  royal  party,  there  was  an  elegant  '  dejeuner* 
in  the  wardroom,  at  which,  among  other  toasts,  was  given,  '  The  future  suc 
cess  of  the  Resolute,  and  may  she  be  again  employed  in  search  for  Sir  John 
Franklin  and  his  comrades.'  The  sentiment  evoked  cordial  applause. 


646  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day,  '  I  received,'  says  Captain  Hartstoin, 
'  a  note,  inclosing  a  check  for  one  hundred  pounds,  with  a  request  from  her 
majesty  that  it  should  be  distributed  among  the  crew  ;  which  I  accepted  in 
their  behalf.' 

On  the  morning  of  December  17th,  the  Resolute  was  towed  up  to  the 
harbor  of  Portsmouth,  escorted  by  the  steam  frigate  Retribution ;  and,  on 
arriving  at  her  anchorage,  was  received  by  another  royal  salute,  and  with 
guch  an  outburst  of  popular  feeling  as  was  never  known  before. 

The  British  government  and  people  were  unremitting  in  their  attentions 
to  Captain  Hartstein  and  his  officers,  during  their  stay  in  England.  Three 
splendid  Christmas  cakes  were  forwarded  by  Lady  Franklin  to  Portsmouth, 
to  be  presented  to  the  American  officers  and  crew.  A  passage  to  the  United 
States,  in  the  British  steamer  Retribution,  was  tendered  them.  This,  how 
ever,  it  was  thought  best  to  decline.  'On  the  30th  of  December,  1856,  the 
American  flag  was  hauled  down  on  board  the  Resolute,  when  it  was  saluted 
by  the  Victory  with  twenty-one  guns,  llie  union -jack  was  then  hoisted, 
and  the  ship  was  given  up  to  the  authorities.  The  next  day  the  American 
officers  and  crew  left  England,  on  their  return  to  the  United  States. 

By  late  English  papers,  we  learn  that  the  queen  has  commissioned  Mr. 
William  Simpson,  the  artist  of  the  Crimean  war,  to  paint  for  her  private 
gallery  a  picture  of  the  *  Reception  '  on  board  the  Resolute — a  very  graceful 
memorial  of  a  most  interesting  act  of  international  courtesy." 

AMERICANS   IN   AUSTRALIA. 

Our  countrymen  who  have  wandered  to  the  antipodes,  although  they  do 
not  rise  until  we  sit  down  to  our  suppers,  and  in  some  other  habits,  occa 
sioned  by  geographical  and  climatic  necessities,  are  the  reverse  of  us,  yet 
seem  to  preserve  all  our  essential  national  traits,  judging  from  a  published 
series  of  "  fast "  letters  from  a  youthful  American  merchant,  Mr.  George 
Francis  Train,  and  entitled  "Young  America  Abroad."  One  of  these,  dated 
at  Melbourne,  Australia,  we  extract  entire,  as  it  shows  what  some  of  our 
people  are  about,  and  what  their  behavior  in  that  far-distant  quarter  of  the 
globe. 

"You  will  be  surprised  to  see  how  fast  this  place  is  becoming  American 
ized.  Go  where  you  will,  from  Sand  ridge  to  Bendigo,  from  the  "Ovens" 
to  Balaarat,  you  can  but  note  some  indication  of  the  indomitable  energy  of 
our  people.  '  Hang  a  coffee-bag  in  that  place,  noted  for  the  warmth  of  its 
temperature  and  the  morals  of  its  inhabitants,  and  a  Yankee  will  be  sure  to 
find  it,'  says  some  observer  of  our  national  character. 

The  true  American  defies  competition,  and  laughs  sneeringly  at  impos 
sibilities.  He  don't  believe  in  the  word,  and  is  prepared  to  show  how 
meaningless  it  is.  It  is  not  an  unusual  thing  to  hear  the  movers  of  some 
undertaking  that  has  been  dragging  its  slow  carcass  along,  remark  :  '  If  you 
want  to  have  the  jetty  finished,  you  must  let  the  Americans  take  hold  of  it ;' 
and  sure  enough  they  have  obtained  the  contract  to  complete  the  Hobson'a 
Bay  Railroad  Pier,  and  our  countrymen  mechanics  invariably  receive  the 
preference. 

A  mail  or  two  since  I  wrote  you  about  the  Tittlebat  appearance  of  the 
Melbourne  fire  brigade  at  the  late  fire  in  Collins  street,  and  suggested  the 


OF  AMERICANS.  64:7 

propriety  of  your  sending  us  out  a  Boston  tub  or  two,  just  for  aggravation 
sake.  Hardly  had  my  letter  cleared  the  Heads  before  we  had  another 
scorcher,  more  furious  than  the  first,  burning  down  some  half-dozen  build 
ings  in  Flanders  lane.  The  Americans  could  not  endure  it  any  longer,  and 
on  the  spot  determined  to  volunteer  their  services  for  the  public  good.  It 
was  too  much  for  our  weak  nerves  to  see  the  reckless  destruction  of  pro 
perty,  simply  for  want  of  a  suitable  engine.  The  next  morning  our  paper 
was  started  and  sixteen  thousand  dollars  subscribed  in  less  time  than  it  takes 
to  perform  the  Episcopal  service,  for  the  purchasing  of  the  suitable  apparatus 
for  a  thoroughly  efficient  fire  department  under  the  volunteer  system.  After 
all  the  American  houses  had  contributed  their  fifty  pounds,  the  paper  was 
passed  around  among  the  '  merchants  of  all  nations,'  who  gladly  gave  us  a 
helping  hand.  A  committee  has  been  appointed  to  wait  upon  his  excel 
lency,  with  a  brief  outline  of  our  system  of  managing  such  affairs,  and  to 
request  the  government  to  furnish  us  with  engine  houses,  etc.,  if  it  met 
with  his  sanction  and  approval.  A  meeting  will  be  called  to  hear  the 
report  of  said  committee,  and  if  favorable,  the  orders  for  the  engines  will  be 
Bent  forthwith. 

As  most  of  the  Atlantic  States  are  represented  here  by  mercantile  housest 
there  is  quite  a  difference  of  opinion  about  where,  and  by  whom  said 
machinery  shall  be  made — some  say  Boston — and  I  most  respectfully  would 
intimate  that  I  am  one  of  that  number,  having  for  man}'  years  a  most 
religious  belief  in  the  superiority  of  that  city  over  many  others  for  clipper 
ships,  clipper  mechanics,  clipper  engines,  clipper  scholars  and  clipper  mer 
chants.  Some  say  New  York,  others,  Philadelphia,  while  one  or  two 
believe  in  Baltimore.  To  settle  the  question,  we  may  have  to  draw  from 
each  an  engine  for  competition  sake — each  maker  will  then  be  striving  to 
excel,  and  we  shall  accordingly  get  the  best  '  mer-chines.' 

This  movement  will  show  you  that  the  Americans  are  not  asleep. 

A  few  days  since  I  was  trying  my  vail,  preparatory  for  the  dust  that 
sweeps  along  Collins  street,  between  Queens  and  Sawston,  when  my  old 
eyes  were  made  glad  by  the  appearance  of  a  real  old  Boston  water-cart  in 
full  operation.  The  streets  were  being  watered,  and  't  was  amusing  to  see 
the  astonished  natives  on  each  side  gaping  incredulously  at  the  watering 
machine.  No  wonder,  poor  benighted  race.  It  was  something  they  never 
dreamed  of;  they  could  not  understand  how  kbat  water,  which  they  were 
paying  two  dollars  a  cask  for,  should  be  scattered  up  and  down  the  streets. 
One  man,  more  intelligent  than  the  rest,  had  presence  of  mind  enough  to 
climb  up  on  the  wheel  and  tell  the  driver,  amid  a  shout  from  the  knowing 
ones,  that  the  water  was  all  leaking  out  of  his  cart  ! 

On  inquiry,  I -found  that  an  American  was  watering  the  street  on  sub 
scription.  I  noticed  one  spot  in  the  middle  of  the  street  as  dusty  as  ever, 
while  either  side  was  carefully  sprinkled.  It  seems  that  the  occupant  of 
the  store  adjoining  declined  paying  for  the  luxury,  so  the  driver  stopped 
just  before,  and  commenced  sprinkling  again  just  after  having  passed  his 
door  ! 

A  company  of  American  Californians  have  started  a  line  of  passenger 
wagons  (American,  of  course,  made  at  Concord)  to  Bendigo  ;  another  party 
have  two  teams  running  from  Geelong  to  Balaarat ;  and  some  Cape  Cod 


648  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS 

folks  are  doing  a  good  business  with  some  Yankee  coaches  between  Sand- 
ridge  and  Melbourne. 

There  are  about  one  hundred  New  York  buggy  wagons  in  and  about  the 
city,  mostly  owned  by  Englishmen,  who  for  a  long  time  could  n>t  believo 
that  the  tiny  spokes  and  slender  wheels  and  springs  were  sufficiently  strong 
to  carry  their  weight !  They  are  much  delighted  with  the  covered  buggies, 
and  well  they  may  be,  for  the  sun  comes  down  most  scorchingly  upon  those 
who  sport  a  'dog  cart  ! ' 

Some  two  or  three  Americans  are  engaged  in  catching  fish,  some  forty 
miles  from  town,  for  this  market ;  another  party  are  cutting  firewood  at  the 
Heads,  on  speculation — while  Moss  is  selling  American  ice  at  the  Criterion 
at  fifty  cents  a  pound. 

American  timber  shuts  out  the  colonial ;  and  American  mining  tools  have 
already  displaced  the  English. 

American  liquors  stand  no  chance  here,  but  the  American  drinks  are 
very  popular.  And  now,  having  exercised  the  peculiar  privilege  of  an  Ameri 
can  in  saying  what  he  can  of  his  countrymen,  permit  me  to  wish  you  and 
your  readers  as  many  happy  returns  of  the  new  year  as  it  may  be  pleasant 
for  you  and  them  to  enjoy." 

It  seems  our  countrymen  there  do  not  forget  to  celebrate  the  4th  of  July. 
On  an  occasion  of  this  kind  the  writer  of  the  above  quoted  letter,  in  re 
sponse  to  a  toast  to  "  G.  F.  Train  and  Young  America,"  made  a  character 
istic  speech,  which,  considering  the  place  and  circumstances,  does  well  to 
extract  in  this  connection.  After  tracing  the  descent  of  Young  America  for 
a  thousand  years,  he  says  : 

"  But  if  the  retrospective  view  has  dazzled  us,  how  much  more  astonish 
ing  is  the  present ;  when  our  thirteen  little  States  are  rolling  on  toward 
forty  living  Republics,  bound  together  as  one  nation  ;  when  our  three 
millions  have  grown  to  thirty,  and  'driven  by  the  hand  of  God,'  to  quote 
De  Tocqueville,  'are  peopling  the  Western  wilderness  at  the  average  rate  of 
seventeen  miles  per  annum  ;'  when  our  Lilliputian  commerce  has  whitened 
every  sea,  and  our  mother  tongue  has  worked  its  way  into  every  land,  and 
when  our  influence  and  our  progress,  like  the  ripples  in  mid-ocean,  reach 
from  shore  to  shore. 

Startle  not,  my  friends,  at  the  lightning  pace  of  the  pilgrim's  steed.  He 
is  sure  to  win  the  race — naught  stops  him  in  his  destiny  ;  when  danger  lurks 
in  his  pathway,  he  turns  high  his  head  and  snorts  a  proud  defiance  at  the 
precipice  that  would  have  ruined  him,  and  plunges  on  to  victory.  *  *  * 
Young  America  is  only  another  edition  of  Old  England,  in  a  binding 
peculiar  to  the  New  World.  Young  John  Bull  in  his  shirt  sleeves,  working 
with  an  energy  that  commands  success.  England  and  America  are  partners, 
not  rivals.  The  younger  nation  is  the  junior,  who  manages  the  western 
branches  of  the  old  concern.  Youth  gives  activity,  and  hence  the  young 
man  opens  his  letters  before  breakfast,  on  the  steps  of  the  postoffice,  while 
the  old  gentleman  prefers  breaking  the  seal  in  dressing-gown  and  slippers 
after  dinner.  Young  America  showed  the  same  feelings  of  independence  in 
establishing  a  house  of  his  own,  that  every  young  man  experiences  who 
leaves  the  old  house  to  earn  an  honest  livelihood  by  his  own  exertions. 

In  this  instance,  however,  the  connection  with  the  old  concern  is  of  mor* 


OF  AMERICANS. 

value  than  that  with  the  balance  of  the  world.  The  revolution  was  merely 
an  animated  conversation,  where  shot  and  cannon  were  introduced  to  give 
emphasis  to  the  debate,  and  when  the  disputed  'point'  was  settled,  old 
England  rose  with  renewed  vigor,  in  Young  America.  The  sources  of  dis 
cord  soon  began  to  dry,  and  now,  as  the  flower  turns  to  the  sun,  the  needla 
to  the  magnet,  the  child  to  its  mother,  as  the  twin  brothers  of  Siam  receive 
each  the  same  emotions,  so  are  we  bound  by  speaking  the  same  language, 
and  worshiping  the  same  God,  to  remember  England,  the  proud  old 
mother  of  our  race, 

'And  join  the  Stars,  and  Stripes,  and  Cross  in  one  fraternal  baud, 
Till  Anglo-Saxon  faith  and  laws  illumine  every  land.'  " 

AMERICAN     ENTERPRISE. 

A  rather  sterile  soil  and  a  hard  climate,  in  which  winter  holds  for  a  large 
part  of  the  year,  are  fortunate  conditions  for  the  real  welfare  and  advance 
ment  of  a  people  ;  for  these  require  extra  exertions  to  secure  a  liveli 
hood,  and  this  extra  labor  so  develops  and  disciplines  all  the  faculties,  that 
it  seems  as  if  only  under  such  circumstances  that  an  entire  people  will  ever 
become  greatly  prosperous.  This  is  the  position  of  the  inhabitants  of  New 
England,  who,  from  apparently  the  most  unpropitious  circumstances  of  soil 
and  climate,  have  opened  new  avenues  of  enterprise,  and  made  their  land 
teem  with  the  riches  of  a  most  varied  industry. 

We  propose  here  to  speak  only  of  one  branch — the  ICE  trade,  a  business 
which,  from  its  recent  origin  and  novelty,  has  been  a  subject  of  unusual 
comment.  Ice  being  a  product  of  the  north,  was  unknown  to  the  inhabit 
ants  of  the  torrid  zone  until  brought  to  them  through  the  agency  of  com- 
morce.  An  anecdote  in  point  is  somewhere  told  of  an  English  sailor,  who, 
in  his  wanderings,  was  brought  before  an  Eastern  Pasha,  whom  he  amused 
with  a  long  series  of  the  most  absurd,  incredible  yarns,  in  sailor  fashion,  all 
of  which  were  listened  to  and  believed  with  Mussulman-like  gravity  and 
honesty,  until  he  unluckily  mentioned,  that  in  his  country  the  cold  often 
was  so  severe  that  the  water  actually  grew  solid  so  that  people  could  walk 
upon  it,  whereupon  the  Pasha  flew  into  a  storm  of  passion,  declared  that  lie 
now  did  riot  believe  anything  he  had  said,  and  finished  by  ordering  him  to 
be  bastinadoed  on  the  spot  for  a  consummate  liar  ! 

Ice  is  said  to  be  only  the  natural  condition  of  water,  that  is,  water  with 
out  the  admixture  of  the  foreign  element — heat.  The  ice  harvest,  matured 
and  ripened  by  cold,  is  watched  with  as  much  eagerness  by  those  in  the 
trade,  as  his  golden-hued  harvest  is  watched  by  the  farmer,  for  both  alike 
are  sources  of  wealth.  Ice  was  used  for  domestic  consumption  in  this 
country  previous  to  this  century.  Hunt's  Merchant's  Magazine  for  August, 
1855,  has  an  interesting  article  giving  the  history  and  statistics  of  this 
business,  from  which  we  extract  the  following  : 

"  The  idea  of  exporting  ice  to  low  latitudes  was  first  developed  by 
Frederic  Tudor,  Esq.,  of  Boston,  in  August,  1805.  During  the  following 
February  he  shipped  the  first  cargo  of  ice  that  was  ever  exported  from  this 
country,  and  probably  from  any  other,  in  a  brig  belonging  to  himself,  from 
Boston  to  Martinique. 

Although  Mr.  Tudor  went  on  with  the  first  ice  that  he  dispatched  to  the 


050  ADVENTURES   AND   ACHIEVEMENTS 

West  Indies,  the  voyage  was  attended  with  great  losses.  These  happened 
in  consequence  of  the  want  of  ice-houses,  and  the  expense  of  fitting  out  two 
agents  to  the  different  islands,  to  announce  the  project,  and  to  secure  some 
advantages.  But  a  greater  loss  arose  from  the  dismasting  of  the  brig  in  the 
vicinity  of  Martinique.  The  embargo  and  war  intervened  to  suspend  the 
business,  but  it  was  renewed  on  the  return  of  peace.  As  late  as  1823,  con 
tinued  disasters  attended  the  business,  which  largely  affected  the  finances 
and  health  of  Mr.  Tudor.  After  an  illness  of  two  years,  he  was  enabled  to 
proceed  and  to  extend  the  business  to  several  of  tli3  Southern  States,  and  to 
other  of  the  West  Indies.  In  1834,  his  ships  carried  the  frozen  element  to 
the  East  Indies  and  to  Brazil,  an  important  event  in  itself,  since  no  other 
vessel  had  ever  visited  those  distant  parts  of  the  world  on  a  similar  errand, 
and  because  they  have  proved  good  markets  from  that  day  to  this. 

It  is  now  half  a  century  since  the  founder  of  this  trade  commenced  it. 
He  is  still  actively  and  largely  engaged  in  the  business,  and  notwithstanding 
early  losses,  by  pursuing  the  same  business,  for  a  long  period  of  years, 
he  has  found  an  ample  reward.  The  great  increase  of  the  Boston  ice 
trade  has  been  since  1832.  In  that  year  the  whole  amount  shipped  was 
but  four  thousand  three  hundred  and  fifty-two  tuns,  which  was  cut  at  Fresh 
Pond  by  Mr.  Tudor.  In  the  year  1854,  the  amount  exported  from  Boston 
was  one  hundred  and  fifty-six  thousand  five  hundred  and  forty  tuns.  In 
the  preceding  year  there  were  but  one  hundred  thousand  tuns  shipped.  In 
1845  there  were  but  forty-eight  thousand  four  hundred  and  twenty-two 
tuns  exported.  The  railroads  receive  some  ninety  thousand  dollars  for 
transporting  ice,  and  those  who  bear  it  over  the  sea  from  four  hundred 
thousand  dollars  to  five  hundred  thousand. 

Boston  finds  the  best  market  for  ice  hi  the  ports  of  southern  cities.  Of 
all  that  was  exported  last  year,  about  one  hundred  and  ten  thousand  tuns 
were  sold  in  those  cities.  The  next  best  market  was  the  East  Indies,  where 
fourteen  thousand  two  hundred  and  eighty-four  tuns  were  sold.  Other 
moderately  good  markets  were  Havana,  Rio  Janeiro,  Callao,  Demerara,  St. 
Thomas,  and  Peru.  Of  the  whole  of  last  year's  exports,  only  eight  hundred 
and  ninety-five  tuns  were  sent  to  Great  Britain,  and  that  was  landed  at 
Liverpool.  Years  ago  we  were  accustomed  to  hear  how  delighted  the 
Queen  of  England  was  with  our  Newham  Lake  ice.  The  mother-land 
now  ships  a  portion  of  its  ice  from  Norway,  which  is  believed  to  be  the 
only  nation  that  exports  ice,  save  the  United  States. 

The  leading  house  in  Boston  that  is  engaged  in  the  exporting  of  ice  is 
that  of  Gage,  Hittenger  &  Co.,  which  exported  last  year  exactly  ninety-one 
thousand  five  hundred  and  forty  tuns.  The  remainder  for  the  year,  sixty- 
five  thousand  tuns,  was  exported  by  Frederic  Tudor,  Daniel  Draper  &  Son, 
Russell,  Harrington  &  Co.,  and  by  the  New  England  Ice  Company.  The 
number  of  vessels  engaged  in  these  shipments  was  five  hundred  and  twenty. 
The  exports  of  ice  from  Boston  furnish  the  largest  amount  of  tunnage  of  any 
other  item.  The  commercial  marine  of  the  United  States  has  been  mate 
rially  increased  by  the  operations  of  the  ice  trade.  A  large  portion  of  tha 
vessels  formerly  engaged  in  the  freighting  trade  from  Boston^  sailed  in 
ballast,  depending  for  remuneration  on  freight  of  cotton,  rice,  tobacco,  sugar,, 
etc.,  to  be  obtained  in  more  southern  latitudes,  often  competing  with  the 


OF  AMERICANS.  651 

ressols  of  other  nations  which  could  earn  a  freight  out  and  home.  Now  a 
small  outward  freight  from  Boston  can  usually  be  obtained  for  the  trans 
portation  of  ice  to  those  places  where  freighting  vessels  ordinarily  obtain 
cargoes. 

The  ice-houses  at  Fresh  Pond  in  1847,  were  capable  of  containing  eighty- 
Bix  thousand  seven  hundred  and  thirty-two  tuns,  or  more  than  half  the  ice 
that  was  gathered  in  Massachusetts  at  that  time.  In  that  year  the  accom 
modation  at  seven  other  ponds  in  the  vicinity  of  Boston  was  equal  to  the 
storage  of  fifty-four  thousand  six  hundred  tuns.  These  ice-houses  have 
been  so  increased  that  in  1854  their  storage  capacity  was  three  hundred 
thousand  tuns. 

From  what  has  been  said,  it  is  clear  that  the  ice  trade  is  no  mean  one. 
Though  it  has  advanced  quietly,  and  has  as  yet  scarcely  made  any  figure  in 
the  literature  of  commerce,  it  is  destined  to  be  a  very  large  business  in  this 
country.  Already,  from  all  that  we  can  learn,  there  is  invested  in  this 
branch  of  business,  in  all  parts  of  the  United  States,  not  less  than  from  six 
to  seven  millions  of  dollars.  In  ten  years,  judging  from  the  past,  it  may  be 
twice  as  great  as  at  the  present  time.  The  number  of  men  employed  more 
or  less  of  the  winter  in  the  business  in  Boston  and  vicinity  is  estimated  at 
from  two  thousand  to  three  thousand  ;  and  in  the  whole  country  there  are 
supposed  to  be  eight  thousand  to  ten  thousand  employed. 

All  this  is  a  clear  gain  to  the  productive  industry  of  the  country.  Many 
men  are  thus  employed  at  a  season  of  the  year  when  employment  is  the 
scarcest,  and  at  fair  prices  of  about  $30  a  month  each,  or  $1,25  a  day. 
Nor  is  this  all.  The  value  of  all  real  estate  has  been  much  enhanced  in 
the  neighborhood  of  all  fresh  bodies  of  water  where  ice  is  secured,  and  new 
U'.isiness  advantages  are  constantly  obtained. 

Ice  was  formerly  regarded  as  a  luxury,  only  to  be  enjoyed  by  the  wealthy, 
or  by  those  well-to-do  in  the  world.  But  within  a  few  years  it  has  been 
regarded,  not  merely  as  a  luxury,  but  as  a  necessary  of  life,  and  desirable 
to  be  secured  during  the  warm  months  by  every  family.  Ice,  too,  has  its 
medical  uses.  It  is  a  tonic,  and  almost  the  only  one,  which,  in  its  reaction 
produces  no  injury.  It  is  stated  that  in  India  the  first  prescription  of  the 
physician  to  his  patient  is  usually  ice,  and  it  is  sometimes  the  only  one. 

We  cannot  close  better  than  in  the  language  of  Hon.  Edward  Everett,  who, 
in  paying  a  worthy  tribute  a  few  years  ago  to  the  gentleman  who  first  en 
gaged  in  the  ice  trade  on  a  large  scale,  has,  by  his  beautiful  words,  given 
r/armth  to  a  very  cold  subject : 

"  The  gold  expended  by  this  gentleman  (Mr.  Frederic  Tudor)  at  Nahant 
whether  it  is  little  or  much,  was  originally  derived,  not  from  California,  but 
from  the  ice  of  our  own  Fresh  Pond.  It  is  all  Middlesex  gold,  every  penny 
of  it.  The  sparkling  surface  of  our  beautiful  ponds,  restored  by  the  kindly 
hand  of  nature  as  often  as  it  is  removed,  has  yielded,  and  will  continue  to 
yield,  ages  after  the  wet  diggings  and  the  dry  diggings  of  the  Sacramento 
and  the  Feather  Rivers  are  exhausted,  a  perpetual  reward  to  the  industry 
bestowed  upon  them.  The  sallow  genius  of  the  mine  creates  but  once ; 
when  rifled  by  man  the  glittering  prize  is  gone  forever.  Not  so  with  our 
pure  crystal  lakes. 

"  This  is  a  branch  of  Middlesex  industry  that  we  have  a  right  to  be 


G52  ADVENTURES  AND  ACHIEVEMENTS. 

of.  I  do  not  think  we  have  yet  done  justice  W  it ;  and  I  look  upon  Mr 
Tudor,  the  first  person  who  took  up  this  business  on  a  large  scale,  as  a  great 
puplic  benefactor.  He  has  carried  comfort,  in  its  most  inoffensive  and  salu 
tary  form,  not  only  to  the  dairies  and  tables  of  our  own  community,  but  to 
those  of  other  regions,  throughout  the  tropics,  to  the  farthest  East. 

When  I  had  the  honor  to  represent  the  country  at  London,  I  was  a  little 
struck  one  day,  at  the  royal  drawing-room,  to  see  the  President  of  the  Board 
of  Control  (the  board  charged  with  the  supervision  of  the  government  of 
India)  approaching  me  with  a  stranger  at  that  time  much  talked  of  in  Lon 
don — the  Babu  Dvvarkananth  Tagore.  This  persoi?,  who  is  now  living, 
was  a  Hindoo  of  great  wealth,  liberty,  and  intelligence.  He  was  dressed 
with  Oriental  magnificence — he  had  on  his  head,  by  way  of  turban,  a  rich 
Cashmere  shawl,  held  together  by  a  large  diamond  broach  ;  another  Cash 
mere  around  his  body  ;  his  countenance  and  manners  were  those  of  a  highly 
intelligent  and  remarkable  person,  as  he  was.  After  the  ceremony  of  intro 
duction  was  over,  he  said  he  wished  to  make  his  acknowledgments  to  me, 
as  the  American  minister,  for  the  benefits  which  my  countrymen  had  con 
ferred  on  his  countrymen.  I  did  not  at  first  know  what  he  referred  to  ;  I 
thought  he  might  have  in  view  the  mission  schools,  knowing,  as  I  did,  that 
he  himself  had  done  a  great  deal  for  education.  He  immediately  said  that 
he  referred  to  the  cargoes  of  ice  sent  from  America  to  India,  conducing  not 
only  to  comfort,  but  health  ;  adding  that  numerous  lives  were  saved  every 
year  by  applying  lumps  of  American  ice  to  the  head  of  the  patient  in  cases 
of  high  fever.  He  asked  me  if  I  knew  from  what  part  of  America  it 
came.  It  gave  me  great  pleasure  to  tell  him  that  I  lived,  when  at  home, 
within  a  short  distance  of  the  spot  from  which  it  was  brought.  It  was  a 
most  agreeable  circumstance  to  hear,  in  this  authentic  way,  that  the  sagacity 
and  enterprise  of  my  friend  and  neighbor  had  converted  the  pure  waters 
of  our  lakes  into  the  means,  not  only  of  promoting  health,  but  saving  life, 
at  the  antipodes.  I  must  sa}T  I  almost  envied  Mr.  Tudor  the  honest  satis 
faction  which  he  could  not  but  feel,  in  reflecting  that  he  had  been  able  to 
stretch  out  an  arm  of  benevolence  from  the  other  side  of  the  globe,  by 
which  he  was  every  year  raising  up  his  fellow-men  from  the  verge  of  the 
grave.  How  few  of  all  the  foreigners  who  have  entered  India,  from  the 
time  of  Sesostris  or  Alexander  the  Great  to  the  present  time,  can  say  as 
much  !  Others,  at  best,  have  gone  to  govern,  too  often  to  plunder  and  to 
jjjay — our  countryman  has  gone  there,  not  to  destroy  life,  but  to  save  it — to 
Denefit  them  while  he  reaps  a  well-earned  harvest  himself." 


A  COLLECTION 


OF 


CHOICE  AMERICA!   POETRY, 


PATRIOTIC,  DOMESTIC,  RELIGIOUS,  SENTIMENTAL,  HUMOROUS,  ETC. 


"YOUNG  AMERICA  TAKING  HIS 
FIRST  STEPS." 


CORA  M.  EAGER.      • 

The  following  lines  are  from  a  young  lady 
of  Cincinnati.  They  were  suggested  by  the 
beautiful  design  made  for  us  by  Mr.  F.  0. 
C.  Darley,  which  wo  have  entitled  as 
above,  and  show  in  the  well  rendered  il 
lustration  on  the  opposite  leaf, — engraved 
by  Mr.  E.  D.  Hayes. 


You  toddling,  dainty,  winsome  elf, 

You  brightest,  dearest  joy, 
Your  father's  very  second  self, 

And  grandpa's  priceless  toy  ; 
Spread  out  your  tiuy,  tender  feet, 

So  rounded  like  a  ball — 
I  '11  welcome  you  with  kisses  sweet,  . 

Aud  catch  you  if  you  fall. 

Aud  when  increasing  strength  shall  lead 

Your  bounding  steps  away, 
And  Vice,  mayhap,  in  after  years, 

Shall  tempt  you  far  astray, 
My  love  shall  wiu  you  gently  back, 

My  ready  arm  uphold — 
Your  mother's  heart  is  held,  my  boy, 

By  stronger  chains  than  gold  ! 

And  then  I  '11  tell  you  how  a  child 

Its  native  land  forsook, 
And  wander'd  wearily  beyond 

The  valley  and  the  brook  ; 
I  '11  tell  you  how  its  cradle-bed 

Was  rock'd  by  servile  hands — 
That  'twas  not  Vice  but  LIBERTY 

That  lur'd  to  other  lands. 

And  how  he  clirnb'd  the  mountain's  height, 

Nor  laid  him  down  to  rest, 
But  pray'd  a  mother's  love  would  light 

His  pathway  to  the  West ; 
And  how  that  royal  mother  spurn'd 

The  offspring  of  her  youth  ; 
And  how  GOD  led  him  boldly  on 

To  battle  for  the  Truth ;    " 


How  ev'ry  onward  step  was  blood, 

And  every  foot-print  fire  ; 
And  how  his  little  heart  reach'd  up 

And  grasp'd  at  something  higher. 
He  grew  to  manhood,  wise  and  strong, 

All  nations  call  him  brother — 
'T  is  "  YOUNG  AMERICA,"  my  boy, 

And  England  is  the  mother  ! 

Aud  now  she  logics  with  regal  pride 

Upon  her  noble  sou, 
And  blesses  Him  whose  better  love 

Has  knit  their  hearts  in  one. 
And  thus  I  bless  the  Hand,  my  boy, 

That  gave  my  life  its  crown — 
Be  Love  thy  lance,  be  Truth  thy  shield, 

And, Virtue  thy  renown. 


LINES  ON  THE  DEATH  OF  CAPTAIN 
NATHAN  HALE. 

"  THE    HERO    MARTYR    OF   THE    AMERICAN 
REVOLUTION." 

FRANCIS   MILES  FINCH. 

The  dying  words  of  the  young  patriot  were, 
My  only  regret  is  that  I  have  but  one  life 
to  lose  for  my  country!" 

To  drum-beat  and  heart-beat, 

A  soldier  passes  by  ; 
There  is  color  in  his  cheek, 

There  is  courage  in  his  eye  ; 
Yet  to  drum-beat  and  heart- beat, 

In  a  moment  he  must  die! 

By  star-light  and  moon-light 
He  seeks  the  Briton's  camp  ; 

He  hears  the  rustling  flag, 

And  the  armed  sentry's  tramp  : 

And  the  star-light  and  moon-light, 
His  silent  wanderings  lamp. 

With  slow  tread  and  still  tread, 

He  scans  the  tented  line  ; 
And  he  counts  the  batterv-guns 
(653) 


654 


SELECT  AMERICAN  POETRY. 


By  the  gaunt  and  shadowy  piue ; 
And  his  slow  tread  and  still  tread 
Give  no  waruiug  sign. 

The  dark  wave,  the  plumed  wave ! 

It  meets  his  eager  glance  ; 
And  it  sparkles  'neath  the  stars, 

Like  the  glimmer  of  a  lance  ; 
A  dark  wave,  a  plumed  wave, 

On  an  emerald  expanse. 

A  sharp  clang,  a  steel  clang  1 

And  terror  iu  the  sound  ; 
For  the  sentry,  falcon-eyed, 

In  the  camp  a  spy  hath  found  : 
With  a  sharp  clang,  a  steel  clang, 

The  patriot  is  bound. 

With  calm  brow,  steady  brow, 

He  listens  to  his  doom  ; 
In  his  look  there  is  no  fear, 

Nor  a  shadow-trace  of  gloom  ; 
But  with  calm  brow,  and  steady  brow, 

He  robes  him  for  the  tomb. 

In  the  long  night,  the  stiD  night, 

He  kneels  upon  the  sod  ; 
And  the  brutal  guards  withhold 

E'en  the  solemn  Word  of  God  ! 
In  the  long  night,  the  still  night, 

He  walks  where  Christ  hath  trod. 

'Neath  the  blue  morn,  the  sunny  morn, 

He  dies  upon  the  tree  ; 
And  he  mourns  that  he  can  lose 

But  one  life  for  Liberty  : 
And  the  blue  morn,  the  sunny  morn, 

His  spirit- wings  are  free. 

But  his  last  words,  his  message  words, 
They  burn,  lest  friendly  eye 

Should  read  how  proud  and  calm 
A  patriot  could  die  ; 

With  his  last  words,  his  dying  words, 
A  soldier's  battle-cry  ! 

From  Fame-leaf  and  Angel-leaf, 

From  monument  and  urn, 
The  sad  of  Earth,  the  glad  of  Heaven, 

His  tragic  fate  shall  learn  ; 
And  on  Fame-leaf  and  Angel-leaf,     - 

The  name  of  HALE  shall  burn. 


TO  MY  MOTHER. 


The  following  lines,  written  by  a  convict  of 
the  Ohio  Penitentiary,  are  touchingly 
beautiful  : 


I've  wandered  far  from  thee,  mother, 
Far  from  my  happy  home  ; 

I've  left  the  land  that  gave  me  birth, 
Iu  other  climes  to  roam  ; 


And  time,  since  then,  has  rolled  its  yean 
And  marked  them  on  my  brow: 

Yet  I  have  olten  thought  of  thee — 
I'm  thi  ukiug  of  thee  now 

I'm  thinking  ou  the  day,  mother, 

When  at  my  tender  side 
You  watched  the  dawning  of  my  youth, 

And  kissed  me  in  your  pride  ^ 
Then  brightly  was  my  heart  lit  up 

With  hopes  of  future  joy, 
While  your  bright  fancy  honors  wove, 

To  deck  your  darling  boy. 

I'm  thinking  ou  the  day,  mother, 

When,  with  anxious  care, 
You  lifted  up  your  heart  to  heaven — 

Your  hope,  your  trust  was  there ; 
Sad  memory  brings  your  parting  wordi 

While  tears  roll  d  down  your  cheek  ; 
Your  long,  last,  loving  look  told  more 

Than  ever  words  could  speak. 

I'm  far  away  from  thee,  mother, 

No  friend  is  near  me  now, 
To  soothe  me  with  a  tender  word, 

Or  cool  my  aching  brow  ; 
The  dearest  ties  affection  wove, 

Are  now  all  torn  from  me ; 
They  left  me  when  the  trouble  came — 

They  did  not  love  like  thee. 

I'm  lonely  and  forsaken  now, 

Uupitied  and  unblest; 
Yet  still  I  would  not  let  you  know 

How  sorely  I'm  distressed; 
I  know  you  would  not  chide  me,  mother. 

I  know  you  would  not  blame 
But  soothe  me  with  your  tender  words, 

And  bid  me  hope  again. 

I  would  not  have  thee  know,  mother, 

How  brightest  hopes  decay  ; 
The  tempter  with  his  baleful  cup, 

Has  dashed  them  all  away  ; 
And  shame  has  left  its  venomed  sting, 

To  rack  with  anguish  wild — 
0  no  !  I  would  not  have  thee  know 

The  sorrow  of  thy  child. 

O  !  I  have  wandered  far,  mother, 

Since  I  deserted  thee, 
And  left  thy  trusting  heart  to  break, 

Beyond  the  deep  blue  sea  ; 
0 !  mother,  still  I  love  thee  well, 

Would  I  could  hoar  thee  speak, 
And  feel  again  thy  balmy  breath 

Upon  my  care-worn  cheek. 

But  ah  !  there  is  a  thought,  mother, 

Pervades  my  bleeding  breast, 
That  thy  freed  spirit  may  have  flown 

To  its  eternal  rest ; 
And  while  I  wipe  the  tear  away, 

There  whispers  in  my  ear 
A  voice  that  speaks  of  heaven  and  the* 

And  bids  me  meet  thee  there. 


SELECT  AMERICAN  POETRY. 


655 


FOOTSTEPS  OF  ANGELS. 

HENRY  WADSWORTII  LONGFELLOW. 

Born  at  Portland  in  1807— Professor  in  Har 
vard  University. 

When  the  hours  of  day  are  ri umber' d, 

And  the  voices  of  the  Night 
•Wake  the  better  soul  that  slumber'd 
To  a  holy,  calm  delight ; 

Ere  the  evening  lamps  are  lighted, 
And,  like  phantoms  grim  and  tall, 

Shadows  from  the  fitful  fire-light 
Dance  upon  the  parlor-wall ; 

Then  the  forms  of  the  departed 

Enter  at  the  open  door  ; 
The  beloved  ones,  the  true -hearted, 

Come  to  visit  me  once  more ; 

He,  the  young  and  strong,  who  cherish'd 
Noble  longings  for  the  strife — 

By  the  roadside  fell  and  perished, 
Weary  with  the  march  of  life  ! 

They,  the  holy  ones  and  weakly, 

Who  the  cross  of  suffering  bore— 
Folded  their  pale  hands  so  meekly — 
Spake  with  us  on  earth  no  more  1 

And  with  them  the  Being  Beauteous, 
Who  unto  my  youth  was  given, 

More  than  all  things  else  to  love  me, 
And  is  now  a  saint  in  heaven. 

With  slow  and  noiseless  footstep, 
Comes  that  messenger  divine, 

Takes  the  vacant  chair  beside  me, 
Lays  her  gentle  hand  in  mine. 

And  she  sits  and  gazes  at  me, 
»  With  those  deep  and  tender  eyes, 
Like  the  stars,  so  still  and  saint-like, 
Looking  downward  from  the  skies. 

Utter'd  not.  yet  comprehended, 
Is  the  spirit's  voiceless  prayer, 

Soft  rebukes,  in  blessings  ended, 
Breathing  from  her  lips  of  air. 

0,  though  oft  oppress'd  and  lonely, 

All  my  fears  are  laid  aside, 
If  I  but  remember  only 

Such  as  these  have  lived  and  died  ! 


A  CASTLE  IN  THE  AIR. 

LEVI  FKISBIE. 

Professor  in  Harvard  University —  Died  in 

3822. 

I  '11  tell  you,  friend,  what  sort  of  wife. 
Whene'er  I  scan  this  scene  of  life, 

Inspires  my  waking  schemes, 
And  when  I  sleep,  with  form  so  light, 
Dances  before  my  ravish'd  sight, 

In  sweet  aerial  dreams. 


The  rose  its  blushes  need  not  lend, 
Nor  yet  the  lily  with  them  blend, 

To  captivate  my  eyes. 
Give  me  a  cheek  the  heart  obeys, 
And,  sweetly  mutable,  displays 

Its  feelings  as  they  rise ; 

Features,  where,  pensive,  more  than  gay, 
Save  when  a  rising  smile  doth  play, 

The  sober  thought  you  see  ; 
Eyes  that  all  soft  and  tender  seem, 
And  kind  affections  around  them  beam 

But  most  of  all  on  me  ; 

A  form,  though  not  of  finest  mould, 
Where  yet  a  something  you  behold 

Unconsciously  doth  please  ; 
Manners  all  graceful  without  art, 
That  to  each  look  and  word  impart 

A  modesty  and  ease. 

But  still  her  air,  her  face,  each  charm 
Must  speak  a  heart  with  feeling  warm, 

And  mind  inform  the  whole  ; 
With  mind  her  mantling  cheek  must  glow, 
Her  voice,  her  beaming'eye  must  show 

An  all-inspiring  soul. 

Ah  !  could  I  such  a  being  find, 
And  were  her  fate  to  mine  but  join'd 

By  Hymen's  silken  tie, 
To  her  myself,  my  all  I  'd  give, 
For  her  alone  delighted  live, 

For  her  consent  to  die. 

Whene'er  by  anxious  care  oppress'd, 
On  the  soft  pillow  of  her  breast 

My  aching  head  I  'd  lay ; 
At  her  sweet  smile  each  care  should  cease, 
Her  kiss  infuse  a  balmy  peace, 

And  drive  my  griefs  away. 

In  turn,  I  'd  soften  all  her  care,    [share  ; 
Each   thought,  each  wish,  each    feeling 

Should  sickness  e'er  invade, 
My  voice  should  soothe  each  rising  sigh, 
My  hand  the  cordial  should  supply  ; 

I  'd  watch  beside  her  bed. 

Should  gathering  clouds  our  sky  deform, 
My  arm  should  shield  her  from  the  storm  ; 

And,  were  its  fury  hurl'd, 
My  bosom  to  its  bolts  I  'd  bare  ; 
In  her  defense  undaunted  dare 

Defy  the  opposing  world. 

Together  should  our  prayers  ascend  ; 
Together  would  we  humbly  bend, 

To  praise  the  Almighty  name  ; 
And  when  I  saw  her  kindling  eye 
Beam  upward  in  her  native  sky,  • 

My  soul  should  catch  the  flame. 

Thus  nothing  should  our  hearts  divide, 
But  on  our  years  serenely  glide, 

And  all  to  love  be  given  ; 
And,  when  life's  little  scene  was  o'er, 
We  'd  part  to  meet  and  part  no  more, 

But  lire  and  love  in  heaven. 


SELECT  AMERICAN  POETRY. 


STANZAS. 

RICHARD  HENRY  WILDE. 

[Bern  in  1789,  and  passed  his  youth  in  Bal 
timore —  Representative  in  Congress  from 
Georgia— Died  1847,  in  New  Orleans,  then 
Professor  of  Law  in  the  University  of  Lou 
isiana.] 

Mr  life  is  like  the  summer  rose 

That  opens  to  the  morning  sky, 
But  ere  the  shades  of  evening  close, 

Is  scatter'd  on  the  ground — to  die  ! 
Y(;t  011  the  rose's  humble  bed 
The  sweetest  dews  of  night  are  shed, 
As  if  she  wept  the  waste  to  see — 
But  none  shall  weep  a  tear  for  me  ! 

My  life  is  like  the  autumn  leaf 

That  trembles  in  the  moon's  pale  ray, 
Its  hold  is  frail — its  date  is  brief, 

Restless — and  soon  to  pass  away  ! 
Yet,  ere  that  leaf  shall  fall  and  fade, 
The  parent  tree  will  mourn  its  shade, 
The  winds  bewail  the  leafless  tree, 
But  none  shall  breathe  a  sigh  for  me  ! 

My  life  is  like  the  prints,  which  feet 

Have  left  on  Tampa's  desert  strand  ! 
Soon  as  the  rising  tide  shall  beat, 

All  trace  will  vanish  from  the  sand  ; 
Yet,  as  if  grieving  to  efface 
All  vestige  of  the  human  race, 
On  that  lone  shore  loud  moans  the  sea, 
But  none,  alas  !  shall  mourn  for  me  ! 


THE  AMERICAN  FLAG. 

JOSEPH  RODMAN  DRAKE. 

TBorn  in  New  York  in  1795— Died  in  1820  of 
consumption,  in  his  26th  year— A  beautiful 
poem  to  his  memory  by  his  friend  Halleck 
is  in  this  collection.] 


When  Freedom  from  her  mountain  height 

Unfurl' d  her  standard  to  the  air, 
She  tore  the  azure  robe  of  night, 

Aud  set  the  stars  of  glory  there. 
She  mingled  with  its  gorgeous  dyes 
The  milky  baldric  of  the^skies, 
And  striped  its  pure,  celestial  white 
With  streakingfi  of  the  morning  light ; 
Then  from  his  mansion  in  the  sun 
She  call'd  her  eagle  bearer  down, 
And  gave  into  his  mighty  hand 
The  symbol  of  her  chosen  laud. 


Majestic  monarch  of  the  cloud, 

Who  rear'st  aloft  thy  regal  form, 
To  hear  the  tempest  trnmpings  loud 
And  see  the  lightning  lances  driven, 
When  strive  the  warriors  of  the  storm, 


And  rolls  the  thunder-drum  of  heaven- 
Child  of  the  sun!  to  thee  'tis  given 

To  guard  the  banner  of  the  free, 
To  hover  in  the  sulphur  smoke, 
To  ward  away  the  battle-stroke, 
And  bid  its  Mendings  shine  afar, 
Like  rainbows  on  the  cloud  of  war, 

The  harbingers  of  victory  ! 

in. 

Flag  of  the  brave  !  thy  folds  shall  fly, 
The  sign  of  hope  and  triumph  high, 
When  speaks  the  signal  trumpet  tone, 
And  the  long  line  comes  gleaming  on. 
Ere  yet  the  life-blood,  warm  and  "wet, 
Has  dimrn'd  the  glistening  bayonet, 
Each  soldier  eye  shall  brightly  turn 
To  where  thy  sky-born  glories  burn ; 
And  as  his  springing  steps  advance, 
Catch  war  and  vengeance  from  the  glance 
Aud  when  the  cannon  mouthings  loud 
Heave  in  wild  wreaths  the  battle-shroud, 
And  gory  sabers  rise  and  fall 
Like  shoots  of  flame  on  midnight's  pall ; 

Then  shall  thy  meteor  glances  glow, 
And  cowering  foes  shall  sink  beneath 

Each  gallant  arm  that  strikes  below 
That  lovely  messenger  of  death. 

IV. 

Flag  of  the  seas !  on  ocean  wave 
Thy  stars  shall  glitter  o'er  the  brave; 
When  death,  careering  on  the  gale, 
Sweeps  darkly  round  the  bellied  sail, 
And  frighted  waves  rush  wildly  back 
Before  the  broadside's  reeling  rack, 
Each  dying  wanderer  of  the  sea 
Shall  look  at  once  to  heaven  and  thee, 
And  smile  to  see  thy  splendors  fly 
In  triumph  o'er  his  closing  eye. 

v. 
Flag  of  the  free  heart's  hope  and  home  ! 

By  angel  hands  to  valor  given  ; 
The  stars  have  lit  the  welkin  dome, 

And  all  thy  hues  were  born  in  heaven. 
Forever  float  that  standard  sheet ! 

Where  breathes  the  foe  but  falls  before  us 
With  Freedom's  soil  beneath  our  feet, 

And  Freedom's  banner  streaming  o'er  us  ! 


FAMILY  MEETING 


CHARLES   SPRAGUE. 

[Born  in  Boston  in  1791 — Cashier  of  Globo 
Bank,  Boston — This  poem  was  written  on 
the  accidental  meetinj,'  of  all  the  surviving 
members  of  a  family.] 

We  are  all  here  ! 

Father,  mother, 

Sister,  brother, 

All  who  hold  each  other  dear. 
Each  chair  is  fill'd — we're  all  at  home  ; 
To-night  let  no  cold  stranger  come : 


SELECT  AMERICAN  POETRY. 


657 


It  is  not  often  thus  around 
Our  old  familiar  hearth  we're  found: 
Bless,  then,  the  meeting  and  the  spot; 
For  once  be  every  cave  forgot; 
Let  gentle  Peace  assert  her  power, 
And  kind  Affection  rule  the  hour; 
We  're  all — all  here. 

We  're  not  all  here  ! 
Som?  are  awnv — the  dead  ones  dear, 
Who  thronged*  with  us  this  ancient  hearth, 
And  gave  the  hour  to  guiltless  mirth. 
Fate,  with  a  stern,  relentless  hand, 
Look'd  in,  and  thinn'd  our  little  band: 
Some,  like  a  night  flash,  passed  away, 
And  some  sank,  lingering,  day  by  day; 
The  quiet  graveyard — some  lie  there — 
And  cruel  Ocean  has  his  share — 

We  're  not  all  here. 

We  ore  all  here! 
Even  they— the  dead  — though  dead,  so 

dear; 

Fond  Memory,  to  her  duty  true, 
Brings  back  their  faded  forms  to  view. 
How  life-like,  through  the  mist  of  years, 
Each  well-remembered  face  appears! 
We  see  them  in  times  long  past; 
From  each  to  each  kind  looks  are  cast; 
We  hear  their  words,  their  smiles  behold; 
They're  round  us  as  they  were  of  old — 

We  are  all  here. 

We  are  all  here! 

Father,  mother, 

Sister,  brother, 

You  that  I  love  with  love  so  dear. 
This  may  not  long  of  us  be  said; 
Soon  must  we  join  the  gather' d  dead; 
And  by  the  hearth  we  now  sit  round, 
Some  other  circle  will  be  found. 
O !  then,  that  wisdom  may  we  know, 
Which  yields  a  life  of  peace  below! 
So,  in  the  world  to  follow  this, 
May  each  repeat,  in  tones  of  bliss, 

We 're  all— allure.' 


SPARKLING  AND  BRIGHT. 

CHARLES  FENNO  HOFFMAN. 

Born  in  Now  York  in  180G — Original  editor 

of  Knickerbocker  Magazine. 

Sparkling  and  bright  in  liquid  light 

Does  the  wine  our  goblets  gleam  in, 
With  hue  as  red  as  the  rosy  bed 

Which  a  bee  would  choose  to  dream  in. 
Then  fill  to-night  with  hearts  as  light 

To  loves  as  gay  and  fleeting 
As  bubbles  that  swim  on  the  beaker's 

brim, 

Aud  break  on   the  lips  while  meet 
ing. 


0!  if  Mirth  might  arrest  the  flight 

Of  Time  through  Life's^dominions, 
We  here  awhile  would  now  beguile 
The  graybeard  of  his  pinions, 

To  drink  to-night  with  hearts  as  light, 

To  loves  as  gay  and  fleeting 
As  bubbles  that  swim  on  the  beaker'i 

brim, 
And  break  on  the  lips  while  meeting. 

But  since  delight  can't  tempt  the  wight, 

Nor  fond  regret  delay  him, 
Nor  Love  himself  can  hold  the  elf, 
Nor  sober  Friendship  stay  him, 

We'll   drink   to-night   with  hearts  na 

light, 

To  loves  as  gay  and  fleeting 
As  bubbles  that  swim  on  the  beaker'i 

brim, 
And  break  on  the  lips  while  meeting. 


SONG 

OF  THE  THREE    HUNDRED  THOUSAND    DRUNK 
ARDS    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

REV.  WM.   B.  TAPPAN. 

Born  at  Beverly,  Mass,  in  1794— For  twenty- 
seven  years  was  in  the  service  of  the  Amer 
ican  Sunday  School  Union— Died  in  1849. 

We  come!  we  come!  with  sad  array, 

And  in  procession  long, 
To  join  the  army  of  the  lost — 

Three  hundred  thousand  strong. 

Our  banners,  beckoning  on  to  death, 

Abroad  we  have  unrolled; 
And  Famine,  Care,  and  wan  Despair, 

Are  seen  on  every  fold. 

Ye  heard  what  music  cheers  us  on — 

The  mother's  cry,  that  rang 
So  wildly,  and  the  babe's  that  wailed 

Above  the  trumpet's  clang. 

We've  taken  spoil;  and  blighted  joys 

And  ruined  homes  are  here; 
We  've  trampled  on  the  throbbing  heart, 

And  flouted  sorrow's  tear. 

We  come!  we  come!  we've  searched  tht 
land, 

The  rich  and  poor  are  ours — 
Enlisted  from  the  shrines  of  God, 

From  hovels  and  froti  towers. 

And  who  or  what  shall  balk  the  brave, 
Who  swear  to  drink  and  die's 

What  hoots  to  such  man's  muttered  curst^ 
Or  His  that  spans  the  skyl 

Our  leader!  who  of  all  the  chiefs, 
Who  've  triumphed  from  the  first, 

Can  blazon  deeds  like  his1?  such  griefs, 
Such  wounds,  such  trophies  curst. 


u58 


SELECT  AMERICAN  POETRY. 


We  come !  Of  tlie  world's  scourges,  who 

Like  him  have  overthrown^ 
What  wo  had  ever  earth,  like  wo 

To  his  stern  prowess  kjiownS 

Onward !  though  ever  on  our  inarch 
Hang  Misery's  countless  train; 

Onward  for  hell' — from  rank  to  rank 
Pass  we  the  cup  again ! 

We  come!  we  come!  to  fill  our  graves, 

On  which  shall  shine  no  star; 
To  glut  the  worm  that  never  dies — 

Hurrah!  hurrah!  hurrah! 


A  WHALING  SONG. 

JOHN  OSBORN. 

Corn  on  Cape  Cod  Bay,  Mass.,  in  1713— Edu 
cated  at  Harvard — Died  in  1753 — This  song 
is  widely  popular  with  whalemen. 

When  spring  returns  with  western  gales, 

And  gentle  breezes  sweep 
The  ruffling  seas,  we  spread  our  sails 

To  plow  the  watery  deep. 

For  killing  northern  whales  prepared, 

Our  nimble  boats  on  board, 
With  craft  and  rum  (our  chief  regard) 

And  good  provisions  stored, 

Cape  Cod,  our  dearest  native  land, 

We  leave  astern,  and  lose 
Its  sinking  cliffs  and  less'ning  sands, 

While  Zephyr  gently  blows. 

Bold,  hardy  men,  with  blooming  age, 

Our  sandy  shores  produce; 
V/ith  monstrous  fish  they  dare  engage, 

And  dangerous  callings  choose. 

Now  toward  the  early  dawning  east 

We  speed  our  course  away, 
With  eager  minds,  and  joyful  hearts, 

To  meet  the  rising  day! 

Then,  as  we  turn  our  wondering  eyes 

We  view  one  constant  show; 
Above,  around,  the  circling  skies, 

The  rolling  seas  below. 

When  eastward,  clear  of  Newfoundland, 

We  stem  the  frozen  pole, 
We  see  the  icy  islands  stand, 

The  northern  billows  roll. 

As  to  the  north  we  make  our  way, 

Surprising  scenes  we  find; 
We  lengthen  out  the  tedious  day, 

And  leave  the  night  behind. 

Now  see  the  northern  regions,  where 

Eternal  winter  reigns ; 
One  day  and  night  fills  up  the  yeai, 

Ajid  endless  cold  maintains. 


We  view  the  monsters  of  the  deep, 
Great  whales  in  numerous  swarms; 

And  creatures  there,  that  piny  and  leap, 
Of  strange,  unusual  forms. 

When  in  our  station  we  are  placed, 

And  whales  around  us  play, 
We  launch  our  boats  into  the  main, 

And  swiftly  chase  our  prey. 

In  haste  we  ply  our  nimble  oars, 

For  an  assault  design'd, 
The  sea  beneath  us  foams  and  roars, 

And  leaves  a  wake  behind. 

A  mighty  whale  we  rush  upon, 

And  in  our  irons  throw; 
She  sinks  her  monstrous  body  down 

Among  the  waves  below. 

And  when  she  rises  out  again. 

We  soon  renew  the  fight; 
Thrust  our  sharp  lances  in  amain, 

And  all  her  rage  excite. 

Enraged,  she  makes  a  mighty  bound; 

Thick  foams  the  whiteu'd  sea; 
The  waves  in  circles  rise  arouud, 

And  widening  roll  away. 

She  thrashes  with  her  tail  around, 
And  blows  her  redd'ning  breath; 

She  breaks  the  air,  a  deaf 'niug  sound, 
While  ocean  groans  beneath. 

From   numerous   wounds,   with    crimsoa 
flood, 

She  stains  the  frothy  seas, 
And  gasps,  and  blows  her  latest  blood, 

While  quivering  life  decays. 

With  joyful  hearts  we  see  her  die, 

And  on  the  surface  lay; 
While  all  with  eager  haste  apply, 

To  save  our  deathful  prey. 


THE  WIFE. 


ANNA  PEYRE  DINNIES. 

Born  in  Georgetown,  S.  C. —  In  184.3,  pub 
lished  a  volume  of  poetry,  entitled  "The 
Floral  Year." 


"  She  flung  her  white  arms  around  him- 

Thou  art  all 
That  this  poor  heart  can  cling  to." 

I  could  have  stemm'd  misfortune's  tide, 

And  borne  the  rich  one's  sneer, 
Have  braved  the  haughty  glance  of  pride, 

Nor  shed  a  single  tear. 
I  could  have  smiled  on  every  blow 

From  Life's  full  quiver  thrown, 
While  I  might  *aze  on  thee,  and  know 

I  should  not  be  c: alone." 


SELECT  AMERICAN  POETRY. 


659 


I  could— I  think  I  could  have  brook'd 

E'eu  for  a  time,  that  thou 
Upon  my  fading  face  hadst  look'd 

With  less  of  love  thau  now; 
For  then,  I  should  at  least  have  felt 

The  sweet  hope  still  my  own, 
To  win  thee  back,  aud,  whilst  I  dwelt 

On  eavth,  not  been  "alone." 

But  thus  to  see,  from  day  to  day, 

Thy  brightening  eye  and  cheek, 
And  watch  thy  life-sands  waste  away 

Uunnniber'd,  slowly,  meek; 
To  meet  thy  smiles  of  tenderness, 

And  catch  the  feeble  tone 
Of  kindness,  ever  breathed  to  bless, 

And  feel,  I  '11  be  "  alone !" 

To  mark  thy  strength  each  hour  decay, 

And  yet  thy  hopes  grow  stronger, 
As,  fill'd  with  heavenward  trust,  they  say, 

"Earth  may  not  claim  thee  longer;" 
Nay,  dearest,  't  is  too  much — this  heart 

Must  break  when  thou  art  gone: 
It  must  not  be;  we  may  not  part; 

I  could  not  live  "alone  !" 


THE  WANTS  OF  MAN. 


JOHN  QUIXCY  ADAMS. 

Born  in  1767— President  of  the  United  States 
from  1825  to  1829— Died  in  1848. 


Man  wants  but  little  here  below, 
Nor  wants  that  little  long. 

Cfuldsmith, 

"Man  wants  but  little  here  below, 

Nor  wants  that  little  long." 
'Tis  not  with  me  exactly  so, 

But  'tis  so  in  the  song. 
My  wants  are  many,  and  if  told 

Would  muster  many  a  score; 
Aud  "Were  each  wish  a  mint  of  gold, 

I  still  should  long  for  more. 

What  first  I  want  is  daily  bread, 

Aud  canvas-backs  and  wine; 
And  all  the  realms  of  nature  spread 

Before  me  wher  I  dine  ; 
V7ith  four  choice  cooks  from  France,  beside. 

To  dress  my  dinner  well; 
Four  courses  scarcely  can  provide 

My  appetite  to  quell. 

What  next  I  want,  at  heavy  cost, 

Is  elegant  attire: 
Black  sable  furs  for  winter's  frost, 

And  silks  for  summer's  fire; 
Aud  Cashmere  shawls,  aud  Brussels  lace, 

My  bosom's  front  to  deck, 
And  diamond  rings  my  hands  to  grace, 

And  rubies  for  my  neck. 
42 


And  then  I  want  a  mansion  fair, 

A  dwelling-house,  in  style, 
Four  stories  high,  for  wholesome  air — 

A  massive  marble  pile; 
With  halls  for  banquctings  aud  balls, 

All  furnished  rich  aud  fine; 
With  high  blood  studs  in  fifty  stalls, 

And  cellars  for  my  wine. 

I  want  a  garden  and  a  park, 

My  dwelling  to  surround — 
A  thousand  acres  (bless  the  mark!; 

With  walls  encompassed  round — 
Where  flocks  may  range  and  herds  may  lo 

And  kids  and  lambkins  play, 
And  flowers  and  fruits  commingled  grow, 

All  Edeu  to  display. 

I  want,  when  summer's  foliage  falls, 

Aud  autumn  strips  the  trees, 
A  house  within  the  city's  walls, 

For  comfort  and  for  ease; 
But  here,  as  space  is  somewhat  scant, 

And  acres  somewhat  rare, 
My  house  in  towu  I -only  want 

To  occupy — a  square. 

I  want  a  steward,  butler,  cook.*; 

A  coachman,  footman,  grooms; 
A  library  of  well-bound  books, 

And  picture-garnished  rooms; 
CORREGIO'S  Magdalen,  and  Night, 

The  Matron  of  the  Chair; 
GUIDO'S  fleet  Coursers,  in  their  flight, 

And  CLAUDES  at  least  a  pair 

I  want  a  cabinet  profuse 

Of  medals,  coins,  and  gems; 
A  printing-press,  for  private  use, 

Of  fifty  thousand  EMS; 
And* plants,  and  minerals,  and  shells; 

Worms,  insects,  fishes,  birds; 
Aud  every  beast  on  earth  that  dwells,  f 

In  solitude  or  herds. 

I  want  a  board  of  burnished  plate, 

Of  silver  and  of  gold; 
Tureens,  of  twenty  pounds  in  weight, 

And  sculpture's  richest  mould; 
Plateaus,  with  chandeliers  and  lamps, 

Plates,  dishes — all  the  same; 
And  porcelain  vases,  with  the  stamps 


And  maples,  of  fair  glossy  stain, 

Must  form  ray  chamber  doors, 
And  carpets  of  the  Wilton  grain 

Must  cover  all  my  floors; 
My  walls  with  tapestry  bedeck'd, 

Must  never  be  outdone; 
And  damask  curtains  must  protect 

Their  colors  from  the  sun. 

And  mirrors  of  the  largest  pane 
From  Venice  must  be  brought; 

And  sandal-wood  and  bamboa-.caiic, 
For  chairs  and  tables  bought; 


660 


SELECT  AMERICAN  POETRY. 


On  all  the  mantel-pieces,  clocks 
Of  thrice-gilt  bronze  must  stand, 

And  screens  of  ebony  and  box 
Invite  the  stranger's  hand. 

I  want  (who  does  not  want*;)  a  wife, 

Affectionate  and  fair, 
To  solace  all  the  woes  of  life, 

And  all  its  joys  to  share; 
Of  temper  sweet,  of  yielding  will, 

Of  firm,  yet  placid  mind, 
With  all  my  faults  to  love  me  still, 

With  sentiment  refined. 

And  as  Time's  car  incessant  runs, 

And  Fortune  fills  my  store, 
I  want  of  daughters  and  of  sous 

From  eight  to  half  a  score. 
I  want  (alas !  can  mortal  dare 

Such  bliss  on  earth  to  craved ) 
That  all  the  girls  be  chaste  and  fair — 

The  boys  all  wise  and  brave. 

And  when  my  bosom's  darling  sings, 

With  melody  divine, 
A  pedal  harp  with  many  strings 

Must  with  her  voice  combiue. 
A  piano,  exquisitely  wrought, 

Must  open  stand,  apart, 
That  all  my  daughters  may  be  taught 

To  win  the  stranger's  heart. 

My  wife  and  daughters  will  desire 

Refreshment  from  perfumes, 
Cosmetics  for  the  skin  require, 

And  artificial  blooms. 
The  civet  fragrance  shall  dispense, 

And  treasured  sweets  return; 
Cologne  revive  the  flagging  sense, 

And  smoking  amber  burn. 

And  when  at  night  my  weary  head 

,  Begins  to  droop  and  dose, 
A  chamber  south,  to  hold  my  bed, 

For  nature's  soft  repose; 
With  blankets,  counterpanes,  and  sheet, 

Mattress,  and  sack  of  down, 
And  comfortables  for  my  feet, 

And  pillows  for  my  crown. 

I  Avant  a  warm  and  faithful  friend, 

To  cheer  the  adverse  hour, 
Who  ne'er  to  flatter  will  descend, 

Nor  bend  the  knee  to  power; 
A  friend  to  chide  me  when  I'm  wrong. 

My  inmost  soul  to  see; 
And  that  my  friendship  prove  as  strung 

For  him,  as  his  for  me. 

I  want  a  kind  and  tender  heart, 

For  others'  wants  to  feel; 
A  soul  secure  from  Fortune's  dart, 

And  bosom  arm'd  with  steel; 
TJ  bear  divine  chastisement's  rod, 

And,  mingling  in  my  plan, 


Submission  to  the  will  of  God, 
With  charity  to  man. 

I  want  a  keen,  observing  eye, 

An  ever-listening  ear, 
The  truth  through  all  disguise  tc  spy, 

And  wisdom's  voice  to  hear; 
A  tongue  to  spenk  at  virtue's  need, 

In  Heaven's  sublimest  strain; 
And  lips  the  cause  of  man  to  plead, 

And  never  plead  in  vain. 

I  want  uninterrupted  health, 

Throughout  my  long  career, 
And  streams  of  never-failing  wealth, 

To  scatter  far  and  near — 
The  destitute  to  clothe  and  feed, 

Free  bounty  to  bestow. 
Supply  the  helpless  orphan's  need, 

And  soothe  the  widow's  wo. 

I  want  the  genius  to  conceive, 

The  talents  to  unf->ld, 
Designs,  the  vicious  to  retrieve, 

The  virtuous  to  uphold ; 
Inventive  power,  combining  skill, 

A  persevering  soul, 
Of  human  hearts  to  mould  the  will, 

And  reach  from  pole  to  pole. 

I  want  the  seals  of  power  and  place, 

The  ensigns  of  command, 
Charged  by  the  people's  nnbought  gracct 

To  rule  my  native  land  ; 
Nor  crown,  nor  scepter  would  I  ask, 

But  from  my  country's  will, 
By  day,  by  night,  to  ply  the  task 

•Her  cup  of  bliss  to  fill. 

I  want  the  voice  of  honest  praise 

To  follow  me  behind, 
And  to  be  thought,  in  future  days, 

The  friend  of  humankind; 
That  after  ages,  as  they  rise, 

Exulting  may  proclaim, 
In  choral  union  to  the  skies, 

Their  blessings  on  my  name. 

These  are  the  wants  of  mortal  man; 

I  cannot  need  them  long, 
For  life  itself  is  but  a  span, 

And  earthly  bliss  a  song. 
My  last  great  want,  absorbing  all, 

Is,  when  beneath  the  sod, 
And  summon'd  to  my  final  call — 

The  mercy  of  my  God. 

And  oh.!  while  circles  in  my  veins 

Of  life  the  purple  stream, 
And  yet  a  fragment  small  remains 
j          Of*  nature's  transient  dream, 
Mv  soul,  in  humble  hope  uuscaw^ 

Forget  not  thou  to  pray, 
That  this  THY  WANT  may  be  prepared 

To  meet  the  Judgrncut-Day. 


SELECT  AMERICAN  POETRY. 


661 


BLESSED  ARE  THEY  THAT  MOURN.' 

W.   C.   BRYANT. 

O,  deem  not  they  fire  blest  alone 
Whose  lives  a  peaceful  tenor  keep; 

The  Power  who  pities  man,  has  shown 
A  blessing  for  the  eyes  that  weep. 

The  light  of  smiles  c-hall  fill  again 
The^lids  that  overflow  with  tears; 

And  weary  hours  of  wo  and  pain. 
Are  promises  of  happier  years. 

There  is  a  day  of  sunny  rest 

Far  every  dark  and  troubled  night; 

And  grief  may  hide  an  evening  guest, 
But  joy  shall  come  with  early  light. 

And  thou,  who,  o'er  thy  friend's  lowr  bier, 
Sheddest  the  bitter  drops  like  rain, 

Hope  that  a  brighter,  happier  sphere 
Will  give  him  to  thy  arms  again. 

Nor  let  the  good  man's  trust  depart, 
Though  life  its  common  gifts  deny — 

Though  with  a  pierced  and  bleeding  heart, 
And  spurned  of  men,  he  goes  to  die. 

For  God  hath  marked  each  sorrowing  day, 
And  numbered  every  secret  tear, 

And  heaven's  long  age  of  bliss  shall  pay 
For  all  his  children  suffer  here. 


THE  DAY  IS  DONE. 

H.  W.  LONGFELLOW. 

The  day  is  done,  and  the  darkness 
Falls  from  the  wings  of  Night, 

As  a  feather  is  wafted  downward 
From  an  eagle  in  his  flight. 

I  see  the  lights  of  the  village 

Gleam  through  the  rain  and  the  mist, 
And  a  feeling  of  sadness  comes  o'er  me, 

That  my  soul  cannot  resist: 

A  feeling  of  sadness  and  longing, 

That  is  not  akin  to  pain, 
And  resembles  sorrow  only 

As  the  mist  resembles  the  rain. 

Come,  read  to  me  some  poem, 
Some  simple' and  heart-felt  lay, 

That  shall  soothe  this  restless  feeling, 
And  banish  the  thoughts  of  day. 

Not  from  the  grand  old  masters, 
Not  from  the  bards  sublime, 

Whose  distant  footsteps  echo 
Through  the  corridors  of  Time. 

For,  like  strains  of  martial  music, 
Their  mighty  thoughts  suggest 

Life's  endless  toil  and  endeavor; 
And  to-night  I  long  for  rest. 


Read  from  some  humbler  poet, 

Whose  songs  gushed  from  his  heart, 

As  show'rs  from  the  clouds  of  summer, 
Or  tears  from  the  eye- lids  start; 

Who,  through  long  days  of  labor, 

And  nights  devoid  of  ease, 
Still  heard  in  his  soul  the  music 

Of  wonderful  melodies. 

Such  songs  have  power  to  quiet 

The  restless  pulse  of  care, 
And  corne  like  the  benediction 

That  follows  after  prayer. 

Then  read  from  the  trcasur'd  volume 

The  poem  of  thy  choice, 
And  lend  to  the  rhyme  of  the  poet 

The  beauty  of  thy  voice. 

And  the  night  shall  befill'd  with  music, 
And  the  cares  that  infest  the  day 

Shall  fold  their  tents,  like  the  Arabs, 
And  as  silently  steal  away. 


THE  CHOICE. 

MRS.  SUSANNA  ROWSON. 

An  actress,  authoress^  and  for  twenty-firo 
years  a  teaclier.  She  wrote  the  noted 
novel,  "  Charlotte  Temple."  She  died  in 
Boston  in  1825. 

I  ask  no  more  than  just  to  be 
From  vice  and  folly  wholly  free; 
To  have  a  competent  estate, 
Neither  too  small,  nor  yet  too  great; 
Something  of  rent  and 'taxes  clear, 
About  five  hundred  pounds  a  year. 
My  house,  though  small,  should  be  com 
plete, 

Furnished,  not  elegant,  but  neat; 
One  little  room  should  sacred  be 
To  study,  solitude,  and  me. 
The  windows,  jessamine  should  shade, 
Nor  should  a  sound  the  ears  invade, 
Except  the  warblings  from  the  grove, 
Or  plaintive  murm'riugs  from  a^dove. 
Here  would  I  often  pass  the  day, 
Turn  o'er  the  page,  or  tune  the  lay, 
And  court  the  aid  and  sacred  fire 
Of  the  Parnassian  tuneful  choir. 
While  calmly  thus  my  time  I'd  spend, 
Grant  me,  kind  Heavon.  a  faithful  friend 
In  each  emotion  of  my  heart, 
Of  grief  or  joy,  to  bear  a  part; 
Possess'd  of  learning,  and  u'ood  sense, 
Free  from  pedantic  insolence. 
Pleas'd  with  retirement,  let  him  be, 
Yet  cheerful  'midst  society; 
Know  how  to  tiifle  with  a  grace, 
Yet  grave  in  proper  time  and  place. 

Let  frugal  plenty  deck  my  board, 
So  that  its  surplus  may  afford 


SELECT  AMERICAN  POETRY. 


Assistance  to  the  neighb'riug  poor, 
And  send  them  thankful  from  the  door. 
A  few  associates" I'd  select, 
Worthy  esteem  and  high  respect; 
And  social  mirth  I  would  invite, 
With  sportive  dance  on  tiptoT  light; 
Nor  should  s\veet  music's  voice  be  mute, 
The  vocal  strain,  or  plaintive  lute; 
But  all,  and  each,  in  turn  agree, 
T' afford  life  sweet  variety; 
To  keep  serene  the  cheerful  breast, 
And  give  to  solitude  a  zest. 

And  often  be  it  our  employ, 

For  there  is  not  a  purer  joy, 

To  wipe  the  languid  grief-swoln  eye, 

To  soothe  the  pensive  mourner's  sigh, 

To  cairn  their  fears,  allay  their  grief, 

And  give,  if  possible,  relief. 

But  if  this  fate,  directing  Heaven 
Thinks  too  indulgent  to  be  given, 
Let  health  and  innocence  be  mine, 
And  I  will  strive  not  to  repine; 
Will  thankful  take  each  blessing  lent, 
Be  humble,  patient,  and  content. 


WOODMAN,  SPARE  THAT  TREE. 

GEORGE  P.  MORRIS. 

Born  at  Philadelphia  in  1801— Co-editor  of 
the  Home  Journal — "After  I  had  sung  the 
noble  ballad  of  '  Woodman,  Spare  that 
Tree,'  at  Boulogne,''  says  Mr.  Henry  Rus 
sell,  the  vocalist,  "an  old  gentleman  among 
the  audience,  who  was  greatly  moved  by 
the  simple  and  touching  beauty  of  the 
words,  rose  and  said, '  I  beg  your  pardon, 
Mr.Russell,  but  was  the  tree  really  spared?' 
4  It  was,'  said  I.  '  I  am  very  glad  to  hear 
it,'  said  he,  as  he  took  his  seat  amidst  the 
unanimous  applause  of  the  whole  assem 
bly.  1  never  saw  such  excitement  in  a 
concert  room." 

Woodman,  spare  that  tree  ! 

Touch  not  a  single  bough  ! 
In  youth  it  shelter'd  me, 

And  I'll  protect  it  now. 
'T  was  my  forefather's  hand 

That  placed  it  near  his  cot; 
There,  woodman,  let  it  stand, 

Thy  ax  shall  harm  it  not ! 

That  old  familiar  tree, 

Whose  glory  and  renown 
Are  spread  o'er  land  and  sea, 

And  wouldst  thou  hew  it  down1! 
Woodman,  forbear  thy  stroke! 

Cut  not  its  earth-bound  ties; 
0  spare  that  aged  oak, 

Now  towering  to  the  skies ! 

When  but  an  idle  boy 

I  sought  its  grateful  shade  ; 

In  all  their  gushing  joy 
Here  too  my  sisters  play'd. 


My  mother  kiss'd  me  here; 

My  father  pressed  my  hand— 
Porgive  this  foolish  tear, 

But  let  that  old  oak  stand  1 

My  heart-strings  round  thee  cling, 

Close  as  thy  bark,  old  friend  ! 
Here  shall  the  wild-bird  sing, 

And  still  thy  branches  beiid. 
Old  tree !  the  storm  still  brave  i 

And,  woodman,  leave  the  spot; 
While  I've  a  hand. to  save,  * 

Thy  ax  shall  harm  it  not ! 


THE  SNOW-STORM. 

SEBA  SMITH. 

Born  in  Portland,  Maine,  in  1792 — Author  of 
the  original  Major  Jack  Downing  Letters. 

The  cold  winds  swept  the  mountain's  height, 
And  pathless  was  the  dreary  wild, 

And  'mid  the  cheerless  hours  of  night 
A  mother  wander'd  with  her  child. 

As  through  the  drifting  snow  she  press'd, 
The  babe  was  sleeping  on  her  breast. 

And  colder  still  the  winds  did  blow, 
And  darker  hours  of  night  came  on, 

And  deeper  grew  the  drifting  snow: 

Her  limbs  were  chill'd,  her  strength  waa 
gone: 

"0  God !"  she  cried,  in  accents  wild, 
"If  I  must  perish,  save  my  child !" 

She  stripp'd  her  mantle  from  her  breast, 
And  bared  her  bosom  to  the  storm, 

And  round  the  child  she  wrapp'd  the  vest 
And  smiled  to  think  her  babe  was  warm. 

With  one  cold  kiss,  one  tear  she  shed, 
And  sunk  upon  her  snowy  bed. 

At  dawn  a  traveler  passed  by, 

And  saw  her  'neath  her  snowy  vail; 

The  frost  of  death  was  in  her  eye, 

Her  cheek  was  cold,  and  hard,  and  pale; 

He  moved  the  robe  from  off  the  child — 

The  babe  look'd  up  and  sweetly  smiled  1 


THE  LJPE-VOYAGE— A  BALLAD. 

MR3.  FRANCES  S.   OSGOOD. 

Born  in  Boston  about  the  year  1812— Died  1n 
1850. 

Once  in  the  olden  time  there  dwelt 

Beside  the  sounding  sea, 
A  little  maid — her  garb  was  coarse, 

Her  spirit  pure  and  free. 


SELECT  AMERICAN  POETRY. 


663 


Her  parents  were  an  humble  twain, 

And  poor  as  poor  could  be; 
Yet  gayly  sang  the  guileless  child, 

Beside  the  sounding  sea. 

The  Lnt  was  bare,  and  scant  the  fare, 

And  hard  her  little  bed; 
But  she  was  rich! — a  single  gem 

Its  beauty  rouud  her  shed. 

.Jht  walk'd  in  light ! — 'twas  all  her  wealth — 
That  pearl,  whose  lustrous  glow 

Made  her  white  forehead  dazzling  fair, 
And  pure  as  sunlit  snow. 

Her  parents  died  !  With  tears  she  cried, 

"  God  will  rny  father  be!" 
Then  launch'd  alone  her  shallop  light, 

And  bravely  put  to  sea. 

The  sail  she  set  was  virgin-white, 

As  inmost  lily  leaf, 
And  angels  whisper'd  her  from  Heaven, 

To  loose  it  or  to  reef. 

And  ever  on  the  dancing  prow 
One  glorious  brilliant  buru'd, 

By  whose  clear  ray  she  read  her  way, 
And  every  danger  learn'd: 

For  she  had  hung  her  treasure  there, 
Her  Heaven-illumined  pearl ! 

And  so  she  steer' d  her  lonely  bark, 
That  fair  and  guileless  girl ! 

The  wind  was  fresh,  the  sails  were  free,  , 
High  dash'd  the  diamond  spray, 

And  merrily  leaping  o'er  the  sea, 
The  light  skiffleft  the  bay  ! 

But  soon  false,  evil  spirits  came, 

And  strove  with  costly  lure, 
To  bribe  her  maiden  heart  to  shame, 

And  win  her  jewel  pure. 

They  swarm'd  around  the  fragile  boat, 
They  brought  her  diamonds  rare, 

To  glisten  on  her  graceful  throat, 
And  bind  her  flowing  hair  ! 

They  brought  her  gold  from  Afric-laud, 
And  from  the  sea-king's  throne 

They  pilfer' d  gems,  to  grace  her  hand 
And  clasp  her  virgin  zone. 

But  still  she  shook  the  silken  curl 
Back  from  her  beaming  eyes, 

And  cried — "  I  bear  my  spotless  pearl 
Home,  home  to  yonder  skies  ! 

"  Now,  shame  ye  not,  your  ocean  gems 

And  eastern  gold  to  show*? 
Behold  !  how  mine  outburns  them  all  ! 

God's  smile  is  in  its  glow  !" 

Fair  blows  the  wind,  the  sail  swells  free, 
High  shoots  the  diamond  spray, 

And  merrily  o'er  the  murmuring  sea 
rj"Ko  lio-iif-  boat  leans  away  ! 


They  swarm'd  around  the  fragile  bark, 

*  They  strove  with  costlier  lure 
To  bribe  her  maiden  heart  to  shame, 
And  win  her  jewel  pure. 

"  We  bring«thee  rank — we  bring  thee  pow'r ; 

We  bring  thee  pleasures  free — 
No  empress,  in  her  silk-hung  bower, 

May  queen  her  realm  like  thee  ! 

"Now  yield  us  np  the  one  white  pearl ! 

'Tis  but  a  star,  whose  ray 
Will  fail  thee,  rash,  devoted  girl. 

When  tempests  cloud  thy  way." 

But  still  she  smiled  a  loftier  smile, 
And  raised  her  frank,  bright  eyes, 

And  cried — "  I  bear  my  vestal  star 
Home,  home  to  yonder  skies  !" 

The  wind  is  fresh — the  sail  swells  free 
High  shoots  the  diamond  spray  ! 

And  merrily  o'er  the  moaning  sea 
The  light  boat  leaps  away  ! 

Suddenly,  stillness  broods  around, 

A  stillness  as  of  death, 
Above,  below — no  motion,  sound, 

Hardly  a  struggling  breath  ! 

Then  wild  and  fierce  the  tempest  came, 
The  dark  wind -demons  clash'd 

Their  weapons  swift — the  air  was  flame  ! 
The  waves  iu  madness  dash'd  ! 

They  swarm'd  around  the  tossing  boat — 

"  Wilt  yield  thy  jewel  now? 
Look  !  look  !  already  drenched  in  spray, 

It  trembles  at  the  prow. 

"  Be  ours  the  gem  !  and  safely  lauuch'd 

Upon  a  summer's  sea, 
Where  never  cloud  may  frown  in  heaven, 

Thy  pinnace  light  shall  be  !" 

But  still  she  smiled  a  fearless  smile, 
And  raised  her  trusting  eyes, 

And  cried — "  I  bear  my  talisman 
Home.,  home  to  youder  skies  !" 

And  safe  through  all  that  blinding  storm 

The  true  bark  floated  on, 
And  soft  its  pearl-illumined  prow 

Through  all  the  tumult  shone  ! 

An  angel,  guided  through  the  clouds 

By  that  most  precious  light, 
Flew  down  the  fairy  helm  to  take, 

To  steer  the  boat  aright. 

Then  died  the  storm  upon  the  sea ! 

High  dash'd  the  diamond  spray, 
And  merrily  leaping  light  and  free, 

The  shallop  sail'd  away. 

And  meekly,  when  at  eve  her  bark 

Its  destined  port  had  found, 
She  moor  d  it  by  the  mellow  spark 

Her  iewel  shed  around 


664 


SELECT  AMERICAN  POETRY. 


Wouldst  know  the  name  the  maiden  wore 
T  was  Innocence — like  thine  ! 

Wouldst  know  the  pearl  she  nobly  boreS 
T  was  Truth — a  gem  divine  1 

Thou  hast  the  jewel— keep  it  bright, 
Uudimm'd  by  mortal  fear, 

And  bathe  each  stain  upon  its  light 
"With  Grief's  repentant  tear! 

Still  shrink  from  falsehood's  fairest  guise, 

By  flattery  unbeguiled ! 
Still  le*t  thy  heart  speak  from  thine  eyes, 

My  pure  and  simple  child  ! 


ON  THE  DEATH  OF  JOSEPH  ROD 
MAN  DRAKE. 

FITZ-GREENE  HALLECK. 

The  good  die  first,  [dust, 

And  they  whoso  hearts  are  dry  as  summer 
Burn  to  the  socket.—  Wordsworth. 

Green  be  the  turf  above  thee, 

Friend  of  my  better  days ! 
None  knew  thee  but  to  love  thee, 

None  named  thee  but  to  praise. 

Tears  fell  when  thou  wert  dying, 
From  eyes  unused  to  weep, 

And  long  where  thou  art  lying, 
Will  tears  the  cold  turf  steep. 

When  hearts,  whose  truth  was  proven, 
Like  thine,  are  laid  in  earth, 

There  should  a  wreath  be  woven, 
To  tell  the  world  their  worth. 

And  I,  who  woke  each  morrow 
To  clasp  thy  hand  in  mine, 

Who  shared  thy  joy  and  sorrow, 
Whose  weal  and  wo  were  thine; 

It  should  be  mine  to  braid  it 

Around  thy  faded  brow, 
But  1  've  in  vain  essayed  it, 

And  feel  I  cannot  now. 

"While  memory  bids  me  weep  thee, 
Nor  thoughts  nor  words  are  free, 

The  grief  is  fixed  too  deeply 
That  mourns  a  man  like  thee. 


OLD  SONGS. 

"WILLIS  OAYLORI)  CLARK. 

Born  in  Otisco,  N.  Y..  in  1810— Died  in  1841. 

Give  me  the  songs  I  loved  to  hear, 
In  sweet  and  sunny  days  of  yore; 

Which  came  in  gushes  to  my  ear 

From  lips  that  breathe  them  now  no  more; 


From  lips,  alas !  on  which  the  worm, 

In  coiled  and  dusty  silence  lies, 
Where  many  a  loved,  lamented  form 

Is  hid  from  Sorrow's  filling  eyes  ! 

Yes  !  when  those  uuforgotten  lays 

Come  trembling  Avith  a  spirit-voice, 
I  mind  me  of  those  early  days, 

Wheu  to  respire  was  to  rejoice; 
When  gladsome  flowers  and  fruitage  shone 

Where'er  my  willing  footsteps  fell; 
Wheu  Hope's  bright  realm  was  all  mine  own. 

And  Fancy  Whispered,  "All  is  well." 

Give  me  old  songs !     They  stir  my  heart 

As  with  some  glorious  trumpet-tone: 
Beyond  the  reach  of  modern  art, 

They  rule  its  thrilling  cords  alone, 
Till,  on  the  wings  of  thought  I  fly 

Back  to  that  boundary  of  bliss, 
Which  once  beneath  my  childhood's  sky 

Embraced  a  scene  of  loveliness  ! 

Thus,  when  the  portals  of  mine  ear 

Those  long-remembered  lays  receive, 
They  seem  like  guests,  whose  voices  cheer 

My  breast,  and  bid  it  not  to  grieve: 
They  ring  in  cadences  of  love, 

They  tell  of  dreams  now  vanished  all; 
Dreams,  that  descended  from  above — 

Visions,  't  is  rapture  to  recall ! 

Give  me  old  songs  !     I  know  not  why, 

But  every  tone  they  breathe  to  me 
Is  fraught  with  pleasures  pure  and  high, 

With  honest  love  or  honest  glee: 
They  move  me,  when  by  chance  I  hear, 

They  rouse  each  slumbering  pulse  anew; 
Till  every  scene  to  memory  dear 

Is  pictured  brightly  to  my  view. 

I  do  not  ask  those  sickly  lays 

O'er  which  affected  maidens  bend; 
Which  scented  fops  are  boxind  to  praise, 

To  which  dull  crowds  their  homage  lend: 
Give  me  some  simple  Scottish  song, 

Or  lays  from  Erin's  distant  isle; 
Lays  that  to  love  and  truth  belong, 

And  cause  the  saddest  lip  to  smile ! 


A  MARRIAGE  SONG. 


JAMES  W.   WARP. 

Born  in  Newark,  N.  J.,  in  1819  — Educated 
in  Boston — Resident  of  Cincinnati,  0. 

• 

Little  Dora  was  sweet,  little  Dora  was  pure, 
And  never  a  heart,  than  hers,  was  truer: 
There  was  of  guile  not  a  trace  about  her, 
And  the  thoughts  within,  and  the  life  w:ih 

out  her, 

Were  bright  and  beautiful  day  by  day, 
Thinking  only  such  things  as  a  maiden  ma» 


SELECT  AMERICAN  POETRY. 


665 


Little  Dora,  who  read  her  Bible  nightly, 
With  a  living  faith,  not  idly  or  lightly,' 
Reading,  one  night,  its  sac-red  pages, 
She  found,  as  over  its  words  she  pored. 
This  thought,  from  one  of  the  Hebrew  sages — 
She  slept  on  his  bosom,  and  eat  at  his  board. 

"Now  what,  my  dear  mother,"  at  length  she 

said. 

Smoothing  the  curls  on  her  raven  head — 
"What  meaneth  the  text*:  I  have  tried  in  vain 
To  make  the  sense  of  the  fable  plain." 
Lady  Eleanor  took  her  daughter's  hand, 
And  said  in  accents  kind  and  bland — 
''When  a  maiden,  my  Dora,  by  love  invited, 
Pier  heart  to  her  lover  has  firmly  plighted, 
It  meaneth  that  she  will  sometimes  be, 
By  the  sanction  of  law,  and  her  heart's  ac 
cord, 

His  trustful  wife;  and  it  follows,  that  she 
Must  sleep  01.1  his  bosom,  and  eat  at  his  board." 

Little  Dora  dreamed,  little  Dora  mused, 
But  her  dreams  were  vague  and  her  thoughts 

confused ; 

She  felt  it  must  be  as  her  mother  had  said, 
And  there  came  a  sweet  vision  into  her  head; 
And  she  said  to  herself;  as  in  silence  she  gazed 
On  the  starry  lights,  that  cloudless  bla/ed 
In  the  midnight  sky — If  Carlos,  I  think, 
Should  again,  with  me,  watch  the  young  moon 

sink 

Behind  yon  hill,  and  should  spf,ak  again 
Those  words,  still  deep  in  my  memory  stored, 
My  heart  would  be  strong,  aud  I'd  promise 

him  then, 
To  sleep  on  his  bosom,  and  eat  at  his  board. 

And  Carlos  came,  when  the  moon  again 
With  beauty  filled  the  shadowy  glen; 
And  the  maiden  stood  by  his  side,  and  heard 
Those  words,  once  more,  that  her  heart  had 

stirred; 

And  her  soul's  response  her  lips  obeyed, 
And  the  two  were  one,  as  they  homeward 

strayed. 
Came  the  witnesses  then,  and  they  made  their 

vow 

To  the  man  of  God,  with  fond  accord; 
And  he  called  them  man  and  wife;  and  now 
She  sleeps  on  his  bosom,  and  eats  at  his  board. 


THE  YANKEE'S  RETURN  FROM  CAMP 

Tune — YANKEE   DOODLE. 

These  are  the  most  familiar  verses  to  the 
above  tune.  Yankee  Doodle  first  appeared 
in  England  in  the  time  of  Charles  II,  as  is 
shown  by  a  verse  of  that  period: 

Yankee  Doodle  came  to  town, 

Upon  a  Kentish  pony; 
He  stuck  a  feather  in  his  hat 

And  called  him  Macaroni. 


A  song  is  in  use  among  the  laborers  in  Hoi- 
land,  in  harvest-time,  which  thus  runs: 

Yanker  didel,  doodel  down, 

Didel,  (lu del  lanter, 
Yanke  viver,  vooyer  vown, 

Botermilk  and  Tanther. 

From  this  it  would  seem  that,  perhapg, 
Yankee  Doodle  was  by  birth  a  Dutchman ! 
Be  this  as  it  may,  he  is  now  so  fairly  "  natu 
ralised,"  that  no  "  American  "  will  dispute 
his  "  papers." 


Father  and  I  went  down  to  camp, 
Along  with  Captain  Gooding, 

And  there  we  see  the  men  and  boys, 
As  thick  as  hasty  pudding. 

Chorus — Yankee  Doodle,  keep  it  up, 

Yankee  Doodle,  dandy, 
Mind  the  music  and  the  step, 
And  with  the  girls  be  handy. 

And  there  we  sec  a  thousand  men, 

As  rich  as  'Squire  David; 
And  what  they  wasted  every  day, 

I  wish  it  could  be  saved. 

The  'lasses  they  cat  every  day, 
Would  keep  an  house  a  winter; 

They  have  so  much  that,  I'll  be  bound, 
They  eat  it  when  they're  a  mind  to. 

And  there  we  see  a  swamping  gun, 

Large  as  a  log  of  maple, 
Upon  a  deuced  little  cart, 

A  load  for  father's  cattle. 

And  every  time  they  shoot  it  off, 

It  takes  a  horn  of  powder, 
Aud  makes  a  noise  like  father's  gun, 

Only  a  nation  louder. 

I  went  as  nigh  to  one  myself, 

As  Siah's  underpinning, 
And  father  went  as  nigh  asain, 

I  thought  the  deuce  was  in  him. 

Cousin  Simon  grew  so  bold, 

I  thought  he  would  have  cock'd  it; 

It  scar'd  me  so,  I  shrink'd  it  off, 
And  hung  by  father's  pocket. 

And  Captain  Davis  had  a  gnu, 
He  kind  of  clapt  his  hand  on't, 

And  stuck  a  crooked  stabbing  iron 
Upon  the  little  end  ou't. 

And  there  I  see  a  pumpkin  shell 

As  big  as  mother's  bason; 
And  every  time  they  touch'd  it  off, 

They  scamper' d  like  the  nation. 

I  see  a  little  barrel  too, 

The  heads  were  made  of  leather, 
They  knock 'd  upoirt  with  little  clubs, 

And  call'd  the  folks  together. 


666 


SELECT  AMERICAN  POETRY. 


There  \vas  Captain  "Washington, 

Upon  a,  slapping  stallion, 
A  giving  orders  to  his  men — 

I  guess  there  was  a  million. 

And  then  the  feathers  on  his  hat, 
They  look'd  so  tarual  lina, 

I  wanted  poekily  to  get 
To  give  to  my  Jemima. 

And  there  they'd  fife  away  like  fun, 
And  play  on  cornstalk  fiddles, 

And  some  had  ribbons  red  tis  Mood, 
All  wound  about  their  middles. 

The  troopers,  too,  would  gallop  up, 
And  fire  right  in  our  faces; 

It  scar'd  me  almost  half  to  death, 
To  see  them  run  such  races. 

Old  Uncle  Sam  come  there  to  change 
Some  pancakes  and  some  onions, 

For  'lasses- cakes,  to  carry  home 
To  give  his  wife  and  young  ones. 

But  I  can't  tell  you  half  I  see, 
They  kept  up  such  a  smother; 

So  I  took  my  hat  off,  made  a  bow, 
And  scainpcr'd  home  to  mother. 


LITTLE  MARY'S  GOOD-MORNING. 

These  verses,  it  is  said,  were  written  by  a 
lady  of  Northern  Ohio.  The  touching 
beauty  of  sentiment,  so  full  of  the  cheer 
fulness,  confiding  affection,  innocence  and 
simplicity  of  childhood,  commends  them 
to  the  heart  of  every  parent. 

"0  !  I  am  so  happy!"  the  little  girl  said, 
And  she  sprang  like  a  lark  from  the  low  trun 
dle  bed; 

"  'Tis  morning,  bright  morning!  Good-morn 
ing,  papa  ! 

0!  give  me  one  kiss  for  good-morning,  mama! 
Only  just  look  at  my  pretty  canary, 
Chirping  his  s\veet  'Good-morning*  to  Mary.' 
The  sunshine  is  peeping  straight  into  mv  eves! 
Good-morning  to  you,  Mr.  Sun — for  you  rise 
Early,  to  wake  np  my  birdie  and  me, 
And  make  us  as  happy,  as  happy  can  be." 

"Happy  you  may  be,  my  dear  little  girl," 
And  the  mother  stroked  softly  a  clustering 

curl; 

"Happy  as  can  be — but  think  of  the  One 
Who  wakened  this  morning,  both  you  aiid 

the  sun." 
The  little  one  turned  her  bright  eyes  with  a 

nod: 

"Mama,  may  I  say,  Good-morning  to  GodT' 
'"Yes,"  little  darling  one,  "surely  you  may; 
Kneel,  as  you  kneel  every  moraine  to  pray!" 

Mary  knelt  solemnly  down — with  her  eyes 
Looking  np  earnestly  into  the  skies, 


And  two  little  hands  that  were  folded  to 
gether, 

Softly  she  laid  on  the  lap  of  her  mother — 
'Good  morning,  dear  Father  in  Heaven,"  she 

said; 

"I  thank  thee  for  watching  my  snug  little  bed ; 
For  taking  good  care  of  me  all  the  dark  night, 
And  waking  me  np  with  the  beautiful  light. 
0!  keep  me  from  naughtiness  all  the  long  day, 
Blest  Jesus,  who  taught  little  children  ixj 
pray." 

An  angel  looked  down  in  the  sunshine,  and 

smiled; 
But  she  ?a\v  not  the  angel — that  beautiful 

child. 


HAIL,  COLUMBIA. 

FRANCIS  HOPKIXSON. 

Born  nt  Philadelphia  in  1770— Judge  of  Dis- 
.trict  Court  of  the  U.  S.— Died  in  1842— 
'•  Hail,  Columbia"  was  written  in  1798,  to 
arouse  a  national  feeling  in  view  of  an  ex 
pected  war  with  France. 

Hail.  Columbia!  happy  land! 
Hail,  ye  heroes,  heaven-born  band! 

"Who  fought  and  bled  in  Freedom's  cause, 
Uho  fought  and  bled  in  Freedom's  cause, 
And  when  the  storm  of  war  was  none, 
Enjoy 'd  the  peace  your  valor  woii  ! 
Let  independence  be  our  boast, 
Ever  mindful  what  it  cost; 
Ever  grateful  for  the  prize, 
Let  its  altar  reach,  the  skies. 
Firm — united — let  us  be, 
Rallying  round  our  liberty: 
As  a  band  of  brothers  join'd, 
Peace  and  safety  we  shall  find. 

Immortal  patriots  !  rise  once  more;  . 

Defend  your  rights,  defend  your  shore; 
Let  no  rude  foe,  with  impious  hand, 
Let  no  rude  foe,  with  impious  hand, 

Invade  the  shiine  where  sacred  lies 

Of  toil  and  blood  the  well-earned  prize. 
While  offering  peace  sincere  and  just, 
In  heaven  we  place  a  manly  trust, 
That  truth  and  justice  will  prevail, 
And  every  scheme  of  bondage  fail. 
Firm — united,  etc. 

Sound,  sound  the  trump  of  Fame  ! 

Let  WASHINGTON'S  great  name 

Ring  thrmgh  the  world  with  loud  applause, 
Ring  through  the  world  with  loud  applause; 

Let  every  clime  to  Freedom  dear 

Listen  with  a  joyful  ear. 

With  equal  skill  and  godlike  power, 
He  governs  ia  the  fearful  hour 
Of  horrid  war;  or  guides  with  ease 
The  happier  times  of  honest  peace. 
Firm — united,  etc. 


SELECT  AMERICAN  POETRY. 


667 


Bel  old  the  chief  who  now  commands, 
Onco  more  to  serve  his  country  stands — 
The  rock  on  which  the  storm  will  beat, 
The  rock  on  which  the  storm  will  beat; 
But.  armed  in  virtue,  firm  and  true, 
His  hopes  are  fixed  on  Heaven  and  YOU. 
When  Hope  was  sinking  in  dismay, 
And  glooms  obscured  Columbia's  day, 
His  steady  mind,  from  changes  free, 
Resolved  on  death  or  liberty. 
Firm — united,  etc. 


THE  BATTLE-FIELD. 

•W.   C.   BUY  ANT. 

Once  this  turf,  this  rivulet's  sands, 
Were  trampled  by  a  hurrying  crowd, 

4nd  fiery  hearts  and  armed  hands 
Encountered  in  the  battle-cloud. 

Ah!  never  shall  the  land  forget 

How  gushed  the  life-blood  of  her  brave — 
Gushed,  warm  with  hope  and  courage  yet, 

Upon  the  soil  they  fought  to  save. 

i\ow,  all  is  calm,  and  fresh  and  still, 
Alone  the  chirp  of  flitting  bird, 

And  talk  of  children  on  the  hill, 

And  bell  of  wandering  kiue  are^ieard. 

No  solemn  host  goes  trailing  by 

The  black -mouthed  gun   aud   staggering 

wain ; 
Men  start  not  at  the  battle-cry, 

0,  be  it  never  heard  again. 

Soon  rested  those  who  fought;  but  thou 
Who  minglest  in  the  harder  strife 

For  truths  which  men  receive  not  now, 
Thy  warfare  only  ends  with  life. 

A  friendless  warfare !  lingering  long 
Through  weary  day  and  weary  year. 

A.  wild  and  many-weapoued  throng 
Hang  on  thy  front,  and  flank,  and  rear. 

tet  nerve  thy  spirit  to  the  proof, 
And  blanch  not  at  the  chosen  lot; 

The  timid  good  may  stand  aloof, 
The  sage  may  frown — yet  faint  thou  not. 

Nor  heed  the  shaft  too  surely  cast, 
The  foul  and  hissing  bolt  of  scorn; 

For  with  thy  side  shall  dwell  at  last, 
The  victory  of  endurance  born. 

Truth,  crushed  to  earth,  shall  rise  again  ; 

The  eternal  years  of  God  are  heis; 
Bnt  Error,  wouuded,  writhes  in  pain, 

And  dies  among  his  worshipers. 

Yea.  though  thou  lie  upon  the  dust, 

When  they  who  helped  thee  flee  in  fear; 

Die  full  of  hope  and  manly  trust, 
Like  those  who  fell  in  battle  here. 


Another  hand  thy  sword  shall  wield, 
Another  hand  the  standard  wave, 

Till  from  the  trumpet's  mouth  is  pealed 
The  blast  of  triumph  o'er  thy  grave. 


RESIGNATION. 

H.  \V.  LONGFELLOW. 

[here  is   no   flock,   however   watched    and 
tended, 

But  one  dead  lamb  is  there  ! 
Dhere  is  no  fireside,  howsoe'er  defended, 

But  has  one  vacant  chair  ! 

The  air  is  full  of  farewells  to  the  dying, 

And  mournings  for  the  dead; 
The  heart  of  Rachel  for  her  children  crying 

Will  not  be  comforted  ! 

Let  us  be  patient !  these  severe  afflictions 

Not  from  the  ground  arise, 
But  oftentimes  celestial  benedictions 

Assume  this  dark  disguise. 

We  see  but  dimly  thro'  the  mis-t  and  vapors; 

Amid  these  earthly  damps 
What  seem  to  us  but  dim  funereal  tapers 

May  be  Heaven's  distant  lamps. 

There  is  no  Death !  what  seems  so  is  transi 
tion; 

This  life  of  Mortal  breath- 
Is  but  a  suburb  of  the  life  elysian, 

Whose  portal  we  call  Death. 

She  is  not  dead — the  child  of  our  affection— 

But  gone  unto  that  school 
Where  she  no  longer  needs  our  poor  protec 
tion, 

And  Christ  himself  doth  rule. 

In  that  great  cloister's  stillness  aud  seclu 
sion 

By  guardian  angels  led, 
Safe  from  temptation,  safe  from  sin's  pollu 
tion, 
She  lives,  whom  we  call  dead. 

Day  after  day  we  think  whnt  she  is  doing, 
In  those  bright  realms  of  air; 

Year  after  year,  her  tender  steps  pursuing, 
Behold  her  grown  more  fair. 

Thus   do  we  walk  with  her,  and  keep  UD 

broken 

The  bond  which  nature  gives, 
Thinking  that  our  remembrance,  though  UD 

spoken, 
May  reach  her  where  she  lives. 

Not  as  a  child  shall  we  again  behold  her; 

For  when  with  raptures  wild 
In  our  embraces  we  again  enfold  her, 

She  will  not  be  a  child; 


068 


SELECT  AMERICAN  POETRY. 


But  a  fair  maiden,  in  her  Father's  mansion, 

Clothed  with  celestial  grace; 
And  beautiful  with  all  the  soul's  expansion 

Shall  \ve  behold  her  lace. 

And  though  at  times,  impetuous  with  emo 
tion 

And  anguish  long  suppressed. 
The  swelling  heart  heaves  moaning  like  the 

ocean 
That  cannot  be  at  rest; 

We  will  be  patient !  and  assuage  the  feeling 

We  cannot  wholly  stay; 
By  silence  sanctifying,  not  concealing 

The  griei  that  must  have  way. 


THE  LAST  LEAF. 


O.   \V.   HOLMES. 

Born  at  Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  in  1807 — 
Professor  in  the  Medical  Department  of 
Harvard  University. 

I  saw  him  once  before, 
As  he  passed  by  the  door, 

And  again 

The  pavement  stones  resound 
As  he  totters  o'er  the  ground 

With  his  cane. 

They  say  that  in  his  prime, 
Ere  the  pruiiing-kuife  of  Time 

Cut  him  down, 
T\Tot  a  better  man  was  found 
By  the  Crier  on  his  round 

Through  the  town. 

But  now  he  walks  the  streets, 
And  lie  looks  at  all  he  meets, 

Sad  and  wan, 

And  he  shakes  his  feeble  head, 
That  it  seems  as  if  he  said, 

"  They  are  gone." 

The  mossy  marbles  rest 
On  the  lips  that  he  has  prest 

111  their  bloom, 

And  the  names  he  loved  to  hear 
Have  been  carved  for  many  a  year 

Oil  the  tomb. 

My  grandmamma  has  said — 
Poor  old  lady,  she  is  dead 

Long  ago — 

That  he  had  a  Roman  nose, 
And  his  cheek  was  like  a  rose 

In  the  snow. 

But  now  his  nose  is  thin, 
And  it  rests  upon  his  chin 

Like  a  staff, 

And  a  crook  is  in  his  back, 
And  a  melancholy  crack 

Tn  his  laua;h. 


I  know  it  is  a  sin 
For  me  to  sit  and  grin 

At  him  here; 

But  the  old  three-cornered  hat, 
And  the  breeches,  and  all  that, 

Are  so  queer ! 

And  if  I  should  live  to  be 
The  last  leaf  upon  the  tree 

In  the  spring — 
Let  them  smile,  as  I  do  now, 
At  the  old  forsaken  bough 

Where  I  cling. 


OLD  GRIMES. 


ALBERT  G.   GREENE. 

Born  in  Providence,  R.  I.,  in  1802 — Educated 
for  the  Bar.  "Old  Grimes  "  was  written 
in  about  his  sixteenth  year. 

Old  Grimes  is  dead;  that  good  old  man 
We  ne'er  shall  see  him  more: 

He  used  to  wear  a  long  black  coat 
All  buttoned  down  before. 

His  heart  was  open  as  the  day, 
His  feelings  all  were  true;' 

His  hair  was  some  inclined  to  gray, 
He  wore  it  in  a  queue. 

Whene'r  he  heard  the  voice  of  pain, 
His  breast  with  pity  burned; 

The  large  round  head  upon  his  cane 
From  ivory  was  turned. 

Kind  words  he  ever  had  for  all; 

He  knew  no  base  design; 
His  eyes  were  dark  and  rather  small, 

His  nose  was  aquiline. 

He  lived  at  peace  with  all  mankind, 
In  friendship  he  was  true; 

His  coat  had  pocket-holes  behind, 
His  pantaloons  were  blue. 

Unharmed,  the  sin  which  earth  pollutes 

He  passed  securely  o'er, 
And  never  wore  a  pair  of  boots 

For  thirty  years  or  more. 

But  good  old  Grimes  is  now  at  rest, 
Nor  fears  misfortune's  frown; 

He  wore  a  double-breasted  vest; 
The  stripes  ran  up  and  down. 

He  modest  merit  sought  to  find, 

And  pay  it  its  desert: 
He  had  no  malice  in  his  mind, 

No  ruffles  on  his  shirt. 

His  neighbors  he  did  not  abuse — 

Was  sociable  nud  gay; 
He  wore  large  buckles  on  his  shoe*, 

And  changed  them  even*  day. 


SELECT  AMERICAN  POETRY. 


669 


His  knowledge  hid  from  public  gaze, 

He  did  not  bring  to  view, 
Nor  make  a  noise,  town-meeting  days, 

As  many  people  do. 

His  worldly  goods  he  never  threw 
In  trust  to  fortune's  chances, 

But  lived  (as  all  his  brothers  do) 
lu  easy  circumstances. 

Thus  undisturb'd  by  anxious  cares, 
His  peaceful  moments  ran; 

And  everybody  said  he  was 
A  fine  old  gentleman. 


PICTURES  OF  MEMORY. 

MISS   ALICE  CAREY. 

Born,  in  1822,  at  Mt.  Pleasant,  near  Cincin 
nati.  0. 

Among  the  beautiful  pictures 

That  hang  on  Memory's  wall, 
Is  one  of  a  dim  old  forest, 

That  seemeth  best  of  all; 
Not  for  its  gnarled  oaks  olden, 

Dark  with  the  mistletoe; 
Not  for  the  violets  golden 

That  sprinkle  the  vale  below; 
Not  for  the  milk-white  lilies 

That  lean  from  the  fragrant  hedge, 
Coquetting  all  day  with  the  sunbeams, 

And  stealing  their  golden  edge; 
Not  for  the  vines  on  the  upland 

Where  the  bright  red-berries  rest, 
Nor  the  pinks,  nor  the  pale,  sweet  cowslip, 

It  seemeth  to  me  the  best. 

I  once  had  a  little  brother, 

\Vitheyes  that  were  dark  and  deep — 
In  the  lap  of  that  old  dim/orest 

He  lieth  in  peace  asleep: 
Light  as  the  down  of  the  thistle, 

Free  as  the  winds  that  blow, 
We  roved  there  the  beautiful  summers, 

The  summers  of  long  ago; 
But  his  feet  on  the  hills  grew  weary, 

And,  one  of  the  autumn  eves, 
I  made  for  my  little  brother 

A  bed  of  the  yellow  leaves. 

Sweetly  his  pale  arms  folded 

My  neck  in  a  meek  embrace, 
As  the  light  of  immortal  beauty 

Silently  covered  his  face: 
And  when  the  arrows  of  sunset 

Lodged  in  the  tree-tops  bright, 
He  fell,  in  his  saint-like  beauty, 

Asleep  by  the  gates  of  light'. 
Therefore,  of  all  the  pictures 

That  hang  on  Memory's  wall, 
The  one  of  the  dim  old  forest 

Seemeth  the  best  of  all. 


WHEN  OTHER  FRIENDS  ARE  ROUND 
THEE. 

G.  P.   MOKRIS. 

When  other  friends  are  round  thee, 

And  other  hearts  are  thine, 
When  other  bays  have  crowu'd  thee, 

More  fresh  and  green  than  mine, 
Then  think  how  sad  and  lonely 

This  doating  heart  will  be, 
Which,  while  it  throbs,  throbs  only 

Beloved  one,  for  thee  ! 

Yet  do  not  think  I  doubt  thee, 

I  know  thy  truth  remains; 
I  would  not  live  without  thee, 

For  all  the  world  contains. 
Thou  art  the  star  that  guides  me 

Along  life's  changing  sea; 
And  whate'er  fate  betides  me, 

This  heart  still  turns  to  thee. 


THE  LAPSE  OF  TIME. 


W.   C.   BRYANT. 

Lament  who  will,  in  fruitless  tears, 

The  speed  with  which  our  moments  fly; 

I  sigh  not  over  vanished  years, 

But  watch  the  years  that  hasten  by. 

Look,  how  they  come — a  mingled  crowd 
Of  bright  and  dark,  but  rapid  days; 

Beneath  them,  like  a  summer  cloud, 
The  wide  world  changes  as  I  gaxe. 

What  !  grieve  that  time  has  brought  so  sooa 
The  sober  age  of  manhood  on  ! 

As  idly  might  I  wreep,  at  noon, 
To  see  the  blnsh  of  morning  gone. 

Could  I  give  up  the  hopes  that  glow- 
In  prospect  like  Elysian  isles; 

And  let  the  cheerful  future  go, 

With  all  her  promises  and  smiles  "i 

The  future ! — cruel  were  the  power 

Whose   doom  would   tear  thee  from  mj 
heart, 

Thou  sweetener  of  the  present  hour ! 
We  cannot — no — we  will  not  part. 

0,  leave  me  still  the  rapid  flight 

That  makes  the  changing  seasons  gay, 

The  grateful  speed  that  brings  the  night, 
The  swift  and  glad  return  of  day; 

The  months  that  touch  with  aflded  grace, 

This  little  prattler  at  my  knee, 
In.  whose  arch  eye  and  speaking  face 

New  meaning  every  hour  I  see; 

The  years,  that  o'er  each  sister  land 
Shall  lift  the  country  of  my  birth, 

And  nurse  her  strength,  till  she  shall  stand 
The  pride  and  pattern  of  the  earth. 


670 


SELECT  AMERICAN  POETRY. 


Till  \cunger  commonwealths,  for  aid, 
Shall  cling  about  her  ample  robe, 

And  from  her  frown  shall  shrink  afriiid 
The  crowned  oppressors  of  the  globe. 

True — time  will  seam  and  blanch  iny  brow; 

Well — I  shall  sit  with  aged  men, 
And  my  good  glass  will  tell  me  how 

A  grizzly  beard  becomes  nie  then. 

And  then,  should  no  dishonor  lie 
Upon  my  head,  when  I  um  gray, 

Lore  yet  shall  watch  my  fading  eye, 
And  smooth  the  path  of  my  decay. 

Then  haste  thce,  Time — 'tis  kindness  all 
That  speeds  thy  winged  feet  so  fast; 

Thy  pleasures  stay  not  till  they  pall, 
And  all  thy  pains  are  quickly  past. 

Thou  fliest  and  bear'st  away  our  woes, 
And  as  thy  shadowy  trains  depart, 

The  memory  of  sorrow  grows 
A  lighter  burden  on  the  heart. 


THE  CORAL  GROVE. 


JAMES  GATES  PERCIVAL. 

Born  in  Berlin,  Conn.,  in  1795— Graduate  of 
Yale— Died  in  1856,  at  which  time  he  was 
geologist  for  Wisconsin.  He  was  one  of 
the  most  learned  men  of  America.  His 
temperament  was  morbidly  sensitive,  with 
a  delicacy  surpassing  that  of  woman;  and 
so  much  of  a  recluse  was  he  as  not  to  pos 
sess  a  single  closely  intimate  friend. 


Deep  in  the  wave  is  a  coral  grove, 
Where  the  purple  mullet  and  gold-fish  rove; 
Where  the   sea-flower  spreads  its  leaves  of 

blue, 

That  never  are  wet  with  falling  dew, 
But  in  bright  and  changeful  beauty  shine, 
Far  down  in  the  green  and  glassy  brine. 
The  floor  is  oi  sand,  like  the  mountain  drift; 
And  the  pearl -shells  spangle  the  flinty  snow; 
From  coral  rocks  the  sea-plants  lift 
Their  boughs,  where  the  tides  and  billows 

flow; 

The  water  is  calm  and  still  below, 
For  the  winds  and  waves  are  absent  there, 
And  the  sands  are  bright  as  the  stars  that 

glow 

In  the  motionless  fields  of  upper  air: 
There,  with  its  waving  blade  of  green, 
The  sea-flag  streams  through  the  silent  water, 
And  the  crimson  leaf  of  the  dulse  is  seen 
To  blush,  like  a  banner  bathed  in  slaughter: 
There,  with  a  light  and  easy  motion, 
The  fan-coral  sweeps  through  the  clear  deep  i 

sea; 

And  the  yellow  and  scarlet  tufts  of  ocean 
Are  bending  like  corn  on  the  upland  lea: 


And  life,  in  rare  and  beautiful  forms, 
Is  sporting  amid  those  bovvers  of  stone, 
And   is   safe,    when    the  wrathful   spirit   of 

storms 

Has  made  the  top  of  the  wave  his  own. 
And  when  the  ship  from  his  fury  flies, 
Where  the  myriad  voices  of  ocean  roar, 
When  the  wind-god  frowns  in  the  inurkf 

skies, 

And  demons  are  waiting  the  wreck  cii  shoro 
Then,  far  below,  in  the  peaceful  sea, 
The  purple  mullet  and  gold-fish  rove, 
Where  the  waters  murmur  tranquilly, 
Through  the  bending  twigs  of  the  coral  grove. 


A  PSALM  OP  LIFE. 

WHAT   THK    HEART    OF    THE    YOUNG    MAN 
SAID    TO    THE    PSALMIST. 

H.  W.  LONGFELLOW. 

Tell  me  not,  ir,  mournful  numbers, 
Life  is  but  an  empty  dream  ! 

For  the  soul  is  dead  that  slumbers, 
And  things  are  not  what  they  seem. 

Life  is  real !     Life  is  earnest ! 

And  the  grave  is  not  its  goal; 
Dust  thou  art,  to  dust  return est, 

Was  not  spoken  of  the  soul. 

Not  enjoyment,  and  not  sorrow, 
Is  our  destined  end  or  way; 

But  to  act,  that  ea«h  to-morrow 
Find  us  farther  than  to-day. 

Art  is  long, and  Time  is  fleeting 
And  our  hearts,  though  stout  and  brave* 

Still,  like  muffled  drums,  are  beating 
Funeral  marches  to  the  grave. 

In  the  world's  broad  field  of  battle, 

In  the  bivouac  of  Life, 
Be  not  like  dumb,  driven  cattle 

Be  a  hero  in  the  strife ! 

Trust  no  Future,  howe'er  pleasant ; 

Let  the  dead  Past  bury  its  dead  ! 
Act — act  in  the  living  Present! 

Heart  within,  and  GOD  o'erhead  ! 

Lives  of  great  men  all  remind  us 
We  can  make  our  hearts  sublime, 

And,  departing,  leave  behind  us 
Footprints  on  the  sands  of  time; 

Footprints,  that  perhaps  another, 
Sailing  o'er  life's  solemn  main, 

A  forlorn  and  ship-wreck'd  brother 
Seeing,  shall  take  heart  again. 

Let  us,  then,  be  up  and  doing, 

With  a  heart  for  any  fate; 
Still  achieving,  still  pursuing, 

Learn  to  labor  and  to  wait. 


SELECT  AMERICAN  POETRY. 


671 


THE  LITTLE  ORATOR. 

BEV.   THADDEUS  HARRIS. 

Graduated  at  Harvard  ;  for  a  time  a  teacher, 
and  in  1793  was  settled  over  the  church  in 
Dorchester,  Massachusetts.  These  verses 
tvere  \vritten  for  and  recited  by  Hon.  Ed 
ward  Everett,  then  a  boy  four  years  old. 
The  "  little  roan  ''  refers  to  the  color  of  the 
little  orator's  "  hair. 

Pray,  how  should  I,  a  little  lad, 
In  speaking,  make  a  figured 

You're  only  joking,  I'm  afraid — 
Do  wait  till  I  am  bigger. 

But  since  you  wish  to  hear  my  part, 

And  urge  me  to  begin  it, 
I'll  strive  for  praise,  with  all  my  heart, 

Though  small  the  hope  to  win  it. 

I'll  tell  you  a  tale  how  farmer  John 

A  little  roan  colt  bred,  sir. 
And  every  night  and  every  mom 

He  water' d  and  he  fed,  sir. 

Said  neighbor  Joe  to  farmer  John, 
"Am 't  you  a  silly  dolt,  sir, 

To  spend  such  time  and  care  upon 
A  little  useless  colt,  sir  $ 

Said  farmer  John  to  neighbor  Joe, 
"  I'll  bring  my  little  roan  up, 

Not  for  the  good  he  now  can  do, 
But  will  do,  when  he's  grown  up." 

The  moral  you  can  well  espy, 
To  keep  the  tale  from  spoiling; 

The  little  colt  you  think,  is  I— 
I  know  it  by  your  smiling. 

And  now,  my  friends,  please  to  excuse 
My  lisping  and  my  stammers; 

I,  for  this  once,  have  done  my  best, 
And  so — I'll  make  my  manners. 


LINES 

SPOKEN   AT    A  SCHOOL   EXHIBITION    BY 
LITTLE    BOY    SEVEN    YEARS    OLD. 


BY  DAVID  EVERETT. 

Born  at  Princeton,  N.  Jersey —Teacher- 
Graduate  of  Dartmouth — then  editor,  and 
died  at  Marietta,  Ohio,  in  1813.  These 
verses  were  written  for  one  of  his  pupils  at 
New  Ipswich,  Mass. 

You'd  scarce  expect  one  of  my  age 

Tc  speak  in  public  on  the  stage; 

And  if  I  chance  to  fall  below 

Demosthenes  or  Cicero, 

Iton't  view  rne  with  a  critic's  eye, 

But  pass  my  imperfections  by/ 

Large  streams  from  little  fountains  flow; 

Tall  oaks  from  little  acorns  grow; 

And  though  I  now  am  small  and  young, 

Of  jnilgmeut  weak  and  feeble  tongue, 


Yet  all  great  learned  men,  like  me, 

Once  learned  to  read  their  A,  15,  C. 

But  why  may  not  Columbia's  soil 

Bear  men  as 'great  as  Britain's  isle  S — 

Exceed  what  Greece  and  Rome  have  doneS— 

Or  any  land  beneath  the  sun<i 

Mayn't  Massachusetts  boast  as  great 

As  any  other  sister  State  1 

Or  where's  the  town,  go  far  and  near, 

That  does  not  find  a  rival  here  ": 

Or  where's  the  boy  but  three  feet  high 

Who's  made  improvement  more  than  1 1 

These  thoughts  inspire  my  youthful  mind 

To  be  the  greatest  of  mankind: 

Great,  not  like  (Jscsar,  stained  with  blood, 

But  only  great  as  I  am  good. 


A  LIFE  ON  THE  OCEAN  WAVE. 

EPES   SARGEANT. 

Born  in  1816  in  Gloucester,  Mass. 

A  life  on  the  ocean  wave, 

A  home  on  the  rolling  deep; ' 
Where  the  scattered  waters  rave, 

And  the  winds  their  revels  keep ! 
Like  an  eagle  caged,  I  pine 

On  this  dull,  unchanging  shore: 
0  !  Give  me  the  flashing  brine, 

The  spray  and  the  tempest's  roar  ! 

Once  more  on  the  deck  I  stand, 

Of  my  own  swift-gliding  craft; 
Set  sail  f  farewell  to  the  lant ! 

The  gale  follows  fair  abaft? 
We  shoot  through  the  sparkling  form 

Like  an  ocean -bird  set  free; — 
Like  the  ocean-bird,  our  home 

We'll  find  far  out  on  the  sea. 

The  land  is  no  longer  -in  view, 

The  clouds  have  begun  to  frown; 
But  with  a  stout  vessel  and  creV, 

We'll  say,  Let  the  storm  come  down! 
And  the  song  of  our  hearts  shall  be, 

While  the  winds  and  the  waters  rave, 
A  home  on  the  rolling  sea  ! 

A  life  on  the  ocean  wave  ! 


THE  SETTLER. 

ALFRED  B.   STREET. 

Born  at  Poukeepsie,  N.  Y.,  in  1811— Bred  to 

the  law. 

His  echoing  ax  the  settler  swung 

Amid  the  sea-like  solitude, 
And  rushing,  thundering,  down  were  flung 

The  Titans  of  the  wood; 


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Loud  shrieked  the  engle  as  he  dashed 
From  out  his  mossy  nest,  which  crashed 

With  its  supporting  bough, 
And  the  first  sunlight,  leaping,  flashed 

On  the  wolf's  haunt  below. 

Rude  was  the  garb,  and  strong  the  frame 

Of  him  who  plied  his  ceaseless  toil: 
To  form  that  garb,  the  wild-wood  game 

Contributed  their  spoil; 
The  soul  that  warmed  that  frame,  disdained 
Tlic  tinsel,  gaud,  and  glare,  that  reigned 

Where  men  their  crowds  collect; 
The  simple  fur,  uutrimmed,  unstained, 

This  forest  tamer  decked. 

The  paths  which  wound  'mid  gorgeous  trees, 

The  streams  whose  bright  lips  kissed  their 

flowers, 
The  winds  that  swelled  their  harmonies 

Through  those  sun-hiding  bowers, 
The  temple  vast — the  green  arcade, 
The  nestliug  vale,  the  grassy  glade, 

Dark  cave  and  swampy  lair; 
These  scenes  and  sounds  majestic,  made 

His  world,  his  pleasures,  there. 

His  roof  adorned,  a  pleasant  spot, 
'Mid   the   black   Io2;s   green   i 


green   glowed  the 


gram, 


And  herbs  and  plants  the  woods  knew  not, 

Throve  in  the  sun  and  rain. 
The  smoke-wreath  curling  o'er  the  dell, 
The  low— the  bleat— the  tinkling  bell, 

All  made  a  landscape  strange, 
Which  was  the  living  chronicle 

Of  deeds  that  wrought  the  change. 

The  violet  sprung  at  Spring's  first  tinge, 

The  rose  of  Summer  spread  its  glow, 
The  maize  hung  on  its  Autumn  fringe, 

Rude  Winter  brought  his  snow: 
And  still  the  settler  labored  there, 
His  shout  aud  whistle  woke  the  air 

As  cheerily  he  plied 
His  garden  spade,  or  drove  his  share 

Along  the  hillock's  side. 

He  marked  the  fire-storm's  blazing  flood 

Roaring  and  crackling  on  its  path, 
And  scorching  earth,  and  melting  wood 

Beneath  its  greedy  wrath; 
He  marked  the  rapid  whirlwind  shoot, 
Trampling  the  pine  tree  with  its  foot, 

And  darkening  thick  the  day 
'With  streaming  bough  and  severed  rooA 

Hurled  whizzing  on  its  way. 

His  gaunt  hound  yelled,  his  rifle  flashed, 

The  grim  bear  hushed  its  savage  growl, 
In  blood  and  foam  the  panther  gnashed 

Its  fangs  with  dying  howl; 
The  fleet  deer  ceased  its  flying  bound, 
Its  snarling  wolf  foe  bit  the  ground, 

And  with  its  moaning  cry, 
The  beaver  sank  beneath  the  wound 

Its  pond-built  Venice  by. 


Humble  the  lot,  yet  his  the  race ! 

When  liberty  sent  forth  her  cry. 
Who  thronged  in  Conflict's  deadliest  place. 

To  fight— to  bleed — to  die. 
W7ho  cumbered  Bunker's  height  of  red, 
By  hope,  through  weary  years  were  led, 

And  witnessed  York  town's  sun 
Blaze  on  a  Nation's  banner  spread, 

A  Nation's  freedom  won. 


THE  FIRE  OF  DRIFTWOOD. 

II.   \V.   LONGFELLOW. 

We  sat  within  the  farm-house  old, 

Whose  windows,  looking  o'er  the  hay, 

Gave  to  the  sea-breeze,  damp  aud  cold, 
An  easy  entrance,  night  and  day. 

Not  far  away  we  saw  the  port — 

The  strange,  old-fashioned,  silent  town, 

The  light-house — the  dismantled  fort — 
The  wooden  houses,  quaint  and  brown. 

We  sat  and  talked  until  the  night, 
Descending,  filled  the  little  room; 

Our  faces  faded  from  the  sight, 
Our  voices  only  broke  the  gloom. 

We  spake  of  many  a  vanished  scene, 
Of  what  we  had  once  thought  and  said, 

Of  what  had  been,  and  might  have  been, 
And  who  was  changed,  and  who  was  dead; 

And  all  that  fills  the  hearts  of  friends, 
When  first  they  feel,  with  secret  pain, 

Theh'  lives  thenceforth  have  separate  ends, 
And  never  can  be  one  again; 

The  first  slight  swerving  of  the  heart, 
That  words  are  powerless  to  express, 

And  leave  it  still  unsaid  in  part, 
Or  say  it  in  too  great  excess. 

The  very  tones  in  which  we  spake 

Had  something  strange,  I  could  but  mark; 

The  leaves  of  memory  seemed  to  make 
A  mournful  rustling  in  the  dark. 

Oft  died  the  words  upon  our  lips, 

As  suddenly,  from  out  the  fire 
Built  of  the  wreck  of  stranded  ships, 

The  flames  would  leap  and  then  expire. 

And,  as  their  splendor  flashed  and  failed, 
We  thought  of  wrecks  upon  the  main, 

Of  ships  dismantled,  that  were  hailed 
Aud  sent  no  answer  back  again. 

The  windows,  rattling  in  their  frames — 
The  ocean  roaring  up  the  beach — 

The  gusty  blast — the  bickering  flames- 
All  mingled  vaguely  in  our  speech; 


SELECT  AMERICAN  POETRY. 


Until  they  made  themselves  a  part 
Of  fancies  floating  through  the  brain; 

The  long-lost  ventures  of  the  heart, 
That  send  no  answers  back  again. 

0  fames  that  glowed  !  0  hearts  that  yearn - 
They  were  indeed  too  much  akin,    *  [ed  1 

The  drift-wood  fire  without  that  burned. 
The  thoughts  that  burned    and    glowed 
within. 


MARCO  BOZZARIS.* 


FTTZ-OREEN7E  HALLKCK. 

in  an  attack  upon  the  Turkish  camp 
at  Laspi,  the  site  of  ancient  Plataea,  Au 
gust  20,  1828.  and  expired  in  the  moment 
of  victory.  His  last  words  were  :  "  To  die 
for  liberty  is  a  pleasure,  not  a  pa-in." 

At  midnight,  in  his  guarded  tent, 

The  Turk  was  dreaming  of  the  hour 
When  Greece,  her  knee  in  suppliance  bent, 

Should  tremble  at  his  power: 
In  dreams,  through  camp  and  court,  he  bore 
The  trophies  of  a  conqueror; 

In  dreams  his  song  of  triumph  heard: 
Then  wore  his  monarch's  signet  ring: 
Then  pressed  that  monarch's  throne — a  king; 
As  wild  his  thoughts,  and  gay  of  wing, 

As  Eden's  garden  bird. 

At  midnitrht,  in  the  forest  shades, 

Bozzaris  ranged  his  Suliote  band. 
True  as  the  steel  of  their  tried  blades, 

Heroes  in  h/art  and  hand. 
There  had  the  Persian's  thousands  stood, 
There  had  the  glad  earth  drunk  their  blood, 

On  old  Plattra's  day: 
And  now  there  breathed  that  haunted  air 
The  sons  of  sires  who  conquered  there, 
With  arm  to  strike,  and  soul  to  dare, 

As  quick,  as  far  as  they. 

An  hour  passed  on — the  Turk  awoke; 

That  bright  dream  was  his  last; 
HP  awoke — to  hear  his  sentries  shriek, 
"  To  arms !    they   come  !    the   Greek !    the 

Greek  !" 

He  woke — to  die  midst  flame,  and  smoke, 
And  shout,  and  groan,  and  saber  stroke, 

And  death  shots  falling  thick  and  fast 
As  lightnings  from  the  mountain  cloud- 
And  heard,  with  voice  as  trumpet  loud, 

Bozzaris  cheer  his  band; 
"Strike — till  the  last  armed  foe  expires; 
Strike  for  your  altars  and  your  fires; 
Strike — for  the  green  craves  of  your  sires; 

God — and  your  native  laud  !" 

They  fought — like  brave  men.  long  and  well; 

They  piled  that  ground  with  Moslem  slain- 
Thev  conquer'd — but  Bozzaris  fell, 

Bleeding  at  every  vein. 
His  few  surviving  comrades  saw 
His  smile  when  rang  their  proud  hurrah, 


Aud  the  red  field  was  won: 
Then  saw  in  death  his  eyelids  close 
Calmly,  as  to  a  night's  repose, 

Like  flowers  at  set  of  sun. 

Come  to  the  bridal  chamber,  Death! 

Come  to  the  mother's,  when  she  feels, 
For  the  first  time,  her  firstborn's  breath; 

Come  when  the  blessed  seals 
That  close  the  pestilence  are  broke, 
And  crowded  cities  wail  its  stroke; 
Come  in  consumption's  ghastly  form, 
The  earthquake  shock,  the  ocean-storm, 
Come  when  the  heart  beats  high  and  warm, 

With  banquet-song,  and  dance,  and  wine 
And  thou  ait  terrible — the  tear. 
The  groan,  the  knell,  the  pall,  the  bier; 
And  all  we  know,  or  dream,  or  fear 

Of  agony,  are  thine. 

But  to  the  hero,  when  his  sword 

Has  won  the  battle  for  the  free, 
Thy  voice  sounds  like  a  prophet's  word; 
And  in  its  hollow  tones  are  heard 

The  thanks  of  millions  yet  to  be. 
Come,  when  his  task  of  fame  is  wrought — 
Come,  with  the  laurel-leaf,  blood-bought — 

Come  in  her  crowning  hour — and  then 
Thy  sunken  eye's  unearthly  light 
To  him  is  welcome  as  the  sight 

Of  sky  and  stars  to  prison'd  men: 
Thy  grasp  is  welcome  as  the  hand 
Of  brother  in  a  foreign  land; 
Thy  summons  welcome  as  the  cry 
That  told  the  Indian  isles  were  nigh 

To  the  world-seeking  Genoese, 
When  the  land-wind,  from  woods  of  palm, 
And  orange-groves,  and  fields  of  balm, 

Blew  o'er  the  Haytian  seas. 

Bozzaris !  with  the  storied  brave 

Greece  nurtured  in  her  glory's  time, 
Rest  thee — there  is  no  prouder  grave, 

Even  in  her  own  proud  clime. 
She  wore  no  funeral  weeds  for  thee, 

Nor  bade  the  dark  hearse  wave  its  plume, 
Like  torn  branch  from  death's  leafless  tree. 
In  sorrow's  pomp  and  pageantry, 

The  heartless  luxury  of  the  tomb: 
But  she  remembers  thee  as  one 
Long  loved,  and  for  a  season  gone; 
For  thee  her  poet's  lyre  is  wreathed, 
Her  marble  wrought,  her  music  breathed; 
For  thee  she  rings  the  birthday  bells; 
Of  thee  her  babes'  first  lisping  tells: 
For  thine  her  evening  prayer  is  said 
At  palace  couch,  and  cottage  bed; 
Her  soldier,  closing  with  the  foe, 
Gives  for  thy  sake  a  deadlier  blow; 
His  plighted  maiden,  when  she  fears 
For  him,  the  joy  of  her  young  years, 
Thinks  of  thy  fate,  and  checks  her  tears 

And  she,  the  mother  of  thy  boys, 
Though  in  her  eye  and  faded  cheek 
Is  read  the  grief  she  will  not  speak, 

The  memory  of  her  Curied  ioys, 


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SELECT  AMERICAN  POETRY. 


And  even   he  who  cave  thee  birth, 
Will,  by  their  pilgrim-circled  hearth, 

Talk  of  thy  doom  without  a  sigh; 
For  thou  art  Freedom's  no\v,  and  Fame's, 
Oue  of  the  few,  the  immortal  names, 

That  were  not  born  to  die. 


SONG  OF  MARION'S  MEN. 

W.   C.   BRYANT. 

Our  band  is  few,  but  true  and  tried, 

Our  leader  frank  and  bold  ; 
The  British  soldier  trembles 

When  Marion's  name  is  told. 
Our  fortress  is  the  good  green  wood, 

Our  tent  the  cypress  tree; 
We  know  the  forest  round  us, 

As  seamen  know  the  sea. 
\Ve  know  its  walls  of  thorny  vines, 

Its  glades  of  reedy  grass, 
Its  safe  and  silent  islands 

Within  the  dark  morass. 

Wo  to  the  English  soldiery 

That  little  dread  us  near!  • 
On  them  shall  light  at  midnight 

A  strange  and  sudden  fear: 
When,  waking  to  their  tents  on  fire, 

They  grasp  their  arms  in  vain, 
And  they  who  stand  to  face  us 

Are  beat  to  earth  again; 
And  they  who  fly  iu  terror  deem 

A  mighty  host  behind, 
And  hear  the  tramp  of  thousands 

Upon  the  hollow  wind. 

Then  sweet  the  hour  that  brings  release 

From  danger  and  from  toil: 
We  talk  the  battle  over, 

And  share  the  battle's  spoil. 
The  woodland  rings  with  laugh  and  shout, 

As  if  a  hunt  were  up, 
And  woodland  flowers  are  gather'd 

To  crown  the  soldier's  cup. 
With  merry  songs  we  mock  the  wind 

That  in  the  pine-top  grieves, 
And  slumber  long  and  sweetly, 

On  beds  of  oaken  leaves. 

Well  knows  the  fair  and  friendly  moon 

The  band  that  Marion  leads — 
The  glitter  of  their  rifles, 

The  scampering  of  their  steeds. 
'Tis  life  to  guide  the  fiery  barb 

Across  the  moonlight  plain; 
Tis  life  to  feel  the  night-wind 

That  lifts  his  tossing  mane. 
A  moment  in  the  British  camp — 

A  moment — and  away 
Back  to  the  pathless  forest, 

Before  the  peep  of  day. 


Grave  men  there  are  by  broad  Santee, 

Grave  men  with  hoary  hairs,     ,. 
Their  hearts  are  all  with  Marion, 

For  Marion  are  their  prayers. 
And  lovely  ladies  greet  our  band 

With  kindliest  welcoming, 
With  smiles  like  those  of  summer, 

And  tears  like  those  of  spring. 
For  them  we  wear  these  tiusty  arms, 

And  lay  them  down  no  more, 
Till  we  have  driven  the  Briton 

Forever  from  our  shore. 


THE  SONG  OF  STREAM. 

GEORGE    W.  CUTTER. 

Late  of  Covington,  Ky. 

Harness  me  down  with  your  iron  bands; 

Be  sure  of  your  curb  and  rein: 
For  I  scorn  the  power  of  your  puny  hands, 

As  the  tempest  scorns  a  chain ! 
How  I  laugh'd  as  I  lay  conceal'd  from  sight 

For  many  a  countless  hour, 
At  the  childish  boast  of  human  might, 

And  the  pride  of  human  powei  i 

When  I  saw  an  army  upon  the  laud, 

A  navy  upon  the  seas, 
Creeping  along,  a  snail-like  band, 

Or  waiting  the  wayward  breeze; 
When  I  mark'd  the  peasant  fairly  reel 

With  the  toil  which  he  faintly' bore, 
As  he  feebly  turn'd  the  tardy  wheel, 

Or  tugg'd  at  the  weary  oar: 

W7hen   I  measured   the  panting    courser's 
speed, 

The  flight  of  the  courier-dove, 
As  they  bore  the  law  a  king  decreed, 

Or  the  lines  of  impatient  love — 
I  could  not  but  think  how  the  world  would 
feel, 

As  these  were  outstripp'd  afar 
When  I  should  be  bound  to  the  rushing  keel, 

Or  chain'd  to  the  flying  car! 

Ha.  ha.  ha!  they  found  me  at  last; 

They  invited  me  forth  at  length, 
And  I  rushed  to  my  throne  with  a  thundei 
blast, 

And  laugh'd  in  my  iron  strength! 
0!  then  ye  saw  a  wondrous  change 

On  the  earth  and  ocean  wide, 
Where  now  my  fiery  armies  range, 

Nor  wait  for  wind  and  tile. 

Hurrah!  hurrah!  the  water's  o'er, 

The  mountains  steep  decline; 
Time — space — have  yielded  to  my  power; 

The  world — the  world  is  mine! 


SELECT  AMERICAN  POETRY. 


675 


The  rivers  the  sun  hath  earliest  blest, 
Or  those  where  his  beams  decline; 

The  giant  streams  of  the  queenly  West, 
And  the  Orient  floods  divine. 

The  ocean  pales  where'er  I  sweep, 

To  hear  my  strength  rejoice, 
And  the  monsters  of  the  briny  deep 

Cower,  trembling  at  my  voice. 
I  carry  the  wealth  and  the  lord  of  earth, 

The  thoughts  of  his  godlike  mind; 
The  wind  lags  after  my  flying  forth, 

The  lightning  is  left  behind. 

In  the  darksome  depths  of  the   fathomless 
mine 

My  tireless  arm  doth  play, 
Where  the  rocks  never  saw  the  sun's  decline, 

Or  the  dawn  of  the  glorious  day. 
I  bring  earth's  glittering  jewels  np 

From  the  hidden  cave  below, 
And  I  make  the  fountain's  granite  cup 

With  a  crystal  gush  o'erflow. 

I  blow  the  bellows,  I  forge  the  steel, 

In  all  the  shops  of  trade  ; 
I  hammer  the  ore  and  turn  the  wheel 

Where  my  arms  of  strength  are  made. 
I  manage  the  furnace,  the  mill,  the  mint — 

I  carry,  I  spin,  I  weave ; 
And  all  my  doings  I  put  into  print 

On  every  Saturday  eve. 

I've  no  muscles  to  weary,  no  breast  to  decay, 

No  bones  to  be  "laid  on  the  shelf," 
And  soon  I  intend  yon  may  "go  and  play," 

While  I  manage  this  world  myself. 
Eat  harness  me  down  with  your  iron  bands, 

Be  sure  of  your  curb  and  rein : 
Fcr  I  scorn  the  strength  of  your  puny  hands, 

As  the  tempest  scorns  a  chain  ! 


RHYME  OF  THE  RAIL. 

JOHN  G.  SAXE. 

Born  in  Highgate,  Vermont,  in  1816— Edu 
cated  for  the  bar— Many  years  editor  of 
"  The  Sentinel,"  at  Burlington,  Vt. 

Singing  through  the  forests, 

Rattling  over  ridges, 
Shooting  under  arches, 

Rambling  over  bridges, 
Whizzing  through  the  mountai: 

Buzzing  o'er  the  vale — 
Bless  me  !  this  is  pleasant, 

Riding  on  the  rail ! 

Men  of  different  "stations"    . 

In  the  eye  of  Fame, 
Here  are  very  quickly 

Coming  to  the  same, 
High  and  lowly  people, 

Birds  of  every  feather, 
On  a  common  level 

Traveling  together ! 
43 


Gentleman  in  shorts, 

Looming  very  tall ; 
Gentleman  at  large ; 

Talking  very  sma^  ; 
Gentleman  in  tights, 

With  a  loose-ish  mien  ; 
Gentleman  in  gray, 

Looking  rather  green. 

Gentleman  quite  old, 

Asking  for  the  news ; 
Gentleman  in  black, 

In  a  fit  of  blues  ; 
Gentleman  in  claret, 

Sober  as  a  vicar  ; 
Gentleman  in  tweed, 

Dreadfully  in  liquor  ! 

Stranger  on  the  right, 
Looking  very  sunny, 

Obviously  reading 

Something  rather  funny. 

Now  the  smiles  are  thicker, 
Wonder  what  they  mean? 

Faith,  he's  got  the  KNICKER 
BOCKER  Magazine ! 

Stranger  on  the  left, 

Closing  up  his  peepers, 
Now  he  snores  amain, 

Like  the  Seven  Sleepers ;. 
At  his  feet  a  volume 

Gives  the  explanation, 
How  the  man  grew  stupid 

From  "Association  !" 

Ancient  maiden  lady 

Anxiously  remarks, 
That,  there  must  be  peril 

'Mong  so  many  sparks  ; 
Roguish  looking  fellow, 

Turning  to  the  stranger, 
Says  it's  his  opinion 

She  is  out  of  danger ! 

Woman  with  her  baby, 

Sitting  vis-a-vis ; 
Baby  keeps  a  squalling, 

Woman  looks  at  me  ; 
Asks  about  the  distance, 

Says  it's  tiresome  talking, 
Noises  of  the  cars 

Are  so  very  shocking  ! 

Market  woman  careful 

Of  the  precious  casket, 
Knowing  eggs  are  eggs, 

Tightly  holds  her  basket ; 
Feeling  that  a  smash, 

If  it  came,  would  surely 
Send  her  eggs  to  pot 

Rather  prematurely  ! 

Singing  through  the  forests, 
Rattling  over  ridges, 

Shooting  under  arches'.. 
Rumbling  over  bridges,. 


676 


SELECT  AMERICAN  POETRY. 


Whizzing  through  the  mountains, 
Buzzing  o'er  the  vale ;     • 

Bless  me  !  this  is  pleasant, 
Riding  on  the  rail ! 


GONE. 

JOHN  GREENLEAF   WHITTIER. 

Horn  in  1808  in  Havcrhill,  Mass..  of  Quaker 
parentage— The  most  noted  of  the  poets 
of  the  anti-slavery  party. 

Another  hand  is  beckoning  us, 

Another  call  is  given  ; 
And  glows  once  more  with  Angel-steps 

The  path  which  reaches  Heaven. 

Our  young  and  gentle  friend  whose  smile 
Made  brighter  summer  hours, 

Arnid  the  frosts  of  autumn  time 
Has  left  us,  with  the  flowers. 

No  paling  of  the  cheek  of  bloom 

Forewarned  us  of  decay  ; 
No  shadow  from  the  Silent  Land 

Fell  around  our  sister's  way. 

The  light  ot  her  young  life  went  down, 

As  sinks  behind  the  hill 
The  glory  of  a  setting  star — 

Clear,  suddenly,  and  still. 

As  pure  and  sweet,  her  fair  brow  seemed — 

Eternal  as  the  sky  ; 
And  like  the  brook's  low  song,  her  voice-— 

A  sound  which  could  not  die. 

And  half  we  deemed  she  needed  not 

The  chancing  of  her  sphere, 
To  give  to  Heaven  a  Shining  One, 

Who  walked  an  Angel  here. 

The  blessing  of  her  quiet  life 

Fell  on  us  like  the  dew  ; 
And   good   thoughts,  where  her  footsteps 
pressed, 

Like  fairy  blossoms  grew. 

Sweet  promptings  unto  kindest  deeds 

Were  in  her  very  look  ; 
We  read  her  face,  as  one  who  reads 

A  true  and  holy  book  : 

The  measure  of  a  blessed  hymn, 
To  which  our  hearts  could  move ; 

The  breathing  of  an  inward  psalm  ; 
A  canticle  of  love. 

We  miss  her  in  the  place  of  prayer, 
And  by  the  hearth-fire's  light ; 

We  pause  beside  her  door  to  hear 
Once  more  her  sweet  "Good  night !" 

There  seems  a  shadow  en  the  day, 

Her  smile  no  longer  cheers  ; 
A  dimness  on  the  stars  of  night, 

Like  eyes  that  look  through  tears> 


Alone  unto  our  Father's  will 
One  thought  hath  reconciled  ; 

That  He  whose  love  exceedeth  ours 
Hath  taken  home  His  child. 

Fold  her,  oh  Father!  in  thine  arms, 

And  let  her  henceforth  be 
A  messenger  of  love  between 

Our  human  hearts  and  Thee. 

Still  let  her  mild  rebuking  stand 

Between  us  and  the  wrong, 
And  her  dear  memory  serve  to  make 

Our  faith  in  Goodness  strong. 

And  grant  that  she  who.  trembling,  here 

Distrusted  all  her  powers, 
May  welcome  to  her  holier  home 

The  well  beloved  of  ours. 


SNOW. 


REV.  RALPH  HOYT. 

Born  in  New  York  about  1810 — Clergyman  oi 
the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church. 

The  blessed  morn  is  come  again ; 

The  early  gray 
Taps  at  the  slumberer's  window-pane, 

And  seems  to  say 
"Break,  break  from  the  enchanter's  chain, 

Away — away  !" 

'Tis  winter,  yet  there  is  no  sound 

Along  the  air, 
Of  winds  upon  their  battle-ground; 

But  gently  there, 
The  snow  is  falling — all  around 

How  fair — how  fair ! 

The  jocund  fields  would  masquerade  . 

Fantastic  scene ! 
Tree,  shrub,  and  lawn,  and  lonely  glade 

Have  cast  their  green, 
And  joiu'd  the  revel,  all  array'd 

So  white  and  clean. 

E'en  the  old  posts,  that  hold  the  bars 

And  the  old  gate, 
Forgetful  of  their  wintry  wars 

And  age  sedate,  [saw, 

High-capp'd.  and  plumed,  like  white  hua- 

Stand  there  in  state. 

The  drifts  arc  hanging  by  the  sill, 

The  eaves,  the  door ; 
The  hay-stack  has  become  a  hill ; 

All  cover' d  o'er 
The  wagon,  loaded  for  the  mil] 

The  eve  before.    * 

Maria  brings  the  water-pail— «• 
But  where's  the  well! 
Like  magic  of  a  fairy  tale, 


SELECT  AMERICAN  POETRY. 


677 


Most  strange  to  tell, 

All  vanish'd — curb,  and  crank,  and  rail- 
How  deep  it  fell  ! 

The  wood -pile  too  is  playing  hide  ; 

The  axe — the  log — 
The  kennel  of  that  friend  so  tried — 

(The  old  watch  dog), 
The  grindstone  standing  by  its  side, 

All  now  incog. 

The  bustling  cock  looks  ont  aghast 

From  his  high  shed  ; 
No  spot  to  scratch  him  a  repast, 

Up  curves  his  head, 
Starts  the  dull  hamlet  with  a  blast, 

And  back  to  bed. 

The  barn-yard  gentry,  musing,  chime 

Their  morning  moan  ; 
Like  Memnon's  music  of  old  time — 

That  voice  of  stone  ! 
So  marbled  they — and  so  sublime 

Their  solemn  tone. 

Good  Ruth  has  called  the  youuker  folk  " 

To  dress  below  ; 
Full  welcome  was  the  word  she  spoke, 

Down,  down  they  go, 
The  cottage  quietude  is  broke — 

The  snow ! — the  snow ! 

Now  rises  from  around  the  fire 

A  pleasant  strain  ; 
Ye  giddy  sons  of  mirth,  retire ! 

And  ye  profane — 
A  hvmn  to  the  Eternal  Sire 

Goes  up  again. 

The  patriarchal  Book  divine, 

Upon  the  knee, 
Opes  where  the  gems  of  Judah  shine — 

(Sweet  miustrelsie  !) 
How  soars  each  heart  with  each  fair  line, 

O  God  !  to  Thee  ! 

Around  the  alter  low  they  bend, 

Devout  in  prayer ; 
As  snows  upon  the  roof  descend, 

So  angels  there 
Guard  o'er  that  household,  to  defend 

With  gentle  care. 

Now  sings  the  kettle  o'er  the  blaze  ; 

The  buckwheat  heaps ; 
Rare  Mocha,  worth  an  Arab's  praise, 

Sweet  Susan  steeps  ; 
The  old  round  stand  her  nod  obeys, 

And  out  it  leaps. 

Unerring  presages  declare 

The  banquet  near  ; 
Soon,  busy  appetites  are  there  ; 

And  disappear 
The  glories  of  the  ample  fare, 

With  thanks  sincere. 


Now  let  the  busy  day  begin  : — 

Out  rolls  the  churn  ; 
Forth  hastes  the  farm-boy,  and  brings  in 

The  brush  to  burn  ; 
Sweep,  shovel,  scour,  sew,  knit,  and  spin, 

Till  night's  return. 

To  delve  his  threshing  John  must  hie ; 

His  sturdy  shoe 
Cau  all  the  subtle  damp  defy  : 

How  wades  he  through  "i 
While  dainty  milkmaids,  slow  and  shy, 

His  track  pursue. 

Each  to  the  hour's  allotted  care : 

To  shell  the  corn  ; 
The  broken  harness  to  repair: 

The  sleigh  t'  adorn  : 
So  cheerful — tranquil — snowy — fair 

The  WINTER  MOR,N. 


AN  INCIDENT  IN  A  RAILROAD  CAR. 

JAMES  W.  LOWELL. 

Born  in  Boston  in  1819. 

He  spoke  of  Burns  :  men  rude  and  rough 
Press'd  round  to  hear  the  praise  of  one 

Whose  heart  was  made  of  manly,  simple  stuff, 
As  homespun  as  their  own. 

And,  when  he  read,  they  forward  leaned, 
Drinking,  with  thirsty  hearts  and  ears, 

His  brook-like  songs  whom  glory  never  wean- 
From  humble  smiles  and  tears.  [ed 

Slowly  there  grew  a  tender  awe, 
Sun-like,  o'er  faces  brown  and  hard, 

As  if  in  him  who  read  they  felt  and  saw 
Some  presence  of  the  bard. 

It  \vas  a  sight  for  sin  and  wrong 

And  slavish  tyranny  to  see, 
A  sight  to  make  our  faith  more  pure  and 

In  high  humanity.  [strong 

I  thought,  these  men  will  carry  hence 
Promptings  their  former  life  above, 

And  something  of  a  finer  reverence 
For  beauty,  truth,  and  love. 

God  scatters  love  on  every  side, 

Freely  among  his  children  all, 
And  always  hearts  are  lying  open  wide, 

Wherein  some  grains  may  fall. 

There  is  no  wind  but  sowcth  seeds 

Of  a  more  true  and  open  life, 
WThich  burst,  nnlook'd-for,  into  high-soul'd 

With  wayside  beauty  rife.  [deeds 

We  find  within  these  souls  of  GUI'S 
Some  wild  germs  of  a  higher  birth, 

Which  in  the  poet's  tropic  heart  bear  flowers 
Whose  fragrance  fills  the  earth. 


678 


SELECT  AMERICAN  POETRY. 


Within  the  hearts  of  all  men  lie 

These  promises  of  wider  bliss, 
Which  blossom  into  hopes  that  cannot  die, 

In  sunny  hours  like  this. 

All  that  hath  been  majestical 

In  life  or  death,  since  time  began, 

Is  native  in  the  simple  heart  of  all, 
The  angel  heart  of  man. 

And  thus,  among  the  untaught  poor, 
Great  deeds  and  feelings  find  a  home, 

That  cast  in  shadow  all  the  golden  lore 
Of  classic  Greece  and  Rome. 

0,  mighty  brother-soul  of  man, 
Where'er  thou  art,  in  low  or  high, 

Thy  skyey  arches  with  exulting  span 
O'er- roof  infinity  ! 

All  thoughts  that  mold  the  age  begin 
Deep  down  within  the  primitive  soul, 

And  from  the  many  slowly  upward,  win 
To  one  who  grasps  the  whole  : 

111  his  broad  breast  the  feeling  deep 
That  struggled  on  the  many's  tongue, 

Swells  to  a  tide  of  thought,  whose  surges  leap 
O'er  the  weak  thrones  of  wrong. 

All  thought  begins  in  feeling — wide 
In  the  great  "mass  its  base  is  hid, 

-And  narrowing  up  to  thought,  stands  glovi- 
A  moveless  pyramid.  [fied, 

Nor  is  he  far  astray  who  deems  [broad 

That  every  hope,  which  rises  and  grows 

In  the  world's  heart,  by  order'd  impulse 
From  the  great  heart  of  God.  [streams 

God  wills,  man  hopes  :  in  .common  souls 
Hope  is  but  vague  and  undefined, 

Till  from  the  poet's  tongue  the  message  rolls 
A  blessing  to  his  kind. 

Never  did  Poesy  appear 

So  full  of  heaven  to  me,  as  when 
I  saw  how  it  would  pierce  through  pride  and 

To  the  lives  of  coarsest  men.  [fear 

It  may  be  glorious  to  write 

Thoughts  that  shall  glad  the  two  or  three 
High  souls,  like  those  far  stars  that  come  in 

Once  in  a  century  ;  [sight 

But  better  far  it  is  to  speak 

One  simple  word,  which  now  and  then 
Shall  waken  their  free  nature  in  the  weak 

And  friendless  sous  of  men  ; 

To  write  some  earnest  verse  or  line, 
Which,  seeking  not  the  praise  of  art, 

Shall  make  a  clearer  faith  and  manhood  shine 
In  the  untutor'd  heart. 

He  who  doth  this,  in  verse  or  prose, 

May  be  forgotten  in  his  day, 
But  surely  shall  be  crowu'd  at  last  with  those 

Who  live  and  speak  for  aye. 


WOMAN. 

GEORGE  P.  MORRIS 

.Ah,  woman  !  in  this  world  of  ours, 
What  boon  can  be  compared  to  thee  *i 

How  slow  would  drag  life's  weary  hours, 

Though  man's  proud  brow  were  bound 

flowers, 
And  his  the  wealth  of  laud  and  sea, 

If  destined  to  exist  alone, 

And  ne'er  call  woman's  heart  his  own ' 

My  mother  !  at  that  holy  name 
Within  my  bosom  there's  a  gush. 

Of  feeling,  which  no  time  can  tame — 

A  feeling,  which,  for  years  of  fame, 
I  would  not,  could  not,  crush  ; 

And  sisters  !  ye  are  dear  as  life ; 

But  when  I  look  upon  my  wife, 

My  heart  blood  gives  a  sudden  rush, 

And  all  my  fond  affections  blend 

In  mother,  sister,  wife,  and  friend. 

Yes,  woman's  love  is  free  from  guile, 

And  pure  as  bright  Aurora's  ray  ; 
The  heart  will  melt  before  her  smile, 

And  base-born  passions  fade  away  ; 
Were  I  the  monarch  of  the  earth, 

Or  master  of  the  swelling  sea, 
I  would  not  estimate  their  worth, 

Dear  woman  !  half  the  price  of  thee  I 


MY  BIRD. 

EMILY  JUDSON. 

Born  in  Central  New  York— Married  in  1847 
to  Kev.  Adoniram  Judson,  missionary  to 
Burmah,  India. 

Ere  last  year's  moon  had  left  the  sky, 
A  birdling  sought  my  Indian  nest, 

And  folded,  oh  !  so  lovingly  ! 
Her  tiny  wings  upon  my  breast. 

From  morn  till  evening's  purple  tinge, 
In  winsome  helplessness  she  lies  ; 

Two  rose-leaves,  with  a  silken  fringe, 
Shut  softly  on  her  starry  eyes. 

There's  not  in  Ind  a  lovelier  bird  ; 

Broad  earth  owns  not  a  happier  nest ; 
0  God,  thou  hast  a  fountain .stirr'd, 

Whose  waters  never  more  shall  rest. 

This  beautiful,  mysterious  thing, 
This  seeming  visitant  from  Heaven, 

This  bird  with  the  immortal  wing, 
To  me — to  me,  thy  hand  has  given. 

The  pulse  first  caught  its  tiny  stroke, 
The  blood  its  crimson  hue  from  mine; 

This  life,  which  I  have  dared  invoke, 
Henceforth  is  parallel  with  thine. 


SELECT  AMERICAN  POETRY. 


679 


A  silent  awe  is  iu  my  room — 
I  tremble  with  delicious  fear; 

The  future,  with  its  light  aud  gloom, 
Time  and  Eternity  are  here. 

Doubts— hopes,  iu  eager  tumult  rise ; 

Hear,  0  my  God  !  one  earnest  prayer 
Room  for  my'  bird  iu  Paradise, 

Aud  give 'her  angel  plumage  there  ! 


THE  COUNTRY  LOVERS; 

OR,    MR.    JONATHAN    JOLTHEAD's    COURTSHIP 
WITH   MISS    SALLY    SNAPPER. 

THOMAS  GREEN"  FESSENDEX. 

Born  in  Walpole,  N.  H.,  in  1771— Long  edi 
tor  of  the  highly  esteemed  New  England 
Farmer,  a  Boston  weekly  paper.  This 
poem  was  a  favorite  some  sixty  years  ago. 

Tune — YANKEE  DOODLE. 
A  merry  tale  I  will  rehearse, 

As  ever  you  did  hear,  sir, 
How  Jo  ithan  set  out,  so  fierce, 
To  see  his  dearest  dear,  sir. 

Yankee  doodle,  keep  it  up, 

Yankee  doodle  dandy, 
Mind  the  music,  mind  the  step, 
Aud  with  the  girls  be  handy. 

His  father  gave  him  bran  new  suit, 

And  money,  sir.  in  plenty, 
Besides  a  prancing  nag  to  boot, 

When  he  was  oue-and-twenty. 

Yankee  doodle,  etc. 

Moreover,  sir,  I'd  have  you  know, 
That  he  had  got  some  knowledge, 

Enough  for  common  use,  I  trow, 
But  had  not  been  at  college. 

Yankee  doodle,  etc. 

A  hundred  he  could  count,  'tis  said. 

Aud  in  the  bible  read,  sir, 
And  by  good  Christian  parents  bred, 

Could  even  say  the  creed,  sir. 

Yankee  doodle,  etc. 

He'd  been  to  school  to  Master  Drawl, 

To  spell  a-bom-in-a-ble, 
And  when  he  miss'd,  he  had  fo  crawl, 

Straight  under  master's  table. 

Yankee  doodle,  etc. 

One  day  his  mother  said  to  him, 
"  My  darling  son,  come  here, 

Come  fix  you  up.  so  neat  and  trim, 
And  go  a  courting,  dear." 

Yankee  doodle,  etc. 

"Why,  what  the  deuce  does  mother  wantl 

I  snigs — I  daresn't  go  ; 
I  shall  get  funn'd — and  then — plague  on't 

Folks  will  laugh  at  me  so !" 

Yankee  doodle,  etc. 


"Pho  !  pho  !  fix  up,  a  courting  go, 

To  see  the  deacon's  Sarah, 
Who'll  have  a  hundred  pound,  you  kno'if, 

As  soon  as  she  does  marry." 

Yankee  doodle,  etc. 

Then  Jonathan,  in  best  array, 
Mounted  his  dappled  nag,  sir ; 

But  trembled,  sadly,  all  the  way, 
Lest  he  should  get  the  bag,  sir. 

Yankee  doodle,  etc. 

He  mutter'd  as  he  rode  along, 

Our  Jothom  overheard,  sir, 
And  if  'twill  jingle  iu  my  song, 

I'll  tell  you  every  word,  sir. 

Yankee  doodle,  etc. 

"I  wonder  mother  '11  make  me  go, 

Since  girls  1  am  afraid  of; 
I  never  knnw'd,  nor  want  to  know, 

What  sort  of  stuff  they're  made  of 
Yankee  doodle,  etc. 

"A  wife  would  make  good  housen  stuff, 
If  she  were  downright  clever, 

And  Sal  would  suit  me  well  enough, 
If  she  would  let  me  have  her ; 

Yankee  doodle,  etc. 

"  But  then,  I  shan't  know  what  to  say, 

When  we  are  left  together, 
I'd  rather  lie  in  stack  of  hay, 

In  coldest  winter  weather. 

Yankee  doodle,  etc. 

He  reach' d  the  house,  as  people  say, 
Not  far  from  eijrht  o'clock,  sir; 

And  Joel  hollow'd  "in,  I  say," 
As  soou  as  he  did  knock,  sir. 

Yankee  doodle,  etc. 

He  made  of  bows,  'twixt  two  and  three, 
Just  as  his  mother  taught  him, 

All  which  were  droll  enough  to  see  : 
You'd  think  the  cramp  had  caught  him 
Yankee  doodle,  etc. 

At  length  came  in  the  deacon's  Sal 
From  milking  at  the  barn,  sir ; 

And  faith  she  is  as  good  a  gal 
As  ever  twisted  yarn.  sir. 

'  Yankee  doodle,  etc. 

For  she  knows  all  about  affairs, 
Can  wash,  and  bake,  and  brew,  sir, 

Sing  "  Now  I  lay  ine,"  say  her  prayers, 
And  make  a  pudding  too,  sir. 

Yankee  doodle,  etc. 

To  Boston  market  she  has  been 

On  horse,  and  in  a  wagon, 
And  many  pretty  things  has  seen, 

Which  "every  one  can't  brag  on. 

Yankee  doodle,  etc. 


680 


SELECT  AMERICAN  POETRY. 


She's  courted  been,  by  many  a  lad, 

And  knows  ho\v  sparkiny's  done,  sir, 
With  Jonathan  she  was  right  glad, 
To  have  a  little  fun,  sir. 

Yankee  doodle,  etc. 

The  ladies  all,  as  I  should  guess, 
And  many  a  lady's  man,  sir, 

Would  wish  to  know  about  her  dress ; 
I'll  tell  them  all  I  can,  sir. 

Yankee  doodle,  etc. 

Her  wrapper,  gray,  was  wot  so  bad, 
Her  apron  check 'd  with  blue,  sir, 

One  stocking  on  one  foot  she  had, 
On  t'other  foot  a  shoe,  sir. 

Yankee  doodle,  etc. 

Now,  should  a  Boston  lady  read, 
Of  Sally's  shoe  and  stocking, 

She'd  say  a  "  monstrous  slut,  indeed, 
Oh  la !  she  is  quite  shocking !" 

Yankee  doodle,  etc. 

Yon  fine  Miss  Boston  lady  gay, 
For  this  your  speech,  I  thank  ye, 

Call  on  me,  when  you  come  this  way, 
And  take  a  drachm  of  Yankee.- 

Yankee  doodle,  etc. 

Now  Jonathan  did  scratch  his  head, 
When  first  he  saw  his  dearest ; 

Got  up — sat  down — and  nothing  said, 
But  felt  about  the  queerest. 

Yankee  doodle,  etc. 

Then  talk'd  with  Sally's  brother  Joe 
'Bout  sheep,  and  cows,  and  oxen, 

How  wicked  folks  to  church  did  go, 
With  dirty  woollen  frocks  on. 

Yankee  doodle,  etc. 

And  how  a  witch,  in  shape  of  owl, 
Did  steal  her  neighbor's  geese,  sir, 

And  turkeys  too.  aud  other  fowl, 
When  people  did  not  please  her. 

Yankee  doodle,  etc. 

And  how  a  man,  one  dismal  night, 

Shot  her  with  silver  bullet, 
And  then  she  flew  straight  out  of  sight, 

As  fast  as  she  could  pull  it. 

Yankee  doodle,  etc. 

How  Widow  Wunks  was  sick  next  day, 
The  parson  went  to  view  her, 

And  saw  the  very  place,  they  say, 
Where  foresaid  ball  went  through  her  ! 
Yankee  doodle,  etc. 

And  now  the  people  went  to  bed  : 
They  guess' d  for  what  he'd  come,  sir ; 

But  Jonathan  was  much  afraid, 
And  wish'd  himself  at  home,  sir. 

Yankee  doodle,  etc. 


At  length,  says  Sal,  '-'they're  gone,  you  see 

And  we  are  left  together  ;" 
Say  Jonathan,  "  indeed — they  be — 

'Tis  mighty  pleasant  weather  !" 

Yankee  doodle,  etc. 

Sal  cast  a  sheep's  eye  at  the  dunce, 

Then  turn'd  toward  the  fire  ; 
He  muster'd  courage,  all  at  once, 

And  hitch'd  a  little  nigher. 

Yankee  doodle,  etc. 

,Ye  young  men  all,  and  lads  so^smart, 
Who  chance  to  read  these  vusscs, 

His  next  address  pray  learn  by  heart, 
To  whisper  to  the  lasses. 

Yankee  doodle,  etc. 

"  Miss  Sal,  I's  going  to  say,  as  how, 

We'll  spark  it  here  to-night, 
I  kind  of  love  you,  Sal,  I  vow, 

And  mother  said  I  might." 

Yankee  doodle,  etc. 

Then  Jonathan,  as  we  are  told, 
Did  even  think  to  smack  her ; 

Sal  cock'd  her  chin,  and  look'd  so  bold, 
He  did  not  dare  attack  her ! 

Yankee  doodle,  etc. 

"Well  done,  my  man,  you've  broke  the  ire, 

And  that  with  little  pother, 
Now,  Jonathan,  take  my  advice, 

And  always  mind  your  mother  ! 

Yankee  doodle,  etc. 

This  courting  is  a  kind  of  job 

I  always  did  admire,  sir, 
And  these  two  brands,  with  one  dry  cob, 

Will  make  a  courting  fire,  sir." 

Yankee  doodle,  etc. 

"  Miss  Sal,  you  are  the  very  she, 

If  you  will  love  me  now, 
That  I  will  marry — then  you  see, 

You'll  have  one  briudle  cow. 

Yankee  doodle,  etc. 

"Then  we  will  live,  both  I  and  you, 

In  father's  t'other  room. 
For  that  will  sartain  hold  us  two, 

When  we've  mov'd  out  the  loom. 
Yankee  doodle,  etc. 

"  Next  Sabbath-day  we  \yll  be  cried, 
Aud  have  a  'taring'  wedding, 

And  lads  and  lasses  take  a  ride, 
If  it  should  be  good  sledding 

Yankee  doodle,  etc. 

"My  father  has  a  nice  bull  calf, 

Which  shall  be  yonr's,  my  sweet  one  ; 

'Twill  weigh  two' hundred' and  a  half,'' 
Says  SaC  "well,  that's  a  neat  one." 
Yankee  doodle,  etc. 


SELECT  AMERICAN  POETRY. 


681 


"Your  father's  full  of  fun,  d'ye  see, 
And  faith,  I  likes  his  spoiling, 

To  send  his  fav'rite  calf  to  me, 
His  nice  bull  calf  a  courting." 

Yankee  doodle,  etc. 

"  Are  you  the  lad  who  went  to  town, 
Put  on  your  streaked  trowses, 

Then  vow'd  you  could  not  s<?e  the  town, 
There  were  so  many  houses  1" 

Yankee  doodle,  etc. 

Our  lover  hung  his  under  lip, 

He  thought  she  meant  to  joke  him  ; 

Like  heartless  hen  that  has  the  pip, 
His  courage  all  forsook  him. 

Yankee  doodle,  etc. 

For  he  to  Boston  town  had  heeu, 

As  matters  here  are  stated  ; 
Came  home  and  told  what  he  had  seen, 

As  Sally  has  related. 

Yankee  doodle,  etc. 

And  now  he  wish'd  he  could  retreat, 
But  clar'd  not  make  a  racket ; 

It  seem'd  as  if  his  heart  would  beat 
The  buttons  off  his  jacket ! 

Yankee  doodle,  etc. 

Sul  nsk'd  him  if  his  heart,  was  whole  1" 

His  chin  began  to  quiver; 
He  said,  he  felt  so  deuced  droll, 

He  guess'd  he'd  lost  his  livet  ! 

Yankee  doodle,  etc 

Now  Sal  was  scar'd  out  of  her  v  its, 

To  see  his  trepidation. 
She  bawl'd  "  he's  going  into  fits," 

And  scampcr'd  like  the  nation  ! 

Yankee  doodle,  etc. 

A  pail  of  water  she  did  throw, 

All  on  her  trembling  lover, 
Which  wet  the  lad  from  top  to  toe, 

Like  drowned  rat  all  over. 

Yankee  doodle,  etc. 

Then  Jonathan  straight  hied  him  home, 
And  since' I've  heard  him  brag,  sir, 

That  though  the  jade  did  wet  him  some, 
He  didn't  get  the  bag,  sir ! 

Yankee  doodle,  keep  it  up. 

Yankee  doodle  dandy, 
Mind  the  music  mind  the  step, 

And  with  the  girls  be  handy  ! 


THE  FLIGHT  OF  TIME. 

JAMSS   G.   PERCIVAL. 

Faintly  flow,  thou  falling  river, 
Like  a  dream  that  die?  away  ; 

J)own  to  ocean  gliding  ever, 
Keep  thy  calm  unruffled  way  : 


Time  with  such  a  silent  motion. 

Floats  along,  on  wings  of  air, 
To  eternity's  dark  ocean, 

Burying  all  its  treasures  there. 

Roses  bloom,  and  then  they  wither  ;  ^ 

Cheeks  are  bright,  then  fade  and  dio  ; 
Shapes  of  light  are  wafted  hither — 

Then,  like  visions  hurry  by  : 
Quick  as  clouds  at  evening  driven 

O'er  the  many-color'd  west, 
Years  are  bearing  us  to  heaven, 

Home  of  happiness  and  rest. 


FIFTY  YEARS  AGO. 

A    SONG    OF   THE   WESTERN    PIONEERS. 
WILLIAM  I).   GALLAGHER. 

Born  in  Philadelphia  in  1808.— Bred  a  prin 
ter  in  Cincinnati  —Lastingly  identified 
with  the  literature  of  the  west. 

A  song  for  the  early  times  out  west, 

And  our  greeu  old  forest-home,     ' 
Whose  pleasant  memories  freshly  yet 

Across  the  bosom  come  : 
A  song  for  the  free  and  gladsome  life 

In  those  early  days  we  led. 
With  a  teeming  soil  beneath  our  feet, 

And  a  smiling  heaven  o'erhead  ! 
0,  the  waves  of  life  danced  merrily 

And  had  a  joyous  flow, 
In  the  days  wrheu  we  were  pioneers, 

Fifty  years  ago  ! 

The  hunt,  the  shot,  the  glorious  chase, 

The  captured  elk  or  deer  ; 
The  camp,  the  big,  bright  fire,  and  then. 

The  rich  and  wholesome  cheer; 
The  sweet,  sound  sleep,  at  dead  of  night 

By  our  camp-fire  blazing  high — 
Unbroken  by  the  wolf's  long  howl. 

And  the  panther  springing  by. 
0  merrily  pass'd  the  time,  despite 

Our  wily  Indian  foe, 
In  the  days  when  we  were  pioneers, 

Fifty  years  ago  ! 

We  shuun'd  not  labor  ;  when  'twas  due 

We  wrought  with  right  good  will 
And  for  the  home  we  won  for  them, 

Our  children  bless  us  still. 
We  lived  not  hermit  lives,  but  oft 

In  social  converse  met ; 
And  fires  of  love  were  kindled  then, 

That  burn  on  warmly  yet. 
O,  pleasantly  the  stream  of  life 

Pursued  its  constant  flow, 
In  the  days  when  we  were  pioneers, 

Fifty  years  ago  ! 

We  felt  that  we  were  fellow  men  ; 

We  felt  we  were  a  band  ; 
Sustain'd  here  in  the  wilderness 

By  heaven's  upholding  hand. 


CSS 


SELECT  AMERICAN  POETRY. 


And  when  the  solemn  Sabbath  came, 

We  gather'd  iu  the  wood, 
And  lifted  up  our  hearts  in  prayer 

To  God,  the  only  good. 
Our  terrples  then  were  earth  aud  sky; 

None  others  did  we  know 
In  the  days  when  we  were  pioneers, 

fifty  years  ago  ! 

Our  forest  life  was  rough  and  rude, 

And  dangers  closed  us  round, 
But  here,  amid  the  green  old  trees, 

Freedom  we  sought  and  found. 
Oft  through  our  dwellings  wintry  blasts 

Would  rush  with  shriek  and  rnoau  ; 
We  cared  not — though  they  were  but  frail. 

We  felt  they  were  our  own  ! 
O,  fuee  and  manly  lives  we  led. 

Mid  verdure  or  mid  snow, 
Iu  the  days  when  we  were  pioneers, 

Fifty  years  ago ! 

But  now  our  course  of  life  is  short ; 

And  as,  from  day  to  day, 
We're  walking  on  with  halting  step, 

And  fainting  by  the  way, 
Another  land,  more  bright  than  this, 

To  our  dim  sight  appears, 
And  on  our  way  to  it  we'll  soon 

Again  be  pioneers  ! 
Yet  while  we  linger,  we  may  all 

A  backward  glance  still  throw 
To  the  days  when  we  were  pioneers, 

Fifty  years  ago ! 


No  mercy  now  can  clear  her  brow 
For  this  world's  peace  to  pray; 

For,  as  love's  wild  prayer  dissolved  in  aif 
Her  woman's  heart  gave  way  ! 

But  the  sin  forgiven  by  Christ  in  heaven 
By  man  is  curst  alway  ! 


UNSEEN  SPIRITS. 

X.  P.  WILLIS. 

The  shadows  lay  along  Broadway — • 
Twas  near  the  twilight-tide — 

And  slowly  there  a  lady  fail- 
Was  walking  in  her  pride. 

Alone  walked  she  ;  but,  viewlessly, 
W7alked  spirits  at  her  side.  ' 

Peace  charmed  the  street  beneath  her  feet, 

And  Honor  charmed  the  air ; 
And  all  astir  looked  kind  on  her, 

And  called  her  good  as  fair — 
For  all  God  ever  gave  to  her 

She  kepf  with  chary  care. 

She  kept  with  care  her  beauties  rare 
From  lovers  warm  and  true — 

For  her  heart  was  cold  to  all  but  gold, 
And  the  rich  came  not  to  woo — 

But  honored  well  are  charms  to  sell 
If  priests  the  selling  do. 

Now  walking  there  was  one  more  fair — 

A  slight  girl,  lily-pale  ; 
And  she  had  unseen  company 

To  make  the  spirit  quail — 
Twixt  Want  aud  Scorn  she  walked  forlorn, 

And  nothing  could  avail. 


ANNABEL  LEE. 


E.   A.  POE. 

It  was  many  and  many  a  year  ago, 

In  a  kingdom  by  the  sea, 
That  a  maiden  there  lived  whom  you  may 

know 

By  the  name  of  Annabel  Lee  ; 
And  this  maiden  she  lived  with  no  other 

thought 
Than  to  love  and  be  loved  by  me. 

/  was  a  child  and  she  was  a  child, 
In  this  kingdom  by  the  sea  ; 
But  we  loved  with  a  love  that  was  more 

than  love — 

I  and  my  Annabel  Lee — 
With  a   love   that  the  winged   seraphs  of 

heaven 
Coveted  her  aud  me. 

And  this  was  the  reason  that,  long  ago, 

In  this  kingdom  by  the  sea, 
A  wind  ble'w  out  of  a  cloud,  chilling 

My  beautiful  Annabel  Lee; 
So  that  her  highborn  kinsmen  came 

Aud  bore  her  away  from  me, 
To  shut  her  up  in  a  sepulcher, 

In  this  kingdom  by  the  sea. 

The  angels,  not  half  so  happy  in  heaven, 

Went  envying  her  and  me — 
Yes!  that  was  the  reason  (as  all  men  know, 

In  this  kingdom  by  the  sea), 
That  the  wind  came  out  of  the  cloud  by  night, 

Chilling  aud  killing  my  Annabel  Lee. 

But  our  love  it  was  stronger  by  far  than  the 
love 

Of  those  who  were  older  than  we — 

Of  many  far  wiser  than  we — 
And  neither  the  angels  in  heaven  above, 

Nor  the  demons  down  under  the  sea, 
Can  ever  dissever  my  soul  from  the  soul    • 

Of  the  beautiful  Annabel  Lee: 

For  the  rnoou  never  beams,  without  bringing 

me  dreams 

Of  the  beautiful  Annabel  Lee  ; 
And  the  stars  never  rise,  but  I  feel  the  bright 

eyes 

Of  the  beautiful  Annabel  Lee : 
And  so,  all  the  night-tide,  I  lie  down  by  tl« 

side 
Of  my  darling — my  darling — my  life  and  my 

bride, 

In  her  sepulcher  there  by  the  sea — 
In  her  tomb  by  the  sounding  sea. 


SELECT  AMERICAN  POETRY. 


683 


IN  BLESSING  THOU  ART  BLESSED. 

"WILLIAM   W.   FOSDICK. 

Born  in  Louisville,  Kentucky,  in  1824. 

Freely  give,  for  while  bestowing 

Angel  eyes  thy  bounty  mark, 
And  their  seraph  forms  all  glowing 

Shall  dispel  the  gloomy  dark. 
While  the  midnight  forth  is  straying, 

They  shall  guard  thee  in  thy  rest, 
And  shall  whisper  low  in  praying, 

That  in  blessing  thou  art  blessed. 

When  the  bitter  winter  lingers, 

And  the  friendless  child  is  cold, 
Let  thy  pity's  rosy  fingers 

Drop  the  widow's  mite  of  gold. 
And  when  oft  the  spring  recalling 

Bids  the  swallow  to  her  nest, 
Joys,  like  blossoms  around  thee  falling, 

Prove  iu  blessing  thou  art  blessed. 

Canst  thou  dry  the  tear  of  sorrow  *i 

Canst  thou  make  the  sad  one  sing  1 
0!  the  spirit  of  each  morrow, 

Will  a  brighter  blessing  bring. 
Though  the  purse  be  all  the  poorer, 

Thou  art  richer  in  the  breast, 
For  on  earth  there's  nothing  truer 

Than  in  blessing  we  are  blessed. 


THE  HERITAGE. 

JAMES  RUSSELL   LOWELL. 

THE  rich  man's  son  inherits  lands, 
And  piles  of  brick,  and  stone,  and  gold, 

And  he  inherits  soft  white  hands, 
And  tender  flesh  that  fears  the  cold, 
Nor  dares  to  wear  a  garment  old  ; 

A  heritage,  it  seems  to  me, 

One  scarce  would  wish  to  hold  in  fee. 

The  rich  man's  son  inherits  cares ; 

The  bank  may  break,  the  factory  burn, 

A  breath  may  burst  his  bubble  shares, 
And  soft  white  hands  could  hardly  earn 
A  living  that  would  serve  his  turn  ; 

A  heritage,  it  seems  to  me, 

One  scarce  would  wish  to  hold  in  fee. 

The  rich  man's  sou  inherits  wants, 
His  stomach  craves  for  dainty  fare : 

With  sated  heart,  he  hears  the  pants 
Of  toiling  hinds  with  brown  arms  bare, 
And  wearies  in  his  easy  chair ; 

A  heritage,  it  seems  to  me, 

One  scarce  would  wish  to  hold  iu  fee. 

What  doth  the  poor  man's  son  inherit  1 
Stout  muscles  and  a  sinewy  heart, 

A  hardy  frame,  a  hardier  spirit ; 

King  of  two  hands,  he  does  his  part 
In  every  useful  toil  and  art ; 


A  heritage,  it  seems  to  me, 

A  king  might  wish  to  hold  in  fee. 

What  doth  the  poor  man's  son  inherit  S 
Wishes  o'eijdy'd  with  humble  things, 

A  rank  adjudged  by  toil-won  merit, 

Content  that  from  employment  springs, 
A  heart  that  in  his  labor  sings  ; 

A  heritage  it  seems  to  me, 

A  king  might  wish  to  hold  in  fee. 

What  doth  the  poor  man's  son  inherit? 
A  patience  learu'd  by  being  poor, 

Courage,  if  sorrow  come,  to  bear  it, 
A  fellow-feeling  that  is  sure 
To  make  the  outcast  bless  his  door; 

A  heritage  it  seems  to  me, 

A  king  might  wish  to  hold  in  fee. 

0,  rich  man's  son  !  there  is  a  toil, 
That  with  all  others  level  stands ; 

Large  charity  doth  never  soil, 

But  only  whiten  soft  white  hands — 
This  is  the  best  crop  from  thy  lands  ; 

A  heritage  it  seem  to  me, 


O,  poor  man's  sou,  scorn  not  thy  state  ; 
There  is  worse  weariness  than  thine, 

Iu  merely  being  rich  and  great : 
Toil  only  gives  the  soul  to  shine, 
And  makes  rest  fragrant  and  benign  ; 

A  heritage  it  seems  to  me, 

Worth  being  poor  to  hold  in  fee. 

Both,  heirs  to  some  six  feet  of  sod, 
Are  equal  in  the  earth  at  last ; 

Both,  children  of  the  same  dear  God, 
Prove  title  to  your  heirship  vast 
By  record  of  a  well-fill'd  past ; 

A  heritage  it  seems  to  me, 

Well  worth  a  life  to  hold  in  fee. 


ON  LISTENING  TO  A  CRICKET. 

ANDREWS  NORTON. 

Born  at  Hingham,  Massachusetts,  in  1786- 
Professor  in  Theological  Department  ia 
Harvard— Died  in  1853. 

I  love,  thou  little  chirping  thing, 

To  hear  thy  melancholy  noise  ; 
Though  thou  to  Fancy's  ear  may  sing 

Of  summer  past  and  fading  joys. 

Thou  canst  not  now  drink  dew  from  flowery 
Nor  sport  along  the  traveler's  path  ; 

But.  through  the  winter's  weary  hours, 
Shalt  warm  thee  at  my  lonely  hearth. 

And  when  my  lamp's  decaying  beam 
But  dimly 'shows  the  lettered  page 

Rich  with  some  ancient  poet's  dream, 
Or  wisdom  of  a  pure  age — 


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SELECT  AMERICAN  POETRY. 


Then  will  I  listea  to  the  sound, 
And  musing  o'er  the  embers  pale 

With  whitening  ashes  strewed  around, 
The  forms  of  memory  unvail : 

Recall  the  many-colored  dreams 
That  fancy  fondly  weaves  for  youth. 

When  all  the  bright  illusion  seems 
The  pictured  promises  of  Truth  ; 

Perchance  observe  the  fitful  light, 
And  its  faint  flashes  round  the  room, 

And  think  some  pleasures  feebly  bright 
May  lighten  thus  life's  varied  gloom ; 

I  love  the  quiet  midnight  hour, 

When  (/are  and  Hope  and  Passion  sleep, 
And  Reason  with  untroubled  power 

Can  her  late  vigils  duly  keep. 

I  love  the  night ;  and  sooth  to  say, 
Before  the  merry  birds  that  sing 

In  all  the  glare  and  noise  of  day, 
Prefer  the  cricket's  grating  wing 


BALLAD. 

EMMA  C.   EMBURY. 

Daughter  of  a  New  York  physician.— First 
appeared  as  an  authoress  in  1828. 

The  maiden  sat  at  her  busy  wheel, 

Her  heart  was  light   and  free, 
And  ever  in  cheerful  song  broke  forth 

Her  bosom's  harmless  glee  : 
Her  song  was  in  mockery  of  love, 

And  oft  I  heard  her  say, 
"The  gathered  rose  and  the  stolen  heart 

Can  charm  but  for  a  day." 

I  looked  on  the  maiden's  rosy  cheek, 

And  her  lip  so  full  and  bright, 
And  I  sighed  to  think  that  the  traitor  love 

Should  conquer  a  heart  so  light  : 
But  she  thought  not  of  future  days  of  woe, 

While  she  caroled  in  tones  so  gay — 
"The  gathered  rose  and  the  stolen  heart 

Can  charm  but  for  a  day." 

A  year  passed  on.  and  again  I  stood 

By  the  humble  cottage  door; 
The  maid  sat  at  her  busy  wheel, 

But  her  look  was  blithe  no  more; 
The  big  tear  stood  in  her  downcast  eye, 

And  with  sighs  I  heard  her  say, 
"  The  gathered  rose  and  the  stolen  heart 

Can  charm  but  for  a  day." 

0,  well  I  knew  what  had  dimmed  her  eye, 

And  made  her  cheek  so  pale  : 
The  maid  had  forgotten  her  early  song, 

While  she  listened  to  love's  soft  tale  ; 
She  had  tasted  the  sweets  of  his  poisoned  cup, 

It  had  wasted  her  life  away — 
And  the  stolen  heart,  like  the  gathered  rose, 

Had  charmed  but  for  a  day. 


THE  PARTING. 

ANDREWS   NORTON". 

We  did  not  part  as  others  part ; 

And  should  we  meet  on  earth  no  more, 
Yet  deep  and  dear  within  my  heart 

Some  thoughts  will  rest  a  treasured  stove 

How  oft,  when  weary  and  alone, 

Have  I  recalled  each  word,  each  look, 

The  meaning  of  each  varying  tone, 
And  the  last  parting  glance  we  tcok  ! 

Yes.  sometimes  even  here  are  found 

Those  who  can  touch  the  chords  of  love, 

And  wake  a  glad  and  holy  sound, 
Like  that  which  fills  the  courts  above 

It  is  as  when  a  traveler  hears, 

In  a  strange  land,  his  native  tongue, 

A  voice  he  loved  in  happier  years, 
A  song  which  once  his  mother  sung. 

We  part ;  the  sea  may  roll  between, 

While  we  through  different  climates  roam 

Sad  days — a  life — may  intervene  : 
But  we  shall  meet  again  at  home. 


THE  BABE  AND  THE  LILY. 

JAMES  \V.   WARD. 
PAUL. 

See,  Mary,  in  this  golden  sunset  glow, 

And  flood  of  splendor,  see 
[low  fair,  of  all  the  joyous  flowers  that  blow 

Blooms  here,  for  you  and  me, 
For  you  and  me,  dear  Mary,  day  and  night, 

This  lovely  lily,  robed  in  virgin  white. 

Vhat  spotless  beauty  in  its  fragrant  cup  ; 

And  as  it  graceful  bends 
ts  snowy  kirtlc,  as  the  breeze  comes  up, 

Its  dainty  breath  it  blends. 
ts   breath  it  blends,  dear  Mary,  with  the 

smell 
Of  flowery  meadow,  and  dew-sprinkled  dell. 


Lightly,  lift  ligjitly,  Paul,  the  vail  that  hides 

As  a  soft  cloud  vails  the  sky, 
Her  who  sleeps  here,  whose  innocence  divides 

The  love  that  you  and  I, 
That  you  and  I,  dear  Paul,  owe  one  another 
In  future  to  be  shared  by  this  sweet  other. 

Plow  tranquil,  and  how  beautiful,  the  sleep 

Of  sinless  infancy  ! 
And  as  in  silence  here  our  watch  we  keep, 

I  love  to  think  that  she, 
To  think  that  she,  dear  Paul,  our  little  May, 
Is  like  the  lib  bloom  we  saw  to-day. 


SELECT  AMERICAN  POETRY. 


6S5 


The  storm  is  over,  Mary,  and  the  breeze 
Streams  down  the  dripping  vale, 

And  dies  away  iii  murmuring  melodies  ; 
But  see,  the  wayward  gale, 

The  wayward  gale*,  dear  Mary,  has  laid  low 

Our  beauteous  lily,  with  its  cheeks  of  suow. 

A  nd  here,  prostrate  in  sand  and  wet,  it  lies  ; 

Thus,  beaten  down  and  torn, 
Fair  nature's  loveliness  decays  arid  dies  ; 

But  do  not  let  us  mourn, 
Not  mourn,  dear  Mary,  since  we  know  that 

still 
Our  fairy  lily  lives,  our  hearts  with  joy  to  fill. 

MARY. 
Softly,  tread  softly,  Paul,  she  sleeps  again  ; 

So' gently,  and  so  deep, 
I  fear — watching  in  silence  here,  that  when 

She  next  shall  wake  from  sleep, 
Shall  next  awake,  dear  Paul,  her  feet  will 

stand, 
Sweet  lily,  planted  on  the  better  laud. 

'Tis   over,  now : — our  babe,  like  that  frail 

flower 

The  rude  wind  swept  away, 
Is  dead  ; — but  said  you  not  that  wind,  and 

shower, 

Sickness,  and  death,  obey, 
Obey,  dear  Paul,  the  voice  of  Him  who  gives 
Beauty,  and  life,  aud  sleep,  to  all  that  lives  <i 


THE  VILLAGE  BLACKSMITH. 


HENRY  \V.   LONGFELLOW. 

Under  a  spreading  chesnut  tree 

The  village  smithy  stands  ; 
The  smith,  a  mighty  man  is  he, 

With  large  aud  sinewy  hands  ; 
And  the  muscles  of  his  brawny  arms 

Are  strong  as  iron  bands. 

His  hair  is  crisp,  and  black,  aud  long ; 

His  face  is  like  the  tau  ; 
His  brow  is  wet  with  honest  sweat ; 

He  earns  whate'er  he  can, 
And  looks  the  whole  world  in  the  face, 

Por  he  owes  not  auy  man. 

Week  in,  week  out,  from  morn  till  night, 
You  can  hear  his  bellows  blow  ; 

You  can  hear  him  swing  his  heavy  sledge, 
\Vith  measured  beat  and  slow, 

Like  a  sexton  ringing  the  village  bell 
When  the  eveuiug  sun  is  low. 

And  children  coining  home  from  school 

Look  in  at  the  open  door ; 
They  love  to  see  the  flaming  forge, 

And  hear  the  bellows  roar, 
A  lid  catch  the  burning  sparks  that  fly 

Like  chaff  from  a  threshing-floor. 


He  goes  on  Sunday  to  the  church, 

And  sits  among  his  boys  ; 
He  hears  the  parson  pray  and  preach, 

He  hears  his  daughter's  voice, 
Singing  in  the  village  choir, 

Aud  it  makes  his  heart  rejoice. 

It  sounds  to  him  like  her  mother's  voice. 

Singing  in  Paradise ! 
He  needs  must  think  of  her  once  more, 

How  in  the  grave  she  lies ; 
And  with  his  hard,  rough  hand  he  wipes 

A  tear  out  of  his  eyes. 

Toiling — rejoicing — sorrowing — 
Onward  through  life  he  goes  : 

Each  morning  sees  some  task  begun, 
Each  evening  sees  it  close  ; 

Something  attempted — something  done, 

.    Has  earned  a  night's  repose. 

Thanks,  thanks  to  thee.  my  worthy  friend, 
For  the  lesson  thou  hast  taught ! 

Thus  at  the  naming  forge  of  Life 
Our  fortunes  must  be  wrought, 

Thus  on  its  sounding  anvil  shaped 
Each  burning  deed  and  thought. 


THE    LITTLE    GIRL    UNDER    THE 

SNOW. 


MARY  LOUISA  CHITWOOD. 

A  young  lady  of  Mt.  Carmel,  Indiana,  who 
died  0in  1«56.  "  She  possessed  extraor 
dinary  genius.  Her  whole  nature  was 
deeply  and  intensely  poetical." 

They  are  all  asleep  ;  each  curl-sweapt  head 

Rests  on  its  pillow  white  : 
I  have  stolen  around  to  each  quiet  bed, 

Again  and  again,  to-night. 
But  now,  as  I  sit  in  my  old  arm-chair, 

In  the  firelight's  golden  glow, 
My  heart  will  go,  in  its  mute  despair, 

To  the  little  girl  under  the  snow. 

I  dare  not  gaze  out  on  the  world  to-night, 

But  I  hear  the  loud  winds  roar; 
I  know  the  drifts  are  deep  aud  white 

Around  my  cottage  door. 
I  bend  again  o'er  each  little  bed, 

Aud  hear  the  breathings  low 
Of  my  sleeping  babes — but  oh,  the  dead! 

The  little  girl  under  the  suow. 

0 !  does  she  not  start,  in  her  dreamless  sleep, 

With  a  low,  wild  cry  of  fear  i 
Sometimes,  I  think  I  hear  her  weep, 

With  a  mother's  listening  car. 
Cold,  cold  is  she  in  her  shroud  of  white, 

In  the  dismal  grave  so  low  : 
I  would  she  were  here  iu  my  arms  to-night— 

The  little  girl  under  the  suow. 


CS6 


SELECT  AMERICAN  POETRY. 


Be  still,  my  heart!     In  the  Summer  time  ' 

We  laid  her  down  to  rest ; 
We  said  she  had  gone  to  a  fairer  clime — 

She  had  gone  to  Jesus'  breast  ; 
That  He,  in  His  own  dear  love  would  keep 

Her  safe  from  another  woe — 
O,  should  we  not  envy  the  dreamless  sleep 

Of  the  little  girl  under  the  snow  "j 

And  hut  for  the  living  my  tears  should  be, 

As  I  think  of  my  little  band, 
Scattered  like  blossoms  on  the  sea, 

When  the  tempest  sweeps  the  land. 
0,  shield  them,  1'ather,  with  Thine  own  love. 

Wherever  their  feet  may  go. 
And  bring  them  safe  to  the  home  above, 

Of  the  little  girl  under  the  suovv. 


THE    WAYSIDE   SPRING. 


THOMAS  BUCHANAN  READ. 

Born  in  Chester  County,  Pa.,  in  1822.    An 
artist    by    pr  " 
Painter-Poet. 


artist    by    profession,    and    called    "  the 

•     PrvQt     » 


Fair  dweller  by  the  dusty  way — 
Bright  saint  within  a  mossy  shrine, 

The  tribute  of  a  heart  to-day 
Weary  aud  woru  is  thine. 

The  earliest  blossoms  of  the  year, 
The  sweet-brier  and  the  violet 

The  pious  hand  of  Spring  has  here 
Upon  thy  altar  set. 

And  not  alone  to  thce  is  given 

The  homage  of  the  pilgrim's  knee — 

But  oft  the  sweetest  birds  of  Heaveu 
Glide  down  and  sing  to  thee. 

Here  daily  from  his  beecheu  cell 
The  hermit  squirrel  steals  to  drink, 

And  flocks  which  cluster  to  their  bell 
Recline  along  thy  brink. 

Aud  here  the  wagoner  blocks  his  wheels, 
To  quaff  the  cool  and  generous  boon; 

Here,  from  the  sultry  harvest  fields 
The  reapers  rest  at  noon. 

And  oft  the  beggar  marked  with  tan, 
In  rusty  garments  grav  with  dust, 

Here  sits  and  dips  his  little  can, 
And  breaks  his  scanty  crust ; 

And,  lulled  beside  thy  whispering  stream, 
Oft  drops  to  slumber  unawares, 

And  sees  the  angel  of  his  dream 
Upon  celestial  stairs. 

Bear  dweller  by  the  dusty  way, 
Thou  saint  within  a  mossy  shrine, 

The  tribute  of  a  heart  to-day 
Weary  and  worn  is  thine! 


HEAVEN. 

WILLIAM  B.   TAPPAN. 

There  is  an  hour  of  peaceful  rest 
To  mourning  wanderers  given  ; 
There  is  a  joy  for  souls  distrest, 
A  balm  for  every  wounded  breast — 
Tis  found  alone,  in  heaven. 

There  is  a  home  for  weary  souls, 

By  sin  and  sorrow  driven  : 
When  toss'd  on  life's  tempestuous  shoals, 
Where  .storms  arise,  and  ocean  rolls, 

And  all  is  drear,  but  heaven. 

There  faith  lifts  up  her  cheerful  eye, 

To  brighter  prospects  given, 
And  views  the  tempest  passing  by  ; 
The  evening  shadows  quickly  fly, 

And  all's  serene,  in  heaven. 

There,  fragrant  flowers  immortal  bloom, 

And  joys  supreme  are  given  ; 
There,  rays  divine  disperse  the  gloom — 
Beyond  the  confines  of  the  tomb 
Appears  the  dawn  of  heaven. 


EXTRACTS    FROM    -THE    SONG    OF 
HIAWATHA." 

H.  \V.  LONGFELLOW. 

This  much  admired  poem  is  founded  on  a  tia- 
dition  prevalent  among  the  North  Ameri 
can  Indians  of  a  personage  of  miraculous 
birth,  \vho  was  sent  among  them  to  clear 
their  rivers,  forests  and  fishing-grounds, 
and  to  teach  them  the  arts  of  peace.  He 
was  known  among  different  tribes  by 
several  names,  one  of  which  was  Hiawatha. 
Into  this  old  tradition  has  been  woven 
many  curious  Indian  legends.  The  scene 
of  the  poem  is  among  the  Ojibwnys,  on  tha 
southern  shore  of  Lake  Superior. 

The  first  extract  we  make  is  the  wooing  of 
AVabun.  "  Wabun.''  signifies,  "the  i  <xst 
Wind."  and  his  bride,  "  W*bun  Ann  i%tg 
"  the  Morning  Star." 

Young  and  beautiful  was  Wabun  ; 
He  it  was  who  brought  the  morning, 
He  it  was  whose  silver  arrows 
Chased  the  dark  o'er  hill  and  valley  ; 
He  it  was  whose  cheeks  were  painted 
With  the  brightest  streaks  of  crimson, 
And  whose  voice  awoke  the  village, 
Called  the  deer,  and  called  the  hunter. 

Lonely  in  the  sky  was  Wabun; 
Though  the  birds  sang  gayly  to  him, 
Though  the  wild-flowers  of  the  meadow 
Filled  the  air  with  odors  for  him, 
Though  the  forests  aud  the  rivers 
Sang  and  shouted  at  his  corning, 
Still  his  heart  was  sad  within  him, 
For  he  was  alone  in  heaveu. 

But  one  morning,  gazing  earthward. 


SELECT  AMERICAN  POETKY. 


GST 


WLile  the  village  still  was  sleeping, 
A.nd  the  fog  lay  on  the  river, 
Like  a  ghost,  that  goes  at  sunrise, 
He  beheld  a  maiden  walking 
All  alone  upon  a  meadow, 
Gathering  water-flags  and  rushes 
By  a  river  in  the  meadow. 

E"ery  morning,  gazing  earthward, 
Still  the  first  thing  he  beheld  there 
Was  her  blue  eyes  looking  at  him, 
Two  blue  lakes  among  the  rushes. 
And  he  loved  the  lonely  maiden, 
Who  thus  waited  for  his  coming  ; 
For  they  both  were  solitary. 
She  on  earth  and  he  in  heaven. 

And  he  wooed  her  with  caresses, 
Wooed  her  with  his  smile  of  sunshine, 
With  his  flattering  words  he  wooed  her, 
With  his  sighing  and  his  singing, 
Gentlest  whispers  in  the  branches, 
Softest  music,  sweetest  odors. 
Till  he  drew  her  to  his  bosom, 
Folded  iu  his  robes  of  crimson, 
Till  into  a  star  he  changed  her, 
Trembling  still  upon  his  bosom  ; 
And  for  ever  iu  the  heavens 
They  are  seen  together  walking, 
Wabun  and  the  Wabun-Aunung, 
Wahuu  and  the  Star  of  Morning. 

The  chapter, "The  Famine."  begins  with 
this  vivid  picture  of  Winter: 

0  the  long  and  dreary  Winter  ! 
0  the  cold  aud  cruel  Winter ! 
Ever  thicker,  thicker,  thicker 
Froze  the  ice  on  lake  aud  river, 
Ever  deeper,  deeper,  deeper 
Fell  the  snow  o'er  all  the  landscape, 
"Fell  the  covering  snow,  aud  drifted 
Through  the  forest,  round  the  village. 

Hardly  from  his  buried  wigwam 
Could  the  hunter  force  a  passage  ; 
With  his  mittens  and  his  snow-shoes 
Vainly  walked  he  through  the  forest, 
Sought  for  bird  or  beast  and  found  none, 
Saw  no  track  of  deer  or  rabbit, 
Iu  the  snow  beheld  uo  foot-priuts, 
In  the  ghastly,  gleaming  forest 
Fell,  and  could  not  rise  for  weakness, 
Perished  there  from  cold  and  hunger. 

0  the  famine  and  the  fever  ! 
0  the  wasting  of  the  famine! 
0  the  blasting  of  the  fever ! 
0  the  wailing  of  the  children! 
0  the  anguish  of  the  women! 

All  the  earth  was  sick  and  famished ; 
Hungry  was  the  air  around  them. 
Hungry  was  the  sky  above  them, 
Aud  the  hungry  stars  in  heaven 
Like  the  eyes  of  wolves  glared  at  them! 

Into  Hiawatha's  wigwam 
Came  two  other  guests,  as  silent 


IAs  the  ghosts  were,  and  as  gloomy, 
(  Waited  not  to  be  invited, 
i  Did  not  parley  at  the  doorway, 
Sat  there  without  word  of  welcome 
In  the  seat  of  Laughing  Water; 
Looked  with  haggard  eyes  and  hollow 
At  the  face  of  Laughing  Water. 

Aud  the  foremost  said:  "Behold  niel 
Iain  Famine,  Bnkadawiu!" 
And  the  other  said  :   "  Behold  me  ! 
I  am  Fever,  Ahkosevviu !  " 

We  ol^so  with  Hiawatha's  vision   A  till 
coming  of  the  W'hite  Faces. 

Only  Hiawatha  laughed  not, 
But  he  gravely  spake  and  answered 
To  their  jeering  and  their  jesting  : 
'•  True  is  all  lagop  tells  us ; 
I  have  seen  it  in  a  vision, 
Seen  the  great  canoe  with  pinions, 
Seen  the  people  with  white  faces, 
Seen  the  coming  of  this  bearded 
People  of  the  wooden  vessel 
From  the  regions  of  the  morning, 
From  the  shining  land  of  Wrabuu. 

"Gitche  Manito,  the  Mighty, 
The  Great  Spirit,  the  Creator, 
Sends  them  hither  on  his  errand, 
Sends  them  to  us  with  his  message. 
Wheresoe'er  they  move,  before  them 
Swarms  the  stinging  fly,  the  Ahmo, 
Swarms  the  bee,  the  honey-maker  ; 
Wheresoe'er  they  tread,  beneath  them 
Springs  a  flower  unknown  among  us, 
Springs  the  White-man's  Foot  in  blossom 

"Let  us  welcome,  then,  the  strangers, 
[lail  them  as  our  friends  and  brothers, 
nd  the  heart's  right  hand  of  friendship 
ive  them  when  they  corne  to  see  us. 
jitche  Mauito,  the  Mighty, 
Said  this  to  me  in  my  vision. 

'I  beheld,  too,  in  that  vision, 
All  the  secrets  of  the  future, 
Of  the  distant  days  that  shall  be. 

beheld  the  westward  marches 
3f  the  unknown,  crowded  nations. 
All  the  land  was  full  of  people, 
Restless,  struggling,  toiling,  striving, 
Speaking  many  tongues,  yet  feeling 
But  one  heart-beat  iu  their  bosoms. 
In  the  woodlands  rang  their  axes. 
Smoked  their  towns  in  all  the  valleys, 
Over  all  the  lakes  aud  rivers 
Rushed  their  great  canoes  of  thunder. 

"Then  a  darker,  drearier  vision 
Passed  before  me,  vague  and  cloud-like  j 
I  beheld  our  nations  scattered, 
All  forgetful  of  my  counsels, 
Weakened,  warring  with  each  other; 
Saw  the  remnants  of  our  people 
Sweeping  westward,  wild  and  woful, 
Like  the  cloud-rack  of  a  tempest, 
Like  the  withered  leaves  of  autumn1  " 


CSS 


SELECT  AMERICAN  POETRY. 


THE   FARMER  SAT   IN  HIS  EASY 
CHAIR. 

CHARLES  G.  EASTMAN. 

Editor  at  Montpelier,  Vermont— in  1848  pub 
lished  a  collection  of  poems. 

The  farmer  sat  iu  his  easy  chair, 

Smoking  his  pipe  of  clay, 
While  his  hale  old  wife  with  busy  care 

Was  clearing  the  dinner  away  ; 
A  sweet  little  girl  with  fine  blue  eyes 
On  her  grandfather's  knee  was  catching  flies. 

The  old  man  laid  his  hand  on  her  head, 

With  a  tear  ou  his  wrinkled  face ; 
He  thought  how  often  her  mother,  dead, 

Had  sat  iu  the  self-same  place  : 
As  the  tear  stola  down  from   his   half-shut 

eye— 

"Dou't  smoke,"  said   the  child;    "how  it 
makes  you  cry!" 

The  house-dog  lay  stretch'd  out  on  the 

floor 
Where   the  shade  after   noon  used  to 

steal ; 

The  busy  old  wife  by  the  open  door 
Was  turning  the  spinning-wheel ; 
And  the  old  brass  clock  on  the  manteltree 
Had  plodded  along  to  almost  three  : 

Still  the  farmer  sat  in  his  easy  chair, 

While  close  to  his  heaving  breast 

The  moisten'd  brow  and  cheek  sc  fair 

Of  his  sweet  grandchild  were  press'd  ; 
His  head,  bent  down,  on  her  soft  hair  lav — 
Fast  asleep  were  they  both,  that  summer  day. 


ELLA. 

JAMES   W.    WARD. 

If  your  child,  the  gentle  Ella, 
Stood  in  rags,  in  dirt  and  patches ; 
Had  no  dress,  save  one  so  tattered 

You  would  blush  to  see  her  wear  it ; 
Had  no  shoes,  and  scarce  a  stocking 
To  her  feet,  frost-bit  and  bleeding, 
As  she,  cold  and  houseless,  wandered  : 

Tell  me  how  your  heart  could  bear  it, 

Should  your  Ella,  child  beloved, 
Destitute  and  hungry  beggar, 
Beg  a  crust  from  Dives'  table, 

Taste  it  not,  but  run  to  share  it — 
Run  in  haste  to  share  the  morsel 
With  a  feebler,  suff'ring  sister, 
Shivering  iu  some  fire) ess  hovel ; 

Could  you,  unaffected,  bear  it  <i 

Should  the  child  of  your  affection, 
Your  sweet  Ella,  pure  and  truthful, 
Be  exposed  to  lures  and  perils 
That  would  craftily  ensnare  it, 


By  enticements  gross  and  brutish, 
Into  vice  and  degradation. 
Daily,  in  the  streets  aud  by-ways  ; 
Think,  O  think,  if  you  could'beru1  it. 

But  your  Ella,  has  she-,  think  you, 
Juster  claims  to  be  protected 
From  such  wretchedness  and  ruin — 

Dares  your  selfish  pride  declare  it  i 
Higher  right  to  be  exempted 
From  such  peril  and  exposure, 
Thau  the  thousand  daily  victims 

That  are  helpless  left  to  bear  it  <J 


MY  NATIVE  LAND. 

There  lies  my  loved,  my  native  land — 
A  land  with  every  gift  replete — 

All  perfect  from  its 'Maker's  hand, 
An  empire's  glorious  seat ! 

And  far  removed  from  thrones  and  slaves, 

There  Freedom's  banner  proudly  waves. 

The  frigid  aud  the  torrid  clime, 

The  temperate  and  the  genial  beam; 

The  vale,  the  mountain -top  sublime, 
The  arid  plain,  the  swelling  stream; 

There  linked  in  union's  golden  chain, 

Bear  witness  to  her  vast  domain. 

Her  mountains  look  o'er  realms  serene, 
O'er  waving  fields  and  cities  free; 

And  mightiest  rivers  roll  between, 
And  bear  her  wealth  from  sea  to  sea: 

While  o'er  old  Ocean's  farthest  deep 

Her  banner'd  navies  proudly  sweep. 

On  Plymouth's  rock  the  pilgrim  land?, 
His  comrades  few,  and  faint  with  toil; 

While  warring  tribes  in  countless  bauds 
Roam  lawless  o'er  the  uncultur'd  soil. 

A  few  brief  years  have  rolled  away, 

And  those  dark  warriors — where  a're  they? 

And  where  are  those,  the  heroic  few, 
That  landed  on  that  rocky  shore  1 

Their  voice  still  rings — their  spirit  too 
Still  breathes,  and  will  for  evermore! 

For  in  their  sons  still  burn  tho.^e  fires 

That  freedom  kindled  in  their  sires. 

'Tis  something  though  it  be  not  fame, 
To  know  we  spring  from  noble  race; 

To  feel  no  secret  blush  of  shame 
For  those  we  love  suffuse  our  face: 

Then  let  us  to  our  sous  transmit 

A  land  aud  a  name  unsullied  yet. 

To  us  was  left,  in  deathless  trust, 
A  realm  redeemed,  a  glorious  name. 

The  ashes  of  the  bra've  and  just, 
Fair  ireedom  aud  immortal  fame  ! 

Aud  iu  our  hearts  the  courage  dwells 

Which  human  power  with  scorn,  repels. 


SELECT  AMERICAN  POETRY. 


689 


We've  not  to  weep  o'er  glory  fled; 

We've  not  to  brood  o'er  servile  wo; 
We  call  not  on  the  illustrious  dead 

To  shield  us  from  a  living  foe. 
And  should  our  pride  be  e'er  o'erthrov.'u, 
be  b    native  swords  aloue. 


The  standard  which  our  sires  unfurled, 
A  ml  which  through  peril's  path  they  bore, 

Now  floats  o'er  half  the  western  world, 
And  waves  on  many  a  distant  shore! 

And  long  shall  wave,  triumphant,  free, 

O'er  dome  and  tower,  o'er  land  aud  sea! 

For  me  —  whatever  be  my  fate, 
Wherever  cast  —  my  country  still 

Shall  o'er  each  thought  predominate, 
And  through  each  pulse  unceasing  thrill. 

My  prayer,  with  life's  last  ebbing  sand, 

Shall  be  for  thee,  my  native  laud  ! 


YOUR  PURSE  AND  HEART. 


TV.  D.   GALLAGHER. 

Open  not  your  purse  alone, 

Its  lucre  to  impart; — 
Of  the  two  'tis  better  far 

You  freely  ope  your  heart. 
That  which  wrings  the  bosom  most, 

Your  money  wont  allay; 
Sympathy's  the  sun  that  turns 

Its  darkness  into  day. 

For  the  body,  if  ye  will, 

Your  bread  and  broth  still  dole; 
Love's  the  only  nourishment 

That  satisfies  the  soul. 
Gingling  change  like  that  ye  give, 

May  please  the  baser  part, 
But  kind  and  gentle  words  and  looks 

Aloue  can  reach  the  heart. 

Warmth's  not  all  the  poor  demand, 

Nor  shelter,  nor  yet  food — 
Ye  who  pause,  bestowing  these, 

Withhold  the  greater  good. 
What  they  want,  and  what  require 

All  things  else  above, 
Is  kiiully  interest  in  their  fate, 

Aud  sympathy,  and  love. 


POETRY. 

JAMES  G.   PKRCIVAL. 

The  world  is  full  of  Poetry — the  air 

Is  living  with  its  spirit ;  and  the  waves 

Ba~.;ce  to  the  music  of  its  melodies, 

Aud   sparkle   in   its   brightness  —  Earth   is 

vailed, 

And  mantled  with  its  beauty  ;  and  the  walls, 
That  close  the  universe,  with  crystal,  in, 
Are  eloquent  with  voices,  that  proclaim 


The  unseen  glories  of  immensity, 
In  harmonies,  too  perfect,  and  too  high 
For  aught,  but  beings  of  celestial  mould, 
And  speak  to  man,  in  one  eternal  hymn, 
Unfading  beauty,  and  unyielding  power. 


THE  FALL  OF  NIAGARA. 

• 

JOHN  G.  C.   BRAINARD. 

Born  in  Now  London,  Conn.,  in  1796,  nnd 
died  in  1828.  These,"  the  most  suggestive 
and  sublime  stanzas  upon  Niagara  that 
were  ever  penned,"  were  written  by  one 
who  had  never  been  within  five  hundred 
miles  of  the  cataract. 

The  thoughts  are  strange  that  crowd  into  my 

brain, 
While  1  look  upward  to  thee.     It  would 

seem 
As  if  GOD  pour'd  thee  from  his  "hollow 

hand," 

And  hung  his  bow  upon  thine  awful  front ; 
And  spoke  in  that  loud  voice,  which  seem'd 

to  him 

Who  dwelt  iu  Patmos  for  his  Saviour's  sake, 
"The  sound  of  many  waters;"  and  had  bade 
Thy  flood  to  chronicle  the  ages  back, 
And  notch  His  centuries  iu  the  eternal  rocks. 

Deep  calleth  unto  deep.     And  what  are  we, 
That  hear  the  question  of  that  voice  sublimjs'i 
0!  what  are  all  the  notes  that  ever  rung 
From  war's  vain  trumpet,  by  thy  thunder 
ing  side ! 

Yea,  whaif  is  all  the  riot  man  can  make 
In  his  short  life,  to  thy  unceasing  roar  ! 
Aud  yet.  bold  blabber,  what  art  thou  to  Him 
Who  drowu'd  a  world,  and  heaped  the  wa 
ters  far 

Above  its  loftiest  mountains  1 — a  light  wave, 
That  breaks,  and  whispers  of  its   Maker's 
might. 


HOME. 

JAMES  G.   PERCIVAL. 

My  place  is  in  the  quiet  vale, 

The  chosen  haunt  of  simple  thought; 
I  seek  not  fortune's  flattering  gale, 

I  better  love  the  peaceful  lot. 
I  leave  the  world  of  noise  and  show, 

To  wander  by  my  native  brook; 
I  ask,  iu  life's  unruffled  flow, 

No  treasure  but  my  friend  and  book. 

These  better  suit  the  tranquil  home. 

W'here  the  clear  water  murmurs  by; 
Aud  if  I  wish  awhile  to  roam, 

I  have  an  ocean  in  the  sky. 
Fancy  can  charm  and  feeling  bless 

With  sweeter  hours  than  fashion  knows, 
There  is  no  calmer  quietness 

Than  home  around  the  bosom  throws. 


090  SELECT  AMERICAN  POETRY. 

WILL  THE  NEW-YEAR  COME  TO-NIGHT,  MAMMAS 

CORA  M.  EAGER. 

Will  the  New-Year  come  to-night,  mamma  ?     I'm  tired  of  waiting  so, 

My  stocking  hung  by  the  chimney-side  full  three  long  days  ago  ; 

I  run  to  peep  within  the  door  by  morning's  early  light, 

'T  is  empty  «till — oh,  say,  mamma,  will  the  New-Year  come  to-night  ? 

Will  the  New- Year  come  to-night,  mamma  ?  the  snow  is  on  the  hill, 

And  the  ice  must  be  two  inches  thick  upon  the  meadow's  rill. 

I  heard  you  tell  papa,  last  night,  his  son  must  have  a  sled, 

(I  didn't  mean  to  hear,  mamma),  and  a  pair  of  skates,  you  said. 

I  prayed  for  just  those  things,  mamma.  0  I  shall  be  full  of  glee, 
And  the  orphan  boys  in  the  village  school  will  all  be  envying  mo  ; 
But  I'll  give  them  toys,  and  lend  them  books,  and  make  their  New-Year 

glad, 
For  God,  you  say,  takes  back  his  gifts  when  little  folks  are  bad. 

And  wont  you  let  me  go,  mamma,  upon  the  New-Year's  day, 

And  carry  something  nice  and  warm  to  poor  old  widow  Grny  ? 

I'll  leave  the  basket  near  the  door,  within  the  garden  gate. 

Will  the  New- Year  come  to-night,  mamma  ?  it  seems  so  long  to  wait. 


The  New- Year  comes  to-night,  mamma,  I  saw  it  in  my  sleep, 

My  stocking  hung  so  full,  I  thought — mamma,  what  makes  you  weep  ? 

But  it  only  held  a  little  shroud — a  shroud,  and  nothing  more  ; 

And  an  open  coffin,  made  for  me,  was  standing  on  the  floor  ! 

It  seemed  so  very  strange,  indeed,  to  find  such  gifts,  instead 

Of  all  the  toys  I  wished  so  much — the  story-books  and  sled. 

But  while  I  wondered  what  it  meant,  you  came  with  tearful  joy, 

And  said,  "  Thou'lt  find  the  New-Year  first ;  God  calleth  thee,  my  boy  ! 

It  is  not  all  a  dream,  mamma,  I  know  it  must  be  true  ; 
But  have  I  been  so  bad  a  boy,  God  taketh  me  from  you  ? 
I  don't  know  what  papa  will  do,  when  I  am  laid  to  rest — 
And  you  will  have  no  Willie's  head  to  fold  upon  your  breast. 

The  New-Year  comes  to-night,  mamma — your  cold  hand  on  my  cheek, 
And  raise  my  head  a  little  more — it  seems  so  hard  to  speak  ; 
You  needn't  fill  my  stocking  now,  I  cannot  go  and  peep, 
Before  to-morrow's  sun  is  up,  I'll  be  so  sound  asleep. 

I  shall  not  want  the  skates,  mamma,  I'll  never  need  the  sled  ; 
But  wont  you  give  them  both  to  Blake,  who  hurt  me  on  my  head  ? 
He  used  to  hide  my  books  away,  and  tear  the  pictures  too, 
But  now  he'll  know  that  I  forgive,  as  then  I  tried  to  do. 

And,  if  you  please,  mamma,  I'd  like  the  story-books  and  slate 
To  go  to  Frank,  the  drunkard's  boy,  you  wouldn't  let  me  hate  ; 
And,  dear  mamma,  you  wont  forget,  upon  the  New-Year's  day, 
The  basketful  of  something  nice  for  poor  old  widow  Gray  ? 

The  New-Year  comes  to-night,  mamma — it  seems  so  very  soon — 
I  think  God  didn't  hear  me  ask  for  just  another  June. 
I  know  I've  been  a  thoughtless  boy,  and  made  you  too  much  care, 
And,  maybe,  for  your  sake,  mamma,  He  doesn't  hear  my  prayer. 


SELECT  AMERICAN  POETRY. 

There's  one  thing  more,  my  pretty  pets,  the  robin  and  the  dove, 

0  keep  for  you  and  dear  papa,  and  teach  them  how  to  love. 
The  garden  rake,  the  little  hoe — you'll  find  them  nicely  laid 
Upon  the  garret  floor,  mamma,  the  place  where  last  I  played. 

1  thought  to  need  them  both  so  much  when  summer  comes  again 
To  make  my  garden  by  the  brook  that  trickles  through  the  glen; 
I  thought  to  gather  flowers,  too,  beside  the  forest-walk, 

And  sit  beneath  the  apple-tree  where  once  we  sat  to  talk. 

It  cannot  be  ;  but  you  will  keep  the  summer-flowers  green, 
And  plant  a  few — don't  cry,  mamma — a  very  few,  I  mean, 
Where  I'm  asleep.     I'd  sleep  so  sweet  beneath  the  apple-tree, 
Where  you  and  robin,  in  the  morn,  may  come  and  sing  to  me. 

The  New-Year  comes — good  night,  mamma — "I  lay  me  down  to  sleep, 

I  pray  the  Lord  " — tell  poor  papa — "my  soul  to  keep  ; 

If  I    — how  cold  it  seems — how  dark — kiss  me,  I  cannot  see — 

The  New- Year  comes  to-night,  mamma,  the  old  year — dies  with  me. 


THE  OLD  OAKEN  BUCKET. 

SAMUEL  WOOD-WORTH. 

Born  at  Scituate,  Massachusetts,  in  1790 — Bred  a  Printer,  and  edited  a  paper  in  New  \rork- 

Died  in  1842. 

How  dear  to  this  heart  are  the  scenes  of  my  childhood, 

When  fond  recollection  presents  them  to  view ! 
The  orchard,  the  meadow,  the  deep-tangled  wildwood, 

And  every  loved  spot  which  my  infancy  knew ! 
The  wide-spreading  pond,  and  the  mill  that  stood  by  it, 

The  bridge,  and  the  rock  where  the  cataract  fell, 
The  cot  of  my  father,  the  dairy-house  nigh  it, 

And  e'en  the  rude  bucket  that  hung  in  the  well — 
The  old  oaken  bucket,  the  iron-bound  bucket, 
The  moss-covered  bucket  which  hung  in  the  well. 

That  moss-cover'd  vessel  I  hail'd  as  a  treasure, 

For  often  at  noon,  when  returned  from  the  field, 
I  found  it  the  source  of  an  exquisite  pleasure, 

The  purest  and  sweetest  that  Nature  can  yield. 
How  ardent  I  seized  it,  with  hands  that  were  glowing, 

And  quick  to  the  white-pebbled  bottom  it  fell ; 
Then  soon  with  the  emblem  of  truth  overflowing, 

And  dripping  with  coolness,  it  rose  from  the  well — 
The  old  oaken  bucket,  the  iron-bound  bucket, 
The  moss-cover'd  bucket  arose  from  the  well. 

How  sweet  from  the  green  mossy  brim  to  rc'ceive  it, 

As  poised  on  the  curb  it  inclined  to  my  lips  ! 
Not  a  full  blushing  goblet  could  tempt  me  to  leave  it, 

The  brightest  that  beauty  or  revelry  sips. 
And  now,  far  removed  from  the  loved  habitation, 

The  tear  of  regret  will  intrusively  swell, 
As  fancy  reverts  to  my  father's  plantation, 

And  sighs  for  the  bucket  that  hangs  in  the  well— 
The  old  oaken  bucket,  the  iron-bound  bucket, 
The  moss-cover'd  bucket  that  hangs  in  the  well!. 
44 


692  SELECT  AMERICAN  POETRY. 

LOOK  ALOFT. 

JOXATHAN  LAWRENCE. 

Born  in  New  York  in  1807— Graduated  at  Columbia  College — Died  in  1833. 

In  the  tempest  of  life,  when  the  wave  and  the  gale 
Are  around  and  above,  if  thy  footing  should  fail, 
If  thine  eye  should  grow  dim,  and  thy  caution  depart, 
"  Look  aloft,"  and  be  firm,  and  be  fearless  of  heart. 

If  the  friend,  who  embraced  in  prosperity's  glow, 
With  a  smile  for  each  joy  and  a  tear  for  each  wo, 
Should  betray  thee  when  sorrows  like  clouds  are  array'd, 
"  Look  aloft "  to  the  friendship  which  never  shall  fade. 

Should  the. visions  which  hope  spreads  in  light  to  thine  eye, 
Like  the  tints  of  the  rainbow,  but  brighten  to  fly, 
Then  turn,  and,  through  tears  of  repentant  regret 
"  Look  aloft "  to  the  sun  that  is  never  to  set. 

Should  they  who  are  dearest,  the  son  of  thy  heart, 
The  wife  of  thy  bosom,  in  sorrow  depart, 
"Look  aloft"  from  the  darkness  and  dust  of  the  tomb, 
To  that  soil  where  st  affection  is  ever  in  bloom." 

And,  0  !  when  death  comes  in  his  terrors,  to  cast 
His  fears  on  the  future,  his  pall  on  the  past, 
In  that  moment  of  darkness,  with  hope  in  thy  heart, 
And  a  smile  in  thine  eye,  "  look  aloft,"  and  depart ! 


THANATOPSIS. 

WILLIAM  CULLEN  BRYANT. 

Born  in  Cummington,  Mass..  in  1794— Graduate  of  Williams  College— Editor  of  New  York 
Evening  Post — This  noble  poem — a  death  hymn — was  written  in  his  eighteenth  year. 

To  him  who  in  the  love  of  Xature  holds 
Communion  with  her  visible  forms,  she  speaks 
A  various  language  ;  for  his  gayer  hours 
She  has  a  voice  of  gladness,  and  a  smile 
And  eloquence  of  beauty,  and  she  glides 
Into  his  darker  musings,  with  a  mild 
And  healing  sympathy,  that  steals  away 
Their  sharpness,  ere  he  is  aware.     When  thoughts 
Of  the  last  bitter  hour  come  like  a  blight 
Over  thy  spirit,  and  sad  images 
Of  the  stern  agony,  and  shroud,  and  pall, 
And  breathless  darkness,  and  the  narrow  house, 
Make  thee  to  shudder,  and  grow  sick  at  heart ; — 
Go  forth,  under  the  open  sky,  and  list 
To  Nature's  teachings,  while  from  all  around — 
Earth  and  her  waters,  and  the  depths  of  air, — 
Comes  a  still  voice — Yet  a  few  days,  and  thee 
The  all-beholding  sun  shall  see  no  more 
In  all  his  course  ;  nor  yet  in  the  cold  ground, 
Where  thy  pale  form  was  laid,  with  many  tears, 


SELECT  AMERICAN  POETRY.  C93 

Nor  in  the  embrace  of  ocean,  shall  exist 

Thy  image.     Earth,  that  nourished  thee,  shall  claim 

Thy  growth,  to  be  resolved  to  earth  again, 

And,  lost  each  human  trace,  surrendering  up 

Thine  individual  being,  shalt  thou  go 

To  mix  forever  with  the  elements, 

To  be  a  brother  to  the  insensible  rock 

And  to  the  sluggish  clod,  which  the  rude  swain 

Turns  with  his  share,  and  treads  upon.     The  oak 

Shall  send  his  roots  abroad,  and  pierce  thy  mould. 

Yet  not  to  thine  eternal  resting-place 
Shalt  thou  retire  alone,  nor  couldst  thou  wish 
Couch  more  magnificent.     Thou  shalt  lie  down 
With  patriarchs  of  the  infant  world — with  kings, 
The  powerful  of  the  earth — the  wise,  the  good, 
Fair  forms,  and  hoary  seers  of  ages  past, 
All  in  one  mighty  sepulchre.     The  hills  • 
Rock-ribbed  and  ancient  as  the  sun — the  vales 
Stretching  in  pensive  quietness  between; 
The  venerable  woods — rivers  that  move 
In  majesty,  and  the  complaining  brooks 
That  make  the  meadows  green  ;  and,  poured  round  all, 
Old  ocean's  gray  and  melancholy  waste — 
Are  but  the  solemn  decorations  all 
Of  the  great  tomb  of  man.     The  golden  sun, 
The  planets,  all  the  infinite  host  of  heaven, 
Are  shining  on  the  sad  abodes  of  death, 
Through  the  still  lapse  of  ages.     AH  that  tread 
The  globe  are  but  a  handful  to  the  tribes 
That  slumber  in  its  bosom — Take  the  wings 
Of  morning,  traverse  Barca's  desert  sands, 
Or  lose  thyself  in  the  continuous  woods 
Where  rolls  the  Oregon,  and  hears  no  sound, 
Save  his  own  dashings — yet — the  dead  are  there  : 
And  millions  in  those  solitudes,  since  first 
The  flight  of  years  began,  have  laid  them  down 
In  their  last  sleep — the  dead  reign  there  alone. 
So  shalt  thou  rest,  and  what  if  thou  withdraw 
In  silence  from  the  living,  and  no  friend 
Take  note  of  thy  departure  ?     All  that  breathe 
Will  share  thy  destiny.     The  gay  will  laugh 
When  thou  art  gone,  the  solemn  brood  of  care 
Plod  on,  and  each  one  as  before  will  chase 
His  favorite  phantom  ;  yet  all  these  shall  leave 
Their  mirth  and  their  employments,  and  shall  come, 
And  make  their  bed  with  thee.     As  the  long  train 
Of  ages  glide  away,  the  sons  of  men, 
The  youth  in  life's  green  spring,  and  he  who  goes 
In  the  full  strength  of  years,  matron,  and  maid, 
And  the  sweet  babe,  and  the  gray  headed  man — 
Shall  one  by  one  be  gathered  to  thy  side, 
By  those,  who  in  their  turn  shall  follow  them. 

So  live,  that  when  thy  summons  comes  to  join 
The  innumerable  caravan,  which  moves 
To  that  mysterious  realm,  where  each  shall  take 
His  chamber  in  the  silent  halls  of  death, 
Thou  go  not  like  the  quarry-slave  at  night, 


694:  SELECT  AMERICAN  POETRY. 

Scourged  to  his  dungeon,  but,  sustained  and  soothed 
By  an  unfaltering  trust,  approach  thy  grave, 
Like  one  who  wraps  the  drapery  of  his  couch 
About  him  and  lies  down  to  pleasant  dreams. 


IT  SNOWS 

SARAH  J.  HALE. 

Born  about  the  beginning  of  this  century,  in  Newport,  N.  H.— In  1823,  being  left  a  widow 
with  five  children,  all  under  eight  years  of  age,  she  turned  her  attention  for  their  sup- 
poit,  to  literature,  in  which  she  has  gained  eminence. 

"  It  snows  !"  cries  the  school-boy — "  hurrah  !"  and  his  shout 

Is  ringing  through  parlor  and  hall, 
While  swift  as  the  wing  of  a  swallow,  he's  out, 

And  his  playmates  have  answered  his  call. 
It  makes  the  heart  leap  but  to  witness  their  joy — 

Proud  wealth  has  no  pleasures,  I  trow, 
Like  the  rapture  that  throbs  in  the  pulse  of  the  boy, 

As  he  gathers  the  treasures  of  snow  ; 
Then  lay  not  the  trappings  of  gold  on  thine  heirs, 
While  health  and  the  riches  of  Nature  are  theirs. 

"  It  snows !"  sighs  the  imbecile — Ah  !"  and  his  breath 

Comes  heavy,  as  clogged  with  a  weight ; 
While  from  the  parle  aspect  of  Nature  in  death 

He  turns  to  the  blaze  of  his  grate  : 
And  nearer,  and  nearer,  his  soft  cushioned  chair 

Is  wheeled  tow'rds  the  life-giving  flame  — 
He  dreads  a  chill  puff  of  the  snow  burdened  air, 

Lest  it  wither  his  delicate  frame  ; 
Oh  !  small  is  the  pleasure  existence  can  give, 
When  the  fear  we  shall  die  only  proves  that  wo  live  ! 

"It  srgnvs  !"  cries  the  traveler — Ho  !"  and  the  word 
Has  quickened  his  steed's  lagging  pace ; 

The  wind  rushes  by,  but  its  howl  is  unheard, 
Unfelt  the  sharp  drift  in  his  face  ; 

For  bright  through  the  tempest  his  own  home  appeared— 
Ay  !  though  leagues  intervened,  he  can  see 

There's  the  clear,  glowing  hearth,  and  the  table  prepared, 
And  his  wife  with  their  babes  at  her  knee. 

Blest  thought !  how  it  lightens  the  grief -laden  hour, 

That  those  we  love  dearest  are  safe  from  its  powers 

"  It  snows  !"  cries  the  Belle — Dear  how  lucky,"  and  turns 

From  her  mirror  to  watch  the  flakes  fall ; 
Like  the  first  rose  of  summer,  her  dimpled  cheek  burns 

While  musing  on  sleigh-ride  and  ball  : 
There  are  visions  of  conquest,  of  splendor  and  mirth, 

Floating  over  each  drear  winter's  day  ; 
But  the  tintings  of  Hope,  on  this  storm-beaten  earth, 

Will  melt,  like  the  snowflakes  away  : 
Turn,  turn  thee  to  Heaven,  fair  maiden,  for  bliss 
That  world  has  a  fountain  ne'er  opened  in  this. 


SELECT  AMERICAN  POETRY. 

"  It  snows  !'r  cries  the  widow — 0,  God  !"  and  her  sighs 

Have  stifled  the  voice  of  her  prayer, 
Its  burden  ye'll  read  in  her  tear-swollen  eyes, 

On  her  cheek,  sunk  with  fasting  and  care. 
'Tis  night — and  her  fatherless  ask  her  for  bread — 

But  "  He  gives  the  young  ravens  their  food," 
And  she  trusts,  till  her  dark  hearth  adds  horror  to  dread, 

And  she  laye  on  her  last  chip  of  wood. 
Poor  suff'rer  !  that  sorrow  thy  God  only  knows — 
'Tis  a  pitiful  lot  to  be  poor,  when  it  snows  ! 


BLESSINGS  ON  CHILDREN. 

WILLIAM  GILMORE  SIMMS. 

Born  in  Charleston,  S.  C.,  in  1806. 

Blessings  on  the  blessing  children,  sweetest  gifts  of  Heaven  to  earth, 
Filling  all  the  heart  with  gladness,  filling  all  the  house  with  mirth ; 
Bringing  with  them  native  sweetness,  pictures  of  the  primal  bloom, 
Which  the  bliss  forever  gladdens,  of  the  region  whence  they  come ; 
Bringing  with  them  joyous  impulse  of  a  state  withouten  care, 
And  a  buoyant  faith  in  being,  which  makes  all  in  nature  fair ; 
Not  a  doubt  to  dim  the  distance,  not  a  grief  to  vex  thee,  nigh, 
And  a  hope  that  in  existence  finds  each  hour  a  luxury ; 
Going,  singing,  bounding,  brightening — never  fearing  as  they  go, 
That  the  innocent  shall  tremble,  and  the  loving  find  a  foe  ; 
bi  the  daylight,  in  the  starlight,  still  with  thought  that  freely  flies, 
Prompt  and  joyous,  with  no  question  of  the  beauty  in  the  skies; 
Genial  fancies  winning  raptures,  as  the  bee  still  sucks  her  store, 
AK  the  present  still  a  garden  gleaned  a  thousand  times  before ; 
All  the  future,  but  a  region,  where  the  happy  serving  thought 
Still  depicts  a  thousand  blessings,  by  the  winged  hunter  caught; 
Like  a  chase  where  blushing  pleasures  only  seem  to  strive  in  flight, 
Lingering  to  be  caught,  and  yielding  gladly  to  the  proud  delight ; 
As  the  maiden,  through  the  alleys,  looking  backward  as  she  flies, 
Woos  the  fond  pursuer  onward,  with  the  love-light  in  her  eyes. 

0 !  the  happy  life  in  children,  still  restoring  joy  to  ours, 
Making  for  the  forest  music,  planting  for  the  way-side  flowers ; 
Back  recalling  all  the  sweetness,  in  a  pleasure  pure  as  rare, 
Back  the  past  of  hope  and  rapture  bringing  to  the  heart  of  care. 
How,  as  swell  the  happy  voices,  bursting  through  the  shady  grove, 
Memories  take  the  place  of  sorrows,  time  restores  the  sway  to  love . 
We  are  in  the  shouting  comrades,  shaking  off  the  load  of  years, 
Thought  forgetting,  strifes  and  trials,  doubts  and  agonies  and  tears; 
We  are  in  the  bounding  urchin,  as  o'er  hill  and  plain  he  darts, 
Svhare  the  struggle  and  the  triumph,  gladdening  in  his  heart  of  hearts; 
What  an  image  of  the  vigor  and  the  glorious  grace  we  knew, 
When  to  eager  youth  from  boyhood,  at  a  single  bound  we  grew ! 
Even  such  our  slender  beauty,  such  upon  our  cheek  the  glow, 
In  our  eyes  the  life  and  gladness — of  our  blood  the  overflow. 
Bless  the  mother  of  the  urchin  !  in  his  form  we  see  her  truth  : 
He  is  now  the  very  picture  of  the  memories  in  our  youth ; 
Never  can  we  doubt  the  forehead,  nor  the  sunny  flowing  hair, 
Nor  the  smiling  in  the  dimole  soeaking  chin  and  cheek  so  fair : 


696  SELECT  AMERICAN  POETRY. 

Bless  the  mother  of  the  young  one,  he  hath  blended  in  his  #ace, 
All  the  hope  and  joy  and  beauty,  kindling  once  in  either  lace. 

0!  the  happy  faith  of  children  I  that  is  glad  in  all  it  sees, 
And  with  never  need  of  thinking,  pierces  still  its  mysteries, 
In  simplicity  profoundest,  in  their  soul  abundance  bfest, 
Wise  in  value  of  the  sportive,  and  in  restlessness  at  rest , 
-  Lacking  every  creed,  yet  having  faith  so  large  in  all  they  see, 
That  to  know  is  still  to  gladden,  and  'tis  rapture  but  to  be. 
What  trim  fancies  brinor  them  flowers ;  what  rare  spirits  walk  their  wood 
What  a  wondrous  world  the  moonlight  harbors  of  the  gay  and  good  I 
Unto  them  the  very  tempest  walks  in  glories  grateful  still, 
And  the  lightning  gleams  a  seraph,  to  pursuade  them  to  the  hill : 
'Tis  a  sweet  and  loving  spirit,  that  throughout  the  midnight  rains, 
Broods  beside  the  shuttered  windows,  and  with  gentle  love  complains  ; 
And  how  wooing,  how  exalting,  with  the  richness  of  her  dyes, 
Spans  the  painter  of  the  rainbow,  her  bright  arch  along  the  skie&, 
With  a  dream  like  Jacob's  ladder,  showing  to  the  fancy's  sight, 
How  'twere  easy  for  the  sad  one  to  escape  to  worlds  of  light ! 
Ah  !  the  wisdom  of  such  fancies,  and  the  truth  in  every  dream, 
That  to  faith  confiding  offers,  cheering  every  gloom,  a  gleam  .' 
Happy  hearts,  still  cherish  fondly  each  delusion  of  your  youth, 
Joy  is  born  of  well  believing,  and  the  fiction  wraps  the  truth. 


THE  DEATH  OF  THE  FLOWERS. 

WILLIAM  CULLEN  BRYANT. 

The  melancholy  days  are  come,  the  saddest  of  the  year, 

Of  wailing  winds,  and  naked  woods,  and  meadows  brown  and  sere. 

Heaped  in  the  hollows  of  the  grove,  the  autumn  leaves  lie  dead  ; 

They  rustle  to  the  eddying  gust,  and  to  the  rabbit's  tread. 

The  robin  and  the  wren  are  flown,  and  from  the  shrubs  the  jay. 

And  from  the  wood-top  calls  the  crow  through  all  the  gloomy  day. 

Where  are  the  flowers,  the  fair  young  flowers,  that  lately  sprang  and  stood 

In  brighter  light,  and  softer  airs,  a  beauteous  sisterhood  ? 

Alas  !  they  all  are  in  their  graves,  the  gentle  race  of  flowers 

Are  lying  in  their  lowly  beds,  with  the  fair  and  good  of  ours. 

The  rain  is  falling  where  they  lie,  but  the  cold  November  rain 

Calls  not  from  out  the  gloomy  earth  the  lovely  ones  again. 

The  wind-flower  and  the  violet,  they  perished  long  ago, 

And  the  brier-rose  and  the  orchis  died  amid  the  summer  glow ; 

But  on  the  hill  the  golden-rod,  and  the  aster  in  the  wood, 

And  the  yellow  sun-flowers  by  the  brook  in  autumn  beauty  stood, 

Till  fell  the  frost  from  the  clear  cold  heaven,  as.  falls  the  plague  on  men, 

And  the  brightness  of  their  smile  was  gonet  from  upland,  glade,  and  glen. 

And  now.  when  comes  the  calm  mild  day,  as  still  such  days  will  come, 

To  call  the  squirrel  and  the  bee  from  out  their  winter  home  : 

When  the  sound  of  dropping  nuts  is  heard,  though  all  the  trees  are  still 

And  twinkle  in  the  smoky  light  the  waters  of  the  rill, 

The  south  wind  searches  for  the  flowers  whose  fragrance  late  he  bore, 

And  sighs  to  find  them  in  the  wood  and  by  the  stream  no  more. 

And  then  I  think  of  one  who  in  her  youthful  beauty  died, 

The  fair  meek  blossom  that  grew  up  and  faded  by  my  side  * 


SELECT  AMERICAN  POETRY.  697 

In  the  cold  moist  earth  we  laid  her  when  the  forests  cast  the  leaf, 
And  we  wept  that  one  so  lovely  should  have  a  life  so  brief: 
Yet  not  unmeet  it  was  that  one,  like  that  young  friend  of  ours, 
So    entle  and  so  beautiful,  should  perish  with  the  flowers. 


SEASONS  OF  PRAYER. 

REV.  HENRY   WARE,  D.D. 

Born  in  Hingham,  Mass.— Professor  in  the  Theological  Department  of  Harvard  University 

Died  in  1843. 

To  prayer,  to  prayer — for  the  morning  breaks, 
And  earth  in  her  Maker's  smile  awakes. 
His  light  is  on  all  below  and  above, 
The  light  of  gladness,  and  life,  and  love. 
O,  then,  on  the  breath  of  this  early  air, 
Send  up  the  incense  of  grateful  prayer. 

To  prayer — for  the  glorious  sun  is  gone, 

And  the  gathering  darkness  of  night  comes  on. 

Like  a  curtain  from  GOD'S  kind  hand  it  Hows, 

To  shade  the  couch  where  his  children  repose. 

Then  kneel,  while  the  watching  stars  are  bright, 

And  give  your  last  thoughts  to  the  Guardian  of  night. 

To  prayer — for  the  day  that  GOD  has  bless'd 
•    Comes  tranq.uilly  on  with  its  welcome  rest. 
It  speaks  of  creation's  early  bloom  ; 
It  speaks  of  the  Prince  who  burst  the  tomb. 
Then  summon  the  spirit's  exalted  powers, 
And  devote  to  Heaven  the  hallow'd  hours. 

There  are  smile  and  tears  in  the  mother's  e37es, 

For  her  new-born  infant  beside  her  lies. 

O,  hour  of  bliss  !  when  the  heart  o'erflows 

With  rapture  a  mother  onl}'  knows. 

Let  it  gush  forth  in  words  of  fervent  prayer; 

Let  it  swell  up  to  heaven  for  her  precious  care. 

There  are  smiles  and  tears  in  that  gathering  band, 
Where  the  heart  is  pledged  with  the  trembling1  hand, 
What  trying  thoughts  in  her  bosom  swell, 
As  the  bride  bids  parents  and  home  farewell! 
Kneel  down  by  the  side  of  the  tearful  fair, 
And  strenghten  the  perilous  hour  with  prayer. 

Kneel  down  by  the  dying  sinner's  side, 
And  pray  for  his  soul  through  Him  who  died. 
Large  drops  of  anguish  are  thick  on  his  brow — 
0,  what  is  earth  and  its  pleasures  now ! 
And  what  shall  assuage  his  dark  despair, 
But  the  penitent  cry  of  humble  prayer  ! 

Kneel  down  at  the  couch  of  departing  faith, 
And  hear  the  last  words  the  believer  saith. 
He  has  bidden  adieu  to  his  earthly  friends ; 
There  is  peace  in  his  eye  that  upward  bends  ; 


698  SELECT  AMERICAN  POET11Y. 

There  is  peace  in  his  calm,  confiding  air ; 

For  his  last  thoughts  are  GOD'S,  his  last  words  prayer. 

The  voice  of  prayer  at  the  sable  bier ! 

A  voice  to  sustain,  to  soothe  and  to  cheer. 

It  commends  the  spirit  to  GroD  who  gave  ; 

It  lifts  the  thoughts  from  the  cold,  dark  grave ; 

It  points  to  the  glory  where  he  shall  reign, 

Who  whisper'd,  "  Thy  brother  shall  rise  again." 

The  vdice  of  prayer  in  the  world  of  bliss ! 
But  gladder,  purer,  than  rose  from  this. 
The  ransom'd  shout  to  their  glorious  King, 
Where  no  sorrow  shades  the  soul  as  they  sing ; 
But  a  sinless  and  joyous  song  they  raise  ; 
And  their  voice  of  prayer  is  eternal  praiso. 

Awake,  awake,  and  gird  up  thy  strength 

To  join  that  holy  band  at  length. 

To  Him  who  unceasing  love  displays, 

Whom  the  powers  of  nature  unceasingly  praise, 

To  Him  thy  heart  and  thy  hours  be  given ; 

For  a  life  of  prayer  is  the  life  of  heaven. 


THE  STAR-SPANGLED  BANNER. 

FRANCIS  SCOTT  KEY. 

lawyer  of  Baltimore,  vrho  was  temporarily  a  prisoner  on  board  of  one  of  the  British  ?hipi 
in  the  war  of  1812,  at  the  time  of  the  bombardment  of  Fort  McHenry.  "  He  watched  the 
flag  over  the  fort  the  whole  day  with  intense  anxiety,  and  in  the  night  the  bombshells; 
but  he  saw  at  dawn  'the  star-spangled  banner'  still  waving  over  the  defenders.  Tba 
following  song  was  partly  composed  before  he  was  set  at  liberty."  He  died  in  1843. 

0  !  say  can  you  see  by  the  dawn's  early  light, 

What  so  proudly  we  hailed  at  the  twilight's  last  gleaming — 
Whose  broad  stripes  and  bright  stars  through  the  perilous  fight, 

O'er  the  ramparts  we  watched,  were  so  gallantly  streaming! 
And  the  rocket's  red  glare,  the  bombs  bursting  in  air, 
Gave  proof  through  the  night  that  our  flag  was  still  there ; 
0!  say  does  that  star-spangled  banner  yet  wave 
O'er  the  land  of  the  free,  and  the  home  of  the  brave ! 

On  that  shore  dimly  seen  through  the  mists  of  the  deep, 
Where  the  foe's  haughty  host  in  dread  silence  reposes, 
What  is  that  which  the  breeze,  o'er  the  towering  steep, 

As  it  fitfully  blows,  now  conceals,  now  discloses  1 
Now  it  catches  the  gleam  of  the  morning's  first  beam, 
In  full  glory  reflected,  now  shines  on  the  stream  ; 
'Tis  the  star-spangled  banner,  0  long  may  it  wave 
O'er  the  land  of  the  free  and  the  home  of  the  brave. 

And  where  is  that  band  who  so  vauntingly  swore 
That  the  havoc  of  war  and  the  battle's  confusion 

A  home  and  a  country  should  leave  us  no  more  1 

Their  blood  has  washed  out  their  foul  footsteps'  pollution. 

No  refuge  could  save  the  hireling  and  slave 

From  the  terror  of  flight,  or  the  gloom  of  the  grave ; 


SELECT  AMERICAN  POETRY.  699 

And  the  star-spangled  banner  in  triumph  doth  wave 
O'er  the  land  of  the  free,  and  the  home  of  the  brave. 

0!  thus  be  it  ever,  when  freemen  shall  stand 

Between  their  loved  homes  and  the  war's  desolation, 
Blest  with  victory  and  peace,  may  the  heaven  rescued  land 

Praise  the  power  that  hath  made  and  preserved  us  a  nation. 
Then  conquer  we  must,  when  our  cause  it  is  just, 
And  this  be  our  motto — "In  God  is  our  trust" — 
And  the  star-spangled  banner  in  triumph  shall  wave 
O'er  the  land  of  the  free  and  the  home  of  the  brave. 


AN  EVENING  RE  VERY. 

WILLIAM  CULLEN  BRYANT. 

The  summer  day  is  closed — the  sun  is  set  : 
Well  they  have  done  their  office,  those  bright  hours, 
The  latest  of  whose  train  goes  softly  out 
In  the  red  West.     The  green  blade  of  the  ground 
Has  risen,  and  herds  have  cropped  it ;  the  young  twig 
Has  spread  its  plaited  tissues  to  the  sun  ; 
Flowers  of  the  garden  and  the  waste  have  blown 
And  withered ;  seeds  have  fallen  upon  the  soil, 
From  bursting  cells,  and  in  their  graves  await 
Their  resurrection.     Insects  from  the  pools 
Have  filled  the  air  awhile  with  humming  wings, 
That  now  are  still  forever;  painted  moths 
Have  wandered  the  blue  sky,  and  died  again  ; 
The  mother-bird  hath  broken  for  her  brood 
Their  prison  shell,  or  shoved  them  from  the  nest, 
Plumed  for  their  earliest  flight.     In  bright  alcoves, 
In  woodland  cottages  with  barky  walls, 
In  noisome  cells  of  the  tumultuous  town, 
Mothers  have  elapsed  with  joy  the  new-born  babe. 
Graves  by  the  lonely  forest,  by  the  shore 
Of  rivers  and  of  ocean,  by  the  ways 
Of  the  thronged  city,  have  been  hollowed  out 
And  filled,  and  closed.     This  day  hath  parted  friends 
That  ne'er  before  were  parted  ;  it  hath  knit 
New  friendships ;  it  hath  seen  the  maiden  plight 
Her  faith,  and  trust  her  peace  to  him' who  long 
Had  wooed  :  and  it  hath  heard,  from  lips  which  late 
Were  eloquent  with  love,  the  first  harsh  word, 
That  told  the  wedded  one  her  peace  was  flown. 
Farewell  to  the  sweet  sunshine!     One  glad  day 
Is  added  now  to  Childhood's  merry  days, 
And  one  calm  day  to  those  of  quiet  Age. 
Still  the  fleet  hours  run  on  ;  and  as  I  lean, 
Amid  the  thickening  darkness,  lamps  are  lit, 
By  those  who  watch  the  dead,  and  those  who  twine 
Flowers  for  the  bride.     The  mother  from  the  eyes 
Of  her  sick  infant  shades  the  painful  light, 
And  sadly  listens  to  his  quick-drawn  breath. 

0  thou  great  Movement  of  the  Universe, 
Or  Change,  or  Flight  of  Time — for  ye  are  one 


700  SELECT  AMERICAN  POETRY. 

That  bearest,  silently,  this  visible  scene 

Into  night's  shadow  and  the  streaming  rays 

Of  starlight,  whither  art  thou  hearing  me  ? 

I  feel  the  mighty  current  sweep  me  on, 

Yet  know  not  whither.     Man  foretells  afar 

The  courses  of  the  stars ;  the  very  hour 

He  knows  when  they  shall  darken  or  grow  bright : 

Yet  doth  the  eclipse  of  Sorrow  and  of  Death 

Come  unforwarned.     Who  next,  of  those  I  love, 

Shall  pass  from  life,  or  sadder  yet  shall  fall 

From  virtue  ?     Strife  with  foes,  or  bitterer  strife 

With  friends,  or  shame  and  general  scorn  of  men — 

Which  who  can  bear  ? — or  the  fierce  rack  of  pain, 

Lie  they  within  my  path  ?     Or  .shall  the  years 

Push  rue,  with  soft  and  inoffensive  pace, 

Into  the  stilly  twilight  of  my  age  ? 

Or  do  the  portals  of  another  life 

Even  now,  while  I  am  glorying  in  my  strength, 

Impend  around  me  ?     0  !  beyond  that  bourne, 

In  the  vast  cycle  of  being  which  begins 

At  that  broad  threshold,  with  what  fairer  forms 

Shall  the  great  law  of  change  and  progress  clothe 

Its  workings  ?     Gently — so  have  good  men  taught— 

Gently,  and  without  grief,  the  old  shall  glide 

Into  tliO  new;  the  eternal  flow  of  things, 

Like  a  bright  river  of  the  fields  of  heaven, 

Shall  journey  onward  in  perpetual  peace. 


THE  INDEPENDENT  FARMER. 

MKS.  SUSANNA  ROWSON. 

When  the  bonny  gray  morning  just  peeps  from  the  skies, 
And  the   lark  mounting  tunes  her  sweet  lav; 

With  a  mind  unincumbered  by  care  I  arise, 
My  spirits,  light,  airy,  and  gay. 

I  take  up  my  gun  ;  honest  Tray,  my  good  friend, 
Wags    his  tail  and  jumps  sportively  round  ; 

To  the  woods  then  together  our  footsteps  we  bend, 
'Tis  tli'ere  health  and  pleasure  are  found. 

I  snuff  the  fre<h  air;  bid  defiance  to  care, 

As  happy  as  mortal  can  be  ; 
From  the  toils  of  the  great,  ambition  and  state, 

'Tis  my  pride  and  my  boast  to  be  free. 

At  noon,  I  delighted  range  o'er  the  rich  soil, 

And  nature's  rough  children  regale  : 
With  a  cup  of  good  home-brew'd  I  sweeten  their  toil, 

And  laugh  at  the  joke  or  the  tale. 

And  whether  the  ripe  waving  corn  I  behold, 

Or  the  innocent  tiock  meet  my  sight ; 
Or  the  orchard,  whose  fruits  is  just  turning  to  gold, 

Still,  still  health  and  pleasure  unite. 


SELECT  AMERICAN  POETRY.  701 

I  snuff  the  fresh  air;  bid  defiance  to  care, 

As  happy  ns  mortal  can  be  ; 
From  the  toils  of  the  great,  ambition  and  state, 

'Tis  my  pride  and  my  boast  to  be  free. 

At   night  to  my  lowly  roof'd  cot  I  return, 

When  oh,  what  new  sources  of  bliss  ; 
My  children  rush  out,  while  their  little  hearts  burn, 

Each  striving  to  gain  the  first  kiss. 

My  Dolly  appears  with  a  smile  on  her  face, 
Good  humor  presides  at  our  board  ;  » 

What  more  than  health,  plenty,  good  humor,  ana  peace, 
Can  the  wealth  of  the  Indies  afford  ? 

I  sink  into  rest,  with  content  in  my  breast, 

As  happy  as  mortal  can  be  ; 
From  the  toils  of  the  great,  and  ambition  and  state. 

»Tis  my  pride  and  my  boast  to  be  free. 


THE  BALLAD  OF  THE  OYSTERMAN. 

O.  W.  HOLMES. 

It  was  a  tall  young  oysterman  lived  by  the  river  side, 
His  shop  was  just  upon  the  bank — his  boat  was  on  the  tide 
The  daughter  of  a  fisherman,  that  was  so  straight  and  slim, 
Lived  over  on  the  other  bank,  right  opposite  to  him. 

It  was  the  pensive  o}-sterman  that  saw  a  lovely  maid, 

Upon  a  moonlight  evening,  a  sitting  in  the  shade  ; 

He  saw  her  wave  her  handkerchief,  as  much  as  if  to  say, 

"  I'm  wide  awake,  young  oysterman,  and  all  the  folks  away." 

Then  up  arose  the  oysterman,  and  to  himself  saicl  he, 

"I  guess  I'll  leave  the  skiff  at  home  for  fear  that  folks  should  sec; 

I  read  it  in  the  story-book,  that  for  to  kiss  his  dear, 

Leander  swam  the  Hellespont — and  I  will  swim  this  here." 

And  he  has  leaped  into  the  waves,  and  crossed  the  shining  stream, 
And  he  has  clambered  up  the  bank,  all  in  the  moonlight  gleam ; 
0  there  were  kisses  sweet  as  dew,  and  words  as  soft  as  rain, 
But  they  have  heard  her  father's  step,  and  in  he  leaps  again  ! 

Out  spake  the  ancient  fisherman,  <;  0  what  was  tnat,  my  daughter  ?" 
"  'T  was  nothing  but  a  pebble,  sir,  I  threw  into  the  water  !" 
"And  what  is  that,  pray  tell  me,  love,  that  paddles  off  so  fast  ?" 
"It's  nothing  but  a  porpoise,  sir,  that's  been  a  swimming  past." 

Out  spake  the'  ancient  fisherman,  "Now  bring  me  my  harpoon  ; 

I'll  get  into  my  fishing  boat,  and  fix  the  fellow  soon  ; 

Down  fell  that  pretty  innocent,  as  falls  a  snow-white  lamb, 

Her  hair  drooped  round  her  pallid  cheeks,  like  sea -weed  on  a  clam. 

Alas,  for  two  loving  ones  !  she  waked  not  from  her  swound, 
And  he  was  taken  with  the  cramp,  and  in  the  waves  was  drowned  : 
But  Fate  has  metamorphosed  them,  in  pity  of  their  wo, 
And  now  they  keep  an  oyster-shop  for  mermaids  dowu  below. 


702  SELECT  AMERICAN  POETRY. 

SWEET  HOME. 


OHN  HOWARD  PAYNE. 


Born  in  New  York  in  1792— His  career  as  an  actor  and  dramatist  was  remarkable— He  died 
while  U.  S.  Consul  at  Tunis,  in  1P52.  "As  a  poet  he  will  be  known  only  by  a  single 
song."  and  by  this  for  all  time.  "  Home,  Sweet  Home  "  is  from  an  opera,  called  "  Clari ; 
or,  The  Maid  of  Milan."  It  was  written  by  him  for  Charles  Kemble,  manager  of  Covent 
Garden  Theater,  London.  The  opera  made  the  fortune  of  every  one  prominently  con 
nected  with  it,  except  the  author,  who  received  only  thirty  pounds.  "It  gained  for  Miss 
M.  Tree,  the  elder  sister  of  Mrs.  Charles  Kean — who  first  sang, '  Home,  Sweet  Home '—a 
ivcalthy  husband,  and  filled  the  house  and  the  treasury." 

'Mid  pleasures  and  palaces  though  we  may  roam, 

B<?  it  ever  so  humble,  there's  no  place  like  home  ! 

A  charm  from  the  skies  seems  to  hallow  us  there, 

Which  seek  through  the  world,  is  ne'er  met  with  elsewhere. 

Home!  home,  sweet  home  ! 

There's  no  place  like  home ! 

An  exile  from  home,  splendor  dazzles  in  vain ; 

O,  give  me  my  lowly  thatched  cottage  again, 

The  birds  singing  gayly  that  come  at  my  call  : 

Give  me  these,  and  the  peace  of  mind,  dearer  than  all. 

Plome  !  sweet,  sweet  home  ! 

There's  no  place  like  home  ! 


BROTHER,  COME  HOME. 

MKS.   CATHERINE  H.   ESLINO. 

Born  in  Philadelphia,  in  the  year  1812. 

Come  home, 

Would  I  could  send  my  spirit  o'er  the  deep, 
Would  I  could  wing  it  like  a  bird  to  thee, 
To  commune  with  thy  thoughts,  to  fill  thy  sleep 
With  these  unwearying  words  of  melody  : 
Brother,  come  home. 

Come  home, 
Come  to  the  hearts  that  love  thee,  to  the  eyes 

That  beam  in  brightness  but  to  gladden  thine, 
Come  where  fond  thoughts  like  holiest  incense  riso 
Where  cherish'd  memory  rears  her  altar's  shrine 
Brother,  come  home. 

Come  home, 
Come  to  the  hearth-stone  of  thy  earlier  days, 

Come  to  the  ark,  like  the  o'er-wearied  dove, 
Come  with  the  sunlight  of  thy  heart's  warm  rays, 
Come  to  the  fire-side  circle  of  thy  love': 
Brother,  come  home. 

ome  home, 
It  is  not  home  without  thee  ;  the  lone  seat 

It  is  still  unclaim'd  where  thou  were  wont  to  be, 
In  every  echo  of  returning  feet, 

In  vain  we  list  for  what  should  herald  thee  : 
Brother  come  home. 


SELECT  AMERICAN  POETRY.  703 

p 

Come  home, 
We've  nursed  for  thee  the  sunny  buds  of  spring, 

WatchM  every  germ  the  full-blown  flowers  rear, 
Seen  o'er  their  bloom  the  chilly  winter  bring 
Its  icy  garlands,  and  thou  art  not  here ; 
Brother,  come  home. 

Come  home, 
Would  I  could  send  my  spirit  o'er  the  deep, 

Would  I  could  wing  it  like  a  bird  to  thee — 
To  commune  with  thy  thoughts,  to  fill  thy  sleep 
With  these  unwearing  words  of  melody; 
Brother,  come  home. 


THE  GLADNESS  OP  NATURE. 

WILLIAM  CULLEN  BRYANT. 

Is  this  a  time  to  be  cloudy  and  sad, 

When  our  mother  Nature  laughs  around  ; 

When  even  the  deep  blue  heavens  look  glad, 
And  gladness  breathes  from  the  blossoming  ground  ? 

There  are  notes  of  joy  from  the  hang-bird  and  wren, 
And  the  gossip  of  swallows  through  all  the  sky  ; 

The  ground-squirrel  gayly  chirps  by  his  den. 
And  the  wilding  bee  hums  merrily  by. 

The  clouds  are  at  play  in  the  azure  space, 

And  their  shadows  at  play  on  the  bright  green  vale, 

And  here  they  stretch  to  the  frolic  chase, 
And  here  they  roll  on  the  «asy  gale. 

There's  a  dance  of  leaves  in  that  aspen  bower, 
There's  a  titter  of  winds  in  that  beechen  tree, 

There's  a  smile  on  the  fruit,  and  a  smile  on  the  flower, 
And  a  laugh  from  the  brook  that  runs  to  the  sea. 

And  look  at  the  broad-faced  sun,  how  he  smiles 
On  the  dewy  earth  that  smiles  in  his  ray, 

On  the  leaping  waters  and  gay  young  isles ; 
Ay,  look,  and  he'll  smile  thy  gloom  away. 


ROOM,  BOYS,  ROOM. 

CHARLES  FENNO  HOFFMAN. 

Born  in  the  City  of  New  York  in  180G. 

There  was  an  old  hunter  encamped  down  by  the  rill, 

Who  fished  in  this  water,  and  shot  on  that  hill. 

The  forest  for  him  had  no  danger  nor  gloom, 

For  all  that  he  wanted  was  plenty  of  room  ! 

Sa}"S  he,  "  The  world's  wide,  there  is  room  for  us  all , 

Room  enough  in  the  greenwood,  if  not  in  the  hall. 

Room,  boys,  room,  by  the  light  of  the  moon, 

For  why  shouldn't  every  man  enjoy  his  own  room  ?" 


704  SELECT  AMERICAN  POETRY. 

He  wove  his  own  nets,  and  his  shanty  was  spread 
With  the  skins  he  had  dressed  and  stretched  out  overhead 
Fresh  branches  of  hemlock  made  fragrant  the  floor, 
For  his  bed,  as  he  sung  when  the  daylight  was  o'er,     , 
"The  world's  wide  enough,  there  is  room  for  us  all  ; 
Room  enough  in  the  greenwood,  if  not  in  the  hall. 
Room,  boys,  room,"  etc. 

That  spring  now  half  choked  by  the  dust  of  the  road, 
Under  boughs  of  old  maples  once  limpidly  flowed  ; 
By  the  rock  whence  it  bubbles  his  kettle  was  hung, 
Which  their  sap  often  filled  while  the  hunter  he  sung, 
"  The  world's  wide  enough,  there  is  room  for  us  all ; 
Room  enough  in  the  greenwood,  if  not  in  the  hall. 
Room,  boys,  room,"  etc. 

And  still  sung  the  hunter — when  one  gloomy  day, 
He  saw  in  the  forest  what  saddened  his  lay— 
A  heavy  wheeled  wagon  its  black  rut  had'made, 
Where  fair  grew  the  greensward  in  broad  forest  glade — 
"  The  world's  wide  enough,  there  is  room  for  us  all ; 
Room  enough  in  the  greenwood,  if  not  in  the  hall. 

Room,  boys,  room,"  etc. 
i 

He  whistled  to  his  dog,  and  says  he,  "  We  can't  stay  ; 
I  must  shoulder  my  rifle,  up  traps,  and  away  ;" 
Next  day,  'mid  those  maples  the  settler's  ax  rung, 
While  slowly  the  hunter  trudged  off  us  he  sung, 
"  The  world's  wide  enough,  there  is  room  for  us  all ; 
Room  enough  in  the  greenwood,  if  not  in  the  hall. 

Room,  boys,  room,"  etc. 


INDIAN  DEATH-SONG. 

PHILIP  FREXEAU. 

Born  in  New  York  in  1752,  and  educated  at  Princeton— Died  in  1632— He  Tvas  the  most 
noted  of  the  song-writers  of  the  Revolution. 

The  sun  sets  at  night  and  the  stars  shun  the  day, 
But  glory  remains  when  their  lights  fade  away. 
Begin,  ye  tormentors  !  your  threats  are  in  vain, 
For  the  son  of  Alknomock  can  never  complain. 

Remember  the  woods  where  in  ambush  he  lajr, 
And  the  scalps  which  he  bore  from  your  nation  away. 
Why  do  ye  delay  ?  'till  I  shrink  from  my  pain  ? 
Know  the  son  of  Alknomock  can  never  complain. 

Remember  the  arrows  he  shot  from  his  bow  ; 
Remember  your  chiefs  by  his  hatchet  laid  low. 
The  flame  rises  high — you  exult  in  my  pain  ! 
But  the  son  of  Alknomock  will  never  complain. 

I  go  to  the  land  where  my  lather  has  gone ; 

His  ghost  shall  exult  in  the  fame  of  his  son. 

Death  comes  like  a  friend  ;  he  relieves  me  from  pain, 

And  thy  son,  oh  Alknomock  !  has  scorned  to  complain* 


SELECT  AMERICAN  POETRY.  70, 

THE  RAVEN. 

EDGAR  ALE.AN  POE. 

Born  in  Baltimore,  or  vicinity,  in  1811— Died  in  1849. 

Onco  upon  a  midnight  dreary,  while  I  ponder'd  weak  and  weary, 
Over  many  a  quaint  and  curious  volume  of  forgotten  lore, 

While  I  nodded,  nearly  napping,  suddenly  there  came  a  tapping, 
As  of  some  one  gently  rapping,  rapping  at  my  chamber  door. 
"'Tis  some  visitor,"  I  mutter'd.  tapping  at  my  chamber  door — 
Only  this,  and  nothing  more." 

Ah,  distinctly  I  remember  it  was  in  the  bleak  December, 

And  each  separate  dying  ember  wrought  its  ghost  upon  the  floor. 

Eagerly  I  wished  the  morrow — vainly  I  had  sought  to  borrow 
From  my  books  surcease  of  sorrow — sorrow  for  the  lost  Lenore — 
For  the  rare  and  radiant  maiden  whom  the  angels  name  Lenore — 
Nameless  here  for  evermore. 

And  the  silken  sad  uncertain  rustling  of  each  purple  curtain 
Thrilled  me — filled  me  with  fantastic  terrors  never  felt  before 

So  that  now,  to  still  the  beating  of  my  heart,  I  stood  repeating 
"'Tis  some  visiter  entreating  entrance  at  my  chamber  door — 
Some  late  visiter  entreating  entrance  at  my  chamber  door — 
This  it  is,  and  nothing  more." 

Presently  my  soul  grew  stronger  ;  hesitating  then  no  longer, 
"Sir,"  said  I,  "or  Madam,  truly  your  forgiveness  I  implore  : 

"But  the  fact  is  I  was  napping,  and  so  gently  you  came  rapping, 
And  so  faintly  you  came  tapping,  tapping  at  my  chamber  door, 
That  I  scarce  was  sure  I  heard  you" — here  I  opened  wide  the  door — 
Darkness  there,  and  nothing  more. 

Deep  into  that  darkness  peering,  long  I  stood  there  wondering,  fearing, 
Doubting,  dreaming  dreams  no  mortal  ever  dared  to  dream  before  ; 

But  the  silence  was  unbroken,  and  the  darkness  gave  no  token, 

And  the  only  \vord  there  spoken  was  the  whispered  word,  "  Lenore  !" 
This  I  whispered,  and  an  echo  murmured  back  the  word,  "Lenore  !" 
Merely  this,  and  nothing  more. 

Back  into  the  chamber  turning,  all  my  soul  within  me  burning, 
Soon  I  heard  again  a  tapping  somewhat  louder  than  before. 

"Surely,"  said  I,  "  surely  that  is  something  at  my  window  lattice; 
Let  me  see,  then,  what  thereat  is,  and  this  mystery  explore — 
Let  my  heart  be  still  a  moment  and  this  mystery  explore — 
'Tis  the  wind  and  nothing  more  !" 

Open  here  I  flung  the  shutter,  when,  with  many  a  flirt  and  flutter, 
In  there  stepped  a  stately  raven  of  the  saintly  days  of  yore ; 

Not  the  least  obeisance  made  he  ;  not  an  instant  stopped  or  stay.ed  he  ; 
But,  with  mien  of  lord  or  lad}7,  perched  above  my  chamber  door — 
Perched  upon  a  bust  of  Pallas  just  above  my  chamber  door — 
Perched,  and  sat,  and  nothing  more. 

Then  this  «bony  bird  beguiling  my  sad  fancy  into  smiling, 
By  the  grave  and  stern  decorum  of  the  countenance  it  wore, 

11  Though  thy  crest  be  shorn  and  shaven,  thou,"  I  said,  "  art  sure  no  craven 
Ghastly  grim  and  ancient  raven  wandering  from  the  Nightly  shore — 
Tell  me  what  thy  lordly  name  is  on  the  Night's  Plutonian  shore !" 
Quoth  the  raven   "  Nevermore." 


706  SELECT  AMERICAN  POETRY. 

Much  I  marveled  this  ungainly  fowl  to  hear  discourse  so  plainly, 
Though  its  answer  little  meaning — little  relevancy  bore  ; 

For  we  cannot  help  agreeing  that  n6  living  human  being 

Ever  yet  was  blessed  with  seeing  oird  above  his  chamber  door — 
Bird  or  beast  upon  the  sculptured  bust  above  his  chamber  door, 
With  such  a  name  as  "Nevermore." 

But  the  raven,  sitting  lonely  on  the  placid  bust,  spoke  only 
That  one  word,  as  if  his  soul  in  that  one  word  he  did  outpour. 

Nothing  further  then  he  uttered — not  a  feather  then  he  fluttered — 

Till  I  scarcely  more  than  muttered,  "Other  friends  have  flown  before-  — 
On  the  morrow  HE  will  leave  me,  as  my  hopes  have  flown  before/' 
Then  the  bird  said  "Nevermore." 

Startled  at  the  stillness  broken  by  reply  so  aptly  spoken, 

"Doubtless,"  said  I,  "  what  it  utters  is  its  only  stock  and  store 

Caught  from  some  unhappy  master  whom  unmerciful  Disaster 

Followed  fast  and  followed  faster  till  his  songs  one  burden  bore — 
Till  the  dirges  of  his  Hope  that  melancholy  burden  bore 
Of  *  Never — nevermore.'  " 

But  the  raven  still  beguiling  all  my  sad  soul  into  smiling, 

Straight  I  wheeled  a  cushioned  seat  in  front  of  bird,  and  bust,  and  door  ; 

Then,  upon  the  velvet  sinking,  I  betook  myself  to  linking 

Fancy  unto  fancy,  thinking  what  this  ominous  bird  of  yore — 
What  this  grim,  ungainly,  ghastly,  gaunt,  and  ominous  bird  of  yore 
Meant  in  croaking  "Nevermore." 

This  I  sat  engaged  in  guessing,  but  no  syllable  expressing 

To  the  fowl  whose  tiery  eyes  now  burned  into  my  bosom's  core  : 

This  and  more  I  sat  divining,  with  my  head  at  ease  reclining 
On  the  cushion's  velvet  lining  that  the  lamplight  gloated  o'er, 
But  whose  velvet  violet  lining  with  the  lamplight  gloating  o'er, 
SHE  shall  press,  ah,  nevermore  ! 

Then,  methought,  the  air  grew  denser,  perfumed  from  an  unseen  censer 

Swung  by  angels  whose  faint  foot-falls  tinkled  on  the  tufted  floor. 
"Wretch,"  I  cried,  "thy  God  hath  lent  thee — by  these  angels  he  hath  sent 

thee 

Respite — respite  and  nepenthe  from  thy  memories  of  Lenore  ! 
Quaff,  oh  quaff,  this  kind  nepenthe  and  forget  this  lost  Lenore  !" 
Quoth  the  raven,  "Nevermore." 

"Prophet !"  said  I,  "  thing  of  evil — prophet  still,  if  bird  or  devil — 
Whether  Tempter  sent,  or  whether  tempest  tossed  thee  here  ashore, 

Desolate,  yet  all  undaunted,  on  this  desert  land  enchanted — 
On  this  home  by  Horror  haunted — tell  me  truly,  I  implore — 
Is  there — is  there  b'alm  in  Gilead  ? — tell  me — tell  me,  I  implore  !" 
Quoth  the  raven,  "  Nevermore." 

"  Prophet !"  said  I,  "  thing  of  evil — prophet  still,  if  bird  or  devil ! 
By  that  Heaven  that  bends  above  us — by  that  God  we  both  adore — 

Tell  this  soul  with  sorrow  laden  if,  within  the  distant  Aidenn, 
It  shall  clasp  a  sainted  maiden  whom  the  angels  name  Lenore — 
Clasp  a  rare  and  radiant  maiden  whom  the  angels  name  Lenore." 
Quoth  the  raven,  "Nevermore." 

"  Be  that  word  our  sign  of  parting,  bird  or  fiend  !"  I  shrieked,  upstarting — 

"  Get  thee  back  into  the  tempest  and  the  Night's  Plutonian  shore  ! 
Leave  no  black  plume  as  a  token  of  that  lie  thy  soul  hath  spoken  ! 


SELECT  AMEKICAN  POETEY.  707 

Leave  my  loneliness  unbroken  ! — quit  the  bust  above  my  door ! 
'  Take  thy  beak  from  out  my  heart,  and  take  thy  form  from  off  my  door  I" 
Quoth  the  raven,  "Nevermore." 

And  the  raven,  never  flitting,  still  is  sitting,  still  is  sitting 
On  the  pallid  bust  of  Pallas  just  above  my  chamber  door ; 

And  his  eyes  have  all  the  seeming  of  a  demon's  that  is  dreaming, 

And  the  lamplight  o'er  him  streaming  throws  his  shadow  on  the  floor; 
And  my  soul  from  out  that  shadow  that  lies  floating  on  the  floor 
Shall  be  lifted — nevermore 


PAPER. 

BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN. 

Born  in  1706— Died  in  1790. 

Some  wit  of  old — such  wits  of  old  there  were — 
Whose  hints  showed  meaning,  whose  allusions  care, 
By  one  brave  stroke  to  mark  all  human  kind, 
Called  clear  blank  paper  every  infant  mind, 
Where  still,  as  opening  sense  her  dictates  wrote, 
Fair  virtue  put  a  seal,  or  vice  a  blot. 

The  thought  was  happy,  pertinent  and  true ; 
Methinks  a  genius  might  the  plan  pursue. 
1 — can  you  pardon  my  presumption  ? — I, 
No  wit,  no  genius,  yet  for  once  will  try. 

Various  the  papers  various  wants  produce — 
The  wants  of  fashion,  elegance,  and  use ; 
Men  are  as  various ;  and,  if  right  I  scan, 
Each  sort  of  PAPER  represents  some  MAN. 

Pray,  note  the  fop — half  powder  and  half  lace- 
Nice  as  a  bandbox  were  his  dwelling  place  ; 
He's  the  GILT  PAPER  which  apart  you  store, 
And  lock  from  vulgar  hands  in  the  scrutoire. 

Mechanics,  servants,  farmers,  and  so  forth, 
Are  COPY  PAPER,  of  inferior  worth  ; 
Less  prized,  more  useful,  for  your  desk  decreed, 
Free  to  all  pens,  and  prompt  at  every  need. 

The  wretch  whom  avarice  bids  to  pinch  and  spare, 
Starve,  cheat,  and  pilfer,  to  enrich  an  heir, 
Is  coarse  BROWN  PAPER  ;  such  as  pedlers  choose 
To  wrap  up  wares,  which  better  men  will  use. 

Take  next  the  miser's  contrast,  who  destroys 
Health,  fame  and  fortune,  in  a  round  of  joys. 
Will  any  paper  match  him  ?     Yes,  throughout, 
lie's  a  true  SINKING  PAPER,  past  all  doubt. 

The  retail  politician's  anxious  thought 
Deems  THIS  side  always  right,  and  THAT  stark  naught; 
He  foams  with  censure — with  applause  he  raves-* 
A  dupe  to  rumors,  and  a  tool  of  knaves  : 
He'll  want  no  type  his  weakness  to  proclaim, 
While  such  a  thin<r  as  FOOLS-CAP  has  a  name. 
45 


708  SELECT  AMERICAN  POETRY. 

The  hasty  gentleman  whose  blood  runs  high, 
Who  picks  a  quarrel,  if  you  step  awry, 
Who  can't  a  jest,  or  hint,  or  look  endure  : 
What  is  he  ?    What  ?  TOUCH  PAPER  to  be  sure. 

What  are  the  poets,  take  them  as  they  fall, 
Good,  bad,  rich,  poor,  much  read,  not  read  at  all  ? 
Them  and  their  works  in  the  same  class  you'll  find ; 
They  are  the  mere  WASTE  PAPER  of  mankind. 

Observe  the  maiden,  innocently  sweet, 
She  's  fair  WHITE  PAPER,  an  unsullied  sheet ; 
On  which  the  happy  man,  whom  fate  ordains, 
May  write  his  NAME,  and  take  her  for  his  pains. 

One  instance  more,  and  only  one,  I'll  bring  ; 
'Tis  the  GREAT  MAN,  who  scorns  a  little  thing — 
Whose  thoughts,  whose  deeds,  whose  maxims  are  his  own, 
Formed  on  the  feelings  of  his  heart  alone  : 
True,  genuine  ROYAL  PAPER  is  his  breast ; 
Of  all  the  kinds  most  precious,  purest,  best 


"WHAT  IS  THAT,  MOTHERS" 

REV.  GEO.  W.  DOANE. 

Born  in  1799  at  Trenton— Bishop  of  the  Diocese  of  New  Jersey. 

What  is  that,  Mother  ?— The  lark,  my  child  !— 
The  morn  has  but  just  look'd  out,  and  smiled, 
When  he  starts  from  his  humble  grassy  nest, 
And  is  up  and  away,  with  the  dew  on  his  breast, 
And  a  hymn  in  his  heart,  to  yon  pure,  bright  sphere, 
To  warble  it  out  in  his  Maker's  ear. 

Ever,  my  child,  be  thy  morn's  first  lays 
Tuned,  like  the  lark's,  to  thy  Maker's  praise. 

What  is  that,  Mother  ?— The  dove  my  son  ! — 
And  that  low,  sweet  voice,  like  a  widow's  moan, 
Is  flowing  out  from  her  gentle  breast, 
Constant  and  pure,  by  that  lonely  nest, 
As  the  wave  is  pour'd  from  some  crystal  urn, 
For  her  distant  dear  one's  quick  return  : 
Ever,  my  son,  be  thou  like  the  dove, 
In  friendship  as  faithful,  as  constant  in  love. 

What  is  that,  Mother  ?— The  eagle,  boy  !— 
Proudly  careering  his  course  of  joy  ; 
Firm,  on  his  own  mountain  vigor  relying, 
Breasting  the  dark  storm,  the  red  bolt  defying, 
His  wing  on  the  wind,  and  his  eye  on  the  sun, 
He  swerves  not  a  hair,  but  bears  onward,  right  on. 
Boy,  may  the  eagle's  flight  ever  be  thine, 
Onward,  and  upward,  and  true  to  the  line. 

What  is  that,  Mother  ? — The  swan,  my  love ! — 
He  is  floating  down  from  his  native  grove, 
No  loved  one  now,  no  nestling  nigh, 
He  is  floating  down  by  himself  to  die  ; 


SELECT  AMERICAN  POETRY.  709 

Death  darkens  his  eye,  and  unplumes  his  wings, 

Yet  his  sweetest  song  is  the  last  he  sings. 

Live  so,  my  love,  that  when  death  shall  come, 
Swan-like  and  sweet,  it  may  waft  thee  home. 


THE  FROST. 

MISS  HANNAH  FLAGG  G00LD. 

Born  in  Lancaster  Vermont— First  appeared  as  an  authoress  in  1832. 

The  Frost  looked  forth  one  still  clear  night, 
And  whispered,  "now  I  shall  be  out  of  sight, 
So  through  the  valley  and  over  the  height, 

In  silence  I'll  take  my  way. 
I  will  not  go  on  like  that  blustering  train, 
The  wind  and  the  snow,  the  hail  and  the  rain, 
Who  make  so  much  bustle  and  noise  in  vain, 
-*         But  I'll  be  as  busy  as  they  !" 

Then  he  flew  to  the  mountain,  and  powdered  its  crest 
He  lit  on  the  trees,  and  their  boughs  he  drest 
In  diamond  beads — and  over  the  breast 

Of  the  quivering  lake,  he  spread 
A  coat  of  mail,  that  it  need  not  fear 
The  downward  point  of  many  a  spear. 
That  he  hung  on  its  margin,  far  and  near, 

Where  a  rock  could  rear  its  head. 

He  went  to  the  windows  of  those  who  slept, 
And  over  each  pane,  like  a  fairy,  crept  : 
Wherever  he  breathed,  wherever  he  stepped, 

By  the  light  of  the  morn  were  seen 
Most  beautiful  things  ;  there  were  flowers  and  trees, 
There  were  bevies  of  birds  and  swarms  of  bees ; 
There  were  cities  with  temples  and  towers ;  and  theso 

All  pictured  in  silver  sheen  ! 

But  he  did  one  thing  that  was  hardly  fair — 
He  peeped  in  the  cupboard,  and  finding  there 
That  all  had  forgotten  for  him  to  prepare, 

"Now,  just  to  set  them  a-thinking, 
I'll  bite  this  basket  of  fruit,"  said  he, 
"This  costly  pitcher  I'll  burst  in  three  ; 
And  the  glass  of  water  they've  left  for  me 

Shall  '  tchick  !'  to  tell  them  I'm  drinkino- !" 


CONSOLATION  OF  RELIGION  TO  THE  POOR. 

JAS.  G.   PERCIVAL. 

There  is  a  mourner,  and  her  heart  is  broken  ; 
She  is  a  widow  ;  she  is  old  and  poor : 
Her  only  hope  is  in  the  sacred  token 
Of  peaceful  happiness  when  life  is  o'er. 
She  asks  not  wealth  nor  oleasure  begs  no  more 


710  SELECT  AMERICAN  POETRY. 

Than  Heaven's  delightful  volume,  and  the  sight 

Of  her  Redeemer.     Skeptics,  would  you  pour 

Your  blasting  vials  on  her  head  and  blight 

Sharon's  sweet  rose,  that  blooms  and  charms  her  being's  night  ? 

She  lives  in  her  affections  ;  for  the  grave 
Has  clos'd  upon  her  husband,  children  ;  all 
Her  hopes  are  with  the  arm  she  trusts  will  save 
Her  treasur'd  jewels  ;  though  her  views  are  small, 
Though  she  has  never  mounted  high  to  fall 
And  writhe  in  her  debasement,  yet  the  spring 
Of  her  meek,  tender  feelings,  cannot  pall 
Upon  her  unperverted  palate,  but  will  bring 
A  joy  without  regret,  a  bliss  that  has  no  sting. 

Even  as  a  fountain,  whose  unsullied  wave 
Wells  in  the  pathless  valley,  flowing  o'er 
With  silent  waters,  kissing  as  they  lave 
The  pebbles  with  light  rippling,  and  the  shore 
Of  matted  grass  and  flowers  ;  so  softly  pour 
The  breathings  of  her  bosom,  when  she  prays, 
Low-bow'd  before  her  Maker ;  then,  no  more 
She  muses  on  the  griefs  of  former  days  ; 
Her  full  heart  melts  and  flows  in  Heaven's  dissolving  rays. 

And  faith  can  see  a  new  world,  and  the  eyes 
Of  saints  look  pity  on  her.     Death  will  come  : 
A  few  short  moments  over,  and  the  prize 
Of  peace  eternal  waits  her,  and  the  tomb 
Becomes  her  fondest  pillow  :  all  its  gloom 
Is  scatter'd.     What  a  meeting  there  will  be 
To  her  and  all  she  lov'd  while  here  !  and  the  bloom 
Of  new  life  from  those  cheeks  shall  never  flee — 
There  is  the  health  which  lasts  through  all  eternity. 


ABSALOM. 

NATHANIEL  P.   WILLIS. 

Born  in  1807  in  Portland,  Maine. 

The  waters  slept.     Night's  silvery  vail  hung  low 
On  Jordan's  bosom,  and  the  eddies  curl'd 
Their  glassy  rings  beneath  it,  like  the  still, 
Unbroken  beating  of  the  sleeper's  pulse. 
The  reeds  bent  down  the  stream  ;  the  willow  leaves, 
With  a  soft  cheek  upon  the  lulling  tide, 
Forgot  the  lifting  winds  ;  and  the  long  stems, 
Whose  flowers  the  water,  like  a  gentle  nurse, 
Bears  on  its  bosom,  quietly  gave  way, 
And  lean'd,  in  graceful  attitudes,  to  rest. 
How  strikingly  the  course  of  nature  tells, 
By  its  light  heed  of  human  suffering, 
That  it  was  fashion'd  for  a  happier  world  I 

King  David's  limbs  were  weary, 
He  had  fled  from  far  Jerusalem  ;  and  now  he  stood, 
With  his  faint  people,  for  a  little  rest, 
Upon  the  shore  of  Jordan.     The  light  wind 


SELECT  AMERICAN  POETRY.  711 

Of  morn  was  stirring,  and  he  bared  his  brow 
To  its  refreshing  breath  ;  for  he  had  worn 
The  mourner's  covering,  and  he  had  not  felt 
That  he  could  see  his  people  until  now. 
They  gathered  round  him  on  the  fresh  green  bank, 
And  spoke  their  kindly  words ;  and  as  the  sun 
Rose  up  in  heaven,  he  knelt  among  them  there, 
And  bow'd  his  head  upon  his  hands  to  pray. 
0  !  when  the  heart  is  full — when  bitter  thoughts 
Come  crowding  thickly  up  for  utterance, 
And  the  poor  common  words  of  courtesy 
Are  such  an  empty  mockery — how  much 
The  bursting  heart  may  pour  itself  in  prayer  ! 
He  pray'd  for  Israel — and  his  voice  went  up 
Strongly  and  fervently.     He  pray'd  for  those 
Whose  love  had  been  his  shield — and  his  deep  tones 
Grew  tremulous.     But  oh  !  for  Absalom — 
For  his  estranged,  misguided  Absalom — 
The  proud,  bright  being,  who  had  burst  away 
In  all  his  princely  beauty,  to  defy 
The  heart  that  cherish'd  him — for  him  he  pour*d, 
Tn  agony  that  would  not  be  controll'd, 
Strong  supplication,  and  forgave  him  there, 
Before  his  God,  for  his  deep  sinfulness. 

The  pall  was  settled.     He  who  slept  beneath 
"Was  straighten'd  for  the  grave  ;  and  as  the  folds 
Sunk  to  the  "still  proportions,  they  betray'd 
The  matchless  symmetry  of  Absalom. 
His  hair  was  yet  unshorn,  and  silken  curls 
Were  floating  round  the  tassels  as  they  sway'd 
Tc  the  admitted  air,  as  glossy  now 
As  when,  in  hours  of  gentle  dalliance,  bathing 
The  snowy  fingers  of  Judea's  daughters, 
His  helm  was  at  his  feet ;  his  banner,  soil'd 
With  trailing  through  Jerusalem,  was  laid, 
Reversed,  beside  him  ;  and  the  jewel'd  hilt, 
Whose  diamonds  lit  the  passage  of  his  blade, 
Rested,  like  mockery,  on  his  cover'd  brow. 
The  soldiers  of  the  king  trod  to  and  fro, 
Clad  in  the  garb  of  battle  ;  and  their  chief, 
The  mighty  Joab,  stood  beside  the  bier, 
And  gazed  upon  the  dark  pall  steadfastly, 
As  if  he  fear'd  the  slumberer  might  stir. 
A  slow  step  startled  him.     He  grasp'd  his  blade 
As.  if  a  trumpet  rang  ;  but  the  bent  form 
Of  David  enter'd,  and  he  gave  command, 
In  a  low  tone,  to  his  few  followers, 
And  left  him  with  his  dead.     The  king  stood  still 
Till  the  last  echo  died  ;  then,  throwing  off 
The  sackcloth  from  his  brow,  and  laying  back 
The  pall  from  the  still  features  of  his  child, 
He  bow'd  his  head  upon  him,  and  broke  forth 
In  the  resistless  eloquence  of  wo  : 

"Alas  !  my  noble  boy  !  that  thou  shouldst  die  ! 

Thou,  who  wert  made  so  beautifully  fair ! 
That  death  should  settle  in  thy  glorious  eye, 


712  SELECT  AMERICAN  POETRY 

And  leave  his  stillness  in  this  clustering  hair  ! 
How  could  he  mark  thee  for  the  silent  tomb  ! 
My  proud  boy,  Absalom  ! 

Cold  is  thy  brow,  my  son  !  and  I  am  chill, 
As  to  my  bosom,  I  have  tried  to  press  tbee 

How  was  I  wont  to  feel  thy  pulses  thrill, 

Like  a  rich  harp-string,  yearning  to  caress  thee, 

And  hear  thy  sweet  '  MY  FATHER  !'  from  these  dumb 

And  cold  lips,  Absalom  ! 

But  death  is  on  thee.  I  shall  hear  the  gush 
Of  music,  and  the  voices  of  the  young  ; 

And  life  will  pass  me  in  the  mantling  blush, 
And  the  dark  tresses  to  the  soft  winds  flung; 

But  thou  no  more,  with  thy  sweet  voice  shalt  come 

To  meet  me,  Absalom  ! 


d  oh  !  when  I  am  stricken,  and  my  heart, 
Like  a  bruised  reed,  is  waiting  to  be  broken, 

How  will  its  love  for  thee,  as  I  depart, 

Yearn  for  thy  ear  to  drink  its  last  deep  token  ! 

It  were  so  sweet  amid  death's  gathering  gloom, 

To  see  thee,  Absalom  ! 

And  now,  farewell  !  'Tis  hard  to  give  thee  up, 
With  death  so  like  a  gentle  slumber  on  thee  ; 

And  thy  dark  sin  !  —  0  !  I  could  drink  the  cup, 
If  from  this  wo  its  bitterness  had  won  thee. 

May  God  have  call'd  thee,  like  a  wanderer,  home, 

My  lost  boy,  Absalom  !" 

He  covered  up  his  face  and  bow'd  himself 
A  moment  on  his  child  :  then,  giving  him 
A  look  of  melting  tenderness,  he  clasp'd 
His  hands  convulsively,  as  if  in  prayer  ; 
And,  as  if  his  strength  were  given  him  of  God, 
He  rose  up  calmly,  and  composed  the  pall 
Firmly  and  decently  —  and  left  him  there  — 
As  if  his  rest  had  been  a  -breathing  sleep. 


THE  WEST. 

GEO.  P.  MORRIS. 

Ho  !  brothers — come  hither  and  list  to  my  story — 

Merry  and  brief  will  the  narrative  be: 
Here,  like  a  monarch,  I  reign  in  my  glory — 

Master  am  I,  boys,  of  all  that  I  see. 
Where  once  frown'd  a  forest  a  garden  is  smiling — 

The  meadow  and  moorland  are  marshes  no  more  ; 
And  there  curls  the  smoke  of  my  cottage,  beguiling 

The  children  who  cluster  like  grapes  at  the  door, 
Then  enter,  boys  ;  cheerly,  boys,  enter  and  rest ; 
The  land  of  the  heart  is  the  land  of  the  West. 
Oho,  boys  ! — oho,  boys  ! — oho  ! 


SELECT  AMERICAN  POETRY.  713 

Talk  not  of  the  town,  boys — give  me  the  broad  prairie, 

Where  man  like  the  wind  roams  impulsive  and  free 
Behold  how  its  beautiful  colors  all  vary, 

Like  those  of  the  clouds,  or  the  deep- rolling  sea. 
A  life  in  the  woods,  boys,  is  even  as  changing  ; 

With  proud  independence  we  season  our  cheer, 
And  those  who  the  world  are  for  happiness  ranging, 

Won't  find  it  at  all,  if  they  don-'t  find  it  here. 
Then  enter,  boys  ;  cheerly,  boys,  enter  and  rest ; 
I'll  show  you  the  life,  boys,  we  live  in  the  West. 
Oho,  boys  ! — oho,  boys  ! — oho  ! 

Here,  brothers,  secure  from  all  turmoil  and  danger, 

We  reap  what  we  sow,  for  the  soil  is  our  own  ; 
We  spread  hospitality's  board  for  the  stranger, 

And  care  not  a  fig  for  the  king  on  his  throne  ; 
We  never  know  want,  for  we  live  by  our  labor, 

And  in  it  contentment  and  happiness  find  ; 
We  do  what  we  can  for  a  friend  or  a  neighbor, 

And  die,  boys,  in  peace  and  good-will  to  mankind. 
Then  enter,  boys  ;  cheerly,  boys,  enter  and  rest ; 
You  know  how  we  live,  and  die  in  the  West ! 
Oho,  boys  ! — oho,  boys  ! — oho  ! 


FOREST  HYMN. 

WILLIAM  CULLEN  BRYANT. 

The  groves  were  GOD'S  first  temples.     Ere  man  learn'd 

To  hew  the  shaft,  and  lay  the  architrave, 

And  spread  the  roof  above  them — ere  he  framed 

The  lofty  vault,  to  gather  and  roll  back 

The  sound  of  anthems  ;  in  the  darkling  wood, 

Amid  the  cool  and  silence,  he  knelt  down, 

And  offer'd  to  the  Mightiest  solemn  thanks, 

And  supplication.     For  his  simple  heart 

Might  not  resist  the  sacred  influences, 

Which,  from  the  stilly  twilight  of  the  place, 

And  from  the  gray  old  trunks,  that  high  in  heaven 

Mingled  their  mossy  boughs,  and  from  the  sound 

Of  the  invisible  breath,  that  sway'd  at  once 

All  their  green  tops,  stole  over  him,  and  bow'd 

His  spirit  with  the  thought  of  boundless  power, 

And  inaccessible  majesty.     Ah,  why 

Should  we,  in  the  world's  riper  years  neglect 

GOD'S  ancient  sanctuaries,  and  adore 

Only  among  the  crowd,  and  under  roofs 

That  our  frail  hands  have  raised  !     Let  me,  at  least, 

Here,  in  the  shadow  of  this  aged  wood, 

Offer  one  hymn — thrice  happy,  if  it  find 

Acceptance  in  his  ear. 

Father,  thy  hand 

Hath  rear'd  these  venerable  columns,  thou 
Didst  weave  this  verdant  roof.     Thou  didst  look  down 
Upon  the  naked  earth,  and,  forthwith,  rose 
All  these  fair  ranks  of  trees.     They,  in  thy  sun, 


714  SELECT  AMERICAN  POETRY. 

Budded,  and  shook  their  green  leaves  in  thy  breeze, 
And  shot  toward  heaven.     The  century-living  crow, 
Whose  birth  was  in  their  tops,  grew  old  and  died 
.Among  their  branches  ;  till,  at  last,  they  stood, 
As  now  they  stand,  massy,  and  tall,  and  dark, 
Fit  shrine  for  humble  worshiper  to  hold 
Communion  with  his  Maker.     These  dim  vaults, 
.These  winding  aisles,  of  human  pomp  or  pride 
Report  not.     No  fantastic  carvings  show, 
The  boast  of  our  vain  race,  to  change  the  form 
Of  thy  fair  works.     But  thou  art  here — thou  fill'st 
The  solitude.     Thou  art  in  the  soft  winds, 
That  run  along  the  summit  of  these  trees 
En  music  ; — thou  art  in  the  cooler  breath, 
That,  from  the  inmost  darkness  of  the  place, 
Comes,  scarcely  felt ; — the  barky  trunks,  the  ground, 
The  fresh,  moist  ground,  are  all  instinct  with  thee. 
Here  is  continual  worship; — nature,  here, 
In  the  tranquillity  that  thou  dost  love, 
Enjoys  thy  presence.     Noiselessly  around, 
From  perch  to  perch,  the  solitary  bird 
Passes  ;  and  yon  clear  spring,  that  midst  its  herbs, 
Wells  softly  forth,  and  visits  the  strong  roots 
Of  half  the  mighty  forest,  tells  no  tale 
Of  all  the  good  it  does.     Thou  hast  not  left 
Thyself  without  a  witness,  in  these  shades, 
Of  thy  perfections.     Grandeur,  strength,  and  grace, 
Are  here  to  speak  of  thee.     This  mighty  oak, 
By  whose  immovable  stem  I  stand,  and  seem 
Almost  annihilated, — not  a  prince, 
In  all  that  proud  old  world  beyond  the  deep, 
E'er  wore  his  crown  as  loftily  as  he 
Wears  the  green  coronal  of  leaves  with  which 
Thy  hand  has  graced  him.     Nestled  at  his  root 
Is  beauty,  such  as  blooms  not  in  the  glare 
Of  the  broad  sun.     That  delicate  forest  flower, 
With  delicate  breath,  and  look  so  like  a  smile, 
Seems,  as  it  issues  from  the  shapeless  mold, 
An  emanation  of  the  indwelling  Life, 
A  visible  token  of  the  upholding  Love, 
That  are  the  soul  of  this  wide  universe. 

My  heart  is  awed  within  me,  when  I  think 
Of  the  great  miracle  that  still  goes  on 
In  silence,  round  me — the  perpetual  work 
Of  thy  creation,  finish'd,  yet  renew'd 
Forever.     Written  on  thy  works,  I  read 
The  lesson  of  thy  own  eternity. 
Lo  !  all  grow  old  and  die — but  see,  again, 
How  on  the  faltering  footsteps  of  decay 
Youth  presses — ever  gay  and  beautiful  youth, 
In  all  its  beautiful  forms.     These  lofty  trees 
Wave  not  less  proudly  that  their  ancestors 
Molder  beneath  them.     0,  there  is  not  lost 
One  of  earth's  charms  :  upon  her  bosom  yet, 
After  the  flight  of  untold  centuries, 
The  freshness  of  her  fair  beginning  lies, 
And  yet  shall  lie.     Life  mocks  the  idle  hate 


SELECT  AMERICAN  POETRY.  715 

Of  his  arch-enemy,  Death — yea,  seats  himself 
Upon  the  tyrant's  throne — the  sepulcher, 
And  of  the  triumphs  of  his  ghastly  foo 
Makes  his  own  nourishment.     For  he  came  forth 
From  thine  own  bosom,  and  shall  have  no  end. 

There  have  been  holy  men  who  hid  themselves 
Deep  in  the  woody  wilderness,  and  gave 
Their  lives  to  thought  and  prayer,  till  they  outlived 
The  generation  born  with  them,  nor  seemed 
Less  aged  than  the  hoary  trees  and  rocks 
Around  them  ; — and  there  have  been  holy  men 
Who  deemed  it  were  not  well  to  pass  life  thus. 
But  let  me  often  to  these  solitudes 
Eetire,  and  in  thy  presence  reassure 
My  feeble  virtue.     Here  its  enemies, 
The  passions,  at  thy  plainer  footsteps  shrink 
And  tremble  and  are  still.     0  God  !  when  thou 
Dost  scare  the  world  with  tempests,  set  on  fire 
The  heavens  with  falling  thunderbolts,  or  fill, 
With  all  the  waters  of  the  firmament, 
The  swift  dark  whirlwind  that  uproots  the  woods 
And  drowns  the  villages ;  when,  at  thy  call, 
Uprises  the  great  deep  and  throws  himself 
Upon  the  continent,  and  overwhelms 
Its  cities — who  forgets  not,  at  the  sight 
Of  these  tremendous  tokens  of  thy  power, 
His  pride,  and  lays  his  strifes  and  follies  by  ? 
0,  from  these  sterner  aspects  of  thy  face 
Spare  me  and  mine,  nor  let  us  need  the  wrath 
Of  the  mad  unchained  elements  to  teach 
Who  rules  them.     Be  it  ours  to  meditate, 
In  these  calm  shades,  thy  milder  majesty, 
And  to  the  beautiful  order  of  thy  works 
Learn  to  conform  the  order  of  our  lives. 


THE  AMERICAN  HERO. 

NATHANIEL  NILKS. 

A  sapphic  ode,  written  in  1775,  at  Norwich,  Conn.    It  was  one  of  the  most  popular  produc 
tions  of  the  war,  and  was  sung  by  our  forefathers  with  patriotic  fervor, 

Why  should  vain  mortals  tremble  at  the  sight  of 
Death  and  destruction  in  the  field  of  battle, 
Where  blood  and  carnage  clothe  the  ground  in  crimson, 
Sounding  with  death-groans  ? 

Death  will  invade  us  by  the  means  appointed, 
And  we  must  all  bow  to  the  king  of  terrors ; 
Nor  am  I  anxious,  if  I  am  prepared, 
What  shape  he  comes  in. 

Infinite  Goodness  teaches  us  submission, 
Bids  us  be  quiet  under  all  our  dealings  ; 
Never  repining,  but  forever  praising 
God,  our  Creator. 


71C  SELECT  AMERICAN  POETRY. 

Well  may  we  praise  him  !  all  his  ways  are  perfect . 
Though  a  resplendence,  infinitely  glowing, 
Dazzles  in  glory  on  the  sight  of  mortals, 
Struck  blind  by  luster. 

Good  is  Jehovah  in  bestowing  sunshine, 
Nor  less  his  goodness  in  the  storm  and  thunder, 
Mercies  and  judgment  both  proceed  from  kindness, 
Infinite  kindness. 

0,  then,  exult  that  God  forever  reigneth  ; 
Clouds  which,  around  him,  hinder  our  perception, 
Bind  us  the  stronger  to  exalt  his  name,  and 
Shout  louder  praises. 

Then  to  the  wisdom  of  my  Lord  and  Master 
I  will  commit  all  I  have  or  wish  for, 
Sweetly  as  babes'  sleep  will  I  give  my  life  up, 
When  call'd  to  yield  it. 

Now,  Mars,  I  dare  thee,  clad  in  smoky  pillars, 
Bursting  from  bomb-shells,  roaring  from  the  cannon, 
Rattling  in  grape-shot  like  a  storm  of  hailstones, 
Torturing  ether. 

Up  the  bleak  heavens  let  the  spreading  flames  rise, 
Breaking,  like  .<Etna,  through  the  smoky  columns, 
Lowering,  like  Egypt,  o'er  the  falling  city, 
Wantonly  burn'd  down.* 

While  all  their  hearts  quick  palpitate  for  havoc, 
Let  slip  your  blood-hounds,  nam'd  the  British  lions ; 
Dauntless  as  death  stares,  nimble  as  the  whirlwind, 
Dreadful  as  demons ! 

Let  oceans  waft  on  all  your  floating  castles, 
Fraught  with  destruction,  horrible  to  nature ; 
.  Then,  with  your  sails  fill'd  by  a  storm  of  vengeance, 
Bear  down  to  battle. 

From  the  dire  caverns,  made  by  ghostly  miners, 
Let  the  explosion,  dreadful  as  volcanoes, 
Heave  the  broad  town,  with  all  its  wealth  and  people, 
Quick  to  destruction. 

Still  shall  the  banner  of  the  King  of  Heaven 
Never  advance  where  I  am  afraid  to  follow  ; 
While  that  precedes  me,  with  an  open  bosom, 
War,  I  defy  thee. 

Fame  and  dear  freedom  lure  me  en  to  battle, 
While  a  fell  despot,  grimmer  than  a  death's-head, 
Stings  me  with  serpents,  fiercer  than  Medusa's, 
To  the  encounter. 

Life,  for  my  country  and  the  cause  of  freedom, 
Is  but  a  trifle  for  a  worm  to  part  with ; 
And,  if  preserved  in  so  great  a  contest, 
Life  is  redoubled. 


*  Charlestown,  near  Boston. 


SELECT  AMERICAN  POETRY.  717 

LOSING  ALL— THE  RUINED  MERCHANT 

CORA  M.  EAGER. 

Written  for  this  work  by  request  of  the  publisher,  from  an  incident  related  in  the 

Childrs  Paper. 

A  cottage  home  with  sloping  lawn  and  trellis'd  vines  and  flowers, 
And  little  feet  to  chase  away  the  rosy-finger'd  hours, 
A  fair  young  face  to  part,  at  eve,  the  shadows  in  the  door — 
I  picture  thus  a  home  I  knew  in  happy  days  of  yore. 

Says  one,  a  cherub  thing  of  three,  with  childish  heart  elate, 
"Papa  is  tom'irt,  let  me  do  to  meet  'im  at  te  date  I" 
Another  takes  the  music  up  and  flings  it  on  the  air, 
"  Papa  has  come — but  why  so  slow  his  footstep  on  the  stair  ?" 

"0  Father  !  did  you  bring  the  books  I  've  waited  for  so  long — 
The  baby's  rocking-horse  and  drum,  and  mother's  'angel  song  ?' 
And  did  you  see — "  but  something  holds  the  questioning  lips  apart, 
And  something  settles  very  still  upon  that  joyous  heart. 

The  quick-discerning  wife  bends  down,  with  her  white  hand  to  stay 
The  clouds  from  tangling  with  the  curls  that  on  his  forehead  lay ; 
To  ask,  in  gentle  tones  "Belov'd,  by  what  rude  tempest  toss'd  ?" 
And  list  the  hollow,  "  Beggar'd,  lost — all  ruin'd,  poor  and  lost !" 

"Nay,  say  not  so,  for  I  am  here  to  share  misfortune's  hour, 
And  prove  how  better  far  than  gold  is  love's  unfailing  dower. 
Let  wealth  '  take  wings  and  fly  awa}%*  as  far  as  wings  can  soar, 
The  bird  of  love  will  hover  near  and  only  sing  the  more." 

"All  lost,  papa  ?  why,  here  am  I ;  and,  father,  see  how  tall, 
I  measure  fully  three  feet  four  upon  the  kitchen  wall ! 
I'll  tend  the  flowers,  feed  the  birds,  and  have  such  lots  of  fun — 
I  'm  big  enough  to  work,  papa,  for  I  'm  the  oldest  son." 

"And  I,  papa,  am  almost  five,"  says  curly-headed  Rose, 
And  I  can  learn  to  sew,  papa,  and  make  all  dolly's  clothes ! 
But  what  is  *  poor' — to  stay  at  home,  and  have  no  place  to  go  ? 
0  then,  I'll  ask  the  Lord  to-night  to  make  us  always  so." 

"  I'se  here,  papa — I  is'n't  lost !"  and  on  his  father's  knee 
He  lays  his  sunny  head  to  rest,  that  baby-boy  of  three. 
"And  if  we  get  too  poor  to  live,"  says  little  Rose,  "you  know, 
There  is  a  better  place,  papa,  a  heav'n  where  we  can  go." 

"And  God  will  come  and  take  us  there,  dear  father,  if  we  pray — 
We  needn't  fear  the  road,  papa,  He  surely  knows  the  way." 
Then  from  the  corner,  staff  in  hand,  the  grandma  rises  slovr, 
Her  snowy  cap-strings  in  the  breeze  soft-flutt'ring  to  and  fro. 

Totters  across  the  parlor  floor,  by  aid  of  kindly  hands, 
Counting,  in  every  little  face,  her  life's  declining  sands, 
Reaches  his  side,  and  whispers  low,  "  God's  promises  are  sure— 
For  every  grievous  wound,  my  son,  He  sends  a  ready  cure." 

The  father  clasps  her  hand  in  his,  and  quickly  turns  aside, 
The  heaving  chest,  the  rising  sigh,  the  coming  tear  to  hide, 
Folds  to  his  heart  those  loving  ones,  arid  kisses  o'er  and  o'er 
That  nobl*  wifp  whose  faithful  heart  he  little  knew  before. 


718  SELECT  AMERICAN  POETRY. 

"May  God  forgive  me  !  what  is  wealth  to  these  more  precious  things, 
Whose  rich  affection  round  my  heart  a  ceaseless  odor  flings  ? 
I  think  he  knew  my  sordid  soul  was  getting  proud  and  cold, 
And  thus  to  save  me,  gave  me  these,  and  took  away  my  gold. 

Dear  ones,  forgive  me,  nevermore  will  I  forget  the  rod 
That  brought  me  safely  unto  you  and  led  me  back  to  God. 
I  am  not  poor  while  these  bright  links  of  priceless  love  remain, 
And,  Heaven  helping,  nevermore  shall  bliudness  hide  the  chain !" 


LEXINGTON. 

0.   W.   HOLMES. 


Slowly  the  mist  o'er  the  meadow  was  creeping, 

Bright  on  the  dewy  blids  glisten'd  the  sun, 
When  from  his  couch — while  his  children  were  sleeping- 
Rose  the  bold  rebel  and  shoulder'd  his  gun. 

Waving  her  golden  vail 

Over  the  silent  dale, 
Blithe  look'd  the  morning  on  cottage  and  spire  ; 

Hush'd  was  his  parting  sigh, 

Whale  from  his  noble  eye 
Flash'd  the  last  sparkle  of  Liberty's  fire. 

On  the  smooth  green  where  the  fresh  leaf  is  springing, 

Calmly  the  first-born  of  glory  have  met : 
Hark  !  the  death- volley  around  them  is  ringing — 
Look  !  with  their  life-blood  the  young  grass  is  wet. 

Faint  is  the  feeble  breath, 

Murmuring  low  in  death — 
"  Tell  to  our  sons  how  their  fathers  have  died  ;" 

Nerveless  the  iron  hand. 

Raised  for  its  native  land, 
Lies  by  the  weapon  that  gleams  at  its  side. 

Over  the  hillsides  the  wild  knell  is  tolling, 

From  their  far  hamlets  the  yeomanry  come ; 
As  thro'  the  storm-clouds  the  thunder-burst  rolling 
Circles  the  beat  of  the  mustering  drum. 

Fast  on  the  soldier's  path 

Darken  the  waves  of  wrath  ; 
Long  have  they  gather'd,  and  loud  shall  they  fall : 

Red  glares  the  musket's  flash., 

Sharp  rings  the  rifle's  crash, 
Blazing  and  clanging  from  thicket  and  wall. 

Gayly  the  plume  of  the  horseman  was  dancing, 

Never  to  shadow  his  cold  brow  again  ; 
Proudly  at  morning  the  war  steed  was  prancing, 
Reeking  and  panting  he  droops  on  the  rein  ; 

Pale  is  the  lip  of  scorn, 

Voiceless  the  trumpet-horn 
Torn  is  the  silken-fring'd  red  cross  on  high ; 

Many  a  belted  breast 

Low  on  the  turf  shall  rest, 
Ere  the  dark  hunters  the  herd  have  pass'd  by. 


SELECT  AMERICAN  POETKY.  719 

Snow-girdled  crags  where  the  coarse  wind  is  raving, 

Rocks  where  the  weary  floods  murmur  and  wail, 
Wilds  where  the  fern  by  the  furrow  is  waving, 
Reel'd  with  the  echoes  that  rode  on  the  gale 

Far  as  the  tempest  thrills 

Over  the  darken'd  hills, 
Far  as  the  sunshine  streams  over  the  plain, 

Roused  by  the  tyrant  band, 

Woke  all  the  mighty  land, 
Girded  for  battle  from  mountain  to  main. 

Green  be  the  graves  where  her  martyrs  are  lying! 

Shroudless  and  tombless  they  sunk  to  their  rest , 
While  o'er  their  ashes  the  starry  fold  flying, 

Wraps  the  proud  eagle  they  roused  from  his  nest. 

Borne  on  her  northern  pine, 

Long  o'er  the  foaming  brine 
Spread  her  broad  banner  to  storm  and  to  sun  ; 

Heaven  keep  her  ever  free 

Wide  as  o'er  land  and  sea 
Floats  the  fair  emblem  her  heroes  have  won ! 


ONE  HOUR  WITH  THEE. 

STEPHEN  GRIFFITH  GASSAWAY. 

Born  in  Maryland  about  the  year  1818.  Educated  at  Kenyon  College,  Ohio.  Pastor  of  St. 
George  Church,  St.  Louis.  Died  in  1854  from  injuries  by  the  explosion  of  the  steamboat 
Kate  Kearney,  at  St.  Louis.  At  the  moment  of  death,  he  was  in  the  act  of  shakin? 


over  which  he  had  once  officiated  as  the  pastor. 

One  hour  with  thee,  my  God,  when  daylight  breaks 
Over  a  world  thy  guardian  care  hath  kept, 

When  the  fresh  soul  from  soothing  slumber  wakes, 
To  praise  the  love  that  watched  me  while  I  slept ; 

When  with  new  strength  my  blood  is  bounding  free, 

The  first,  best,  sweetest  hour,  I'll  give  to  thee. 

One  hour  with  thee,  when  busy  day  begins 
Her  never-ceasing  round  of  bustling  care, 

When  I  must  meet  with  toil,  and  pain  and  sins, 
And  through  them  all,  thy  cross  again  must  bear; 

0  then,  to  arm  me  for  the  strife,  to  be 

Faithful  to  death,  I'll  kneel  an  hour  to  thee. 

One  hour  with  thee,  when  rides  the  glorious  sun 
High  in  mid-heaven,  and  panting  nature  feels 

Lifeless  and  overpowered,  and  man  has  done 

For  one  short  hour,  with  urging  life's  swift  wheels ; 

In  that  deep  pause  my  soul  from  care  shall  flee, 

To  make  that  hour  of  rest,  one  hour  with  thee. 

One  hour  with  thee,  when  saddened  twilight  flings 
Her  soothing  charm  o'er  lawn,  and  vale,  and  grove ; 

When  there  breathes  up  from  all  created  things, 
The  sweet  enthralling  sense  of  thy  deep  love ; 


720  SELECT  AMERICAN  POETRY. 

And  when  its  softening  power  descends  on  me, 
My  swelling  heart  shall  spend  an  hour  with  thee. 

One  hour  with  thee,  my  God,  when  softly  night 
Climbs  the  high  heaven  with  solemn  step  and  slow, 

When  thy  sweet  stars,  unutterably  bright, 
Are  telling  forth  thy  praise  to  men  below; 

0  then,  while  far  from  earth  my  thoughts  would  flee, 

I'll  spend  in  prayer,  one  joyful  hour  with  thee. 


IT  IS  GREAT  FOR  OUR  COUNTRY  TO  DIE. 

JAMES  G.  PERCIVAL. 

0 !  it  is  great  for  our  country  to  die,  where  ranks  are  Contending  ; 

Bright  is  the  wreath  of  our  fame  ;  Glory  awaits  us  for  aye- 
Glory,  that  never  is  dim,  shining  on  with  light  never  ending — 

Glory  that  never  shall  fade,  never,  0  !  never  away. 

0 !  it  is  sweet  for  our  country  to  die — how  softly  reposes 
Warrior  youth  on  his  bier,  wet  by  the  tears  of  his  love, 

Wet  by  a  mother's  warm  tears  ;  they  crown  him  with  garlands  of  roses, 
Weep,  and  then  joyously  turn,  bright  where  he  triumphs  above. 

Not  to  the  shades  shall  the  youth  descend,  who  for  country  hath  perished  ; 

HEBE  awaits  him  in  heaven,  welcomes  him  there  with  her  smile  ; 
There,  at  the  banquet  divine,  the  patriot  spirit  is  cherish'd  ; 

Gods  love  the  young,  who  ascend  pure  from  the  funeral  pile. 

Not  to  Elysian  fields,  by  the  still,  oblivious  river; 

Not  to  the  isles  of  the  bless'd,  over  the  blue  rolling  sea ; 
But  on  Olympian  heights,  shall  dwell  the  devoted  forever ; 

There  shall  assemble  the  good,  there  the  wise,  valiant,  and  free. 

0 !  then,  how  great  for  our  country  to  die,  in  the  front  rank  to  perish, 
Firm  with  our  breast  to  the  foe,  Victory's  shout  in  our  ear : 

Long  they  our  statues  shall  crown,  in  songs  our  memory  cherish ; 
We  shall  look  forth  from  heaven,  pleased  the  sweet  music  to  hear. 


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